Earlier this year, Massachusetts Democrats almost passed a party platform that included support for rent control, stronger tenant protections, inclusionary zoning policies, and land trusts. Local progressives, including delegates from Our Revolution MA, submitted a resolution that garnered wide backing and almost passed. But the pro-tenant measure ultimately failed. The sticking point? The resolution also called for removing existing language that advocated building market-rate housing.

Delegates aligned with the national YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard) movement felt that it was more important for the platform to explicitly advocate for more housing than to incorporate additional tenant protections and programs focused solely on affordability. They joined with conservative anti-rent-control Democrats to block the resolution. While the final platform did include tepid language about protecting tenants (and landlords) from discrimination, it also endorsed “efforts at all levels of government to encourage the production of new rental units,” including “public and private sector partnerships.”

So who are YIMBYs? And what effect have they had on the national housing movement?