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The Rise of YIMBY: Federal, State, and Local Regulatory Reform to Promote Development
August 05, 2026
Hailey E. Pedicano, Maximillian R. Mahalek
In recent years, a growing body of scholarship and national political thought is converging on government overregulation of local land use projects. Two recent books, Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress―and How to Bring It Back by Marc Dunkelman, and the New York Times’ Bestseller Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, discuss how the layers of procedural friction have made it extraordinarily difficult to build in the United States, constraining needed infrastructure development, and exacerbating the growing housing shortage. Indeed, there is a growing apolitical and social movement in the United States known as the YIMBY (the “Yes In My Backyard”) movement, primarily focused on building housing and infrastructure. At its core, YIMBY advocates argue that cities and states must build significantly more housing, particularly in high-demand areas, where supply has failed to keep pace with population and job growth. The YIMBY movement calls for political action to reshape the laws that have materially limited building, green infrastructure, and housing progress. Cuddy & Feder is following this movement closely, and is tracking the regulatory changes taking place at the national, state, and local levels to take advantage of same for its Clients. We work hard to move our clients’ projects through all layers of approval, to ensure that needed homes and infrastructure can be built faster. We are continuously tracking this trend to leverage the growing political sentiments, and most importantly, a growing number of federal, state, and municipal housing and development laws, in favor of achieving our Clients’ goals effectively. Read More >
Land Use, Zoning + Development, Real Estate
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