What Developers Need to Know About Pro-Housing Advocacy with Courtney Porcella

This episode of Breaking New Ground explores the YIMBY movement.

Courtney Porcella⁠ shares how YIMBY Action empowers the local community to engage with planning decisions, push for zoning reforms, and work alongside developers—not against them. We get into the real-world barriers to new housing, from financing challenges to NIMBY resistance, and highlight success stories that prove collaboration works. Her career path, from PR to PropTech to housing advocacy, offers a unique perspective on why open dialogue and local partnerships are key to solving the housing crisis.

This conversation matters if you’re a housing developer who wants to navigate the politics of housing and actually get projects built.

Episode Highlights

• Why grassroots power is the most important—and overlooked—tool in solving the housing shortage

• How developers can work with pro-housing advocates to build trust and momentum

• Real-world case studies showing how policy changes unlocked new housing supply

• The listening skills every developer needs to win community support

Time-Stamped Show Highlights
⏱️ 00:00 – “Housing is still a local game.”
Courtney explains why local voices—not just national policy—drive housing outcomes.

⏱️ 05:02 – “We need you to keep building.”
How YIMBY Action partners with developers to counter anti-housing narratives.

⏱️ 07:48 – “You need the local community power.”
Why grassroots advocacy changes the conversation around development.

⏱️ 12:13 – Financing headwinds in today’s market.
Courtney shares how rising costs and interest rates are stalling projects.

⏱️ 15:59 – Success stories from the front lines.
Case studies where community support helped get projects approved.

⏱️ 21:10 – From real estate to PropTech to advocacy.
Courtney’s personal journey and what she’s learned across sectors.

⏱️ 25:43 – The art of listening to a community.
How developers can engage without alienating neighbors.

Show Notes + Links
🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts

🔗 ⁠YIMBY Action: ⁠yimbyaction.org⁠
👤 Guest: ⁠Courtney Porcella, YIMBY Action⁠
📱 Connect: ⁠Courtney on LinkedIn⁠