Oregon was the first state in the country to ban single-family zoning in all but the smallest cities, meaning duplexes and triplexes can be built next door to single-family homes. The idea is to increase density within cities while preserving land for farms and wilderness in more rural areas. Denser housing could also help to combat climate change, and create more affordable housing to help reduce the number of people living on the streets. That’s the vision of the Yimbytown movement. Last month, Think Out Loud hosted a panel at the Yimbytown conference in Portland to discuss what “Yes In My Backyard” could mean for the future of cities. The guests were Sam Diaz, Executive Director of 1,000 Friends of Oregon; Rukaiyah Adams, Board Chair of Albina Vision Trust; Marisa Zapata, Director of the Portland State University Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative; and Jerusalem Demsas, staff writer at the Atlantic magazine.