YIMBY News for 6/13

[Eric Budd]

Op-Ed: To Save Mandatory Housing Affordability, We Have to Recalibrate It

The Urbanist

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KEYWORD SCORE: 42.56. affordable, affordable housing, construction, density, development, growth, homeowner, housing, income, market-rate, occupancy, project, rent, renter, urban, zone, zoning

[image: Op-Ed: To Save Mandatory Housing Affordability, We Have to Recalibrate It] Seattle is in the midst of a housing production freeze, and it should alarm everyone who cares about affordability. In 2025, just *under 4,000 homes entered the city's permitting pipeline*, roughly a third of the pace Seattle sustained from 2018 through 2021. Because housing takes years to move from permit to occupancy, we are only beginning to feel the consequences. A frozen pipeline is bad for renters, aspiring homeowners, construction workers, and affordable housing alike. A development that never breaks grou

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Will the World Cup Fuel Arrests of Homeless People in Atlanta?

Next City

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KEYWORD SCORE: 38.52. affordable, affordable housing, apartment, construction, density, development, downtown, house, housing, project, public space, urban, walk

*This story was published in collaboration with *Shelterforce*, the only independent, non-academic publication covering the worlds of affordable housing, community development and housing justice.* Atlanta promises a welcoming World Cup for everyone. But just days before kickoff, homeless advocates worry the city lacks the safety net needed to keep unhoused residents from being displaced or jailed amid the influx of hundreds of thousands of visitors. The concern is not just that Atlanta lacks enough units to house everyone. (That’s typical of a major city grappling with mounting homelessness.)

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The Weekly Wrap: ICE Locks Down Funding Through 2029

Next City

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KEYWORD SCORE: 33.50. affordable, affordable housing, development, house, housing, income, parking, parking lot, project, rent, urban, zone

[image: The Weekly Wrap] President Donald Trump holds up a bill funding immigration enforcement after signing it in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Washington. (Photo by Julia Demaree Nikhinson / AP) *Welcome back to The Weekly Wrap, our Friday roundup of stories that explain the problems oppressing people in cities and elevate the solutions that bring us closer to economic, environmental, and social justice. If you enjoy this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague and tell them to subscribe.* ------------------------------ Trump Delivers Even More Fun

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King County Approves 0.1% Sales Tax Bump to Aid County Roads

The Urbanist

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KEYWORD SCORE: 24.03. bike lane, growth, project, rent, transportation, urban, walk

[image: King County Approves 0.1% Sales Tax Bump to Aid County Roads] Members of the King County Council tapped into a long-dormant source of funding to provide a lifeline for the county's road services division on Friday, teeing up a 0.1% sales tax hike that will take effect on January 1. The new funding stream will provide around $90 million per year for road maintenance and safety upgrades in East King County, but also in areas like White Center, Skyway, and Vashon Island. The final vote was a thin 5-4, a testament to broad reluctance to the idea of turning to additional sales tax increases

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Sound Transit Says Reports of Ballard Link's Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

The Urbanist

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KEYWORD SCORE: 23.78. affordable, construction, downtown, house, project, rent, transportation, urban

[image: Sound Transit Says Reports of Ballard Link's Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated] Should Seattleites be despondent about Ballard light rail, in the wake of a newly adopted Sound Transit system expansion plan that leaves much of the long-promised line unfunded? The regional transit agency's top leadership say no, bringing a cadre of transit reporters into Sound Transit headquarters earlier this week in the hopes of assuaging concerns and laying out what they see as a viable path to get to Market Street in Ballard. With the much-publicized $34.5 billion shortfall now in the rearview mir

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Most Cities Are Getting More Dangerous for Pedestrians. How Did Orlando Buck the Trend?

Next City

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KEYWORD SCORE: 19.78. growth, income, parking, project, rent, transportation, urban, vision zero, walk

A city street is seen closed for repairs and upgrades, Thursday, April 1, 2021, in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by John Raoux / AP) Sixty-eight-year-old John Oakes took the same walk every afternoon circling his small community of Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. On Aug. 1, 2024, as the hot summer sun trickled through Spanish moss, his daughter Chrissy spoke to him on the phone before he embarked on his daily stroll. Two days later, she signed her father’s Do Not Resuscitate order. John Oakes had been hit by a Buick going 55 mph on Highway 17 as he was crossing near Wesley Road. He’d been walking a

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