I first encountered the Somerville Yimby's when one of their members here blamed "Zoning Laws" for the high prices of local food and low wages for bartenders. They pointed me to what looked like an Astroturfed group and it really baffled me as to why folks would organize to advocate for "Zoning Laws" and Developers with some kind of trickle-down economics in housing.. Since then, I have learned quite a bit. Here are some things that I have found:

“The scene of predominantly white protesters shouting over people of color fed a criticism that has dogged backers of recent legislative efforts to boost homebuilding. In a twist on the term “NIMBY,” these mostly twenty- and thirtysomethings with white-collar jobs are referred to as “YIMBYs,” or “Yes, in my backyard.” Organizations like these have sprung up across California and the YIMBYs argue their efforts will benefit low-income people of color statewide.” https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-housing-bill-failure-equity-groups-20180502-story.html

"For the 3rd night of Chanukah, our gift is a great u/inthesetimesmag expose on the shameful (yet also shameless) ethos of the astroturf #YIMBY “movement” (Preview: Funders are wealthy folks from tech and real estate - those who profit off gentrification). “

The Techies Hawking Free Market “Solutions” to the Nation’s Housing Crisis

Anti-displacement activists hate them. Tech firms and big developers love them—and shower them with cash.https://inthesetimes.com/features/yimbys_activists_san_francisco_housing_crisis.html

"We present you with a great u/truthout piece that explores the #YIMBY financial connection to far-right Trump donors like Peter Thiel, as well as Big Real Estate groups like the National Association of Realtors. “ https://truthout.org/articles/yimbys-the-alt-right-darlings-of-the-real-estate-industry/

“YIMBYs… can disavow Trump all they want, but there’s no denying that the analysis coming out of the White House is virtually indistinguishable from theirs” https://knock-la.com/of-course-republicans-are-yimbys-5a2ef0e93220/

“YIMBY emerged in SF in the midst of an eviction and displacement crisis as an astroturf arm of big tech and real estate to advocate for deregulated market solutions to the housing crisis, at direct odds with movements for expanded rent control & higher affordability mandates. “. https://twitter.com/mayavada/status/1321699682876235777?s=21&t=tCAH29qPmYkfB2DoUYYQRQ

"I encourage you to listen to 2 critiques of the astroturf YIMBY movement from the most popular leftist podcast in the world, and a leading leftist thinktank" :

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ5B5LEIXcY

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LVuCZMLeWko

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Apparently, the YIMBY's even have a weird Facebook strange Group: " YIMBY Memes for Developer Shill Teens