Housing

While California tops the list of states with insane housing costs, it’s by no means a uniquely Golden State phenomenon. Building affordable housing—and particularly getting cities and other localities to permit its construction—is a tough endeavor that has bedeviled state policymakers across the country. So where should Californians look to solve a problem that feels so intractable? Affordable housing experts suggest legislators find inspiration in Massachusetts. For more than 40 years, the state’s signature affordable housing policy—Massachusetts “40B”—has served as a model for how states can motivate and sometimes bully reluctant localities into meeting their fair share of affordable housing.

Every week, Los Angeles Times housing reporter Liam Dillon and CALmatters’ data reporter Matt Levin chat about the latest developments in California housing policy and interview a key housing newsmaker. This week, Matt and Liam discuss the Margaret Atwood NIMBY controversy (3:00), why the housing package didn’t pass last week (8:00), and whether the state […]

Half the state's households struggle to afford the roof over their heads. Here’s what you need to know about one of California’s most vexing issues.

Nearly a decade removed from the depths of the Great Recession, a staggering 38 percent of California’s 18 to 34-year-olds still live with their parents.

Amid a worsening housing and homelessness crisis, President Trump's proposed $6 billion cut to the Department of Housing and Urban Development comes at an inopportune time for the Golden State.

Rizi Manzon is a teacher, so naturally, he has a lot to worry about: a stack of homework assignments to grade, a week’s worth of culinary arts classes to prepare for, kitchen supplies to purchase on his own time and dime. And the assorted crises, dramas, and anxieties of the 36 teenagers in his care […]

The California dream isn’t dead. It just upped and moved to South Dakota. Less than half of people born in California in 1980 are making more money than their parents did as young adults. That’s the lowest percentage of children out-earning their parents that California has seen since at least 1940. By contrast, 62 percent […]