The nation’s largest pro-housing conference is convening in New Haven this week to discuss ways to increase housing and make it more accessible for residents.
The YIMBYTown conference, which stands for “Yes in my backyard,” runs from Sunday through Tuesday. More than 1,000 housing advocates, policy makers and state and local politicians gathered downtown to attend.
YIMBYTown, an annual event, was hosted this year by Connecticut-based housing policy groups Regional Plan Association (RPA) and Desegregate CT.
New Haven’s approved about 600 housing permits in 2024 and set a goal to add 10,000 new housing units over the next decade, 30% of which will be deemed affordable.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker welcomed attendees Monday and highlighted the city’s housing advancements, with a focus on inclusivity.
“We’re trying to learn from other cities that’ve grown so quickly but haven’t been thoughtful about how they grow,” Elicker said. “Our vision is to ensure that the people that have lived here for decades and decades and decades can continue to be able to afford to live here as we welcome new residents.”
Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam was also among the local speakers at the conference, discussing how mayors can help tackle the housing crisis in their cities. He spoke on a panel alongside the mayors of Providence, R.I. and New Rochelle, N.Y.
Connecticut and surrounding states have some of the same challenges, meeting the demand for affordable housing, Arulampalam said.
Connecticut and Rhode Island are the two bottom states in the country in terms of issuing housing permits.
“There are not a lot of indicators of lack of progress in which Rhode Island and Connecticut are the top two,” Arulampalam said. “This isn’t Mississippi. It’s not Alabama. It’s embarrassing.”
Arulampalam said most of the country doesn’t feel like government leaders and housing policy makers care about their needs and wants.
