the once and future city planner // senior director at CALIFORNIA YIMBY // AICP // appalachian // #BBN# // author of hit broadway musical arbitrary lines
For 45 years, Berkeley built virtually no new housing. By the mid-2010s, it was the most expensive college town in America. Shortly thereafter, YIMBYs took over and kicked off a building boom. Today, nominal rents are below 2018 rates—remarkable progress on affordability.