Evaluating Public Meeting Commenting
Summary
Endemic high housing costs in the United States have exacerbated inequality, dampened economic growth, and led to political backlash. An academic and popular consensus points to an undersupply of housing as the main culprit driving high prices. This undersupply, in turn, is due to regulations, primarily at the municipal level, that restrict high-density housing outright and create opportunities for opponents of new development to advocate against proposed projects. In response to an advocacy arena dominated by NIMBY (not in my back yard) voices, new interest groups advocating for new development have emerged in the last decade to present a pro-housing voice in local government policy debates. A central strategy of these YIMBY (yes in my back yard) groups is to organize volunteers to attend public hearings where proposed developments seek discretionary permits and to advocate for their approval. We propose a collaboration between YIMBY Action and Drs. Sahn and Hankinson (academic partners) to design and implement an RCT (randomized control trial) to measure the effect of public comment campaigns by YIMBY chapters on housing approvals.