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Yes in YOUR Backyard
November/December 2025
 Photo by Gregory May |
The rallying cry “Yes in My Backyard” sounds positive on the surface. Who wouldn’t want to be part of a movement that claims to champion housing, inclusion, and opportunity? But behind the slogan lies a harder truth. In practice, many in the YIMBY movement, which is primarily run by corporate and political players, are speaking in code, really saying: “Yes in Your Backyard.” This, in fact, is the unspoken rallying cry of developer- and investor-funded interests that push density, demolitions, and deregulation into other people’s neighborhoods while protecting their own assets, investments, and privilege.
The modern YIMBY movement may or may not have begun with good intentions, but in cities like San Diego it has been co-opted by the for-profit housing industry and developer/investor-funded nonprofits. These groups have learned that “YIMBY” makes an excellent disguise, one that cloaks profit-driven lobbying in the language of social good.
Under this banner, policies are being hyped that remove community voices, weaken environmental and historic protections, and fast-track demolition over rehabilitation. The result? The loss of our most walkable, sustainable, and affordable neighborhoods, the very communities that embody the kind of living urbanists support.
It’s no coincidence that historic districts and older neighborhoods are among the first to be targeted. These are places where smaller, human-scaled buildings, mature trees, and neighborhood-serving businesses create the fabric of real community. Yet they are being rewritten as “obstacles” to progress, rather than the models for it.
True "Yes In My Back Yard" activism would look very different. It would mean embracing adaptive reuse, restoring historic housing stock, and encouraging sensitive infill that complements neighborhood character. It would mean supporting preservation as an essential tool for naturally occurring affordable houseing (NOAH), sustainability and affordability, not a barrier to it.
SOHO, and many volunteer-driven community organizations like ours, say "yes"—to community, to balance, to heritage, and to the shared responsibility of planning for the public good.
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