The McKinsey Global Institute wants to help California build 3.5 million homes by 2025.

"California will have to build about 3.5 million homes over the next eight years, more than triple its current pace of construction, simply to keep up with expected population growth and hold down housing costs to affordable levels," begins an article by Conor Dougherty and Karl Russell.
That premise introduces the policy recommendations contained in a new report from the McKinsey Global Institute. The "Closing California's housing gap" provides a toolbox to help the state increase housing production in an era of scarcity, constrained by various levels of local controls. "Those ideas include streamlining grants of local permits, and using tax policy to withhold money from anti-growth cities that drag their feet on new housing," according to Dougherty and Russell.
The headlining policy idea, however, is to build on the vacant plots of land in the state's urban areas. The article includes maps of the Los Angeles region and the city of San Francisco, showing the broad swaths of land available to build "225,000 or so homes and apartments."
An article on the McKinsey Global Institute website has more on the methodology and findings of the study:
To understand the nature of the problem, we built a quantitative model to identify California’s housing affordability gap by household and location. To do this, we segmented the state’s more than 12 million households into 34 housing markets and 16 income bands, and assessed each household’s ability to afford housing in their local market. We learned that 50 percent of California’s households cannot afford the cost of housing in their local market. Virtually none of California’s low-income and very-low-income households can afford the local cost of housing.
FULL STORY: No Vacancies in California? Housing Report Begs to Differ

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Congressman Proposes Bill to Rename DC Metro “Trump Train”
The Make Autorail Great Again Act would withhold federal funding to the system until the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), rebrands as the Washington Metropolitan Authority for Greater Access (WMAGA).

The Simple Legislative Tool Transforming Vacant Downtowns
In California, Michigan and Georgia, an easy win is bringing dollars — and delight — back to city centers.

Supporting Cycling Takes More Than Just Bike Lanes
Safe, protected bike lanes are a key part of a city’s bike infrastructure — but secure parking, e-bike charging, and other amenities can also influence people’s shift to cycling.

Judge Blocks Anti-DEI Rules for Transportation, Housing Grants
A second injunction blocks the Trump administration from enforcing new regulations for federal funding.

Unhoused People in San Jose Could Face Arrest if They Refuse Shelter
A policy proposed by the city’s mayor would give law enforcement the option to arrest homeless residents if they refuse three offers of housing.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)