This event is part three in the ongoing program series: Cracks in the YIMBY Consensus. 
This series is co-sponsored by the City Club of New York. Watch the recording of Part 1 on our YouTube page, and register for Part 2 happening on June 23rd.

Our first two programs in this series examined the standard story that blames unaffordability on regulation and supply shortages, and we found some real cracks. This finding should have serious implications for how we approach affordable housing. But any policy reorientation should start with a more basic question: what should housing policy actually be trying to achieve?

In Part 3 of Cracks in the YIMBY Consensus, we turn to this fundamental question with long-standing planner and activist Ron Shiffman, who argues that housing policy should primarily be judged by whether it builds strong, stable, and democratically governed communities, and not by whether it meets production targets. The guiding policy questions should be: Does it protect long-term affordability and prevent displacement? Does it make neighborhoods and the city more livable? And is someone accountable if it fails to achieve those goals or undermines them? 

Join us as we discuss the ramifications of measuring housing success differently, not just by how much gets built, but by who can stay, by who gets a voice in planning, and by whether development strengthens or erodes its surrounding communities.

Moderators: Juan Rivero, Special Projects Director, Village Preservation 
Andrew Berman, Executive Director, Village Preservation

Ron Shiffman Professor Emeritus at Pratt Institute School of Architecture and a planner with over fifty years of experience in providing architectural, planning, community economic development and sustainable development assistance to community-based groups in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. He was appointed to the NYC Planning Commission by Mayor David Dinkins and served there from 1990 to 1996. Currently, he is a board member of the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation.