By: Brian J. Connolly.
In response to the vexing U.S. housing crisis, over 100 cities have deregulated their zoning laws to allow more dwelling units, prompted in some cases by the pro-housing “Yes In My Backyard,” or YIMBY, movement. This trend counters longstanding antigrowth tendencies in many communities, challenging existing legal and political economy scholarship on zoning decision-making. This Article offers five hypotheses for why some cities have embraced more housing.