Happy October, CITYBUILDERs!

This month is all about housing. From conversations with elected officials and architects to our Policy Talk on the North Carolina Housing Coalition’s legislative agenda, there’s plenty of ways to get involved.

We’re also looking forward to the NC Affordable Housing Conference, October 22–23 at the Raleigh Convention Center. It’s a great chance to connect with people working across the housing field, and learn about the challenges and opportunities that come with making housing more affordable.

The Housing Conference is the official kick-off of NC Housing Coalition and CITYBUILDER’s Housing Month. From October 22 to November 22, we’re connecting with housing advocates to create a month of housing, culminating with YIMBYtown on November 17 through 19, and ending with the 100th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision on Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co on November 22.

And of course, October is a huge month for local elections. Raleigh’s candidate forum on housing is October 7, and early voting begins October 15. Whether you’re attending a forum, joining a discussion, or heading to the polls, we hope you’ll participate in the conversations shaping the future of our neighborhoods and cities.

We hope to see you this month!

Charlotte Chapman
Executive Administrator, CITYBUILDER

Events with CITYBUILDER

Move-A-Bull City!

Sunday, October 4 | 12:00–4:00 PM
Downtown Durham

Come join CITYBUILDER at one of Durham’s best events of the year!

Move-A-Bull is a big block party where streets are shut down for folks to bike, skate, roll, and walk around while enjoying vendor booths, performances, and interactive activities.

Bike Durham, the City of Durham, and the Durham County Public Health Department’s Partnership for a Healthy Durham are teaming up to make our streets healthier, safer, and more joyful for folks of all ages and abilities.

More information at moveabull.org

Election Forum on Housing! for Raleigh Candidates

Wednesday, October 7 | 6:00–10:00 PM
Doors open at 6 PM; forum runs 7–9 PM
Trophy Brewing & Taproom, 656 Maywood Ave

Join us for an evening about housing with the candidates for Raleigh city council! This is an opportunity to hear candidates discuss housing issues and share their perspectives on the future of Raleigh.

Thanks to Trophy Brewing for providing the space for this important event. Sponsored by CITYBUILDER and Yes! In My Triangle.

CITYBUILDER Carolina Policy Talk: North Carolina Housing Coalition’s Legislative Agenda

Tuesday, October 20 | 12:00–1:00 PM
Virtual - Please RSVP

Join us for a Carolina Policy Talk with Stephanie Watkins-Cruz, Director of Housing Policy at the North Carolina Housing Coalition. Stephanie will discuss the Coalition’s legislative agenda and the housing policy priorities shaping the work ahead.

CITYBUILDER Book Club

Wednesday, October 28 | 12:00–1:00 PM
PRESS Coffee Crêpes Cocktails, 400 Hillsborough St
Please RSVP

Join us for a discussion of Homelessness Is a Housing Problem, led by Eric Braun and Nicole Stewart.

Authors Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Aldern argue that regional rates of homelessness are primarily driven by structural housing market conditions, specifically high housing costs, rising rents, and low vacancy rates, rather than individual factors like mental illness or substance abuse. The authors show that metropolitan areas with expensive and restricted housing markets experience significantly higher per capita rates of homelessness overall.

Nicole Stewart is a prominent political consultant, community organizer, and former municipal official in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is best known for serving as an At-Large Raleigh City Council Member and Mayor Pro Tem from 2017 to 2022. Currently, she operates as the founder and president of her own consulting firm, Nicole Stewart Strategies.

Eric Braun is a retired land use and litigation attorney who serves as a prominent civic leader and affordable housing advocate in Raleigh, North Carolina. He is best known as the Chair of the Raleigh Housing Authority Board of Commissioners and the founder and Executive Director of RaleighForward, a nonprofit advocacy group focused on housing affordability and urban growth.

Come for community and conversation as we explore the book’s ideas about homelessness and the role housing plays in addressing it.

Enjoy lunch at PRESS; CITYBUILDER will purchase your non-alcoholic beverage of choice.

Events with Friends

AIA Triangle’s Building Conversations: Breakfast Roundtable with Architects and Local Leaders — Sanford, Oxford & Warrenton

Friday, October 2 | 8:00–10:00 AM
Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center, 1801 Nash St, Sanford

Friday, October 30 | 8:00–10:00 AM
Warrenton, NC

Join us for Building Conversations: Architects and Local Leaders, a morning roundtable bringing together local elected officials and members of the design profession for meaningful dialogue about the future of our communities.

Over a light breakfast, we’ll explore how zoning, housing policy, and planning decisions impact affordability, sustainability, walkability, and civic design—and why architects should be at the table when those decisions are made.

This event is hosted by AIA Triangle and CITYBUILDER, and funded by the AIA NC ACTIVATE Grant.

Durham Yes! In My Triangle Meetup

Monday, October 5 | 6:00–7:00 PM
Queeny’s, 321 E Chapel Hill St, Durham

Join the Durham Yes! In My Triangle meetup and then walk over to the regular Durham City Council meeting to support local housing rezoning cases and hear what’s being said.

Bring a friend!

RSVP here

Raleigh Yes! In My Triangle Meetup

Tuesday, October 20 | 7:30–8:30 PM
Morgan Street Food Hall, 411 W Morgan St, Raleigh

Join the Raleigh Yes! In My Triangle chapter for a casual meetup to discuss local housing advocacy. It’s a chance to connect with others who care about making the Triangle a place where more people can afford to live, work, and flourish.

We hope to see you there!

NC Affordable Housing Conference

Thursday, October 22 – Friday, October 23
Raleigh Convention Center

The 2026 NC Affordable Housing Conference brings together affordable housing professionals for informative breakout sessions and an inspiring opening session.

Topics span tax credits, homeownership, housing counseling, nonprofits, and more. The conference is presented by the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, the North Carolina Housing Coalition, and Centrant Community Capital.

RSVP for NC Afford. Housing Conference

Election Dates

Friday, October 9 — Voter Registration Deadline
The deadline to register to vote is 5 PM.

Learn how to Register

Thursday, October 15 — Early Voting Begins
In-person early voting begins, and same-day registration is available.

Vote Early in Person

Saturday, October 31 — Early Voting Ends
In-person early voting ends at 3 PM.

Upcoming Election Information

Registration is open for YIMBYtown 2026!

The nation’s pro-housing gathering is coming to Raleigh! Join advocates from throughout the Triangle, across the state, and around the country for sessions on all things housing and YIMBY-ism.

RSVP for YIMBYtown

Mobility isn’t a foreign concept to me. Growing up, I attended 10 schools in 13 years, following my peripatetic academic mother to opportunities at Harvard, UNC, and Michigan. I’ve always believed that the constant change has both conditioned me to thrive in new situations and left me hunting for tools of rootedness for my family.

Yoni Appelbaum is a senior editor for The Atlantic, and author of the recently published book Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity. I will be leading a book club conversation about his thoughts in Raleigh next week. I’m a big fan of Appelbaum and this book, and below I review it while also identifying two contrarian views of his that stood out to me.

First, Appelbaum spends ample time critiquing Jane Jacobs with a relatively common critique that, while she is a patron saint of urbanism, she also had a troubling streak of Nimbyism that is worth understanding and unpacking. I’m on record as a committed fan of Jacobs’ work and have published the Jacobs column at Southern Urbanism since its founding. While I believe she is the origin of the New Urbanism and the first major objector to authoritarian American planning, I agree with Appelbaum that some of her strategies in defending Greenwich Village are also the germ seed of American Nimbyism. More on that below.

Secondly, Appelbaum flips the idea that rootedness leads to openness. This was almost shocking to read, as I, like most of you, believe that deep roots in a community (often created by the longevity of its residents) create bonds that strengthen relationships and make it more welcoming to outsiders. Appelbaum uses storytelling to show that this last point is not true and, in fact, the opposite may be true: nomadic people tend to be more welcoming and open, while people who stay and don’t move tend to be more closed, pessimistic, xenophobic, and resistant to others.

In this light, he argues that Americans’ mobility used to be unrivaled in the world, and this ability to perpetually up and move was the engine that drove our great experiment.

The idea that people should be able to choose their own communities—instead of being stuck where they are born—is a distinctly American innovation. It is the foundation for the country’s prosperity and democracy, and it just may be America’s most profound contribution to the world.

More importantly, Appelbaum points out that our mobility has radically declined over the last half century, and this is concerning. He links mobility to the American Dream, and mobility’s decline is also seeing correlating declines in happiness, civic participation, entrepreneurship, and cultural cohesion. And he rightly identifies progressive politics (he himself is often defined as “center-left”) as the problem, not because it is wrong, per se, as much as it is hypocritical:

The exclusion that has left so many Americans feeling trapped and hopeless traces back, instead, to the self-serving actions of a privileged group who say that inclusion, diversity, and social equality are among their highest values.

The American virtue of choice has been legislated out of commission. Appelbaum’s book concludes this harsh fact: “Opposition to mobility appears concentrated in progressive jurisdictions.”

How damning.

HOUSES AS TOOLS, NOT INVESTMENTS

Today, most Americans treat their primary home as an investment vehicle and, secondarily, as a place to raise their family. This has only been the case recently, as a consequence of inflationary monetary policy (among other issues), which encourages investment in appreciating assets relative to the declining value of cash. If homes were depreciating assets, which they had been for centuries, most of the shenanigans around Nimbyism would never arise. Appelbaum describes what this would look like by using the analogy of how we treat our iPhones:

Americans once tended to look at houses the way Americans today look at cars or iPhones. One decade’s prohibitive luxury was the next affordable convenience, and the third’s absolute necessity. A home was less a long-term investment—most people leased—than a consumer good to be enjoyed until the next model came within reach.

Also, since the 1960s, lawyers, politicians, and neighborhood advocates have specialized in bureaucratic lawfare that hijacks planning processes to prevent competition, keep outsiders out, and maximize personal asset value and appreciation rates for their own benefit. Often presented under a banner of “community engagement”, implying the wider community supports the behavior that might not exist, Appelbaum argues that this lawfare functions as the antithesis of equity, largely to rig the system for the elites at the expense of the remainder: “Professionals leverage their training and expertise to mount a challenge to the planning process, a form of bureaucratic warfare unavailable to the great majority of Americans.”

Appelbaum takes the gloves off on Jacobs here—where most urbanists treat her (and her writing) as a sacred cow, he accuses her of starting the nationwide process of exclusionary neighborhood planning (“neighborhoodism”) which dominates land use conversations to this day. I’ve personally witnessed planners go into neighborhoods and tell them “this is your neighborhood” and “you get to decide what goes here.” In a world of private property and public realm, these assertions are neither accurate nor helpful, and I’ve seen it not end well, but it doesn’t stop them from selling the story:

To stave off change, Jacobs and her allies asserted a proprietary right to control their neighborhood. It belonged, they argued, to those who were already there, and it should be up to them to decide who would get to join them. Over the decades that followed, the idea would take hold throughout the United States; a nation that had grown diverse and prosperous by allowing people to choose their communities would instead empower communities to choose their people.

While I might give Jacobs a small pass for staving off assaults from government planners rather than organic incremental development (it was the wrecking ball of a drunk-on-power Robert Moses she was up against), and that Nimbys citing Jane Jacobs often misread her and do so in bad faith, I do agree with Appelbaum that the modern neighborhood Nimby “Culture of No” started here. He argues, “In practice, the new processes turned out to be profoundly anti-democratic, allowing affluent communities to exclude new residents.” These practices were, and remain, profoundly unjust.

WE ARE MOBILITY, MOBILITY IS US

I spend a lot of time thinking about rootedness, a key component of placemaking and new urbanism. Conventional wisdom says that “moving” (or, in the negative, “displacement”) makes us worse, but Appelbaum flips this to suggest that “rootedness” is also synonymous with “being stuck”. It’s not always positive or voluntary. And he points out that this enthusiasm and optimism that is relatively unique to being an American is tied to our ability to move, try new things, experiment, and execute:

The key to vibrant communities, it turns out, is the exercise of choice. Left to their own devices, most people will stick to ingrained habits, to familiar circles of friends, to accustomed places. When people move from one community to another, though, they leave behind their old job, connections, and identity and seek out new ones. They force themselves to go meet their neighbors or to show up at a new church on Sunday despite the awkwardness. American individualism didn’t mean that people were disconnected from each other; it meant that they constructed their own individual identity by actively choosing the communities to which they would belong.

In other words, mobility and abundance thinking correlate. In Europe, immobile lifestyles “had taught them that admitting new members left a community with less to go around, so they treated outsiders with suspicion and hostility.” In America the polar opposite was true: “People who have recently changed residence report experiencing more supportive relationships and feeling more optimistic, having a greater sense of purpose, and increased self-respect. Those who want to move and cannot, by contrast, become more cynical and less satisfied with their lives.”

ZONING MAKES US IMMOBILE, POORER, and LESS HAPPY

Anybody who reads my writing knows I’m a persistent critic of both American zoning and the American planning institutions that create and enforce its standards. It’s because I find both un-American. If you’re skeptical of that thesis, I encourage you to read The Color of Law, which will disabuse you of any doubt.

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Like Richard Rothstein’s book, Appelbaum goes to the historical archives to prove that not only is zoning exclusionary (and often racist) today, but that it was always exclusionary and racist and founded to be precisely exclusionary and racist:

Zoning may have been adopted by well-meaning urban planners, but the process began in 1885 in Modesto, in California, where bigoted local officials were looking for a tool to push out Chinese residents; the federal courts would not allow them to segregate their city by race. They hit on a workaround: confining laundries—whose proprietors were overwhelmingly Chinese and generally lived in their shops—to the city’s Chinatown. Over the ensuing decades, other cities embraced this approach, discovering that segregating land by its uses and the size of the buildings it could hold was a potent means of segregating populations by race, ethnicity, and income.

Worse, a century on, legacy institutions have captured zoning as a tool to prevent newness, change, innovation, immigration, and growth.

Whatever its theoretical aspirations, in practice, progressivism has produced a potent strain of Nimbyism, a defense of communities in their current form against those who might wish to join them. Mobility is what made this country prosperous and pluralistic, diverse and dynamic. Now progressives are destroying the very force that produced the values they claim to cherish.

Discouraging mobility is the Achilles’ Heel of Progressivism in two ways. First, Nimbyism is proving to be an electoral loser, year after year. As the Democratic Party continues to flirt with the ideology, old-school party members lose interest, and moderates drift. Second, Nimbyism is proving to be electoral suicide at the national scale, as Americans are leaving progressive strongholds for red states, which tend to be more welcoming and supportive of traditional mobile lifestyles.

Progressives need to change this quickly, before national elections become completely unwinnable for a generation. To me, the path to national relevancy goes through housing. It’s getting Americans moving again. It’s letting families flourish and live in the most productive metros in the land. It’s celebrating that vibrancy, that optimism, the thrill of packing up and moving cross-country, the euphoria that comes with trying to start a business, a family, a civic institution. I can’t remember the last time the party exuded that kind of vibe.

And it’s because we’re stuck.

Far fewer Americans move every year than at any time in history. And, unlike a century ago, the ones moving are the ones who don’t need to. Appelbaum points out that “it was the working class who traditionally had the most to gain from moving, whereas today the gains are largely available only to the affluent.”

He concludes with three solutions—consistency, tolerance, and abundance—all lacking from today’s policy.

Solving crises often requires great sacrifice, but the simplest solution to this one promises to leave everyone better off. All you have to do is make room for some new neighbors—maybe even new friends—to join you, by allowing other people to build new housing on their property.

The road forward may not be easy, but since it mostly requires us to return to the way we traditionally did things, it need not be complex.

Let’s all commit to getting our communities, and our fellow men, unstuck.

Aaron Lubeck leads a book club conversation at 12:30pm on Wednesday, September 30th at Press Coffee + Crepes in Raleigh. The event is open to CITYBUILDER subscribers. Subscribe here. RSVP to the event here.

Aaron Lubeck is a designer, builder + developer with The Rocket Shop in Durham. He is the author of Green Restorations: Sustainable Building and Historic Homes, and a former adjunct at Duke University’s Nicholas School, where he lectured on sustainable home building. In 2012, Aaron developed Durham’s first net-zero-energy home, an infill project designed to fit seamlessly in its historic neighborhood.

Aaron’s more recent work focuses on zoning changes to facilitate the reconstruction of affordable housing markets, including local efforts to create Missing Middle codes. He recently served as faculty with Incremental Development Alliance in West Atlanta, training fledgling developers, and is host of The Townbuilder’s Podcast, a curated conversation with top new urbanist developers. He is the founder of Southern Urbanism, a non-profit dedicated to better city-building in the South. Follow him at @aaron_lubeck

LINKS

How Progressives Froze the American Dream (The Atlantic, Feb 2025). Most quotes in this essay come from this piece.

Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity

Hello! My name is Andy Lowe. I’m a Durham resident, Chapter lead for the Raleigh-Durham New Liberals, and regular character at Durham City Hall. I’m also a devout YIMBY, pro-housing citizen, and lover of all things missing middle. I’m excited to help lead the upcoming CITYBUILDER training on how to speak in support of housing at city council meetings!

Here’s my advice for how YOU can get started speaking up, as well as how I began my own pro-housing advocacy.

How I got started

I moved to Durham in 2021 because my employer told me to. At the time, I didn’t realize just how lucky I had gotten! Durham is awesome, and my now-wife and I quickly fell in love with the Bull City! In June 2025, I decided that I wanted to be involved in local politics, and so I attended my first Durham City Council meeting.

At first I just observed. YouTube makes most council meetings convenient to watch, but it’s different being in the room, where you can tell who’s reacting to what. How council members regard each other. Who talks to who during a recess. My first tip is always to go in person. It may seem redundant in the age of livestreaming, but in reality it sets you apart when you choose to speak.

At my second meeting, a rezoning case came up that was bread and butter upzoning. There happened to be limited opposition. The moment I stated my proponent position, most of the council perked out of half a slumber to listen. Proponents of rezoning cases (other than the applicant) were basically unheard of in Durham.

Since then, I’ve attended every council meeting I can, and recapped them on my Substack. I regularly speak in favor of housing. Generally, this consists of picking a worthy rezoning case, signing up, and speaking for 2-3 minutes.

Speaking at City Council

So… how can YOU also speak at your own city council meetings?

First, attend the September 10th training hosted by myself, CITYBUILDER, and YIMBY Triangle!

If you can’t quite make that, my first recommendation to anyone starting this journey is to attend and watch a few council meetings prior to ever approaching the podium. Listen, learn who is influential, understand how the flow of meetings work. There’s nothing worse than hearing your name, getting up to the podium, and not knowing how to work the microphone.

After that, pick a low-risk entry point. My first rezoning case was a slam dunk that had little opposition. This is ideal, since you’ll have the lowest possible pressure for your first time at the podium. In your speech, stick to good fundamental YIMBY talking points. Less is more, don’t go into every weed possible. Pick a good rhetorical point and make it well. If you don’t use all the time given, that’s ok. It is more important to state what you want well, than it is to speak a lot. I personally like to prepare bullet points to speak off of. That way, I have a short list of beats or themes I want to hit in the beginning, middle, and end of a talk.

Once you know what to do with the microphone and how the meetings run. Pick a case, prepare, and go speak regardless of the opposition. Are there 40 people lined up to oppose? That just makes your single pro position more notable. Myself, YIMBY Triangle, and CITYBUILDER are full of resources to help you prep.

Always, and I mean always, be polite. Say thank you for the council’s time. Be gracious with those you disagree with on and off the dais. It is tempting to fight with and bicker with NIMBYs in the crowd. But remember, your goal isn’t to influence them, it’s to represent your position well to the elected body. Being a voice of reason and calmness goes a long way.

And finally, be consistent! It sounds simple, but don’t just show up once every couple months. Elected officials notice who is there consistently. If you’re a regular, and every time you speak is productive and thoughtful, you will start to win hearts and minds. The YIMBY movement began as a dedicated local government advocacy group, and it is still most effective (in my humble opinion) as a movement focused on local government.

Anyone with the will and knowledge can make a difference at their local city council. I hope that this advice helps you take action, become more involved, advocate for pro-housing positions, and make a positive difference in your community.

RSVP for How to Speak at City Council

🕰️ Thursday September 10th • 6:30pm - 8:00pm
📍 Residence Inn by Marriott Durham McPherson • 1108 W Main St, Durham

Join CITYBUILDER and Yes! In My Triangle for this free training to learn how to speak at City Council and public meetings. We’ll be joined by local leaders and advocates, as well the Duke University Improv team!

In this this training we will:

• Learn how to sign up to speak at meetings

• Practice composing and delivering messages with impact

• Gain public speaking confidence through improv games

This training is FREE and open to the public, but spots are limited!

RSVP for How to Speak at City Council

Andy Lowe is a Durham resident who is passionate about local politics and land use. To keep up with him and the Durham City Council, check out his Substack. He serves as chapter lead for the RDU New Liberals.

Happy September, CITYBUILDERs!

This month, we have several opportunities to learn, connect, and get involved in shaping the future of our Triangle!

Thanks to everyone who came out to CITYBUILDER events over the summer. We were thrilled to see so many of you in Raleigh last week as we wrapped up our Summer Film Tour. Thanks to everyone who came out to learn more about housing and urbanism! And thanks to Maywood Hall at Trophy Brewing for hosting us in your space.

First up, we’re partnering with Yes! In My Triangle for How to Speak at City Council on September 10th in Durham. Whether you’ve never spoken at a public meeting before or you’re looking to sharpen your advocacy skills, this free training will give you the tools and confidence to make your voice heard. We’ll learn how to navigate public meetings, practice delivering messages with impact, and even have some fun with the Duke Improv team! We hope you’ll join us, and bring a friend who wants to get more involved locally. Please RSVP.

RSVP for How to Speak at City Council

We’re also continuing our special two-part series on the local programs that are training the Triangle’s future city builders. For our September Policy Talk, we’ll hear from Adam Walters of NC State’s Pappas Real Estate Development Program about the education and work happening right here in the Triangle to prepare the next generation of planners, designers, developers, and advocates. If you know a high school or college student who is interested in cities, architecture, planning, development, or public service, please share this free conversation with them!

RSVP for Policy Talk

And finally, CITYBUILDER Book Club is back! On September 30th, we’ll gather in Raleigh to discuss Yoni Appelbaum’s Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity. We’re excited to welcome Aaron Lubeck of Southern Urbanism to lead the conversation. As always, this is a chance to dig into a big idea, hear different perspectives, and spend some time with fellow city builders.

RSVP for Book Club

There are also a ton of great events happening around the Triangle with our friends and fellow housing advocates, including the Raleigh Strong Towns and Yes! In My Triangle meetups, and Raleigh Rising’s Who Can’t Afford Raleigh? town hall.

And we’re just getting started! In October, we’re excited to kick-off a month of housing programming in coordination with the North Carolina Housing Coalition. If you haven’t already, make sure you’re registered for the NC Affordable Housing Conference 2026 on October 22 & 23. Then, stay plugged in for housing events throughout the Triangle leading up to the YIMBYtown conference.

Building better cities takes more than policies and plans, it takes people like you, who are willing to show up, speak up, and build together. We hope you’ll find a way to join us this month and all autumn long.

See you this fall!

Charlotte Chapman
Program & Operations Manager, CITYBUILDER

EVENTS WITH CITYBUILDER

How to Speak at City Council Training Session

Thursday September 10th • 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Residence Inn by Marriott Durham McPherson • 1108 W Main St, Durham

Join CITYBUILDER and Yes! In My Triangle for this free training to learn how to speak at City Council and public meetings. We’ll be joined by local leaders and advocates, as well the Duke University Improv team!

In this this training we will:

• Learn how to sign up to speak at meetings

• Practice composing and delivering messages with impact

• Gain confidence through improv games

This training is FREE and open to the public, but registration is limited.

RSVP for How to Speak at City Council

CITYBUILDER Policy Talk: How to Build a City Part II with Adam Walters

Tuesday September 22nd • 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Virtual • RSVP at the Link

This fall, we’re launching a special two-part online series highlighting the incredible city-building programs at our local Universities. The Triangle is home to some of the world’s top schools, and right here in our backyard, students are preparing to become the planners, architects, engineers, public servants, developers, designers, and advocates who will shape the future of our communities.

For our second talk, we’re excited to welcome Adam Walters PLA, ASLA, ISA, Associate Director of the NC State Pappas Real Estate Development Program, and Adjunct Assistant Professor of the Practice in Forestry and Environmental Resources. Adam’s work endeavors to create healthy, happy communities through better design & planning.

Please share this free learning opportunity with high school seniors, college students, or anyone curious about a career building better places. These conversations will introduce us to the programs, faculty, and opportunities that can help turn a passion for cities into a meaningful career.

CITYBUILDER Book Club: Stuck with Aaron Lubeck

Wednesday September 30th • 12:00pm - 1:00pm
PRESS Coffee Crêpes Cocktails • 400 Hillsborough St, Suite 108, Raleigh

Join us for community and conversation. CITYBUILDER will purchase your non-alcoholic beverage of choice.

Our discussion of Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity by Yoni Appelbaum will be led by Aaron Lubeck of Durham, NC.

Aaron is a designer & builder with a career in historic preservation, green building, new urbanism, and affordability. Aaron is the founder of Southern Urbanism.

EVENTS WITH FRIENDS

Raleigh Strong Towns Monthly Meetup

Tue Sep 15th 6:30pm - 7:30pm

📍 Weaver Street Market (Upstairs Mezzanine), 404 W Hargett St, Raleigh, NC 27603, USA

Join local neighbors, advocates, and city builders for the monthly Raleigh Strong Towns meetup! This casual gathering is a great place to talk about building stronger, more resilient communities; from housing choices and safe streets to local fiscal responsibility.

All are welcome to come listen, share ideas, and connect with others working toward a stronger Raleigh. This event is hosted by Strong Town Raleigh.

RSVP for Raleigh Strong Towns

Raleigh Rising - Who Can’t Afford Raleigh? Town Hall Event

Thu Sep 17th 5:00pm - 7:00pm

📍 John Chavis Memorial Park, 505 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA

Wake County is growing faster than almost anywhere in America, but too many of the people who make this community work are being priced out of it. Raleigh Rising is bringing real data, real stories, and real partnerships to the housing conversation, and we want you at the table.

RSVP for Raleigh Rising Town Hall

BEYOND SEPTEMBER

From October 22 to November 22 we’re connecting with housing advocates to create a month of housing, kicking off the with North Carolina Affordable Housing conference on October 22, and ending with YIMBYtown November 17 through 19, and finally the 100th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision on Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co on November 22.

RSVP for NC Afford. Housing Conference

Registration is open for YIMBYtown 2026!

The nation’s pro-housing gathering is coming to Raleigh! Join advocates from throughout the Triangle, across the state, and around the country for sessions on all things housing and YIMBY-ism.

RSVP for YIMBYtown

Hello CITYBUILDERs and happy August! We hope you’ve been having a wonderful summer.

There’s been a ton of events to enjoy around the Triangle, and maybe you’ve also made it out to other parts of North Carolina! Whether you escaped to the mountains or relaxed at the beach, having both just a short drive away is one of the many reasons we love calling the Triangle home.

Many of you have also joined CITYBUILDER for events this summer.

In July, we continued our summer film series in Cary. Shout out to Hearsay and everyone at The Matthews House for sharing their beautiful space with our community. We had a great turnout and another lively discussion. If you haven’t been able to make it to a film screening yet, you have one more chance to join us in Raleigh on August 26th. More info below.

We’re excited to re-start our monthly Policy Talks with a special series on Training the Triangle’s City Builders of Tomorrow. This back-to-school series in August and September will highlight the incredible wealth of knowledge we have locally at our major universities. Students are a unique and vital part of our Triangle communities. If you know any young or aspiring city builders, please tell them to join the calls! This is a chance for students (and all of us) to learn more about these local programs and opportunities.

If you haven’t already - be sure to fill out our CITYBUILDER survey. We’re building the next chapter of CITYBUILDER, and we need your voice. Take our 10-minute community survey to help shape our programs, events, and advocacy, plus you’ll be entered for a chance to win a copy of our next book club selection, Stuck by Yoni Appelbaum.

Thank you for being a part of building this movement with us.

Charlotte Chapman
Executive Administrator, CITYBUILDER

In Case You Missed It: YIMBYtown 2026

Be an Early Bird for YIMBYtown 2026!

Registration for YIMBYtown 2026 is LIVE! Early Bird ticket pricing ENDS on August 15th. Get your tickets now at yimby.town!

AUGUST EVENTS WITH CITYBUILDER

SUMMER FILM TOUR: Last Stop - Raleigh!

Wednesday August 26th • 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Trophy Brewing at Maywood Hall • 656 Maywood Ave, Raleigh
Get Tickets Here

Join us for the final screening of our Summer Film Tour!

We’re partnering with Better Cities Film Festival and Southern Urbanism to showcase a selection of short, documentary films highlighting housing and urbanism from across the country.

This will be a family-friendly evening, and a great chance to escape the summer heat, sit back, relax, and enjoy thought-provoking and inspiring films. Your $10 ticket to the event includes popcorn. Drinks will be available for purchase.

These films showcase lessons from other places, lessons from the past, and inspiration for the future that we can apply to our local Triangle communities. Thanks to our partners Southern Urbanism, and our sponsor The Rocket Shop for their support.

Interested becoming a sponsor of our Raleigh film night? Email us at citybuildernc@gmail.com!

POLICY TALK: How to Build a City

Practical Programs from the Triangle’s Top Universities • Part I with Eric Maribojoc, Professor of the Practice at UNC Chapel Hill

Thursday August 25th • 12:00pm - 1:00pm
RSVP here for this virtual talk

This fall, we’re launching a special two-part online series highlighting the incredible city-building programs at our local universities. The Triangle is home to some of the world’s top schools, and right here in our backyard, students are preparing to become the planners, architects, engineers, public servants, developers, designers, and advocates who will shape the future of our communities.

For our first talk in this two-part series, we’re excited to welcome Eric Maribojoc, Professor of the Practice at UNC Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, and Housing Affordability Initiative lead. Eric is a real estate professional, educator and researcher with extensive experience. His focus areas include future trends in design, zoning, and technology, housing supply and affordability, adaptive reuse, sustainability, and resilience.

Please share this free learning opportunity with high school seniors, college students, or anyone curious about a career building better places. These conversations will introduce you to the programs, faculty, and opportunities that can help turn your passion for cities into a meaningful career.

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MORE AUGUST EVENTS FOR CITYBUILDERS

RALEIGH AFFORDABLE HOUSING FORUM

Saturday August 25th 1:00 - 5:00PM
Raleigh Convention Center, 500 S Salisbury St, Raleigh
Learn more and sign up for updates

Raleigh is growing fast. As the population grows and development gets costlier, rents and home prices are rising. The City of Raleigh is committed to tackling housing affordability challenges to ensure every Raleigh resident has a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home.

This event will feature CITYBUILDER Founder Jenn Truman as a panelist.

Hello CITYBUILDERs and Happy July!

It’s been a great summer so far. It’s a privilege to watch this community grow as new people discover CITYBUILDER and our events, and it’s a thrill to see the same folks return with new friends and family in tow. Thank you for building this movement with us!

In June, we kicked off the first night of our Summer Film Tour. Thank you again to Sean at Fullsteam Brewery for providing space and refreshments. Not only did we get to watch inspiring films about housing and urbanism, but we got a sneak peek at the new Fullsteam Brewery space at the American Tobacco campus in Durham. Thanks to everyone who came out for an unforgettable evening!

Next, the Film Tour is headed to Hearsay in Cary! Get your $10 tickets ahead of time, or you can buy them at the door. We’re showing the same reel from Better Cities Film Festival at each location. If you saw the films in Durham and think there’s someone who needs to see them, send them to Cary on July 22nd or Raleigh on August 26th. It’s a family-friendly evening, and a great chance to escape the summer heat, sit back, relax, and enjoy thought-provoking and inspiring films. Thanks to our partners Southern Urbanism, and our Durham sponsor The Rocket Shop for your support.

Interested in sponsoring one of our upcoming film nights in Cary or Raleigh? Reach out for more info (citybuildernc@gmail.com).

Also in July, we’re excited to again be partnering with our good friends at RaleighForward and WakeUp Wake County for a Happy Hour on July 29th from 5PM to 7PM at Good Graces in North Raleigh. Come connect with the pro-housing community in Raleigh, and find out more about these three important, community-based organizations, working at different scales for Raleigh, Wake County, and the Triangle.

All that, and the 4th of July coming up! Whether you like to grill out, participate in a parade, watch the fireworks, or dig into our rich history, the Triangle has got you covered.

We hope you have a safe and celebratory 4th of July. We can’t wait to see you!

Charlotte Chapman
Executive Administrator, CITYBUILDER

In Case You Missed It…

Be an Early Bird for YIMBYtown 2026!

Registration for YIMBYtown 2026 is LIVE! Get your Early Bird tickets now at yimby.town.

Got an idea for a talk? Apply to speak! RFPs are open through July 17th!

JULY EVENTS WITH CITYBUILDER

SUMMER FILM TOUR - CARY!

Wednesday July 22nd • 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Hearsay, A Cocktail Bar • 317 W Chatham St, Cary
RSVP & Tickets

Join us for the second stop on our Summer Film Tour!

We’re partnering with Better Cities Film Festival and Southern Urbanism to showcase a selection of short, documentary films highlighting housing and urbanism from across the country.

The films showcase lessons from other places, lessons from the past, and inspiration for the future that we can apply to our local Triangle communities.

This will be a family-friendly evening, and a great chance to escape the summer heat, sit back, relax, and enjoy thought-provoking and inspiring films. Your $10 ticket to the event includes popcorn. Drinks will be available for purchase.

HAPPY HOUR with RaleighForward • WakeUp Wake County • CITYBUILDER
Wednesday July 29th • 5:00pm - 7:00pm

Good Graces • 540 St Albans Dr Ste 130, Raleigh
RSVP at the link

We’re excited to again be partnering with our good friends at RaleighForward and WakeUp Wake County for a Happy Hour on July 29th from 5PM to 7PM at Good Graces in North Raleigh.

Come connect with the pro-housing community in Raleigh, and find out more about these three important, community-based organizations, working at different scales for Raleigh, Wake County, and the Triangle.

We’ll see you there!

Happy Summer CITYBUILDERs!

We’re looking forward to a season full of sunshine and more ways to connect and build the pro-housing community together!

This summer, we’re putting our usual Book Club on hold. (We’ll be back in September with Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity by Yoni Applebaum if you want to get a head start on reading.)

In lieu of our Book Club, we’re thrilled to announce a Summer Film Tour! We’re partnering with Better Cities Film Festival and Southern Urbanism to showcase a selection of short, documentary films highlighting housing and urbanism from across the country. This will be a family-friendly evening, and a great chance to escape the summer heat, sit back, relax, and enjoy thought-provoking and inspiring films.

Our first movie night is June 25th at the new FullSteam Theater in the American Tobacco Campus. Tickets are available now. Join us in Durham in June, Cary in July, or Raleigh in August. We can’t wait to see you there!

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For our June Policy Talk, we’re excited to showcase the work of Paige Kanipe. Paige is a recent graduate of North Carolina State University with a Masters of Advanced Architectural Studies. Her graduate thesis work focused on how buildings can be deconstructed rather than demolished in order to preserve building materials and reduce construction waste. Join us for a virtual lunch and learn on June 16th to learn more about this innovative, sustainable approach to building.

And if you haven’t already, be sure to sign up to join us this weekend for a tour of ADUs in Raleigh! We’re excited to celebrate and show off what’s been built since Raleigh passed groundbreaking reforms in 2020 to allow ADU construction by-right in the city. Come see the progress we’ve made!

We can’t wait to see you there; happy summer y’all!

Charlotte Chapman
Executive Administrator, CITYBUILDER

ICYMI - SIGN UP NOW FOR YIMBYTOWN!

Be an Early Bird for YIMBYtown 2026!

Registration for YIMBYtown 2026 is LIVE! Get your Early Bird tickets now at yimby.town.

JUNE EVENTS WITH CITYBUILDER

ADU Professional Training
Saturday June 6th • 9:00am - 12:00pm
AIA Triangle • 14 E Peace St, Raleigh
RSVP for the Training

Join us for a morning of learning and conversation in this workshop introducing architects and builders to ADU design, permitting, and sustainable construction methods enabled by Raleigh’s 2020 ADU reforms.

Continuing Education credits available. Breakfast will be served.

ADU Sustainability Tour
Saturday June 6th • 1:00pm - 5:00pm
RSVP for the Tour

Join CITYBUILDER and our friends from RaleighForward and WakeUP Wake County for our first ADU tour around Raleigh. We’ll visit ADUs in an open-house style, discovering new builds and design practices that were enabled by Raleigh’s 2020 ADU reforms.

Please note: the rain date for the ADU Sustainability Tour and the ADU Professional Training is June 20, 2026.

Summer Film Tour - Durham!
Thursday June 25th • 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Fullsteam Theater American Tobacco Campus • 320 Blackwell St, Durham
RSVP & Tickets

Join us for the premier of our Summer Film Tour!

We’re partnering with Better Cities Film Festival and Southern Urbanism to showcase a selection of short, documentary films highlighting housing and urbanism from across the country. This will be a family-friendly evening, and a great chance to escape the summer heat, sit back, relax, and enjoy thought-provoking and inspiring films. Your $10 ticket to the event includes popcorn. Drinks will be available for purchase.

POLICY TALK: Building Deconstruction not Demolition with Paige Kanipe
Tuesday June 16th • 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Please RSVP for this virtual talk

Did you know - 600 million tons of construction and demolition waste are produced in the US annually? Learn how we can recycle and reuse buildings through deconstruction rather than demolition to reduce waste while providing materials for building to build more sustainably.

Join us to hear more from Paige Kanipe, recent graduate with a Masters of Advanced Architectural Studies from the NC State School of Architecture.

Happy May CITYBUILDERs!

It was a busy April, and and there’s even more in store for May! You can find all the CITYBUILDER events, plus events by local friends and allies at the CITYBUILDER event page!

In April we were excited to join with allies from throughout the housing advocacy spectrum (from direct service providers to elected officials) at the North Carolina Housing Coalition Legislative Lobbying day to speak with our representatives about the importance of funding and supporting housing in North Carolina. It was inspiring to connect with so many people doing this important work.

This past month we had the pleasure of connecting with pro-housing advocates from across the Triangle. We saw our friends from the Sierra Club at RaleighForward and WakeUp Wake County’s earth day event, where one tree-expert panelist stated that density is the most important thing we can work towards if we want to preserve and promote tree canopy.

Last month we held our first Virtual Walkthrough Policy Talk with Steve Wilk at Loft3 in Raleigh. We were excited to showcase their innovative design and building methods used in this housing built with inclusionary zoning. (You can read more about the project here.)

And this past Friday, we were thrilled to host a lunch celebration for the final review of NC State Architecture School’s Single Stair Studio course. Local advocates and elected officials joined us in celebrating the work of these students, whose designs explored what we could build if we were to legalize this innovative yet traditional building form. (Learn more about the benefits of Single Stair reform and how you can support at Single Stair NC).

For May, we are excited to share several events by our friends and allies. The Durham Community Land Trustees are celebrating 50 years this Spring with their Bringing Durham Home Gala event on Saturday May 16th. The DCLT continues to be a vital force in creating permanently affordable homes through the land trust model.

Over in Orange County, the Chapel Hill Community Land Trust also serves to provide affordable homes in a land trust model. You can register for a bus tour of their neighborhoods happening this Thursday May 7th. More information and registration at their website.

Later in May, the Home Builders Associations of Durham, Orange & Chatham Counties are continuing their 2026 Housing Summit Series with an event exploring how development math actually works; Making the Math… Math. This working session is built around a simple premise: public and private sectors are partners in housing, and we get better results when we understand each other. CITYBUILDERs get 50% off their registration with the code CITYBUILDER.

And of course, CITYBUILDER is continuing to host our Policy Talk and Book Club series. At our May CITYBUILDER Book Club, we’ll be discussing A Paradise of Small Houses by urban planner Max Podemski. This book traces the history of the dense, affordable, urban housing that was built in our great cities in the past, and how we could build this way again today to tackle the housing crisis.

For the CITYBUILDER Carolina Policy Talk this month we are thrilled to be joined by Stephanie Watkins-Cruz, Director of Housing Policy at the North Carolina Housing Coalition, Theo Nollert, Chapel Hill Town Councilor and Director of Policy at Carolina Forward, and David Crawford, Executive Vice President of AIA North Carolina to discuss the Legislative Agenda for their orgs during this short session.

If that’s not enough, May is also National Bike Month! The City of Raleigh and Oaks and Spokes each have a robust lineup of events, Durham is hosting their annual Bike Stampede, Cary is hosting Bike Bingo all month, Carrboro is hosting events all month including a Cinco de Mayo ride, Chapel Hill also has a lineup, including a Bike-Themed movie in the park (it’s E.T.) As we published recently, bike advocates must advocate for land use reforms if we want to make a meaningful impact on safety. Read more in the latest VERBATIM piece.

If you haven’t yet come to an event, May is a great time to show up for housing! It’s been great getting to know many of the repeat-attendees. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you again, or for the first time, real soon.

Thanks everyone!

Best,
Charlotte Chapman
Executive Administrator, CITYBUILDER

CALLS TO ACTION

Watch This Space! Rezonings & Legislation will Need Your Support

There are several housing projects throughout the Triangle that may (or may not) end up before Planning Commissions and City Councils in May, plus pro-housing legislation that could end up before the legislature. Continue to subscribe to CITYBUILDER updates, including our weekly CITYBUILDER Brief (paid subscribers only) for updates about when to show up and where.

Be an Early Bird for YIMBYtown 2026!

ICYMI - YIMBYtown 2026 is coming to Raleigh in November! Registration opens this week. Be the first to find out early-bird registration launch, speaker topics, and hotel blocks by signing up for updates at yimby.town

MAY EVENTS WITH CITYBUILDER

CITYBUILDER BOOK CLUB:
A Paradise Of Small Houses: The Evolution, Devolution, and Potential Rebirth of Urban Housing by Max Podemski
with Payton Chung

Thursday May 28th • 12:00pm - 1:00pm
PRESS Coffee, Crêpes & Cocktails • 400 Hillsborough St, Suite 108, Raleigh

Join us for our monthly book club. This month, we’ll be discussing Max Podemski’s A Paradise Of Small Houses: The Evolution, Devolution, and Potential Rebirth of Urban Housing with discussion led by Payton Chung, LEED AP ND.

This book explores the history of diverse, small-scale urban housing types, arguing that reviving typologies such as bungalows and row houses is a practical, human-scale solution to the modern housing affordability crisis.

Our discussion lead, Payton Chung, is a developer and author who writes about the interrelated crafts that build cities: architecture, development, finance, landscape, planning, and transportation. He has written for the Urban Land Institute, Greater Greater Washington, the American Institute of Architects, Streetsblog, and the Congress for the New Urbanism. He is a Cary native and currently working on transit-oriented residential developments in the Triangle region of North Carolina. Payton is also a CITYBUILDER board member and regular contributor.

Reading the book is never required, but always encouraged. Come discuss the themes and enjoy lunch from Press. CITYBUILDER will buy you the (non-alcoholic) beverage of your choice.

CITYBUILDER POLICY TALK: Into to NC’s 2026 Legislative Session with Stephanie Watkins-Cruz, Theo Nollert, and David Crawford

Thursday May 21st • 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Please RSVP for this virtual talk

Join us for our May CITYBUILDER Carolina Policy Talk where we will be joined by three change makers to discuss what’s coming up for housing in the short legislative session this year.

We’ll be joined by Stephanie Watkins-Cruz, Director of Housing Policy at the North Carolina Housing Coalition, Theo Nollert, Chapel Hill Town Councilor and Director of Policy at Carolina Forward, and David Crawford, Executive Vice President of AIA North Carolina to discuss the Legislative Agenda for their orgs during this short session.

Register to join this virtual call where you can learn more.

ALLIED EVENTS

CHAPEL HILL COMMUNITY HOME TRUST: Neighborhood Tour

Thursday May 7th • 3:00 PM
Registration at the Link

Join the Chapel Hill Community Home Trust on a Neighborhood Tour more about the communities where CHT residents live and see some examples of our homes for yourself. The neighborhood tour lasts approximately two hours and starts with coffee and conversation at our office. Space on the bus is limited and registration is required.

DURHAM COMMUNITY LAND TRUSTEES: Bringing Durham Home 50th Anniversary Gala

Saturday May 16th • Registration at the Link

The Durham Community Land Trustees are celebrating 50 years this Spring with their Bringing Durham Home Gala event on Saturday May 16th. The DCLT continues to be a vital force in creating permanently affordable homes through the land trust model.

HBA OF DURHAM AND ORANGE COUNTIES: Housing & Development Summit: Making the Math...Math

Wednesday May 27th • 8:00AM - 12:00PM
Register Now and get 50% off with code CITYBUILDER

The Home Builders Associations of Durham, Orange & Chatham Counties are continuing their 2026 Housing Summit Series with an event exploring how development math actually works; Making the Math… Math.

This working session is built around a simple premise: public and private sectors are partners in housing, and we get better results when we understand each other.

CITYBUILDERs get 50% off their registration with the code CITYBUILDER. More information and registration.

Spring is here, and so are CITYBUILDER events! Don’t mind the wild temperature swings and a coating of yellow covering everything; join us to connect with community and remember why long-time residents and newcomers alike delight in calling the Triangle home.

As always, events produced by CITYBUILDER, as well as events by our friends, allies, and other fun activities are listed on our CITYBUILDER Events Page.

CITYBUILDER is continuing our events with another Policy Talk and Book Club for April. Join us on April 13th for our in-person monthly Book Club at Press Cafe in Downtown Raleigh, where we’ll have an informal conversation about this month’s book, Home: A Short History of an Idea by Witold Rybczynski led by Nicholas Chrapliwy, Executive Director of The Rhizome Institute in Durham.

For our April Policy Talk we’re charting new territory, leading a virtual walk-through of the new Loft3 21-unit condo project in Downtown Raleigh on April 23rd. We’ll be broadcasting live f…

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At our book club on March 25th, we’ll be exploring The Upswing by Robert D. Putnam. This work explains how the United States moved from the individualistic, unequal Gilded Age to a more cooperative and community-minded “We” society in the early twentieth century, only to swing back toward inequality and polarization beginning in the 1960s. Blending data and storytelling, Putnam argues that because Americans have reversed such decline before, we can draw lessons from that earlier era to rebuild a stronger, more unified nation today.

This month’s book club will be led by Nick Neptune, an artist, educator, civic entrepreneur, and community advocate based in Raleigh. Haven’t read the book? No problem! NPR has a great summary; we’d still love for you to contribute to our conversation!

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Despite recent winter storms, the first signs of spring are beginning to show throughout the Triangle. Beyond March Madness, this month is a great time to connect with the CITYBUILDER community.

We’ve got some amazing events planned, including our Policy Talk focused on Raleigh’s Small Lot Code, and our Book Club on Robert Putnim’s The Upswing, which will be hosted by Nick Neptune. More information on these and other events below!

But first, be sure you mark your calendar and make a plan to vote on Primary Election Day: Tuesday March 3rd. Specific races vary across the Triangle, but there’s something important to vote on in every city and town in the region. With our focus on housing, CITYBUILDER has again prepared Candidate Report Cards highlighting pro-housing candidates in Ralei…

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As we thaw out from last week’s ice, and find ourselves once again facing a wintery scene, we are heartened to look ahead to a month full of opportunities to connect and build this community together.

While weather disruptions have recently impacted business as usual, still there’s been a lot happening lately throughout the Triangle, and we’re looking forward to a full and productive February.

ICYMI, Durham has released the the final draft of the new Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) Land Development Code (LDC). In February, we’re excited to be hosting several opportunities to review and support changes to the new code. See more information below, and check out our full calendar of events here.

Meanwhile, the 2026 election season is off and runn…

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Building for People: Designing Livable, Affordable, Low-Carbon Communities by Micheal Eliason arrives at a moment when the U.S. housing conversation is finally getting more specific. We are no longer just asking how much housing we need, but what kind and why the rules we rely on so often prevent us from building places people actually want to live in.

Eliason makes the argument that our housing outcomes are not the result of market failure or lack of innovation. They are the predictable product of a small number of regulatory choices that shape building form early and decisively. Once those choices are made, affordability, livability, and environmental impact are largely locked in.

At the center of Building for People is the idea that form matters more than we admit. Eliason shows how mid-rise, human-scale buildings, often four to six stories, deliver better outcomes than both suburban sprawl and high-rise towers. These buildings are dense without being overwhelming, compact without be…

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As we reflect on 2025, our hearts are full of gratitude for the community that you’ve helped us create. We’re coming off a huge year; 2025 was full of wins, from pro-housing candidates that won elections throughout the region, to the conversations we’re having everyday to change hearts and minds. With your support, we’ve advocated for growth, affordability, and new neighbors around the Triangle.

When we launched in earnest in January 2025, we were hopeful and ready to work hard to gain trust and respect as a new organization. Through your support, we’re ecstatic to have over 8,500 followers across all platforms. Thank you for being on this journey with us.

And we’re just getting started. Looking ahead to 2026, we’re planning more opportunities to learn, engage, and advocate for housing in our communities.

But that’s not all…

We’re thrilled to share that CITYBUILDER has been selected to host the 2026 National YIMBYtown…

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Don’t forget to vote this Tuesday, November 4th. If you haven’t already voted early, be sure to take time this Tuesday in your local municipal election. To help you factor in housing when you decide who to vote for, CITYBUILDER has compiled report cards for candidates throughout the Triangle. If housing matters to you, please be sure to vote.

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In Escaping the Housing Trap, urbanists Charles Marohn and Daniel Herriges argue that America’s housing crisis stems from a fundamental conflict: housing as a speculative investment, where prices must perpetually rise to fuel financial systems, versus housing as essential shelter, where escalating costs trap families in distress and stifle community resilience.

Drawing on Strong Towns principles, the authors propose that post-WWII zoning, subsidies, and top-down financial pressures have supplanted the organic, incremental growth that once built resilient American cities — replacing diverse, adaptive neighborhoods with fragile, debt-fueled sprawl.

Keeping the discussion solution-oriented, I would like to focus on the book’s urgent call to “unleash the swarm” of incremental developers: a decentralized network of small-scale builders, rehabbers, and entrepreneurs who operate independently toward a collective goal. Th…

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TLDR: Mark your calendars! Tuesday October 14th CITYBUILDER will be hosting Durham Election Candidate Forum focused on Housing at Motorco from 7-9PM.

With local elections afoot, housing and development issues are front and center, and your participation matters. In case you missed it, our Candidate Report Cards on Housing in Durham are out. And stay tuned - our report cards for other races in the Triangle are coming soon. You can see all of the latest CITYBUILDER Election 2025 coverage here.

We’ve also been continuing our coverage of housing and urbanism across the triangle, with articles on biking and density, the unintended effects of NIMBYism, and how baseball contributes to great places.

October in the Triangle brings elections, advocacy, and plenty of ways to come together as neighbors. Don’t miss the CITYBUILDER Events Calendar for updates and mo…

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We all know the challenges facing our current development systems: fragmented communities, housing scarcity, and car-dependent growth. The problems are complex, but the solutions can be simple. This month, CITYBUILDER is diving into one set of solutions, The Charter of the New Urbanism. We’ll discuss this foundational text over lunch in Raleigh on Wednesday, September 24th (RSVP here for details).

History of The Charter

In the mid-1990s, a group of architects, planners, and developers formed the Congress for the New Urbanism to challenge the negative impacts of urban sprawl.

Adopted in 1996, their Charter articulates remedies to the low-density, car-dependent development that became widespread after World War II. To combat these postwar deficiencies, the Charter preaches principles for creating walkable, mixed-use, human-scaled communities — principles tha…

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We’ve been working hard planning our fall season full of opportunities to learn and connect. We hope you can join our upcoming events, and check out events by our allies, as well as opportunities for advocacy. Thank you to everyone who has come out so far. We are thrilled to watch this community continue to grow!

We’re excited to focus our attention this fall on municipal elections taking place across the Triangle. In case you missed it, Jenn Truman wrote a piece outlining every candidate in every local election, to keep you up to speed.

This year’s election in Durham especially highlights the importance of housing and development policy and practice in local government. We’ll be giving extra attention to this Bull City election, and continuing our focus on Durham’s ongoing Unified Development Ordinance re-write.

Looking ahead, on Tuesday October 14th CITYBUILDER will be hosting Durham Election Candidate Forum focused on Housing at Motorco from 7-9PM. Mark your calendars!

Don’t miss the C…

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Why it matters to NC today

The Power Broker is very much a monument of a prior era of urban planning, but it reveals timeless patterns of how politics and policy intersect to make infrastructure decisions that shape communities. Grand new parks in central Raleigh and Cary are a testament to the placemaking power of parks, something that Moses understood early in his career.

We might think that the Moses era of unbridled, toll-funded highway expansion is a relic of the mid-20th century -- yet at this very moment there are still bulldozers chopping away at trees between Garner and Knightdale to extend the Outer Loop and cement (as Mo…

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