In this episode, I sit down with Bill Fulton - urban planner, professor, former Ventura mayor, and author of one of my favorite books (The Reluctant Metropolis) - for a wide-ranging conversation on how California stopped growing and what it will take for the state to build again. We explore how the state’s postwar growth machine broke down, how laws like Prop 13 and CEQA warped local incentives, and why so many cities now chase warehouses and retail instead of housing.
This is also a conversation about California’s evolving identity from the death of the suburban dream to the rise of a more urban, infill-driven future. We talk about generational divides in housing politics, lessons from Houston’s deregulated model, and why building more homes isn’t just about entitlement reform—it’s about labor, capacity, and culture.
If you care about how California can remain a place where regular people can live and thrive, this episode is for you!
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Chapters:
00:00 — Intro
02:55 — Why Did Growth Stop?
08:08 — Sales Tax Dynamics and Local Government Funding
12:56 — Accepting SoCal's Urban Identity
16:03 — Intergenerational Perspectives on Growth and Development
17:47 — State vs. Local Control
22:49 — The Role of Unions
26:25 — CEQA
30:03 — Land-Use Lessons from Houston
33:28 — SoCal After Sprawl
37:23 — Demographics and the Changing Landscape of California
42:09 — Hope for California’s Housing Crisis
Keywords:
California housing policy, urban planning, Prop 13, CEQA, NIMBY vs. YIMBY, sales tax incentives, local control, state intervention, entitlement reform, zoning, infill development, accessory dwelling units (ADUs), post-sprawl urbanism, Inland Empire, Houston vs. LA, light rail, construction labor shortage, environmental law, unions and housing, demographic shifts, affordability crisis, generational change