How to Make the Federal Government More YIMBY

09/03/24 • 30 min

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/

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/

Previous Episode

Tracking The Hottest Pro-Housing Policy Trends in the U.S.

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

Next Episode

A Paradise of Small Houses: An Interview with Author Max Podemski

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/

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

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

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

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