Albuquerque Urbanist Blog With a YIMBY-Bent
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— Residents living beside a fenced dirt alleyway warned city officials Wednesday that converting the neglected corridor into a separated walking and bicycling trail could expose the neighborhood to an unprecedented threat: people traveling somewhere. “We understand that Sawmill Market, Old Town, and the BioPark are major public attractions,” said one concerned resident. “But […]
What four fights over a trail, a stadium, a mosque, and a hotel reveal about how Albuquerque handles change. Long before anyone reaches the microphone, you already know roughly how the evening will unfold. Folding chairs scrape across the floor, a projector hums to life, city staff pin traffic studies to easels while neighbors flip […]
There is a specific type of yard sign you see in every neighborhood in Albuquerque. You know the one. It sits in front of a carefully restored home in Huning Castle or the North Valley, framed by mature trees and a wrought iron fence, announcing in bold, reassuring typography that no one is illegal, water […]
Editorials: Managed, not represented: what Albuquerque’s housing debate revealed. Peña’s Faustian Bargain to hold the gavel There is a particular kind of civic cruelty that does not look like cruelty when it is happening, and does not announce itself as such. It looks like procedure, or patience, or a request for patience. It looks like […]
The first signal of a presidency is rarely a policy. It is posture. Does the gavel feel steady, or does it land with a little too much force? Does the chair invite participation, or does the room feel like it is being managed for silence? From her first meetings as council president, Klarissa Peña has […]
Proposals to amend the City of Albuquerque’s Zoning Code have arrived at City Council. For a city that has spent years debating how little it should allow, the current package of Integrated Development Ordinance amendments is almost refreshing. The proposals before City Council are modest by national standards. They would legalize more townhouses, duplexes, and […]
There has always been a gentle rivalry in New Mexico. Red or green. Chimayó or Hatch. Lobos or Aggies. The Río Grande and the I-25 corridor mirror that split too, with different ways of seeing the world and different habits of governance. Lately, though, something surprising is happening. Southern New Mexico is quietly showing more […]
How market-rate “monstrosities” became one of Albuquerque’s best tools for housing people If you stand along Fourth Street in the early evening, the new apartments look almost shy. A few floors of windows, a balcony with a folding chair, a houseplant trying its hardest to stay alive. Nothing dramatic. Just small signs of life on […]
For years, exclusionary zoning, NIMBYism, and procedural obstruction defined local politics in New Mexico. But in 2025, voters across the state sent a clear message: the era of NIMBYism is fading, and housing reform is winning. In Albuquerque: Housing Reform Still in Play City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn, a vocal champion of reforming Albuquerque’s racist, exclusionary […]
Weaponizing Equity: How Misusing Progressive Language Reinforces Housing Scarcity in Albuquerque Across Albuquerque, a familiar refrain echoes through neighborhood meetings and Nextdoor threads: “We’re not NIMBYs — we just want to protect our community.” Beneath the language of community care and equity lies a contradiction. In a recent post circulated on Nextdoor, one resident accused […]
