Highlights: #211 – Sam Bowman on why housing still isn’t fixed and what would actually work

Highlights: #211 – Sam Bowman on why housing still isn’t fixed and what would actually work

Author: The 80,000 Hours team January 6, 2025 Duration: 1:01:20

Economist and editor of Works in Progress Sam Bowman isn’t content to just condemn the Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) mentality behind rich countries' construction stagnation. He wants to actually get a tonne of stuff built, and by that standard the strategy of attacking ‘NIMBYs’ has been an abject failure. They are too politically powerful, and if you try to crush them, sooner or later they crush you.

So Sam lays out three alternative strategies in our full interview with him — including highlights like:

  • Rich countries have a crisis of underconstruction (00:00:19)
  • The UK builds shockingly little because of its planning permission system (00:04:57)
  • Overcoming NIMBYism means fixing incentives (00:07:21)
  • NIMBYs aren't wrong: they are often harmed by development (00:10:44)
  • Street votes give existing residents a say (00:16:29)
  • It's essential to define in advance who gets a say (00:24:37)
  • Property tax distribution might be the most important policy you've never heard of (00:28:55)
  • Using aesthetics to get buy-in for new construction (00:35:48)
  • Locals actually really like having nuclear power plants nearby (00:44:14)
  • It can be really useful to let old and new institutions coexist for a while (00:48:27)
  • Ozempic and living in the decade that we conquered obesity (00:53:05)
  • Northern latitudes still need nuclear power (00:55:30)

These highlights are from episode #211 of The 80,000 Hours Podcast: Sam Bowman on why housing still isn’t fixed and what would actually work. These aren't necessarily the most important, or even most entertaining parts of the interview — so if you enjoy this, we strongly recommend checking out the full episode!

And if you're finding these highlights episodes valuable, please let us know by emailing podcast@80000hours.org. (And you may have noticed this episode is longer than most of our highlights episodes — let us know if you liked that or not!)

Highlights put together by Simon Monsour, Milo McGuire, and Dominic Armstrong


From the team behind 80,000 Hours comes 80k After Hours, a companion podcast that ventures beyond the main feed's structured career advice. Here, the researchers and producers gather for more informal, wide-ranging conversations that reflect their ongoing curiosities. You'll hear discussions that dig into the nuances of effective altruism, grapple with complex ideas in philosophy and policy, and explore unexpected topics in culture and science-all through the lens of how we might better understand and improve the world. The tone is conversational and exploratory, often feeling like you're listening in on a lively lunch debate among experts who don't take themselves too seriously. While the core mission of finding impactful ways to do good remains, this podcast allows for the tangents, personal reflections, and deeper dives that don't always fit a standard format. It’s a space for the team to think out loud, test arguments, and share the interesting, sometimes quirky, material they're engaging with in their own work. For listeners of the main show, it offers valuable background and new perspectives; for newcomers, it provides an accessible entry point into a community of ideas focused on practical problem-solving and self improvement. Tune in for a blend of thoughtful documentary-style analysis, societal deep dives, and candid chats that aim to be both intellectually substantive and genuinely enjoyable.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

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