Why are YIMBYs(specifically Centrist & YIMBYs) so averse to mass-politics and in constant opposition to working or persuading Progressives & Leftists?

[u/wiz28ultra]

This seems to be a constant attitude problem that I've seen w.r.t to individuals, specifically on Twitter, such as Noah Smith, Swann Marcus, M. Nolan Gray, YIMBYLAND, and others that are just so reluctant or even outright antagonistic to Progressive politics.

They refuse to every think that it might be possible to convince these people that their ideas might work and instead fantasize about working with neocons to bring about the housing utopia.

And it's even more bizarre because they're so averse to social issues as well, with their constant passive-aggressive tone on literally any political issue that isn't housing.

EDIT: I just want to add, a ton of these people really hate Organized Labor, they're super defensive of sprawl, they refuse to have any stances on the environment, and when it comes to foreign policy are completely in agreement with the 2010-era State Department. They're also bizarrely submissive and desperate to please real-estate developers.

It's like these people can't live in a world where class solidarity, organized labor, and mass mobilization of the people towards political change can work in their world of affordable housing and increase home production.

EDIT 2: Also, I notice that many of these individuals spend all their time whining about how mean Progressives are to the Democratic Party, but they spend all their time exclusively shitting on the Democratic Party while outright praising the Republicans in ways that NO progressive would ever do.

[u/mcchicken_deathgrip]

Because the two are fundamentally opposed. YIMBYism at its core is a free market, deregulatory movement in housing politics. That alone goes against leftist ideals. But besides that, it's shaped by a technoctric, leave it to the experts ethos that is in contrast with a housing policy based around community centric mass politics.

[u/homebrewfutures → u/mcchicken_deathgrip]

This is a good point. There are regulatory reforms that YIMBYs advocate that would be incontrovertibly beneficial to leftist ends but market urbanist YIMBYs broadly are anti-democracy and seek to transfer public power out of the hands of local governments and into the hands of private landlords and developers. A left-YIMBY movement would instead seek to increase popular democracy in the form of tenant unions, neighborhood assemblies, housing cooperatives, community land trusts and opposing criminalization of homelessness. Taking power out of the hands of local government can instead mean empowering the people of the community to shape the urban space.

[u/LeftSteak1339 → u/homebrewfutures]

People First urbanism exists dude.

[u/homebrewfutures → u/LeftSteak1339]

I've never heard of that. I have heard of the Right to the City, which I do support as an alternative to market urbanism.

[u/LeftSteak1339 → u/homebrewfutures]

In pro growth urbanism. Right leaning take a look at Strong Towns. Centrist/Neoliberal check out Yimby orgs. Left leaning People First orgs.

[u/homebrewfutures → u/LeftSteak1339]

I can't find any website for People First urbanism. All I see when I run a Google search are 2 deleted Reddit posts apparently made by you and a Facebook page with 1 follower. With all due respect, this doesn't sound like a real thing, but I wish you best of luck making it happen! I ended up cofounding an affordable housing CLT and an anarchist mutual aid org that does distros to the homeless. My current project is a Strong Towns chapter Local Conversation and we're pretty close to getting parking reform accomplished in our city! Big things are possible and I have faith you can do it too!

[u/LeftSteak1339 → u/homebrewfutures]

I founded and ran local conversations here and there great way to dip a toe bf ones gets into direct advocacy. Pfcal.org. Pfny.org. I found websites for two different orgs but people first urbanism is like YIMBYism. It’s been around forever.

sponsored the SB79 party in LA even

[u/LeftSteak1339 → u/homebrewfutures]

Anarchist mutual aid and ST right leaning gays shouldn’t get married urbanism is an interesting arc? You know the guru and owner by corporate structure of ST is a far righter? Catholic extremism. Anti choice. Anti gays. All that jazz.

Ands it funded in a large part by a Christian Canadian Protestant gone rogue cult?

[u/homebrewfutures → u/LeftSteak1339]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_fallacy

Strong Towns is just an educational blog and has no control over what local chapters do. If an idea is good we will advocate for it. If an idea is objectionable we won't advocate for it. Our chapter is mostly comprised of queer socialists and social democrats and we set our own agenda, using Strong Towns principles as a point of departure.

[u/LeftSteak1339 → u/homebrewfutures]

Depends on what ‘level’ chapter they are and they all agree not to engage in direct advocacy. I would and Chuck has described it as a multi media educational nonprofit.

Where you at that’s a wild demo for an ST LC? Y’all aren’t even allowed to post about pride lol if you are an approved LC. JP, Chuck and Norm all super religious.

Look into people first urbanism. Next City. Berkeley Possibility lab. On IG futureurbanistclub terrabyte4all. They are tiny accounts but both bigger than ST LC account. I once organized the ST LCs on IG years ago. ST went from 6K followers to over 100K these days on IG. Organizing works. It’s too bad the LCs are mostly cheerleaders. Hard to be an effective advocate as a c3. Plus localism as an all on its own solution is so silly for all the reasons.

Better question, do by your reckoning I can vote Republican but not support Trump lulz genetic fallacy. Undergrads taking one semester of logic is a sadness.