Divided Government Is Good. In 2023, Bipartisanship Would Be Better.
From immigration to drug reform, there is plenty of potential for productive compromise.
Zoning
D.C. Zoning Officials Prepare a 'Racial Equity Tool' To Guide Zoning Decisions
Local YIMBY advocates express concern that the tool, as written, is overly vague and could be exploited to stop development.
California's Housing Crisis Hasn't Spared the State's College Students
A new law would make it harder for NIMBY neighbors to obstruct new dorms with bogus environmental complaints.
Zoning Laws Make Child Care Unaffordable in Utah
Child care centers should have the same development flexibility as charter schools.
Federal Money Intended for Zoning Reformers Ends Up in NIMBY Clutches
The White House is giving $1.5 billion in INFRA grants to entities that either don't approve new housing or are actively opposed to making it easier to build.
As California Embraces Development, San Francisco Mayor Vetoes Fake Housing Reform Bill
The proposed policy was offensive to property rights and disincentivized construction. The mayor's rejection of it shows the state's increasing interest in allowing more building.
Cardi B Delivers Perceptive, Profanity-Laced Analysis of High Home Prices, Rents
The rapper blamed a lack of "motherfucking inventory" for high home prices and rising rents in low-income neighborhoods. She's not the only one.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' Administration Tells Gainesville To Abandon Zoning Reform
The state's Republican administration comes out against property rights and local control.
Community Fridges Are Facing Vandalism and Regulatory Challenges
The community fridge is a civic model that regulators should encourage, not seek to shut down.
This Renegade California Developer Wants To Build a 2,300-Unit Megaproject in a NIMBY Stronghold
A never-before-used state law might make his plans bulletproof.
What Would It Take for the Democrats To Really Be the Party of Opportunity?
Government should not penalize investment, thwart competition, discourage innovation and work, or obstruct production.
Help Labor by Breaking Down Barriers to Mobility
Labor Day is the right time to remember that we can make workers vastly better off by empowering more of them to vote with their feet.
Christian Britschgi: Zoning Restrictions Worsen the Housing Crisis
Associate Editor Christian Britschgi breaks down how zoning restrictions distort the housing market.
Tiny Homes for Las Vegas Homeless Demolished Over Code Violations
Plus: Trump sues over Mar-a-Lago raid, why people vote to "dismantle democracy," how Ireland ruined its rental market, and more...
School Choice Faces a New Threat: Local Code Enforcers
Enemies of educational freedom are using inane regulations to target learning pods.
Are San Francisco's NIMBYs Finally Getting Their Comeuppance?
State housing officials have launched a first-ever investigation of the city's housing policies and practices, setting the stage for far more sweeping interventions.
Zoning Officials Tell New Hampshire Church It Can't Use Living Room To Host Prayer Meetings
Bedford's New Hope Christian Fellowship Church argues in a lawsuit that the town is applying uniquely restrictive rules to its religious gatherings.
Mobile Homes Are a Crucial Source of Affordable Housing. Politicians Are Trying To Zone Them Out of Town.
The government should not take away reliable and affordable housing from those who need it most.
Another NIMBY Lawsuit Seeks To End New York City Outdoor Dining Program
Several dozen NYC residents want to repeal the regulations allowing outdoor dining in the city.
In Iowa, You No Longer Need a Permit To Sell Guns Across the Road from the Governor's Mansion
A new state law prohibits localities from prohibiting or licensing "no-impact" home-based businesses. That's allowing a Des Moines couple to sell guns from their house located just across the street from the governor's mansion.
Maxine Waters Says She May Not Vote for 'Shameful' Inflation Reduction Act, Citing Lack of Housing Spending
The new reconciliation bill also nixes a zoning reform program that had been included in the more expansive Build Back Better bill.
San Francisco Mayor Slaps Down Clever Plot To Make Housing Crisis Worse
The mayor vetoed a controversial ordinance that would have legalized more types of housing on paper while making it harder to build in practice.
Little Libraries, Free at Last?
Good news for fans of literacy and opponents of restrictive zoning codes
Taxpayers Pay the Price for DeSantis' War on Disney
Florida's governor has declared a regulatory war on one of the state's biggest employers. But it's the taxpayers who may ultimately pay the price.
Is South Florida's Housing Market Too Hot?
Zoning laws, a limited housing stock, and inflation have created a major housing shortage in the bubble-prone region.
Pennsylvania Town Threatens Churches With $500 Fines for Providing Free Meals, Counseling Services
Borough officials in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, told Mission First and Christ Episcopal churches that their charitable work goes beyond what the zoning code allows for downtown churches.
Christopher Alexander's Utopian Blueprint
There is telling people how to live, and there is maximizing people's ability to live the lives they want.
San Francisco Legalizes 'Missing Middle' Housing in the Worst Way Possible
Property owners can now build fourplexes in San Francisco, but only if they've owned the land for five years, place the new units under rent control, and don't try to make them much larger than a single-family home.
Environmentalists' Lawsuit Brings Minneapolis' YIMBY Success Story to a Screeching Halt
Three environmentalists groups had argued that the city failed to perform a state-required environmental analysis of its Minneapolis 2040 comprehensive plan.
Beyond NIMBY vs. YIMBY - How Current Homeowners Can Benefit from Zoning Deregulation
Even if the value of their property goes down, current homeowners still often have much to gain from breaking down barriers to new housing construction.
Portland Legalized 'Missing Middle' Housing. Now It's Trying to Make It Easy to Build.
This month, the city passed a number of liberalizing reforms that legalize more types of housing and make already-legal homes more practical to build.
Labyrinthine Zoning Rules Restricted Homeless Shelters During the Pandemic
As COVID-19 spread across the country, complex rules around land use and building permits made housing the poor and vulnerable effectively impossible.
Eric Adams Wants to Cut a Rug, Zoning Regulations
The mayor's 'City of Yes' initiative would peel back regulations on everything from dancing in bars to all-studio apartment buildings.
Saudi Prince's Plan for 'Walkable' City of Single-File Buildings Could Be Two Miles-Long Skyscrapers Instead
The idea is exactly as dumb as it sounds.
County Where It Took 50 Years To Approve New Subdivision Bans New Airbnbs
Officials in Marin County, California, argue a temporary moratorium on new short-term rentals in western portions of the county is necessary to preserve the area's limited housing stock.
Eliminating Single-Family Zoning Isn't the Reason Minneapolis Is a YIMBY Success Story
Housing production is rising and rents are falling. But newly legal duplexes and triplexes make up only a tiny fraction of new development.
Why Pro-Choice Blue States Should also be Pro-YIMBY
Atlantic writer Jerusalem Demsas argues that blue states can't give "refuge" to people fleeing abortion restrictions if they don't cut back on zoning restrictions that lead to sky-high housing costs.
Will People Vote With Their Feet for Abortion Rights in a Post-Roe World?
The answer to this important question is highly uncertain. I tentatively predict a significant, but still modest, increase in abortion-driven migration.
Montana's Ban on Mask Mandates Is Stopping Local Governments From Enforcing Their Zoning Codes
Officials in Gallatin County, Montana, say a state law that prohibits local governments from forcing businesses to turn customers away is preventing it from cracking down on zoning code violators.
Joe Biden Takes Another Stab at Zoning Reform
The administration is proposing to spend $10 billion over ten years incentivizing local and state governments to remove regulatory barriers to new housing construction.
Her Dream Was To Open a Vegan Tattoo Shop. Zoning Officials Shut Her Down.
"It's a lot to try and put this stuff all together all on my own, using my own savings, and then having to start all over," says Venus Vegan Tattoo owner Selena Carrion.
Maine Could Be the Third State To End Single-Family-Only Zoning
The Pine Tree State is embracing California-style housing reforms. It could run into California-style problems.
Running Bitcoin Miners Out of Town
Trying to sue or zone bitcoin mines out of town is the wrong response to the tradeoffs the industry presents.
Pittsburgh Will Force Private Developers To Build Affordable Housing
These "inclusionary zoning" policies have a record of increasing housing costs and suppressing new housing supply.
Justin Trudeau's Plan To Ban Foreigners From Buying Canadian Homes Won't Make Housing Affordable
Foreign buyers are a small percentage of new home purchases. Excluding them from the housing market does little to reduce housing costs.
Video of American Enterprise Institute Event on my Book "Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom"
It includes commentary by housing policy specialist Emily Hamilton (Mercatus Center), and economist Filipe Campante (Johns Hopkins University).
