Across the country, housing is becoming scarce and expensive in cities with growing economic opportunity. In many of these regions, grassroots pro-housing organizations have sprung up and are transforming public discourse on housing policy, land use, zoning, and planning. These proponents, some of which identify as “Yes in my backyard” (YIMBY) organizations, are advocating for proposed housing developments of all types and pursuing policy reform at the local and state levels. The presentation covers the scale and impacts on the housing crisis in high cost metro regions in terms of housing shortages, rent and home costs increases, homelessness, displacement and reductions in opportunities for newcomers. It explores the origins of housing shortages and crises in the emergence of slow-growth politics and policies as a reaction to the rapid growth of the post WW2 era. Speaker Mark Vallianatos of Abundant Housing LA + LAplus. Mark is the director of LAplus and policy director of Abundant Housing LA. He is a policy analyst focused on housing, planning and sustainability issues. Mark has researched and written about the history of zoning and the need for more pro-housing policies at local, regional and state levels. This webinar originally aired on 5/8/18 and was produced by the Open Architecture Collaborative and the AIA Housing Knowledge Community. A recording of the talk can be found here - https://youtu.be/Bb_ad0vP11s

1. The new pro-housing /
YIMBY movement
AIA housing committee webinar / May 7 2018
Mark Vallianatos / LAplus / Abundant Housing LA

2. 1. What / who / why / where / how are
YIMBYs?
2. Origins + impacts of housing crisis
3. Pro-housing strategies
4. Architects + YIMBYs?

3. what are YIMBYs?
People who support more homes of all
types
3

4. who are YIMBYs?
- mainly younger, middle or ‘creative’
class
- in expensive areas
- upset about high housing costs
4

5. 5

6. WHY are YIMBYs?
- Asked why there weren’t more homes
- Became upset over NIMBYism and
planning rules
6

7. 7

8. where are YIMBYs?
- yimby.wiki has a (partial) count of
YIMBY-style pro-housing organizations
in 10 nations and 15 U.S. states
- Mainly high-cost metro regions
- Early & active in SF Bay area
8

9. how are YIMBYs?
- Build upon ideas + actions of
‘proto-yimby’ social movements
9

10. 10
YIMBYs
ACTIVISTPRO-DEVELOPMENT
BUSINESS TECH FAIR HOUSING TENANT
YIMBY FAMILY TREE
Building
hom
es
is
good
Data
+
disruption
Legalize
apartm
ents
Organize
residents
SMART GROWTH
URBANIST
Infill+
transit

11. YIMBYs are ideologically diverse
- Ranging from libertarian to socialist
- Tactics vary by individual by group and
by region
- Some don’t call themselves YIMBYs
because they think the term is
polarizing
11

12. The Problem:
Housing
Crisis
12

13. LA’s housing crisis
•55,000+ homeless in LA county
•60% of LA households are rent
burdened.
•Hundreds of thousands of
residents are forced to double up
in overcrowded dwellings or to
stay with their parents as adults.
13

14. LA’s housing crisis
•young and low-income residents have had to move to lower-cost regions.
•59 percent of voters in LA County have considered moving due to housing
costs.
14

16. Housing permits issued in LA city, 1921-2017
16

17. 17

18. Housing permits by decade (per 1000 residents)
18

19. California, we have a problem
19

20. Homes are cheaper
Where it is easier to
build
Cheaper metros have
mainly grown by
sprawl
High-demand,
high-cost metros have
resisted densification
20

21. Opposition to new homes reduces supply, increases
cost & segregation

22. 22
Ganong and Shoag, 2017

23. How did we end up with a
housing crisis in places like
LA that used to revolve
around real estate and
residential development?
23

24. What happened to
LA’s small
apartments &
diverse, low-rise
neighborhoods?
And why does it
matter?

25. RIP Bungalow courts

26. [partly] RIP courtyard
apartments

27. [partly] RIP duplexes

28. RIP masonry
apartments

29. RIP dingbats

30. RIP streets with
diverse mix of
low-rise housing
types

31. Source: The Homeowner Revolution, Greg Morrow, UCLA Thesis
community plans downzoned LA

32. rules changed to politicize
process and create veto points
for new homes
32

33. >> WHY << did we end up
with a housing crisis in places
like LA that used to revolve
around real estate and
residential development?
33

34. Acknowledge our shared responsibility

35. Cultural + Intellectual currents of slow growth
1. Exclusionary suburbanism
2. ‘Good planning’
3. Counter-culture romanticism
4. Ecology movement
5. Historic preservation
6. New right
7. New left
8. ‘Quality of life’ nimbyism
9. Community control / anti-displacement

36. The solution:
- Support new homes
- Change the rules
36

40. Sometimes you win..

41. Sometimes
you lose..

42. YIMBY THEORY OF CHANGE
5
Goal: “Abundant housing”
More homes of all types so
everyone can find housing at a
reasonable cost
3
Pro-housing elected
officials
Elected officials willing to pass
pro-housing reforms
1
Strong and diverse
pro-housing movement
Pro-housing advocacy groups w/
grassroots members + allies
4
Better policy
Rules that make it easier to build
homes + subsidies + protections
for lower-income residents
2
Public support for
pro-housing action
More residents willing to support
more homes a + more pro-housing
press and publicity

43. Why architects should support
pro-housing advocacy + policy
1.More work
2.more work for smaller firms, younger architects
3.You want to reduce obstacles to good buildings
4.You want you + your kids + your friends + your employees
to be able to afford to live
43

44. Why YIMBYs should work with
architects
1.You know how zoning + building codes + planning processes
impact real-world building
2.most YIMBYs want good urbanism
44

45. Is there tension between more
homes & good design?
45
Christopher Hawthorne, new City of LA Chief Design Officer

46. Is there tension between more
homes & good design?
46
I think that average homes are still good homes + that
people end up adapting them..
But if there IS a need for better aesthetic/ design rules, what
should they be?
- Design review?
- Form based zoning?
- Contests / education?

47. Stay in touch
AbundantHousingLA.org
@abundanthousing
La-plus.org
markvalli@gmail.com
@markvalli