More and more U.S. cities and states are saying “yes, in my backyard” because they can hardly meet the housing needs of a growing population.

The “YIMBY” movement is a political attempt to solve the country’s problems. Housing shortage by increasing the supply of housing with strategies such as changing zoning and other regulations that limit housing density. The United States lacks millions of housing units to meet demand, according to the national nonprofit group Up for Growth.

Minneapolis resident Bernice Duncan was Looking for a new home with more space for more than five years. The telemedicine specialist works from home in a cramped two-bedroom apartment that she shares with her two adult sons.

“Not everyone can move around as freely as they would in a home or their own office,” Duncan said.

During her years-long search, real estate prices have skyrocketed, and with a monthly budget of $1,600 for the apartment, she says she can no longer afford it.

“It’s been an uphill battle,” Duncan said. “While the economy continues to grow, your salary is not growing,” she added. “You’re not going to pay less than $2,000.”

Yes to more living space

Twin-Cities YIMBY was founded in 2023 to advocate for policies that more affordable housing Options for people like Duncan. The group supports lifting zoning restrictions to allow for higher housing density throughout the Minneapolis area.

“Over the last five years, our median home price has increased by $100,000, which is a huge increase,” said Paige Kahle, a real estate agent who founded Twin Cities YIMBY with colleagues Nichole Hayden and Meghan Howard.

YIMBYs have built a coalition of housing advocates across the country to counter the so-called NIMBYs who say, “Not in my backyard.”

“I think it’s getting easier. But if you go to the local meetings, to the city council or planning commission meetings, you still see loud and well-organized NIMBYs who are often quite angry because they don’t want this kind of housing near them,” Kahle says.

But without a plan, Housing costs Kahle says the shortage is damaging the homeland Buyers and tenants even.

“They’re spending 50 percent of their income, 60 percent of their income on housing, which is just not sustainable,” she said. “We need more housing and we need it fast,” Kahle said. “Traditionally, we’ve addressed the housing crisis through subsidies, massive subsidies to bring down the cost of housing for people. But there’s just not enough subsidies in the world to do that. So we really need to look at these other mechanisms to increase density and bring down the cost of housing.”

Minneapolis 2040: The City Plan

Addressing these concerns is the goal of the Minneapolis 2040 comprehensive plan. Passed in 2018, the ambitious, bipartisan bill implemented historic zoning reforms to increase the number of available housing units, including:

The elimination of single-family-only zoning to allow the construction of duplexes, triplexes and quadruplexes in all neighborhoods. Minimum heights for new residential buildings in high-density zones. The elimination of minimum parking requirements for new housing developments.

The plan faces opposition from some homeowners who argue that increased density could diminish the character and charm of single-family home neighborhoods.

“Plan 2040 will damage the uniqueness and architectural heritage of many neighborhoods,” said one opponent during a meeting of the city planning commission in 2018.

Implementation of the plan was suspended in 2022 after environmental groups filed a lawsuit arguing that the plan could have serious unintended consequences for the environment. In May, a State Court of Appeal ruled to lift a preliminary injunction against the plan, and just last month the Minnesota Supreme Court denied a request for further review of the objections, clearing the way for the plan to move forward.

“People want a place to live, to raise their family, that is safe and affordable. So it’s been part of both the regional and national discussion,” said Alene Tchourumoff of the Federal Reserve in Minneapolis.

The Minneapolis Fed is using multiple data sources over the next decade to track the economic impact of these changes made under Plan 2040.

“We really wanted to better understand what impact the policy change would have, and we recognize that it often takes a long time for these important policy changes in housing to actually take effect,” Tchourumoff said.

There is some promising early data. According to a report from the Pew Charitable Trust, nearly 21,000 new housing units were approved in Minneapolis between 2017 and 2022—most of them in buildings with 20 or more units. During the same period, rents in the city rose just 1%—far less than the rest of Minnesota, where rents rose 14%.

Deregulation across the country

While Minnesota lawmakers are considering expanding these rezoning reforms statewide, other states such as California, Oregon, Massachusetts and Montana have already implemented similar YIMBY policies.

The changes in Minneapolis are already being felt by residents like Rebecca Hemmans, who became a first-time homeowner at age 67 after looking at nearly 100 listings.

“I had this dream of living in a single-family home and sitting on my porch with my table where there was lemonade and glasses for the neighbors to wave at,” Hemmans said.

To meet her budget, she decided to adapt her dream: instead of a single-family home, she bought a terraced house and is happy with the compromise.

“I don’t have to ask the landlord, ‘Hey, can I do this or that?'” she said. “If I want to paint my walls orange, I can do that.”

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