Abundance - A Metropolitan Abundance Project Podcast

Welcome back to the Abundance Podcast! In this episode, M. Nolan Gray chats with Anthony Gill. Anthony is an economic development professional and the write of Spokane Rising, an urbanist blog focused on ways make Spokane a better place to live. They’re joined in this episode by Robyn Leslie, the director for strategic partnerships at California YIMBY.  Stay connected with the Metropolitan Abundance Project on Twitter, Bluesky, and Instagram. Stay connected with ⁠California YIMBY⁠ on ⁠Twitter⁠, ⁠Bluesky⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, and ⁠TikTok⁠.

Welcome back to the Abundance Podcast! In this episode, M. Nolan Gray chats with Sarah Karlinsky. Sarah is the Research Director at the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley where she leads the development of the center’s research agenda. They’re joined in this episode by Robyn Leslie, the director for strategic partnerships at California YIMBY. In this episode, they chat about Sarah’s new report, “Structured for Success: Reforming Housing Governance in California and the Bay Area.” Stay connected with the Metropolitan Abundance Project on Twitter, Bluesky, and Instagram. Stay connected with ⁠California YIMBY⁠ on ⁠Twitter⁠, ⁠Bluesky⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, and ⁠TikTok⁠.

Welcome back to the Abundance Podcast! In this episode, M. Nolan Gray and Ned Resnikoff chat with Megan Kimble.  Megan is an investigative journalist and the author of Unprocessed. A former executive editor at The Texas Observer, Kimble has written about housing, transportation, and urban development for The New York Times, Texas Monthly, The Guardian, and Bloomberg CityLab. She lives in Austin, Texas. In this episode, they discuss her new book, City Limits: Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Future of America's Highways. Be sure to follow the Metropolitan Abundance Project on ⁠Twitter⁠, ⁠Bluesky⁠, ⁠Threads⁠, and ⁠Instagram⁠.

In this episode, Ned Resnikoff chats with Alexander Sahn. He is a Thomas J. Pearsall Fellow and an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he studies inequality in political participation, representation, and public policy, especially subnational governments in the United States. He was previously a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for the Study of Democratic Politics at Princeton University and received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. They discuss public engagement, exclusionary zoning, and civil service reform. Be sure to follow the Metropolitan Abundance Project on Twitter, Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram.

This week, Nolan Gray and Ned Resnikoff chat with Stan Oklobdzija. Stan is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Tulane University and the Director of the Center for Public Policy Research at the Murphy Institute. His research focuses on housing policy, specifically how voters conceive of housing markets and how these perceptions influence the policies that local governments pursue. He previously served as Research Director for California YIMBY. Oklobdzija holds a PhD in Political Science from the He of California, San Diego and a Master's Degree in Public Policy from the University of Southern California. Find him on Twitter. In this episode, they chat about the politics of YIMBY, the folk economics and housing, and New Orleans. If you haven’t already please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review. It really helps us to reach new audiences!  Stay connected with the Metropolitan Abundance Project on Twitter.

This week, Nolan Gray chats with Ben Raderstorf. Ben is vice president of House Sacramento, an all volunteer grassroots pro-housing group in the California Capital region. In his day job, he's a pro-democracy advocate, but on nights and weekends he works to make his adopted hometown more affordable, liveable, walkable, bikeable and resilient. Find him on twitter at @braderstorf. In this episode, they chat about the exciting new land use reforms recently adopted for Sacramento. If you haven’t already please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review. It really helps us to reach new audiences! 

Welcome back to Abundance! In this episode, Nolan Gray and Ned Resnikoff chat with Danielle Allen. Allen is a professor of political philosophy, ethics, and public policy at Harvard University, and director of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation. She is also the author of the recent book, Justice By Means of Democracy. In this episode, they discuss power-sharing liberalism, abundance progressivism, and what it all means for the future of metropolitan governance. If you haven’t already, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review. It really helps us to reach new audiences! Stay connected with ⁠⁠⁠⁠California YIMBY⁠⁠⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠, Threads, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Welcome back to Abundance! In this episode, California YIMBY research director Nolan Gray chats with Henry Grabar. Henry is a journalist at Slate, where he writes about cities, and a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. In this episode, they discuss Grabar's brand new book, Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World, including why parking drives people nuts, the curious case of parking privatization in Chicago, and the future of parking reform. If you haven’t already please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review. It really helps us to reach new audiences! Stay connected with ⁠⁠⁠California YIMBY⁠⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠. And with that, on to the show!

Welcome back to Abundance! In this episode, we discuss Housing Underproduction in California 2023, a new report published by the California YIMBY Research Fund in collaboration with MapCraft. California YIMBY research director Nolan Gray is joined by Ian Carlton and Lacy Patterson, two members of the MapCraft team who helped to put this report together. In this episode, they discuss which parts of California are building the least housing, which are building the most, where the gap between market feasible capacity and actual permits issued is widest. If you would like to see the full report and associated maps and data, go check it out on our brand new website!

Welcome back to Abundance! In this episode, California YIMBY research director Nolan Gray chats with Emily Hamilton. Emily is a Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Urbanity Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where she researches urban economics and land-use policy.  In this episode, they discuss the exciting reforms adopted in Montana this year, why small lots are a big deal, and how to legalize ADUs the right way. If you haven’t already please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review. It really helps us to reach new audiences! Stay connected with ⁠⁠California YIMBY⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠. And with that, on to the show!

Welcome back to Abundance! In this episode, California YIMBY research director Nolan Gray chats with Sarah Anzia. She’s an associate professor of public policy and political science at the University of California Berkeley. Anzia is the author of Local Interests: Politics, Policy, and Interest Groups in US City Governments. Along with California YIMBY policy director Ned Resnikoff, they discuss how local politics differs from federal politics, the unusual power of firefighter unions, and what all of this means for housing policy.  If you haven’t already, do remember to subscribe and leave a review. It really helps us out.  Stay connected with ⁠⁠California YIMBY⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠.

In this episode, California YIMBY research director Nolan Gray chats with Emily Jacobson. She’s the inaugural research fellow for the California YIMBY Education Fund and the author of The Dysfunctional Metropolis: Reforming Los Angeles's Land Use Planning and Entitlement. She recently earned a Master of Public Policy from UC Berkeley. They’re joined in this episode by Sarah Karlinsky, a senior advisor at SPUR, a public policy organization that works to create an equitable, sustainable, and prosperous Bay Area. In this episode, Nolan, Emily, and Sarah discuss the causes of recent Los Angeles corruption scandals, the relationship between discretionary permitting and the California housing crisis, and what policymakers across the country can learn from the   and what policymakers in cities all across the country can do to build more  Stay connected with ⁠California YIMBY⁠ on ⁠Twitter⁠, ⁠Bluesky⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, and ⁠TikTok⁠.

In this episode, California YIMBY research director Nolan Gray chats with Francis Fukuyama. He’s the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, a faculty member of FSI's Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, and the also Director of Stanford's Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy. They’re joined in this episode by California YIMBY policy director Ned Resnikoff. In this episode, Nolan, Ned, and Francis discuss political decay in California, how CEQA perpetuates vetocracy, and the ancient roots of the Anglosphere housing crisis. Stay connected with California YIMBY on Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, and TikTok.

In this episode, California YIMBY research director M. Nolan Gray chats with Rick Cole. He’s the Chief Deputy Controller for the City of LA, where he oversees the key accounting, paymaster and audit functions of the nation's second largest city.  Rick has been all over the place in Southern California governance—he was previously a Deputy Mayor in Los Angeles, the city manager of Azusa, Ventura, and Santa Monica, and was previously the mayor of Pasadena, where he has just launched a new campaign for City Council. In the first half of this episode, Rick and Nolan discuss the future of Los Angeles, how to turn sticky problems like parking and housing affordability into solutions, and his future plans for Pasadena. Stay connected with California YIMBY on Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, and TikTok.

In this episode, California YIMBY research director M. Nolan Gray chats with Bill Fulton. If you’ve been paying any attention to California planning over the past 30 years, Bill likely needs no introduction. Among his many roles, he’s currently a Senior Advisor to PFM Management and Budget consulting Group and a Fellow at the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley. He’s also the author of the Guide to California Planning, and just released a new collection of essays, Place and Prosperity: How Cities Help Us Connect and Innovate, published by Island Press. In this interview, Nolan and Bill talk about the how California planning has changed, the future of cities like Los Angeles and Houston, and why place continues to matter in an age of Zoom.  If you’re enjoying Abundance, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review. It really helps us. And if you’re not enjoying Abundance, let us know how we could improve! And if you want to get more involved in the work of California YIMBY, sign up to start receiving our regular emails, which are filled with advocacy updates and research summaries, among many other googies. ❤️

In this episode, California YIMBY research director M. Nolan Gray chats with Luca Gattoni-Celli . Luca is the chief executive of YIMBYs of Northern Virginia, which just scored its first big win legalizing foruplexes and simplexes countywide in Arlington. In this episode, we discuss how a pro-housing coalition pulled off single-family zoning abolition in one of America’s richest suburbs, the ideological diversity of the YIMBY movement, and the future of pro-housing advocacy in Northern Virginia.

In this episode, California YIMBY research director M. Nolan Gray chats with Jerusalem Demsas. Jerusalem is a staff writer at The Atlantic and a widely published author on housing and city planning, among many topics. In this episode, we discuss how she became a YIMBY, the importance of the freedom to move, and why DC builds so much housing—even it could build more. We’re joined this week by California YIMBY policy director Ned Resnikoff.

In this episode, California YIMBY research director M. Nolan Gray chats with Chris Elmendorf. He’s the Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law at the UC Davis School of Law and an expert on California housing law. In this episode, we take stock of where we’re at in the Regional Housing Needs Assessment process, explain tools like the builder’s remedy, and explore where we go from here. We're joined by Aaron Eckhouse. Aaron is the regional policy manager at California YIMBY and our leading man on RHNA issues.

In this episode, California YIMBY research director M. Nolan Gray chats with Sonia Hirt. Hirt is a professor of architecture and urban planning at the University of Georgia and the author of Zoned in the USA. In this episode, we talk about the current zoning reform push, how other countries do zoning, and what we still have to learn from Jane Jacobs.

In this episode, California YIMBY research director M. Nolan Gray chats with Alain Bertaud. Alain’s a Senior Fellow at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management, a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and a former principal urban planner with the World Bank, among many other titles. In the first half of this episode, we discuss the role of city planning, his optimism about micro mobility, and the perils of starting a city from scratch. In the second half of this episode, we discuss his fascinating career, spanning from post-colonial Algeria to post-Soviet Russia.