South Bay YIMBY

We are South Bay residents who advocate for more housing in Santa Clara County and beyond.

Affiliations and Inspirations

South Bay YIMBY is a grassroots group of volunteers dedicated to ensuring everyone in Santa Clara County has an affordable place to live. We are a chapter of YIMBY Action (EIN 81-514-0915), a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization. We are also a volunteer team working with California YIMBY. While these organizations provide us with support, we are ultimately a group of dedicated volunteers.

Other nearby chapters of YIMBY Action include Mountain View YIMBY, Peninsula for Everyone, and East Bay YIMBY. While we focus on all of Santa Clara County, Peninsula for Everyone tends to be more active than us in Palo Alto.

We are inspired by and try to work in coalition with Cupertino for All, Livable Sunnyvale, Santa Clara Housing Advocates, SV@Home, Catalyze SV, Housing Action Coalition, and many others.

Join Us on Slack

We like to hang out and discuss what's happening on Slack. If you join South Bay YIMBY as a member (or if you're a member of another YIMBY Action chapter), you can join us on YIMBY Action's Slack workspace.

Here are some Slack channels where you are likely to find us:

Mission & Values

YIMBY stands for Yes In My Backyard, as in, “Please build more housing in our community.” We want plentiful, inclusive, and affordable housing in the Santa Clara County. We aim to provide evidence-based solutions to the housing crisis and a political voice to residents struggling to afford housing. We want to ensure that everyone has the opportunity and ability to live and work in the Bay Area.

We envision a South Bay that leads the country in building new housing and that lives up to California values. We envision a region that’s culturally and economically diverse, one in which housing is affordable to all residents. We imagine a South Bay that encourages residents to walk, bike and take transit to work, where everyone enjoys the dignity of stable housing. We imagine a region in which all cities and communities pull together, rather than leaving some to bear the disproportionate brunt of the housing crisis. In short, we envision abundant, universal and inclusive housing that supports car-free living and allows us to spend more time with our friends and families.

Our values are as diverse as South Bay residents. First and foremost are community and inclusivity. We believe in being neighborly to our neighbors — whether they’re Bay Area natives or immigrants, rich or poor, young or old. We believe no one deserves to be displaced or forced to live on the street. We believe in a region that’s united by a sense of equity and responsibility to the next generation. And most importantly, we believe that by building more homes in our cities, we support sustainable growth and shared prosperity for generations to come.