Expanding Housing Opportunities

At Neighbors for a Better California (NFABC), we believe housing should strengthen communities, not just fill them. Building for the sake of building isn’t enough. We support smart, sustainable growth that expands opportunities for families, seniors, veterans, and future generations — while preserving local control and community character.

Empowering the Next Generation of Neighbors

Our movement isn’t just about today — it’s about creating a future where young Californians can afford to live and thrive here. NFABC encourages youth participation through storytelling, panel discussions, and research that helps shape practical, people-first housing policies.

Children running on a lush green lawn in a neighborhood with trees and houses, smiling and having fun.
A couple viewing a house in a suburban neighborhood with autumn leaves in the background.
A busy city street with many pedestrians crossing at a crosswalk, with traffic lights and a green bus in the background, surrounded by tall buildings and trees.
A digital graphic with a turquoise background featuring a white square in the center. Inside the square, there is bold black text reading 'FAKE OR FACT?' and additional black text that says, 'See What’s Really Behind the Headlines When it Comes to all Things Housing in California.' The design uses diagonal white lines on the turquoise background.

Demystifying Housing

There’s a lot of noise around housing policy — and it’s not always easy to tell fact from fiction. Our Demystifying Housing series helps break down complex issues, expose misleading narratives, and provide real data about what’s happening in our neighborhoods.

Explore the Myths and Realities
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Town Halls

NFABC’s town halls bring local voices, transparency, and accountability back to California’s housing conversation. State mandates and developer-driven policies often drown out everyday residents — we’re changing that.

Through honest Q&A sessions, expert panels, and fact-based presentations, our town halls create a space where people can understand what’s really driving housing costs, what new laws mean for their neighborhoods, and how to push for balanced, community-based solutions.

View Upcoming Town Halls

Demystifying Housing Narratives

Cutting through the noise — because real housing solutions aren’t found in slogans.

  • The Pitch
    California should follow cities like Singapore, where dense, transit-focused living has worked.

    The Reality
    Those cities work because they paired density with homeownership. In Singapore and China, more than 90 percent of residents own their homes. In the United States, YIMBY policies don’t offer that. They mostly produce luxury rentals that keep people renting for life.

    Those countries also built world-class transit systems with long-term public investment and strong central planning. California’s fragmented agencies and underfunded transit systems can’t match that model.

    We’ve already seen the results in San Francisco and Vancouver: higher rents, fewer homeowners, and growing inequality.

    Bottom line: California will never be Singapore. Without the same land system, transit investment, or ownership structure, density alone only leads to more luxury rentals and inequality.

  • The Pitch
    If we just build more, prices will drop.

    The Reality
    Cities that have aggressively upzoned, like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle, saw rents climb faster than inflation while ownership declined. Most new housing built was luxury or investor-owned.

    A 2025 Pew study found that new luxury buildings lowered rents only in older, cheaper units nearby, not in the new “affordable” units themselves.

    Bottom line: If density alone worked, San Francisco and Seattle would be affordable by now. Instead, we got higher rents and fewer homeowners.

  • The Pitch
    YIMBYs say they’re fighting for freedom, choice, and inclusion — letting every homeowner decide what to build.

    The Reality
    Their version of “freedom” often means allowing large projects on small lots with no parking, no limits, and no local say. Real communities rely on shared rules that protect livability, like height limits and parking standards.

    Bottom line: YIMBYs talk about community, but their policies create chaos for neighbors. Real community means balancing property rights with quality of life.

  • The Pitch
    Cars are outdated, suburbs are wasteful, and dense cities are the future.

    The Reality
    In practice, YIMBY “progress” has looked like more debt, more congestion, and less affordability. San Francisco’s YIMBY-aligned leadership oversaw rising costs, shrinking transit budgets, and growing inequality.

    Bottom line: Real progress strengthens communities. Debt, gridlock, and displacement are not progress.

  • The Pitch
    Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) are a simple, affordable fix that adds housing in existing neighborhoods.

    The Reality
    Most ADUs in San Diego were rented at market rates or turned into short-term rentals. Out of 10,000 new homes built between 2021 and 2023, only 14 percent were affordable. Developers even began building ADU “mega-projects” with dozens of small rentals on a single lot.

    Bottom line: ADUs were sold as backyard homes for families but became another investor product. Counting them as affordable housing without proof is misleading.

The housing debate in California is full of extremes. Some say “build anything, anywhere,” while others say “not in my backyard.” The truth is, neither works.

NFABC is here to clear the fog, because real solutions live in the middle, where affordability, accountability, and livability meet.

Your voice matters in California’s housing future.