This event is part three in the ongoing program series: Cracks in the YIMBY Consensus.  This series is co-sponsored by Village Preservation. Watch the recording of Part 1 and Part 2 on YouTube .

Our first two programs in this series examined the standard story that blames unaffordability on regulation and supply shortages, and we found some real cracks. This finding should have serious implications for how we approach affordable housing. But any policy reorientation should start with a more basic question: what should housing policy actually be trying to achieve?

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In Part 3 of Cracks in the YIMBY Consensus, we turn to this fundamental question with long-standing planner and activist Ron Shiffman, who argues that housing policy should primarily be judged by whether it builds strong, stable, and democratically governed communities, and not by whether it meets production targets. The guiding policy questions should be: Does it protect long-term affordability and prevent displacement? Does it make neighborhoods and the city more livable? And is someone accountable if it fails to achieve those goals or undermines them? 

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Join us as we discuss the ramifications of measuring housing success differently, not just by how much gets built, but by who can stay, by who gets a voice in planning, and by whether development strengthens or erodes its surrounding communities.​