Infill: A YIMBY Podcast

In this episode of the Infill Podcast, YIMBY Law's Executive Director Sonja Trauss speaks with author Max Podemski about his new book "A Paradise of Small Houses: The Evolution, Devolution, and Potential Rebirth of Urban Housing." In his book, Podemski discusses the history of housing in the United States and the factors that drove housing production in our country's early days.

Although today Americans typically view single-family detached homes as our American dream, Podemski tells the story of immigrants and working class communities whose dreams of dense, multi-family homes served as expressions of American ingenuity and social mobility. By looking at the history of cities like Boston and its triple deckers, or Los Angeles and its bungalow courts, we can see how the kinds of homes that cities are known for are tied to the the motivating factors for what types of housing was prioritized and why.

These lessons are particularly valuable today as our nation faces as shortage of homes, and Americans are seeking solutions for how to solve it. Our ideals about what kinds of homes should be prioritized in American culture are intrinsically tied to our historical views of class and race. Podemski's book gives us a unique lens into how these views have shaped our communities today. Tune in to hear more from Sonja Trauss and Max Podemski about "A Paradise of Small Houses," the history of housing in the US, and how our history is impacting us now.

Learn more about YIMBY Action: https://yimbyaction.org/

Follow YIMBY Action on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yimbyaction/

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Get the book: https://www.beacon.org/A-Paradise-of-Small-Houses-P2037.aspx

Area Median Income Lookup: https://ami-lookup-tool.fanniemae.com/

Americans are struggling to stay afloat due to high housing prices caused by our nation’s housing shortage. Fortunately, there is a growing number of voices advocating for pro-housing policy solutions. Up For Growth is a national, cross-sector member network committed to solving the housing shortage and affordability crisis. While many advocates focus on solutions to the housing shortage at the local and state levels, Up For Growth supports federal policies that will increase the number of homes throughout the country.

On this episode of the Infill podcast, you’ll hear from our Executive Director Laura Foote and Up For Growth’s National Policy Director David Garcia about what the federal government’s current attitude is on pro-housing policies, how we can inspire more bold policy solutions, and why it is critical to have bipartisan support for pro-housing legislation.

In particular, one federal bill that Up For Growth and YIMBY Action are supporting is the YIMBY Act. In this episode you will learn more about what the YIMBY Act does to promote pro-housing solutions and housing affordability, as well as why we need to tell our congress members to act NOW to bring the YIMBY Act to a vote before the year ends. You can email your congress members to support the YIMBY Act using our online tool below!

Email Your Congress Members About the YIMBY Act: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-your-representative-bring-the-yimby-act-to-a-vote

Learn More about YIMBY Action: https://new.yimbyaction.org/

Follow YIMBY Action on X: https://x.com/yimbyaction

Follow YIMBY Action on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yimbyaction/

Follow YIMBY Action on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yimbyaction

Learn more about Up For Growth: https://upforgrowth.org/

On this episode of the Infill Podcast, YIMBY Action's Business Membership Manager, Courtney Porcella, speaks to Ivory Innovation's Hannah Gable about trends in pro-housing policy, what legislation is being passed in different regions of the country, and what advocates can do to replicate pro-housing wins in more communities.

Ivory Innovations is a nonprofit working to advance innovation around housing affordability in the United States. This Summer, Ivory Innovations launched their Housing Policies & Initiatives Database. The free, online database contains information on emerging, pro-housing policy innovations including federal, state, and local bills across four major, trending policy areas: "Yes in God's Backyard", office-to-residential conversions, social housing, and transit-oriented development.

Tune in to hear insights from Hannah Gable on what kinds of pro-housing legislation she's seeing pick up traction, and what barriers and levers to passing legislation elected officials are thinking about.

Be sure to dive into the database at the link below. If you'd like to see Ivory Innovations explore data on other policies, share your ideas on their feedback form linked below.

Explore the Database: https://ivoryinnovations.org/housing-policies-database

Suggest More Topics For Ivory Innovations: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd-phvbFGcf69lS5X9H0NDIfsYoC0W7j0U1Flc47l6DwSw9Hg/viewform

Learn More about YIMBY Action: https://new.yimbyaction.org/

Follow YIMBY Action on X: https://x.com/yimbyaction

Follow YIMBY Action on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yimbyaction/

Follow YIMBY Action on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yimbyaction

In 2020, U.S. census data analysis revealed that, for the first time, Native Hawai'ians living in the continental U.S. outnumbered those living in Hawaii. Redfin reports that the median home list price is currently $825,000.

High cost of living and a lack of affordable homes have continued to be huge challenges for natives and transplants living in Hawai'i. Listen to this episode of Infill to hear what advocates are doing to make homes more affordable.

This year in honor of AAPI Heritage Month, we wanted to highlight all of the amazing work that our Hawai’i YIMBY chapter is doing and how it is impacting native Hawai'ians on the islands.

Listen in to hear our conversation with Hawai’i YIMBY volunteer leaders Damien Waikaloa and Matt Popovich. We spoke about how they got started in the YIMBY movement, the missing middle housing policies they’re organizing around now, and why they think YIMBYism is so important to uplift Hawai'ians.

Learn more about YIMBY Action: https://yimbyaction.org/

Follow YIMBY Action on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yimbyaction/

Follow YIMBY Action on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yimbyaction/

Follow YIMBY Action on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yimbyaction/

Learn more about Hawai’i YIMBY: https://hawaiiyimby.com/

Follow Hawai’i YIMBY on Twitter: https://x.com/hiyimby/

Follow Hawai’i YIMBY on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hawaiiyimby/

In January 2023 California Assembly Member Alex Lee introduced Assembly Bill 309, a Social Housing Bill that aims to increase access to housing for all Californians. But how does social housing help solve the housing shortage?

Our Executive Director, Laura Foote, recently spoke with Assembly Member Lee and Darrell Owens, Policy Analyst for California YIMBY about the California Social Housing Bill. They talked through the big picture for Lee’s Social Housing Bill, discussed the history of social housing in the U.S. and abroad, and answered some common questions about how social housing works in practice.

Learn more about AB 309: https://www.californiasocialhousing.org/

Follow Assembly Member Lee on Twitter: https://twitter.com/alex_lee

Learn more about YIMBY Action: https://yimbyaction.org/

Follow YIMBY Action on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yimbyaction/

Follow YIMBY Action on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yimbyaction/

Follow YIMBY Action on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yimbyaction/