The Yes in My Backyard (YIMBY) movement has gained prominence in recent years,聽with branches in several cities, including Naarm/Melbourne.
YIMBYs聽present聽themselves聽as聽having a solution to the housing crisis. They slam any community wanting some controls over development as being聽NIMBYs聽(鈥渘ot in my backyard鈥) who are trying to prevent the construction of new housing to deal with the housing crisis.
But the YIMBY聽movement does not聽identify the real causes, let alone offer real solutions to the crisis.
It has nothing new to offer, only repackaging tired old arguments of聽supply and demand and .
YIMBYs characterize NIMBYs聽as older property owners who oppose toll-ways or high-rise apartment blocks because of the adverse affect on property values聽in their neighbourhood, while not opposing聽such developments聽in other neighbourhoods.
While NIMBYism聽exists,聽the term聽is more often used as a聽slur聽by governments, developers and YIMBYs against local communities who聽have legitimate concerns about聽development in their neighbourhoods.
The NIMBY slur is used to stop people seriously considering the聽genuine聽concerns raised by local communities.
The Docklands is one area of Naarm where the developers were given free rein to do what they wanted: it has led to a wind-swept, soulless landscape.
Only after people moved in, and clamoured for change, was some effort made to create a more people-friendly environment. But it is difficult to聽retrofit聽after a development: much better to plan for green space and sunlight before construction begins.
Democracy should mean that people have a聽genuine聽say over their neighbourhoods.
It is rare for local campaigns to be NIMBY focused, although some individuals may have that NIMBY outlook.
Essentially, the YIMBY movement aims to counter those seeking to rein in profit-driven developers.聽聽are established, or supported, by property developers, consultancy firms and the planning industry, opportunistically聽using calls for affordable housing to serve developers鈥 interests.
聽describes itself as a 鈥減eople-led鈥 and 鈥済rassroots鈥 organisation. However, it is aligned with United States-based think tank Center for New Liberalism, which supports a 鈥渃apitalist, market-based economy that promotes economic growth and nurtures innovation鈥.
links with developers are more obvious. The co-founder of YIMBY Qld is Nathalie Rayment who is the executive director of the聽Wolter Consulting Group, the Queensland-based urban planning and development聽consultancy. Rayment is also a member of the Property Council of Australia.
YIMBYs claim that the key to affordable housing is unbridled development, primarily in inner-city locations.
The housing crisis has been caused by many factors, with supply of housing stock being just one.
The YIMBY movement鈥檚 narrow focus on councils just needing to pass development applications in the inner city is striking. They聽do not oppose聽Victorian Labor鈥檚 plan to demolish the聽44 high-rise聽public housing聽estates聽in central Naarm. Nor do they oppose land-banking, the privatisation of land release or short-term rentals, such as Airbnb.
It is because YIMBYs are not genuinely interested in accessible housing for all 鈥 the only real solution to the housing crisis.
The YIMBY movement鈥檚 greenwashing of wealthy development corporations and NIMBY alarmism harms communities, especially working-class people and renters.
What鈥檚 causing the crisis?
YIMBYs explain the astronomical rise in housing costs as being caused by restrictions on developers preference for a particular height and density, or if a particular聽development has been rejected.
Housing justice advocates offer a better explanation for the housing crisis 鈥 chiefly the demolition of public housing by state governments and their refusal to build new public housing.
The decimation of public housing, including departments devoted to planning it, has had a major impact on the cost of housing.
YIMBYs also avoid talking about the privatisation of land release.聽When land is released,聽land speculators often trickle it out to the market to artificially inflate its cost.
Worse, developers often apply for permits 聽but, rather, to sell the land with a permit for an inflated price.聽Developers can sit on vacant blocks of land for many years, waiting for the price to go up before they sell: this is 鈥渓and banking鈥.
Even after apartments are built, investors often leave them empty.聽聽found that in Naarm, more than 27,000 homes, 1.5% of all dwellings, were left聽totally聽empty for the whole聽of聽2023,聽with a further 70,000 dwellings barely used.
In total, nearly 100,000 homes sat empty or under-used last year. This is enough vacant housing to give every single person on the Victorian public housing wait list a home.
The YIMBY鈥檚 argument that empty homes is a 鈥渕inor issue鈥 for housing affordability is a major weakness. Their narrow focus on supply means they miss the idea of a just distribution.
YIMBYs versus council
The Victorian government, outrageously, does not allow councils to set mandatory height limits, mandate environmental sustainability measures, accessibility standards or set a minimum affordable housing quota.
Councils routinely grant permits to developers.聽If the YIMBYs thought the open-slather granting of permits to developers was the route to cheap housing, there would already be heaps of apartments available for modest rents.
Developers should not be able to dictate the terms under which developments occur must be opposed.
聽will聽stand in the council elections. In inner-city councils, such as Merri-bek, they already regularly attend meetings to oppose conditions on permits, such as height limits.
After widespread community consultation, Merri-bek聽council adopted a聽鈥減referred height聽limit鈥澛爁or three major shopping centres.
Despite this, most planning applications exceed the preferred height limit and Merri-bek routinely allows this, setting a precedent for other developers to do the same. It means developers are setting height limits, rather than the community.
Real solutions
Today鈥檚 housing crisis derives from policies which deem housing to be a commodity, not a right. Governments must create inclusionary zoning that forces developers to include a聽minimum聽of聽30% public housing聽in聽every new development and mandate environmentally sustainable infrastructure and disability access: none should be discretionary.
New聽developments are needed to meet the needs of a growing population. But working-class people must be able to have a say over what development happens in their communities.
Creating liveable cities means preserving green space, maintaining the adequate separation of buildings, protecting heritage and the history of working-class struggles.
YIMBYs offer false hope to people who, desperate to buy, think that unrestricted development will lead to cheap housing: this is just not the case in a capitalist market.
It offers false hope and false solutions to the housing crisis: it attributes the lack of affordable housing to council regulations on developments,聽.
Public housing offers a genuine alternative. We need to fight for聽genuinely聽affordable and聽public聽housing and housing justice for all, and that means electing councillors who will do this.
[聽is a Socialist Alliance councillor in Merri-bek. She is seeking a fourth term at the Victorian council elections in October.]聽