Press

The below was issued to various press on 2018-09-06:

PRESS RELEASE

YIMBYtown 2018 comes to Boston September 20–23

Housing advocates aim to elevate coalition-building, affordability, anti-displacement in national meeting

September 5, 2018, Boston, MA – Several hundred housing activists from around the country will convene at Roxbury Community College this month as part of YIMBYTown 2018 to explore solutions to the spiralling housing costs choking major cities in North America — including Boston and its surrounding communities. Most YIMBYtown participants are local grassroots volunteers who consider themselves “YIMBYs” (“yes-in-my-backyard”) because they support building adequate housing for all people.

The theme of this year’s national meeting, which has been organized by a Massachusetts host committee, is to help leaders of the growing movement share effective strategies and policy ideas, as well as become more savvy coalition builders, communicators and listeners.

“One of the reasons the conference is being held in Roxbury is to underscore the fraught racial history of zoning and housing policy that has all too often limited where low-income people and communities of color can live,” said Beyazmin Jimenez, a member of the conference’s local planning committee. “This is a neighborhood impacted by the need for more affordable homes as well as displacement pressure.”

To that end, speakers include Rep. Chynah Tyler of Roxbury, Kristen Jeffers of the popular “The Black Urbanist” blog, Joey Lindstrom of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, and Angela Park, who is a national expert on equity and inclusion and who will conduct multiple workshop trainings for participants. Other speakers include Harvard professor and economist Ed Glaeser, along with over two dozen breakout sessions over two days.

For more information about the program and to register, please visit https://yimby.town/

Community scholarships are still available — apply here: http://yimby.town/scholarship/

The conference will close Sunday, September 23rd with a free event that is open to the public titled “Beyond our Backyards: Regional Thinking to Address the Housing Crisis”. This event features some of the most innovative local and state officials from around the Boston area, including: Janelle Chan, Undersecretary, Department of Housing & Community Development, Sheila Dillon, Chief of Housing and Director of Neighborhood Development for Boston, Mayor of Somerville, Joe Curtatone, Mayor of Salem, Kim Driscoll, and Mayor of Cambridge, Marc McGovern.

“We are committed to a respectful, open discussion with everyone to explore all the tools at our disposal to create more housing across a range of incomes,” says Jesse Kanson-Benanav, a member of the YIMBYtown host committee and founder of A Better Cambridge. “This is a big-tent conference that brings together creative thinkers on housing from across the ideological spectrum from socialists to libertarians.”

The overall goals of the conference are:

  • Unite the YIMBY movement
  • Improve collaboration with social justice allies
  • Facilitate peer-to-peer learning
  • Build and maintain a national YIMBY network
  • Amplify YIMBY research, opportunities, concerns and solutions

For more information and interviews please contact:

Jesse Kanson-Benanav
Chair, A Better Cambridge
[email protected]
(617) 863-0552

Andre Leroux
[email protected]
(617) 251-3861

Beyazmin Jimenez
[email protected]
(978) 973-4624

Jarred Johnson
[email protected]
(405) 923-8854

About YIMBYtown

YIMBYtown is the only national conference that brings together leaders of the emerging grassroots “Yes in My Backyard” movement, which includes pro-housing organizers, funders, builders and thought leaders. The purpose of this annual conference is to connect grassroots community organizers, political leaders, housing developers, and everyday people to identify problems, create solutions, share resources, and make an impact on housing crises within local, regional, and national markets. YIMBYtown is hosted by a committee of volunteer activists with support from local and state housing organizations.

For more information go to: https://yimby.town/ or follow us on Twitter@YIMBYtown and on Facebook

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The below was issued to various press on 2018-08-07:

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Vanessa Loney, YIMBYtown 2018
484-800-1299/[email protected]

YIMBYs TO HOST 3RD ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE

August 7, 2018, Boston, MA — A coalition of Boston-area YIMBYs are hosting the 3rd Annual YIMBYtown Conference at Roxbury Community College on September 20–23, 2018. YIMBYtown is an annual North American conference that brings together grassroots community organizers, political leaders, educators, housing developers, and everyday people to identify problems, create solutions, share resources on the issues that impact housing on local, state, and national levels. YIMBYtown is half conference half unconference, where anyone can submit talks and workshops, in addition to having one day of scheduled speakers, panels, and workshops. One of this year’s featured Keynote Speakers is Kristen Jeffers, an urban planner and advocate, and founder of The Black Urbanist: http://theblackurbanist.com/.

YIMBYtown is the place to bring activists, developers, urban planners, architects, policy makers, and elected officials together to work on addressing the housing crisis that affects people all over the world. Registration is open at https://yimby.town/register

The conference is hosted by a coalition of Boston-area YIMBY groups. Find out more at www.yimby.town or email [email protected] for further details.

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