ABOUT US
Better housing, together
We’re YIMBYs: we believe that everyone deserves a high quality, safe and affordable place to live. That means we want to see better places and more homes built with the support of local communities. YIMBY stands for “Yes in my back yard”: we support more high-quality homes near us.
YIMBY Alliance is an alliance of campaigns working to end the housing crisis. Check out our local groups as well as some great National campaigns!
OUR TEAM
KANE EMERSON
YIMBY ALLIANCE TEAM
Head of Housing Research at YIMBY Alliance
Kane Emerson is head of housing research at YIMBY Alliance. As a political activist and organiser, Kane has heard about poor housing conditions and overcrowding on hundreds of doorsteps across the country.
Kane co-wrote the UK Day One report proposing Tempsford New Town, which received wide national media coverage. He is co-author of the joint YIMBY Alliance and Tony Blair Institute report, The Urgent Need to Build More Homes, and the UK Day One report Fast Wins on Planning for Housing.
Kane is also a school governor, chair of his estate’s residents’ association and treasurer of the Labour Party Irish Society.
JAMES GRADEL
YIMBY ALLIANCE TEAM
Policy and Campaigns Officer at YIMBY Alliance
James is the Policy and Campaigns Officer at YIMBY Alliance. He works on policy research, political strategy and communications.
James studied International Relations with French at the University of Birmingham, where he wrote a dissertation analysing the political speeches of New Labour.
As part of his degree, James also spent a year studying in France at Sciences Po in Lyon.
ANYA MARTIN
YIMBY ALLIANCE TEAM
Policy Lead at YIMBY Alliance
Anya is Policy Lead at YIMBY Alliance. She was previously director at PricedOut and has a background in research and data analysis in a number of sectors including housing associations, charities, and financial regulation. She is interested in how we can make the best evidence and policy design on housing affordability from around the world accessible to and implementable by policymakers.
JOHN MYERS
YIMBY ALLIANCE TEAM
Director at YIMBY Alliance
John Myers is Director of YIMBY Alliance. Inspired by the grassroots movement for affordable housing in the US, John brought together a team to work with communities on sustainable ways to end the housing crisis.
John is co-author of the joint YIMBY Alliance and Tony Blair Institute Report, The Urgent Need to Build More Homes.
In his spare time, John is a trustee of the London Forum of Amenity and Civic Societies. John trained as a lawyer.
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News
Grey belt: the underestimated game-changer for housing
John Myers writing in Red Brick Blog A recent case in Bagshot in Surrey shows how the Labour Government’s new ‘grey belt’ rules, introduced in late 2024, will likely unlock hundreds of thousands of much-needed homes across the country. The reform of Green Belt rules...
The 2025 Planning and Infrastructure Bill
This is a guest post from Alfie Robinson. Alfie is a historian and heritage consultant operating across England, with a keen interest in policy issues. You can find Alfie on LinkedIn or find his website here. The much-anticipated Planning and Infrastructure Bill has...
Attlee’s secret weapon to build homes: zoning
Special Development Orders in the Town and Country Planning Act not only show zoning of the past but also look to the potential of the future. John Myers writing in Red Brick Block When people speak of planning, England typically emerges as a global anomaly in two...
Auckland upzones, again: an update from New Zealand
This is a guest post from Marko Garlick. Marko is a lawyer from New Zealand. He was a director on a pro-housing campaign which led to the widespread upzoning of Wellington in May 2024. Note that Marko sits on an expert advisory group that advises the New Zealand...
The biodiversity bottleneck
Image: a disused that does little for biodiversity. Source: Wikimedia Commons This is a guest post from Alfie Robinson. Alfie is a historian and heritage consultant operating across England, with a keen interest in policy issues. You can find Alfie on LinkedIn or find...
Reform planning to build more social homes
Social homes are a crucial component of the UK’s housing mix. They are a vital tool in addressing the housing crisis and ensuring everyone can have a safe place to live. There are over 1.2 million people on local authority housing waiting lists, and many more who...
YIMBY wins around the world (September 2024)
US reform successes Recent research shows that 50 housing bills passed US state legislatures in the first half of 2024, compared to only 30 in the same time last year. In the preceding twelve months, 65 housing supply bills have been enacted. You can read more...
New Report: the Urgent Need to Build More Homes
UK housing is at a crisis point. Skyrocketing costs, inadequate supply, and misaligned incentives have created a perfect storm that impacts every aspect of our society - from individual aspiration to national economic growth. The Government has won a landslide...
Location matters: price per square metre in England and Wales
It’s obvious that the price of a home varies massively from place to place, but simply comparing the average cost of properties sold can hide some major differences - particularly in the size of each home. The average cost of a home in London is £520,000 whilst in the...