City of Yes

Cosmo Kramer is perhaps the world’s worst neighbor. Inconsiderate of personal space and prone to explode through Jerry Seinfeld’s door at any moment, he’s a caricature of what non-city people imagine urban life is like—loud, intrusive, literally on top of each other. On the other hand,

Once upon a time, everything in Austin was idyllic—perfect, even. The city flowed: limpid spring-fed waters rolled through Town Lake, traffic cruised past a modest skyline punctuated by the pink dome of the state capitol, and cheap booze, live music, and ragtag revelers spilled from dive bars onto open streets. Life was laid-back and low-cost in this la…

Some weeks back I found myself in an online discussion about the prominence of LGBTQ-identifying lawmakers in the “yes in my backyard” housing reform movement. California State Senator Scott Wiener may be the most well-known elected gay YIMBY, but the list also includes three governors—Jared Polis of Colorado, Tina Kotek of Oregon, and Maura Healey of M…

Less than 10 feet across at its widest point, 75 ½ Bedford Street in New York City’s West Village is considered the narrowest home in the city. Like the Hogwarts Express Platform 9 ¾ at London’s King Cross, the house manages to magically wedge 999 square feet of living space onto a sliver of land where it seems no house should fit at all. Yet, three flo…

What if we could make Americans 3% richer and end commercial real estate’s woes?

When, in August 2020, the owner of the Stand Up NY comedy club, James Altucher, declared that New York City was “dead forever,” few people found it funny. Roiling from a pandemic that had emptied offices, wiped out the hospitality industry, and spurred an

The sun came up Wednesday morning, but for many, no doubt, our proverbial American “shining city on a hill” had lost some of its luster. While the presidential election results have disappointed many city dwellers, the results in our actual, non-metaphorical cities show that the urban electorate also wanted something different—not a wholesale ideologica…