You’re reading The YIMBY Manifesto because you are interested in making cities more livable. I love that about whoever you are.
Now that I’ve shared my appreciation for you, maybe you’ll subscribe for free in a mutualistic quid pro quo before I move onto the real substance of this post.
The problem is that it takes a whole lot of effort to actually accomplish major local reforms. Particularly when it feels like there are so many bigger fish to fry. How do we convince people to show up to local meetings when we must simultaneously worry about the safety and rights of those in our communities?
I have no direct answer for that question. Perhaps there truly isn’t one.
Regardless, we must find agency somewhere. One place where we really can truly develop this agency is at the local level.
We should be careful not to neglect this opportunity. Urban reforms are a key element of building not just more livable, affordable cities, but also maintaining and growing political power.
YIMBY platforms can impact:
Migration
Congressional apportionment
Electoral College counts
Affordability
Accessibility
Environment
Economic development
Infrastructure development
Local, state, and national elections
So much more…
This list is just off the top of my head. It gets a little abstract too. Regardless, by building up, we can bolster so much good in our communities.
By improving local density, we can boost transit frequencies, local revenue collection, and sales at nearby businesses (network effects). By building up, we can prevent sprawl and carbon emissions. By building more, we can make space for existing residents and new community members, making our neighborhoods more diverse and more politically powerful.
California is learning the hard way that these changes are necessary. With dismal affordability in its major cities, the state went through several years of losing people to red states. As a result, we are witnessing a decline in Democratic Party power at the national level because of a changing balance of power in Congress and in California’s relative strength in Electoral College votes.
So what do we do about all this? What kind of effort do we need to put in?
It looks different than with national political advocacy. I’ve worked on local, state, and national campaigns and that kind of organizing is its own special type of madness. This kind of local advocacy, however, requires a different type of work.
You need to show up even when it’s not convenient, and there will be more opportunities than you know what to do with.
You will find constant Planning Commission meetings, City Council deliberations, Mayoral forums, and Zoning commissions of all sorts that meet at ridiculous times of day with relative frequency.
It’s a pain to show up. But here’s the thing, if you do show up, you’re going to have an outsized impact. These meetings are often held in the middle of the day in the middle of the week. They will conflict with regular work schedules more often than not. The demographic that shows up is typically going to be a more privileged class of people who are retired and who are holding onto single-family homes in desirable neighborhoods where people want to live. Unfortunately, this group - at least those who show up - are there to preserve a status quo rather than to improve outcomes for others.
It’s the system, guys. Property wealth is a major element of their retirement portfolios. Their individual incentive makes sense even if I don’t like it.
Regardless, this is a small group with lots of power. They show up, they make their voices heard, and younger people who live in apartments and work jobs during normal hours do not.
It is a faux-democracy, but those in power listen to the voices that are there despite the flaws.
If you can show up to some of these meetings and build a community of advocates in your town, you can make a huge difference. Many cities have local discords that help organize this kind of work. If you don’t have one, make one. You can spread the burden and begin to make alternative voices clear.
Even so, you won’t be able to make everything. Many of these types of meetings also have opportunities to provide email testimony. Take advantage of this! Build templates and share with your friends!
With these kinds of actions, you can begin to put policy objectives on the table and make your representatives aware of the need and the desire. In Saint Louis, we’ve seen advocacy grow for better bike lanes, reduced lot sizes, occupancy increases, ADU legalization, and much more in a short period of time. We’ve done a great job electing more YIMBY representatives, and it appears that our local advocacy groups have become a major cornerstone of this movement.
This takes work, but even a few people can make a huge difference.
Not sure where to get started? Comment below. Share with your friends. You can get this process started in your community.