Just beyond central Vancouver, the Squamish Nation is building one of the most ambitious and unusual housing developments in the world, and getting rich in the process. How they did it has lessons for
Not to be a bummer, but I’m not sure this very atypical case is especially relevant to YIMBYism in the West more generally.
The article says: “Sen̓áḵw shows that when local residents stand to benefit from development, obstacles to housebuilding can be overcome, to the benefit of a much broader group of people.”
But isn’t the central problem of NIMBYism precisely that local residents usually believe they stand to lose from development in their area? They may fear congestion, lower property values, loss of neighborhood character, pressure on services, or simply disruption.
So yes, when the local community is also the landowner, captures the upside, and sees development as a source of collective wealth, it is not surprising that opposition can be overcome. But that seems to be the unusual part of the story, not a generalizable lesson.
The harder and more typical YIMBY problem is: how do you enable housing construction when nearby residents believe, rightly or wrongly, that they personally bear the costs while others capture the benefits? I’m not sure Sen̓áḵw tells us much about that case.
Terrific story Ben, thanks. It must have neighbouring landowners thinking about what their properties might be worth if rebuilt at 20 or more times the density. I suggest that what they need now is a new kind of property listing, one that solves their coordination problem when they try to assemble land on the required scale. My solution is here (https://crowdlands.substack.com/p/an-appeal-for-a-new-kind-of-property?r=uc0l). It can be seen as crowdsourcing applied to land and I'd love to hear what you and your readers think.
This is at least the third article I have read about this development, but it is the only one to tell an English-speaking reader how to pronounce the Squamish name. Thank you!
This article also went more deeply into the history of the site. Thanks for that as well.
Excellent... well-written and in-depth; informative and educational. I was personally interested in the linked article on Israel's "Pinui Binui" (פינוי בינוי) -- I lived in Israel (Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, and elsewhere) between 1980 to 2004, as an "owner"/renter, and would never have agreed to the program... but that's a different conversation.
Not to be a bummer, but I’m not sure this very atypical case is especially relevant to YIMBYism in the West more generally.
The article says: “Sen̓áḵw shows that when local residents stand to benefit from development, obstacles to housebuilding can be overcome, to the benefit of a much broader group of people.”
But isn’t the central problem of NIMBYism precisely that local residents usually believe they stand to lose from development in their area? They may fear congestion, lower property values, loss of neighborhood character, pressure on services, or simply disruption.
So yes, when the local community is also the landowner, captures the upside, and sees development as a source of collective wealth, it is not surprising that opposition can be overcome. But that seems to be the unusual part of the story, not a generalizable lesson.
The harder and more typical YIMBY problem is: how do you enable housing construction when nearby residents believe, rightly or wrongly, that they personally bear the costs while others capture the benefits? I’m not sure Sen̓áḵw tells us much about that case.
Great article, great achievements, amazing perseverance on part of the Squamish, the academics , inspiring 💯
There was, I think, a Planet Money podcast on this. Great stuff!
Terrific story Ben, thanks. It must have neighbouring landowners thinking about what their properties might be worth if rebuilt at 20 or more times the density. I suggest that what they need now is a new kind of property listing, one that solves their coordination problem when they try to assemble land on the required scale. My solution is here (https://crowdlands.substack.com/p/an-appeal-for-a-new-kind-of-property?r=uc0l). It can be seen as crowdsourcing applied to land and I'd love to hear what you and your readers think.
This is at least the third article I have read about this development, but it is the only one to tell an English-speaking reader how to pronounce the Squamish name. Thank you!
This article also went more deeply into the history of the site. Thanks for that as well.
Excellent... well-written and in-depth; informative and educational. I was personally interested in the linked article on Israel's "Pinui Binui" (פינוי בינוי) -- I lived in Israel (Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, and elsewhere) between 1980 to 2004, as an "owner"/renter, and would never have agreed to the program... but that's a different conversation.
Fascinating, and truly a glimmer of hope. Thank you for sharing this story.
Excellent article. In my judgment the word count could have been trimmed at least 15% without any loss of content or emphasis.