If you suggest there’s a housing crisis in the Bay Area or other major US cities, you’ll probably get a chorus of agreement. But suggest that the solution requires building more housing, and you’re kicking a hornet’s nest.

The ones currently doing the kicking are the YIMBYs, a loosely allied collection of pro-development housing advocates whose name plays on the acronym NIMBY (“Not In My Backyard”), replacing the “Not” with an emphatic “Yes.” If we want to rein in skyrocketing living costs in cities like San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Portland, and Austin, YIMBYs believe that higher-density cities aren’t just an acceptable future, but an essential one. These urban activists share a few basic assertions: Housing costs are primarily a supply issue, density equals livability, vitality, and lower environmental impact, and solving the crisis means more development, now.

The unexpected solution to America’s affordable housing crunch – qz.com