YIMBYs are trying to pave the way for development for profit in cities across our country under the guise of “helping with affordable housing.” But of course, affordable housing is not what developers are building – developers don't want to build affordable housing because it is not profitable. YIMBYs and developers are working together to remove regulations, change zoning, and remove any other barriers so they can buy affordable properties and then build overpriced cheaply constructed condos– this isn't about affordable housing.
This photo, above, is from a great read from journalist Patrick Range McDonald based in Los Angeles. Here's an excerpt:
The YIMBY scenario plays out this way: deregulate as much as possible, an apartment construction boom will follow, and sky-high rents will stabilize and take a downturn since more units have come onto the market. It’s the old, possibly outdated, supply-and-demand argument.
Housing justice activists rightly counter that developers build almost exclusively luxury housing, which not only triggers gentrification in middle- and working-class neighborhoods, but also does nothing to directly address California’s housing affordability crisis.
Read the full article at patrickrangemcdonald.com
The YIMBY Denver movement is on the same track, they push for deregulation and zoning recommendation changes so they can build higher, and the city planners and city council are all too happy to agree with this strategy, as more units equal more taxes. The YIMBYs will repeatedly tout that opening the gateways for endless development will help with homelessness and affordability, but the city has stated again and again – they cannot and will not enforce that any of this development will include affordable housing. This means the destruction of some of the last affordable and historic neighborhoods in Denver – as developers have no reason to build affordable units – they're in it just for the money. And the city doesn't mind in the least, why collect taxes from one affordable house, when it can be bulldozed, and several luxury "units" can be built in it's place, increasing property taxes substantially?
Here are some other articles about the YIMBY movement: shelterforce.org/2019/02/19/yimby-white-privilege-and-the-soul-of-our-cities/