Housing Crisis

In its first formal response to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $297 billion spending plan, the Legislature offered some pointed feedback on Wednesday: The governor’s fiscal forecasters are being too optimistic and the state needs to prepare for a worsening budgetary outlook. But Newsom shouldn’t cut climate spending. Or mental health programs. And especially not anything related […]

With one-quarter of Californians living in areas considered high-risk for wildfire, state leaders need to emphasize policies that generate more middle-income housing inside cities and create pathways to homeownership.

As a new year dawns, a raft of serious, even existential, old problems demand attention from California's politicians.

The numbers are in, and they’re grim. California accounted for 30% of the country’s homeless population in 2022, despite making up less than 12% of the total population, according to federal data released Monday. It was also home to 50% of the country’s unsheltered people, or those living in places such as streets, cars or […]

Hanging over the heads of California’s newly sworn-in state lawmakers — and likely to be top of mind when they return to Sacramento next month — are the state’s intertwined housing and homelessness crises. That was made clear Tuesday, when Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco introduced for the third time a bill […]

In the new episode of "Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Podcast," CalMatters' Manuela Tobias and the Los Angeles Times' Liam Dillon pick California's wildest housing story of 2022: How a California town almost used mountain lions to sidestep a new housing law.

Gov. Gavin Newsom left California on Sunday to travel with his family for the Thanksgiving holiday, but due to security concerns, the trip location won’t be revealed until after he returns next weekend, according to his office. The California Highway Patrol, which handles the governor’s security, made the safety determination, according to Newsom’s office. The […]

In the new episode of "Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Podcast," CalMatters' Manuela Tobias and the Los Angeles Times' Liam Dillon break down how California’s housing shortage drives some college students into homelessness.

The incoming class of Los Angeles elected officials should legalize denser buildings and expedite approvals in transit-oriented areas to alleviate the housing crisis.

Gov. Gavin Newsom campaigned on housing production, an issue important to many Californians. But despite some accomplishments, the housing crisis is worse now than when he took office.