New White Paper Outlines Potential Pathways to Scale Innovative Construction Methods in California
SACRAMENTO – Today the Assembly Select Committee on Housing Construction Innovation, chaired by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), announced the release of a report by UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation. The Terner Center report provides evidence-backed research to support the legislative efforts of the California State Assembly, in line with the Select Committee’s mission to explore the role the State can play in supporting construction innovation and reducing barriers that prevent promising methods from achieving scale and increasing overall housing production.
Despite California being a global leader in technology and innovation, the methods used to build housing today haven’t significantly evolved in the last century. By applying the principles and practices of manufacturing to designing and building housing, industrialized construction has the potential to lower the cost to build and reduce project timelines, which could significantly increase the supply of much-needed new housing in the state. Building off-site in a controlled environment allows factories to more rapidly produce high-quality building elements ranging from panelized components, such as walls and floors, to entire modules (rooms that can be stacked like blocks), which are then transported and assembled on site. Some companies are also using 3D printing, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies to rethink the design and building process.
“California is a leader in innovation—it’s time to apply that mindset to solving our housing crisis,” said Assemblymember Wicks. “We’re still building homes in a similar way to what we did a hundred years ago, and it’s not enough to address the housing shortage we’re facing today. Innovative construction methods have a role to play in solving that crisis. It’s not a silver bullet, but it can be a meaningful addition to our ability to build the housing that California so desperately needs.”
Seeking to understand modern methods of construction, researchers from the Terner Center accompanied a small group of members from the Select Committee as they traveled to Sweden in October to learn about the country’s enormous output of housing through industrialized construction. A larger delegation traveled to Boise, Idaho in December to tour three facilities that produce a significant portion of the factory-built housing that is used in California. The Select Committee also held two public hearings at the State Capitol in Sacramento in January, where they heard from academics, developers, manufacturers, governmental entities, investors, and labor groups about their experiences with innovative construction techniques.
“California’s housing crisis demands bold thinking and real solutions. We cannot solve a 21st-century housing crisis with 20th-century policies,” said Assemblymember Jessica Caloza (D-Los Angeles). “As a member of the Select Committee on Housing Innovation, I’m proud to work alongside Chair Buffy Wicks to break down outdated barriers, embrace new building technologies, promote pathways for women in construction, and accelerate smart, sustainable housing production.”
The Select Committee’s fact-finding efforts were paired with a series of interviews and focus groups that were hosted by the Terner Center with more than 65 people throughout the fall and winter. Altogether, stakeholders suggested a broad range of practical solutions the State could pursue to remove barriers related to risk, certainty, and liability that industrialized construction faces. The final report highlights 40 potential policy actions across seven broad themes:
- Attending to fragmentation in the building code and uncertainty in enforcement through building code reform;
- Increasing consistency and replicability through reforms to standards and processes;
- Reducing financial risk and liability to encourage industry growth;
- Addressing the uncertainty of project pipelines through demand aggregation;
- Developing a strong workforce now and for the future;
- Modifying existing State funding streams to reflect the realities of factory-built housing; and
- Addressing negative perceptions of risk through education and data.
“California is facing a housing affordability crisis that demands bold, forward-thinking action,” stated Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-Fullerton). “As a member of the Select Committee on Housing Construction Innovation, I look forward to reviewing potential policy solutions and advancing strategies that improve efficiency, reduce costs, strengthen quality, and accelerate the delivery of new homes for all Californians.”
Building on months of research and the Terner Center’s report, the Select Committee will continue its work in 2026, incorporating these insights into a package of legislation that will allow industrialized construction and other modern methods of construction to scale in California. Assemblymember Wicks and her colleagues will continue to pursue solutions to the state’s housing crisis, emphasizing the need to bring down costs and make homes more affordable for working-class Californians.
The full report is available at https://ternercenter.berkeley.edu/blog/potential-pathways-to-scale-innovative-construction-methods-in-california/.
###
About Assemblymember Buffy Wicks:
Assemblymember Buffy Wicks represents California’s 14th Assembly District, which includes all or portions of the cities of Oakland, Richmond, Berkeley, Albany, El Cerrito, San Pablo, Pinole, El Sobrante, Hercules, Rodeo, Kensington, and Piedmont. You can learn more about Assemblymember Wicks at a14.asmdc.org.
About the Select Committee on Housing Construction Innovation:
California has long been a leader in innovation, and housing construction methods such as industrialized construction and 3D printing are promising solutions to help us close the gap between our reality and our housing targets. These methods can produce housing more quickly, more affordably, and in a more environmentally friendly manner. Despite these advantages, these innovative construction methods produce only a small fraction of the housing built in California. The purpose of the Select Committee on Housing Construction Innovation is to understand why that is, and to determine what role the State can play in supporting this necessary innovation. The Select Committee is a bipartisan endeavor driven by our shared goals of bringing down costs and accelerating construction timelines to address California’s housing crisis.