YIMBY

[yim-bee]

abbreviation

1. yes, in my backyard: used to express support by local citizens to the locating in their neighborhood of civic projects, such as the construction of new multiunit housing, the development of public transportation, or the rezoning of urban areas for mixed use, which other residents may view as detrimental to the neighborhood.

Word History and Origins

Origin of YIMBY¹

First recorded in 1995–2000

Example Sentences

Single-stair apartments may be alien in much of the United States, but “represent a building more like Brooklyn or Seville or Berlin or Paris,” said Ed Mendoza, a building code policy researcher at California YIMBY.

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“It’s almost impossible to go up against firefighters,” said Mendoza with California YIMBY.

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In past terms, he has successfully forced insurance companies to cover mental health the same way they cover physical health; pushed large companies to disclose their climate impact; and been one of the major proponents of “YIMBY” policies that make it easier to build housing.

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“The joke is that…Los Angeles does have an affordable-housing strategy: It’s called Phoenix,” said Matthew Lewis, a spokesman for California YIMBY, referring to a recent outflow of Californians to cities with lower housing costs.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“A lot of people don’t want California to change, but California is changing whether they want it to or not,” said Matt Lewis, spokesperson for California YIMBY, one of the bill’s sponsors.

Read more on Los Angeles Times