The ‘Yes In My Backyard’ grants are designed to help cities identify the most effective avenues for increasing density and spurring more housing construction in historically reluctant neighborhoods.

An $85 million federal grant program included in the omnibus funding package passed late last year aims to counter NIMBY opposition to new housing development and help cities pass zoning reforms that encourage increased housing production, higher density, and transit-oriented development, writes Kery Murakami in Route Fifty.
According to the omnibus, HUD will award grants to cities that demonstrate ‘a commitment to overcoming local barriers to facilitate the increase in affordable housing production and preservation.’ Cities with ‘an acute demand’ for housing affordable to households below the median income in their area will also get preference for the grants.
A prior proposal by President Biden called for federal grants for cities that eliminate ‘exclusionary’ zoning laws, but it was not included in the bipartisan infrastructure law. “However, Biden in his budget request last March called for the creation of a $10 billion state and local grant program to encourage and support zoning changes that would allow more kinds of housing to go up in what are often largely white and wealthier neighborhoods.”
The federal initiative is partly modeled on a Washington state program that awards grants to cities “to examine how their zoning policies were restricting the supply of housing, as a shortage of homes contributed to sharply rising real estate prices.” The program yielded changes to zoning codes in Tacoma, Walla Walla, and other cities.
FULL STORY: The New Federal Grants to Help Cities Ditch 'NIMBY'-backed Zoning

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

Opinion: Transit Agencies Must View Service Cuts as Last Resort
Reducing service could cripple transit systems by pushing more riders to consider car ownership, making future recovery even less certain.

‘Smart Surfaces’ Policy Guide Offers Advice for Building and Maintaining Urban Tree Canopies
Healthy, robust tree canopies can reduce the impacts of extreme heat and improve air quality.

New Jersey Lawsuit Targets Rent-Setting Algorithms
The state of New Jersey is taking legal action against landlords and companies that engage in what the state’s Attorney General alleges is illegal rent fixing.
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