About YIMBY Action
A National Network of Local Groups
YIMBY Action started out as a group advocating for housing in San Francisco, one of the worst cities in the U.S. in terms of housing cost and availability. Since then, we’ve teamed up with people in other growing cities and towns across the U.S. who saw housing become more expensive and scarce in their communities. Now, YIMBY Action has chapters from coast to coast of the US. Through our network, chapters get access to training, tools, and a community of other people passionate about housing.
We Care About Housing
Our board, staff, volunteers, and donors (nicknamed “YIMBYs”) are all passionate about housing. Some are architects, city planners, and homebuilders—truly passionate about the buildings in which we live. Even more YIMBY members are simply everyday people who have experienced and seen the negative impacts of scarce and expensive housing.
YIMBYs have experienced housing struggles that are all too common, like:
- struggling to find a home that fits their budget
- moving far away from work or their community to find affordable housing
- having friends and family move away to find affordable housing
- commuting for hours a day
- spending years on waitlists for income-qualified housing
- homelessness
We Care About Housing's Effects
Many YIMBYs have experienced challenges finding and affording housing. Many YIMBYs also care about housing because of how it overlaps with other causes they care about. The housing shortage is bad for people, reinforces existing inequalities, hurts the environment, and stalls the economy.
We Believe the problem is political
YIMBYs see scarce housing as the result of shortsighted and discriminatory laws, which we know we can change when enough citizens speak up and vote.
We advocate for research-backed policies to increase the supply of housing, both market-rate housing and government subsidized housing. Our policies are informed by pragmatism; we focus on solutions that can lower the cost of housing without competing for scarce public dollars, and that get rid of red tape in favor of more effective, streamlined regulations.
We Achieve Change by Engaging in Politics
Policies change when people make noise about it—when they show elected officials that they care.
YIMBYs get politicians to care by showing up to local hearings, writing petitions, calling and writing representatives about bills, and meeting with them in person. We support pro-housing candidates when they run for office, knocking on doors and making phone calls to help them get the votes they need to win.
We are committed to inclusion
While not universally true, we recognize that historically, the YIMBY movement has attracted and engaged people who have been shielded by the most extreme impacts of the housing shortage by virtue of our race, socioeconomic status, and other advantages. We are actively working to include and elevate diverse and less privileged people in our organization. You can read more about our equity practices in our Equity Vision Statement.
