yimby

plural yimbys

1. Alternative letter-case form of YIMBY.

   1 more example

   Calling themselves yimbys, they are standing up to say “Yes, in my back yard” to any kind of new housing development. […] “Often the only voices we would hear would be neighbours who were opposed,” said Chiu, who called on yimby support to get affordable housing measures through the legislature this year. […] It also riles opponents of gentrification that yimbys often lobby on projects far from their home turf.

   2017 October 2, Erin McCormick, “Rise of the yimbys: the angry millennials with a radical housing solution”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 23 Feb 2025

alternative yimby

1. abbreviationacronymAcronym of yes, in my backyard.

   YIMBY encompasses home composting, "grass cycling" and landscape alteration.

   1993, BioCycle - Volume 34, Issues 1-6, page 34

   1 more example

   Buildings that actually boost local land value are, therefore, called "YIMBY" or "Yes In My Back Yard." These beneficial neighbors include Police Stations, Schools, Parks, etc.

   2000, Greg Kramer, Sim City Three Thousand Unlimited

2. abbreviationacronymAcronym of yes, in many backyards.

   YIMBY does not promise to eliminate risk; it simply spreads it among all those involved. Yesterday, we reiterated several times that equity is critical to any solution, and in this regard YIMBY provides a practical and equitable standard

   1990, Thaddeus C. Trzyna, Ilze M. Gotelli, The Power of convening, page 46

   2 more examples

   The concept of YIMBY, or "Yes-In-Many-Backyards," was introduced in the early 1980s in Southern California as a guiding principle to distribute unwanted hazardous waste facilities among all the counties participating in the Southern California Hazardous Waste Management Project (later transposed into a joint powers authority).

   1991, Joseph F. DiMento, LeRoy Graymer, Confronting Regional Challenges: Approaches to LULUs, Growth, and Other Vexing Governance Problems

   In the early 1980s in southern California, the concept of YIMBY (yes in many backyards) was introduced as a guiding principle for distributing unwanted hazardous waste facilities among all the counties participating in the Southern California Hazardous Waste Management Project, which later was restructured into a joint powers authority. The YIMBY philosophy asked each county to take responsibility for its fair share of the waste problem, though not necessarily to manage all of its own wastes.

   2019, Daniel Mazmanian, Beyond Superfailure: America's Toxics Policy For The 1990s

plural YIMBYs · alternative yimby

1. Someone who endorses development (especially the construction of more housing) near them.

   The local YIMBYs came out in favor of the project.

   5 more examples

   In my constituency, however, we have the YIMBYs—which stands for “yes in my backyard”. We want an airport at Finningley.

   2001, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).

   Wltll respect to conserved lands, a reversal is occurring—NlMBY (not in my back yard) is being replaced by YIMBY (yes, in my back yard). I am one of thousands of YIMBYs who choose to live near Acadia National Park.

   2003, National Parks - Volume 77, page 35

   The city council decided not to consider the measure at that meeting, which the YIMBYs considered a victory.

   2017 July 5, Alana Semuels, “From 'Not in My Backyard' to 'Yes in My Backyard'”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 17 Aug 2017

   Opponents paint YIMBYs as being in the pocket of real estate interests: naively helping rich developers at best, or outright shills at worst, with funding from tech millionaires.

   2019 June 28, Patrick Sisson, “YIMBY in action: How pro-housing policies became a political rallying cry”, in Curbed, archived from the original on 05 Nov 2020

   YIMBYs also typically oppose the exclusionary nature of NIMBY campaigns that can lock out people of color and low incomes from certain neighborhoods.

   2019 September 19, David Boraks, “YIMBYs say yes to urban density and affordable housing”, in The Charlotte Observer, archived from the original on 27 Sep 2019

   Antonyms: NIMBY

comparative more YIMBY · superlative most YIMBY · alternative yimby

1. Supporting nearby development (especially the construction of more housing).

   From a YIMBY perspective, the high-rises are good for the city.

   5 more examples

   But some communities have found that a YIMBY attitude (Yes, in my back yard)— with proper quality assurance controls— can pay good dividends.

   1992, Solid Waste & Power - Volume 6, page 28

   Responses to both the PCED and YIMBY surveys identified a need for a variety of mesures to lower the financial and other barriers to the wider consumer uptake of microgeneration systems.

   2014, Patrick Devine-Wright, Renewable Energy and the Public: From NIMBY to Participation

   YIMBY candidates for local Bay Area offices suffered defeat at the ballot box last November.

   2017 July 5, Alana Semuels, “From 'Not in My Backyard' to 'Yes in My Backyard'”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 17 Aug 2017

   YIMBY political groups still have no blanket national organization.

   2019 June 28, Patrick Sisson, “YIMBY in action: How pro-housing policies became a political rallying cry”, in Curbed, archived from the original on 05 Nov 2020

   YIMBY groups support denser development with more housing — especially affordable housing.

   2019 September 19, David Boraks, “YIMBYs say yes to urban density and affordable housing”, in The Charlotte Observer, archived from the original on 27 Sep 2019

   Antonyms: NIMBY