A handful of Seattle YIMBYs are in Boulder today.
YIMBY = Yes In My Back Yard. steve estvanik/Shutterstock

Right now in Boulder, Colorado, a bunch of urbanists are talking about how to get their cities to welcome more density. It's the first-ever YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard) conference. Sonja Trauss, the founder of the San Francisco Bay Area Renters Federation who was recently profiled in the New York Times, opened the conference today. And, from the looks of it, Seattle is well-represented too.

Sara Maxana, one of the organizers of Seattle for Everyone (the campaign to support the HALA recommendations) and a planner at the Puget Sound Regional Council, is a keynote speaker. Laura Bernstein, who's de-facto leading the Seattle "YIMBY" movement, is at the conference. Several staffers from the Sightline Institute (which is also co-sponsoring the conference) are there. So is local blogger Erica C. Barnett.

The problem with NIMBYs (Not In My Backyard) isn't that they represent the majority of Seattle. The results of last year's local elections show that's not true. It's that they show up. The YIMBY movement is about organizing people to show up and say "yes" to new growth and new people.







There are tons of breakout sessions going on all weekend. Follow along here.