Over the past few decades, developers grew accustomed to nothing but staunch opposition to dense affordable housing project proposals.
Within the past 10 years, though, in some areas such as California, Chicago, Seattle, and Portland, Ore., a new YIMBY (Yes, In My Backyard) movement has sprung up to support affordable housing development. In fact, some of these advocates, often wearing t-shirts and buttons inscribed with the YIMBY slogan, show up at public hearings and city council meetings to express their view.
Some of those embracing YIMBYism lobby state legislatures to enact pro-housing initiatives. With so many people struggling to find a home or pay rent, it is perhaps no surprise that this grassroots movement has emerged.
The new public support for even large high-rise projects is a welcome change for developers and may be improving the equation for construction of more housing for middle class and working class people.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
University of La Verne opens new campus center designed by Gonzalez Goodale Architects
Construction has been completed on a new campus center designed by the noted Pasadena-based institutional architecture firm Gonzalez Goodale Architects for University of La Verne that will help create a new identity for the venerable institution. The Sara & Michael Abraham Campus Center will be dedicated on September 10 at 3 p.m., in a ceremony attended by campus officials and other local dignitaries.
| Aug 11, 2010
Thom Mayne unveils 'floating cube' design for the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas
Calling it a “living educational tool featuring architecture inspired by nature and science,” Pritzker Prize Laureate Thom Mayne and leaders from the Museum of Nature & Science unveiled the schematic designs and building model for the Perot Museum of Nature & Science at Victory Park. Groundbreaking on the approximately $185 million project will be held later this fall, and the Museum is expected to open by early 2013.
| Aug 11, 2010
SOM's William F. Baker awarded Fritz Leonhardt Prize for achievement in structural engineering
In recognition of his engineering accomplishments, which include many of the tallest skyscrapers of our time, William F. Baker received the coveted Fritz Leonhardt Prize in Stuttgart, Germany. He is the first American to receive the prize.
| Aug 11, 2010
Theater Renovation—A First-Class Production
In 1985, the city of San Diego ordered the historic Balboa Theatre, its beleaguered performing arts center, to be shuttered due to seismic safety concerns. It would take another two decades to restore the landmark building.
| Aug 11, 2010
Green roof professional designation launches in Canada
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC), the North American Green Roof Industry Association, is pleased to announce the Canadian Green Roof Professional (GRP) Accreditation launch on October 19, 2009 at the CitiesAlive World Green Roof Infrastructure Congress in Toronto, Canada, hosted by GRHC, the City of Toronto, and the World Green Roof Infrastructure Network.
| Aug 11, 2010
American Concrete Institute forms technical committee on BIM for concrete structures
The American Concrete Institute (ACI) announces the formation of a new technical committee on Building Information Modeling (BIM) of Concrete Structures.
| Aug 11, 2010
Former Colorado Governor Bill Owens retained by PCL Construction as senior advisor
Bill Owens, former Colorado Governor, has been retained by PCL Construction as senior advisor for the company’s U.S. operations, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The PCL family of companies collectively form the seventh largest contracting organization in the U.S. with major offices in 29 locations across North America, the Hawaiian Islands, and the Caribbean.
| Aug 11, 2010
Kansas City Music Hall and Municipal Auditorium
Kansas City, Mo.
The show will go on in Kansas City’s beloved Music Hall and Municipal Auditorium thanks to a fast-track renovation and expansion project that brought the 72-year-old Art Deco playhouse up to 21st-century standards.
