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The housing crisis in California triggered a lot of State legislation in the past few years intended to stimulate more housing development, including more affordable housing. Frustrated by the slow pace of new housing development in local areas, the Legislature passed bills intended to remove barriers and encourage housing construction. These new policies challenge state-local power sharing in an area that had long been primarily a local concern. Ben Christopher, Housing Reporter for CalMatters, will review this housing policy revolution and share some of the main outcomes before looking ahead to next steps for both state and local jurisdictions. Learn how these policies affect the place where you live and how you can help shape their implementation.

About our speaker:
Ben Christopher covers housing policy for CalMatters, and previously covered California politics and elections. Prior to these roles at CalMatters, he was a contributing writer for CalMatters reporting on the state's economy and budget. Based out of the San Francisco Bay Area, he has written for San Francisco magazine, California magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Priceonomics. Ben also has a past life as an aspiring bean counter: He has worked as a summer associate at the Congressional Budget Office and has a Masters in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.

About CalMatters: CalMatters is a statewide nonpartisan and nonprofit news organization dedicated to explaining how state government impacts our lives. Its mission is to improve California’s democracy by making its government more transparent and accountable and giving Californians the information they need to understand and engage with that government. Read more at calmatters.org.