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NEWS


We organized a campaign for those who thought a new building in East London would be an improvement, and it was approved.

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The RTPI’s The Planner featured an article on street votes by Mustafa Latif-Aramesh of BDP Pitmans, explaining how they could help to add more homes.


In Australia, Planning Xchange’s Jess Noonan and Peter Jewell spoke with John Myers and Michael Hendrix about YIMBY and community-driven ways to add more homes around the world.

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Sean Keyes wrote in The Currency (paywalled) about the potential of street plans for Ireland


Housing Today featured an article: ‘The rise of the YIMBY brings hope for the next generation’, mentioning London YIMBY, Priced Out, Generation Rent and YIMBY Alliance.


Interest in street votes is getting increasingly international, with an article by Eoin O’Malley in the Irish Independent and an op-ed by San Jose Planning Commission member Pierluigi Olivierio, after an article by our own John Myers in Bloomberg CityLab.


A new report entitled Strong Suburbs promoting community-led densification, including Better Streets (‘street votes’), won support from a wide range of society, including the immediate past president of RIBA, two planning QCs, the London Forum of Amenity and Civic Societies, the Head of Policy at the RTPI and politicians from a range of parties. It also won extensive media coverage.

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Irish national TV channel RTE’s London correspondent Sean Whelan covered YIMBY ideas on the lunch and prime time news, explaining the need for more homes, community-led decisions to allow more homes by street and by block, the new Policy Exchange proposals and the On the RISE project in London (click through for video link).


Source: google maps

Source: google maps

We wrote a submission to Historic England with PricedOut and YIMBY Alliance to oppose the listing of an unremarkable 1979 building in Camden which would have prevented the construction of 50 new homes for families in need.


With hours to go before the deadline to respond to the Government White Paper, John Myers talked to BBC News about the importance of plentiful, well-designed, affordable housing and to encourage everyone to help the Government improve its proposals.



John Myers appeared on a panel with Kate Henderson of the National Housing Federation and Bob Blackman MP to discuss the housing crisis and intergenerational unfairness, hosted by The Spectator


We made a joint submission with Brighton YIMBY to the Suburban Taskforce


Times Radio’s John Pienaar interviewed John Myers, before the new planning reforms were announced

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Anya Martin wrote about the YIMBY movement and the importance of building more homes in Red Brick Blog


John Myers reviewed the latest Centre for Cities research and explored how we might find popular ways to get to more housing and better planning system.


A new report from the Royal Town Planning Institute agrees that ‘microdemocracy’ to let small groups of residents choose to allow more building and share the benefits, as we recommend, could be ‘fruitful’!


John Myers explained the links between the housing crisis, coronavirus and the economy in ecnmy.org


Anya Martin and John Myers featured in a BBC News piece about YIMBY and the potential to add more homes in low-density areas.


In a new report, Centre for Cities endorsed trials of our suggestions to let residents on a single street or block opt in to permission to do more with their plots, subject to a design code.



Nick Whitaker and John Myers wrote a guest piece about California’s housing crisis and how our ideas might help get more and better homes.


The answer to the housing crisis is YIMBY, writes influential U.S. economist Tyler Cowen on the global Bloomberg news service, mentioning London YIMBY and endorsing our proposal to try letting residents of a single street decide to allow more housing to address the housing crisis.


Robert Jenrick, the new Secretary of State for Housing is a quiet radical (CapX).


Has Jacob Rees-Mogg just come out as a YIMBY? In an astonishing development, Jacob Rees-Mogg (!) has endorsed many YIMBY arguments, including letting local residents of a street take the lead on setting designs and allowing more housing, writing in the Sunday Telegraph. His new IEA report with Dr Radomir Tylecote expressly thanks London YIMBY. In turn we would like to thank the small army of YIMBY volunteers, allies and supporters who make this sort of thing possible! You can read a summary in Citymetric.


Announcing the launch of our Better Streets trial!

As featured in the Sunday Times


We explored how many of the prettiest parts of London have grown up organically over time, in the London Society journal. Join them to get a free copy.


Radio New Zealand featured a full-length interview about London YIMBY.



We were quoted in George Hammond’s Financial Times article about nimbyism in London:

“There’s physical scope to add vastly more homes. If London had as many homes per square mile as Kensington and Chelsea, it would have [at least] double the number of homes,” says John Myers, whose organisation London Yimby (yes in my back yard) advocates for more homes in London and for the extension of existing properties.

“Change is most likely to come from central government — they could write this into law tomorrow. You’re swimming against a very strong tide . . . but I’m optimistic that we will get there.”


We co-signed a letter by Onward with Shelter, JRF, Crisis Generation Rent, Create Streets and others, calling for reform to allow communities to better share the benefits of new development to get more widespread support for building enough homes.

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Petrie Hosken interviewed John Myers of London YIMBY on BBC Radio London on 14th August 2018 about our shortage of homes and the need to build many more.


Director of the new FREER initiative, Rebecca Lowe, called for reform to make more land available for housing, citing Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh and London YIMBY


Read a YIMBY take on the surprisingly pro-housing new book from Shaun Spiers, former Chief Executive of the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

CAPX REVIEW OF SHAUN SPIERS' BOOK

CAPX REVIEW OF SHAUN SPIERS' BOOK


In a thrilling recognition of our activities to persuade HM Treasury, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss, said she was ‘heartened’ by our work.


People wouldn’t clamour so much to be homeowners if we kept housing costs under control, our co-founder John Myers argues in CapX.


Our research and proposals were extensively cited by Create Streets in their new report, From NIMBY to YIMBY.


Madeline Grant of the Institute of Economic Affairs called for our Better Streets and other reforms, writing in the Telegraph.


The Prime Minster appointed a new housing adviser, Toby Lloyd, who previously worked at Shelter. We reviewed his book in CapX.


The Financial Times quoted us arguing that young people are being needlessly and unfairly priced out of cities with good job opportunities.


The Telegraph's Refresh series of pieces by young people included the suggestion to adopt our Better Streets idea to let people vote to improve their own street and add more housing. 


The Taxpayer’s Alliance called for our Better Streets idea.


The excellent On London website published our explanation of our new trial.

Let's give londoners the power to build more homes in their streets

Let's give londoners the power to build more homes in their streets


CapX published our explanation why there really is a housing crisis, despite what some would have you believe, and why there are plenty of things to do about it while creating a better country for everyone.

Yes, we do have a housing crisis – john myers in capx

Yes, we do have a housing crisis – john myers in capx


ITV London interviewed John Myers of London YIMBY and Anna Minton about how to solve London’s housing crisis.

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Ollie Wiseman wrote an insightful piece in CapX, picking up our arguments about the political challenges of solving the housing crisis, the economic damage it causes, and our Better Streets idea as a potential way forward.


Amazing coverage in the Evening Standard of the HTA Design Fitzroofs project described in our report...

FITZROOFS PROJECT DESCRIBED IN OUR REPORT, BY HTA DESIGN LLP

FITZROOFS PROJECT DESCRIBED IN OUR REPORT, BY HTA DESIGN LLP


... and a page length interview about the YIMBY movement!

 
 

Jack May’s insightful article in Progress said that London YIMBY ‘are doing fascinating things setting out how [better planning] could work, and we must keep involving them more in policy conversations.’


Vera Kichanova wrote about civil liberty and public places, citing our report.


CapX published our reaction to the Government's new policies on housing.


George Eaton wrote a brilliant article in the New Statesman about the YIMBY movement:

‘... But the nimby has now met its dialectical opposite: the yimby. In contrast to their opponents, yimbys not merely tolerate but welcome development (“yes in my backyard”). The earliest known usage of yimby was in a 1988 New York Times article (“Coping in the Age of Nimby”) and the first organisation was founded in 2007 (Yimby Stockholm). Sister groups have since been established in Toronto, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Sydney, Helsinki and, most recently, London. ...’


The Economist published our letter

John's letter in the economist, November 2017

John's letter in the economist, November 2017


“Wake up NIMBYs”

Allister Heath advocates more housebuilding and highlights London YIMBY, writing in the Telegraph (partly paywalled)


Our first report is out!

It has been covered by the Guardian, CapX, BBC1, BBC London Radio, Julia Hartley-Brewer on Talk Radio, Sky Radio, the Sun, the Times and the RTPI.

Please let us know what you think on Twitter or Facebook, or contact us!


Oxford yimby has launched!

Oxford yimby has launched!

Oxford YIMBY

The London YIMBY team has been delighted to help the launch of Oxford YIMBY, working to make the city of dreaming spires better and more affordable


Our estimate of the damage done to the economy by the housing crisis was cited by Rory Meakin in CityMetric.


London Society

The London Society featured a guest post by John Myers, co-founder of London YIMBY


YIMBY drinks meetup

We had a great time at the first YIMBY drinks meetup on May 11th

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cambridge yimby has launched!

cambridge yimby has launched!

Cambridge YIMBY

London YIMBY was proud to encourage the launch of Cambridge YIMBY in February 2017


Green Belt Debate

The London Society kindly invited us to send a speaker to their debate on how to make the Green Belt fit for the 21st century


More coverage for our report, in The Planner


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