Podcast appearances and mentions of sonja trauss

On this episode of Infill, Gillian Pressman talks with two powerhouse voices: Sonja Trauss, founder of the YIMBY movement and Executive Director of YIMBY Law, and Misha Chellam, founder of the Abundance Network. Together, they unpack the transformative idea of “abundance,” sparked by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's new book. They explore what resources it takes to build abundance and how we can build the political power to make a future of abundance our reality. You'll hear thoughts on how YIMBY and Abundance movement leaders are creating systems that empower local advocates to get involved in politics, how different kinds of people in your movement can help you win, and the benefits of various approaches to building power. Whether you're new to the YIMBY movement or deep in the policy trenches, this episode will inspire you to think bigger, act bolder, and advocate harder for a future of abundance for all of us. Read the Your Role in Abundance Substack article: https://modernpower.substack.com/p/your-role-in-abundanceLearn more about the Abundance Network: https://www.abundancenetwork.com/Learn more about YIMBY Action: https://yimbyaction.org/Follow YIMBY Action on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/yimbyaction.bsky.socialFollow YIMBY Action on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yimbyaction/

In this episode of Infill, YIMBY Action Board member Sonja Trauss speaks with Zellnor Myrie, New York State Senator, and mayoral candidate, to discuss why New York housing policies matter far beyond city limits. They discuss how the NYC housing shortage impacts the national economy, what plans Myrie has to enact bold YIMBY policies across the state, and why voters across the country should care about the outcome of this pivotal race. Zellnor shares his housing platform and unpacks his thoughts on everything from rent stabilization to affordable housing supply to mixed-income public housing and the future of short-term rentals. Tune in to hear his ambitious vision to make New York more affordable, equitable, and opportunity-rich for everyone. If you want to hear more about what kinds of actions leaders in large cities can and should be thinking about to tackle our national housing shortage, give this episode a listen! Learn more about Zellnor's campaign: https://www.zellnor.nyc/Learn more about YIMBY Action: https://yimbyaction.org/Follow YIMBY Action on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/yimbyaction.bsky.socialFollow YIMBY Action on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yimbyaction/

In this episode of Infill, YIMBY Law's Executive Director, Sonja Trauss, sits down with Sara Bronin—architect, attorney, professor, and author—for a deep dive into the rules that shape where and how we live. They discuss findings from the National Zoning Atlas, the power of local zoning codes, and how land use policy affects everything from housing affordability and environmental sustainability to food systems and even nightlife. Tune in to hear how zoning has been used to block housing, how it's tied to segregation and climate change, and how rethinking it at all levels of government could unlock more equitable and livable communities. Sonja and Sara also discuss what it's like to build a nationwide zoning map, why seemingly small rules like minimum unit sizes matter, and how advocates everywhere can put zoning data to work to create more abundant housing for all of us! Tune in to hear the discussion. Read Key to the City:  https://wwnorton.com/books/key-to-the-cityLearn more about the National Zoning Atlas: https://www.zoningatlas.org/Learn more about YIMBY Action: https://yimbyaction.org/Follow YIMBY Action on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/yimbyaction.bsky.socialFollow YIMBY Action on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yimbyaction/

Affordable housing is a persistent challenge in American politics. Bad public policy leads to artificial housing supply restrictions which causes prices to rise. But stimulating housing supply to bring costs down is a thorny issue. The latest episode of Giving Ventures brings together Sonja Trauss from Yes in My Backyard and Charles Gardner from the Mercatus Center to explore how grassroots […]

Affordable housing is a persistent challenge in American politics. Bad public policy leads to artificial housing supply restrictions which causes prices to rise. But stimulating housing supply to bring costs down is a thorny issue. The latest episode of Giving Ventures brings together Sonja Trauss from Yes in My Backyard and Charles Gardner from the Mercatus Center to explore how grassroots advocacy and deregulation can make housing more abundant and more affordable. Sonja is the Founder and Executive Director of Yes in My Backyard (YIMBY), a grassroots organization that aims to address the housing shortage by advocating for policies that promote affordable housing. Charles is a Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center, where he explores housing policy, zoning, and land use. He brings a legal background and experience as an elected official in Connecticut to his work on housing policy.

Owning a home is the cornerstone of the American dream, but an affordability crisis is making it a distant fantasy for many. The presidential candidates are taking notice. Sonja Trauss is a key activist in the YIMBY movement (“Yes in My Backyard”), and says the solution is pretty simple: Build more homes. Getting that done isn't so easy. Audie sits down with Trauss in Southern California — ground zero for the housing shortage — to talk about the origins of the problem and potential solutions.  Watch a version of our conversation here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of the Infill Podcast, YIMBY Law's Executive Director Sonja Trauss speaks with author Max Podemski about his new book "A Paradise of Small Houses: The Evolution, Devolution, and Potential Rebirth of Urban Housing." In his book, Podemski discusses the history of housing in the United States and the factors that drove housing production in our country's early days. Although today Americans typically view single-family detached homes as our American dream, Podemski tells the story of immigrants and working class communities whose dreams of dense, multi-family homes served as expressions of American ingenuity and social mobility. By looking at the history of cities like Boston and its triple deckers, or Los Angeles and its bungalow courts, we can see how the kinds of homes that cities are known for are tied to the the motivating factors for what types of housing was prioritized and why.  These lessons are particularly valuable today as our nation faces as shortage of homes, and Americans are seeking solutions for how to solve it. Our ideals about what kinds of homes should be prioritized in American culture are intrinsically tied to our historical views of class and race. Podemski's book gives us a unique lens into how these views have shaped our communities today. Tune in to hear more from Sonja Trauss and Max Podemski about "A Paradise of Small Houses," the history of housing in the US, and how our history is impacting us now. Learn more about YIMBY Action: https://yimbyaction.org/Follow YIMBY Action on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yimbyaction/Get the book: https://www.beacon.org/A-Paradise-of-Small-Houses-P2037.aspxArea Median Income Lookup: https://ami-lookup-tool.fanniemae.com/

America doesn't have enough homes. The “yes in my backyard”, or YIMBY, movement believes that making it easier to build is the best solution. To what extent would building more help solve America's housing problem?John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Daniel Knowles. They're joined by YIMBY activist Sonja Trauss and law professor Michael Allan Wolf. The Economist's Stevie Hertz reports from New York. Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer.You will not be charged until Economist Podcasts+ launches. If you're already a subscriber to The Economist, you'll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

America doesn't have enough homes. The “yes in my backyard”, or YIMBY, movement believes that making it easier to build is the best solution. To what extent would building more help solve America's housing problem?John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Daniel Knowles. They're joined by YIMBY activist Sonja Trauss and law professor Michael Allan Wolf. The Economist's Stevie Hertz reports from New York. Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer.You will not be charged until Economist Podcasts+ launches. If you're already a subscriber to The Economist, you'll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For 40 years, California has analyzed upcoming housing needs based on populations across its cities and required all local governments to submit plans to illustrate how they will contribute more housing in their areas to help the State meet its housing goals. This is called the California housing elements process. Despite the fact that submitting a compliant housing element is part of state law, NIMBY cities have continued to lie about where they plan to build housing in their plans—  or have decided to not attempt to submit a plan at all. Now, YIMBYs have stepped in.With the growing set of eyes on each city to help alleviate the housing shortage, YIMBY Action and YIMBY Law are inviting all property owners to take matters into their own hands using a tool called the Builder's Remedy. The Builder's Remedy is a California state law that forces cities with non-compliant housing elements to automatically approve any housing project as long as at least 20% of the homes are low-income or 100% of them are moderate-income.Get a deep dive from our Executive Directors, Laura Foote and Sonja Trauss, and Emeryville Vice Mayor Courtney Welch about how California cities have been handling their housing elements processes, the consequences for noncompliant cities, and how property owners can take advantage of this open season on state zoning policies. Learn more about the Builder's Remedy: https://www.yimbylaw.org/buildersremedyFollow Vice Mayor Courtney Welch: https://twitter.com/cw4emeryvilleFollow YIMBY Law on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Yimby_LawFollow YIMBY Law on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YIMBYLawLearn more about YIMBY Action: https://yimbyaction.org/Follow YIMBY Action on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yimbyaction/

In this episode, Sonja Trauss joins us to talk about the YIMBY movement and its overnight success. Sonja helps us understand the history and future of this movement. Frustrated by high rents in San Francisco, Sonja Trauss started taking part in local planning meetings in 2014 to stand up for more house construction and taller buildings. That led her to co-found the YIMBY movement (yes in my backyard) a political action committee, and YIMBY Law, a nonprofit Trauss runs to advocate for development projects in San Francisco that are affordable, inclusive and have multi-family units. What started as a small act of civic virtue has grown into a national movement. We dive deep into the YIMBY movement, all the way back from when it began till actual date, their massive wins around buildings and more abundant housing and the use of law to impel these wins. Dive in! You will learn about the YIMBY movement and how to fight for abundant housing that is affordable, inclusive and sustainable as well! SUPPORT US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/rhyslindmark JOIN OUR DISCORD: https://discord.gg/PDAPkhNxrC Who is Sonja Trauss? Sonja is the Co-Founder of Yes In My Back Yard (YIMBY Action) and YIMBY Law, enforcing state housing law, making housing more affordable and accessible. Legal enforcement arm of YIMBY Action. Topics: Welcome Sonja Trauss to The Rhys Show!: (00:00:00) Goal for listeners: (00:02:43) Catalyzing moment that made Sonja push back against the state & start housing: (00:03:12) Where does Sonja's fire to fight come from: (00:10:29) What YIMBY was like ten years ago: (00:16:14) Coming to the idea that we need abundant housing production and how did the word YIMBY appear: (00:21:00) About “burrowing the owl”: (00:26:04) Actual state of YIMBY movement : (00:27:31) Legal side of YIMBY movement: role judicial plays vs executive or legislative: (00:32:57) PROPE E vs. PROP E: how does Sonja respond to folks that are “more affordable housing people”: (00:40:42) Overrated & underrated questions: (00:45:38) Wrap-up: (00:47:42) Mentioned resources: How Burrowing Owls Lead to Vomiting Anarchists or S.F.'s Housing Crisis Explained Connect with Sonja Trauss: Twitter: https://twitter.com/sonjatrauss Twitter YIMBY Action: https://twitter.com/yimbyaction Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonja-trauss-02002968 IG: https://www.instagram.com/sonjatraussd6/?hl=en FB: https://www.facebook.com/sonjatrauss/ YIMBY web: https://www.yesinmybackyard.org/team

Why must the good die young? This year, California Assemblymember Alex Lee introduced the California Social Housing Act (AB 2053). YIMBY Action sponsored the bill, organized in support of it, and worked with fellow supporting organizations to get it passed. The bill got through several hurdles but ultimately died in the legislature several months ago. In this episode of Infill, Sonja Trauss, one of the founding members of the YIMBY movement, sits down with Paul Williams, founder of the Center for Public Enterprise. They discuss social housing, details about the California Social Housing Act, and why the bill died.  Links: Read about the California Social Housing Act: https://www.californiasocialhousing.org/Read the full Social Housing Bill: https://trackbill.com/bill/california-assembly-bill-2053-the-social-housing-act/2226585/ Follow Paul Williams on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PEWilliams_Follow the Center for Public Enterprise on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PubEnterpriseLearn more about the Center for Public Enterprise: https://www.publicenterprise.org/ Follow Sonja Trauss on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SonjaTraussLearn more about YIMBY Action: https://yimbyaction.org/Follow YIMBY Action on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Instagram: https://instagram.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Facebook: https://facebook.com/yimbyaction/

This week we're highlighting an episode created by our friends at Urbanarium City Talks, from their Should I Stay Or Should I Go? podcast. This series follows Jenny Tan on her mission to figure out how to keep on living in Vancouver, as she explores the housing crisis from her trailer home in the Westend. Throughout the series, Jenny asks Sonja Trauss, president of YIMBY, journalist/writer Sam Cooper, developers Heather Tremain, Tony Pappajohn and Leslie Shieh, Andy Yan, director of SFU's City Program and her mom, should she stay or should she go? She is asking you too. If you like the episode, make sure to listen to the rest of the series at https://urbanarium.org/should-i-stay-or-should-i-go

The answer might surprise you. Sonja Trauss is the president of YIMBY Law in California, a non-profit that sues cities for not obeying their own housing laws. She explains why all across North America and not just in Vancouver, it's so hard to build the homes we need. 

Jenny Tan is on a mission to figure out how to keep on living in Vancouver and so explores the housing crisis from her trailer home in the Westend.  She asks Sonja Trauss, president of YIMBY, journalist/writer Sam Cooper, developers  Heather Tremain, Tony Pappajohn and Leslie Shieh, Andy Yan, director of SFU's City Program and her mom, should she stay or should she go? She is asking you too. 

Last week, YIMBY Law announced three lawsuits against San Francisco and Los Angeles for not approving general plan compliant housing projects. Join YIMBY Action Executive Director Laura Foote and YIMBY Law Executive Director Sonja Trauss discuss the ins and outs of these lawsuits, some of the reasons cities give for not approving housing projects, and how you can be involved in holding your city accountable too. Links: Think your city is breaking a housing law? Submit it here: https://www.yimbylaw.org/submit-issueSee the full press release about the lawsuits on YIMBY Law's website: https://www.yimbylaw.org/pressDonate to YIMBY Law to help keep up enforcement! https://www.yimbylaw.org/donateFollow YIMBY Law on Twitter for their hot takes and city shenanigan updates: https://twitter.com/Yimby_LawFollow YIMBY Law on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YIMBYLaw/ Learn more about YIMBY Action: https://yimbyaction.org/Follow YIMBY Action on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Instagram: https://instagram.com/yimbyaction/Follow YIMBY Action on Facebook: https://facebook.com/yimbyaction/

Sonja Trauss is the founder and executive director of YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard). “NIMBYism is something that arises instinctively in response to a proposed change. People just do it. They want it. They have the feeling. They trust their feelings: ‘This feels bad; it IS bad.' [...] That's what we're going against: How do we help people feel OK with change? How do we help people process it?” Notes and references from this episode:  @sonjatrauss, Twitter YIMBYLaw.org - Yimby Law home page   Golden Gates, by Conor Dougherty “SB 9 ruin your neighborhood” - Google search Sept. 28 statement on California housing legislation, Office of the Governor  “Why did S.F. supervisors vote against a project to turn a parking lot into 500 housing units?”, by J.K. Dineen, San Francisco Chronicle “Why state lawmakers are fired up over a derailed S.F. housing project,” by Alexei Koseff, San Francisco Chronicle “The Last Days Inside Trailer 83,” by Hannah Dreier, The Washington Post  ===== Theme music by Sounds Supreme Twitter: @WhatCalifornia Substack newsletter: whatiscalifornia.substack.com Support What is California? on Patreon: patreon.com/whatiscalifornia   Email: hello@whatiscalifornia.com Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And if you liked What is California?, please rate and review What is California? on Apple Podcasts! It helps new listeners find the show.

Sam Moss joins the Beacon team to discuss proposals in state and local government to speed up affordable housing production. Why is it so expensive to build inexpensive housing, and why are the politics of permitting so thorny? Notorious YIMBY gadfly Sonja Trauss joins the podcast to discuss the potential for building municipal social housing in lieu of neoliberal workarounds. The issue is complex, but one thing is clear: everyone is mad.

What's mightier, redistributing land vs building more housing? Are these ideologies necessarily at ends, and what's their respective roles in the current housing scene? Sonja Trauss of SFBARF/SF YIMBY/CaRLA makes the case that georgists are too focused on taxing the land to see that zoning needs reformed. Other topics are broached, from property rights, political orgs, and whether sweeping wealth redistribution is needed (we quickly agree it is).

The Beacon boys join Diego's former boss, housing activist gadfly Sonja Trauss, to discuss recent homeless shelter proposals and transit density legislation. Along the way, they bump into issues of environmental law, Beto's prog rock destiny, and lobsters.

Sonja made hand-drawn posters for an extremely niche issue in the Tenderloin. Meanwhile in the Sunset, the race is polling as a four-way tie. What?! And Laura gets phone-banked for a non-YIMBY-endorsed campaign that... can't think of any actual talking points. All this and more as we prepare for Election Day, with Laura Foote, Sam Moss, and special guest Ben Libbey, who's working as the volunteer coordinator for Sonja Trauss's campaign. Read the YIMBY Endorsements Share the YIMBY Endorsements on VoterCircle Sign up to get out the vote this last weekend!

We talk with Sonja Trauss and Brent Gaisford about the rise of the YIMBY movement. Trauss is founder of the San Francisco Bay Area Renters' Federation, and a candidate for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, District 6. Gaisford is a Los Angeles housing activist and director of the YIMBY group Abundant Housing LA.

San Francisco District Six Candidate Sonja Trauss is a prominent housing activist who started the YIMBY movement and is running to bring a pro-housing voice to the Board of Supervisors. Trauss is often described as tenacious, outspoken and blunt. The question with her is how those qualities will translate into the board's chambers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A chat with Sonja Trauss and Theo Ellington, candidates to represent SoMa, Dogpatch, Bayview and other east-side neighborhoods that together are building 80% of San Francisco's new housing. Sonja, who regular listeners know by now, catches us up on her campaign. She blows our minds with the stats on where new housing is concentrated, how she hopes to change that to allow Affordable Housing everywhere, and her plans to wage war on cars for safer District 6 streets. Then (starting at 23:44) Theo tells us about his experiences growing up in the Bayview, his plans to better connect District 10, build more housing and push for development equity citywide, as well as his lawsuit over the discovery of radium 50 yards from his Shipyard home. Sonja Trauss for Supervisor Theo Ellington for Supervisor Share the rest of the YIMBY endorsements!

Laura and Sam run through YIMBY Action's major endorsements for November 6th. Then, at 12:42, we talk to Trevor McNeil, a schoolteacher, parent, and pro-housing candidate for District 4, the Central and Outer Sunset. It's the first in a series of interviews with YIMBY-endorsed candidates. We forgot to list off the neighborhoods that constitute District 6, where Sonja Trauss is running; she would represent SoMa, the Tenderloin, Mission Bay and Treasure Island. See all the YIMBY Endorsements for November 2018 Support Trevor McNeil's campaign Join YIMBYs tomorrow, Saturday 9/29 at a day of action for Trevor McNeil

Sonja Trauss discusses her campaign for the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco, YIMBYism and how her Economics education influenced her political views.

If you live in a major city, you probably know that the rent is “too damn high.” What if the city’s rental affordability crisis were in your hands? Would you do something about it? We think you might, and that’s why you’ll want to hear from the one renter who’s taking on big-city politics and showing us all how it’s done.   In this episode, we get down to the grassroots of housing advocacy with Sonja Trauss.

San Francisco Planning Commissioner Christine Johnson gives us an insider perspective on all those hearings we've been tweeting from. How did she find herself on the Planning Commission? Is this how it ends? We hope not, because we're huge fans! With regular YIMBYs Laura Clark of Grow San Francisco, Sonja Trauss of Bay Area Renters Federation, and Silvia Mahan.

Laura Clark, Sonja Trauss and Silvia Mahan dig into a few of the more interesting ballot propositions. They pull no punches and dive into the weeds in this very opinionated podcast. The gang covers Propositions D, H, L, M, P, U, and X. Political personalities and urban policy blend into a fascinating analysis of our upcoming November election. Special guest Milo Trauss, who is now working for the No on DHLM campaign.

Sonja Trauss is the head of the San Francisco Bay Area Renters’ Federation (SFBARF), which promotes the development of market rate housing and looks to find ways to combat San Francisco’s housing crisis. In this interview, we chat about local zoning laws and their effect on the crisis, why density is important, and what inclusionary housing means. Read full show notes and more at verticalcity.org/podcast/23-sonja-trauss. Vertical City is building a foundation for a sustainable urban future. If you enjoyed this podcast, or you would like to learn more about urbanism, sustainability, innovation and large-scale architecture, visit us at www.verticalcity.org.

One day, Sonja decided to head down to City Hall to testify in favor of apartment buildings for the people who hadn't yet moved to San Francisco. She was a schoolteacher who had moved to the Bay Area from Philadelphia for economic opportunity and was shocked by the reflexive opposition to new housing. In the podcast, Sonja talks about why urban housing matters, but it's even more fascinating to listen to Sonja's intuitive, fearless, and funny take on how to organize on a controversial issue. And this YIMBY thing is taking off. She's been covered in the New York Times, activists are organizing in other cities, and there will soon be a National YIMBY Conference.