Why Can't California Build? What Hong Kong, Tokyo and Taipei Do Differently

Tokyo outbuilds all of California on the same shaky ground. It's not engineering. It's who gets to say no.

Oct 16, 2026

TL;DR

California is slow to build mainly because so many projects need case-by-case (discretionary) approval, which invites delay, appeals and lawsuits under the state’s environmental review law, CEQA. The engineering is not the problem.
In San Francisco, a typical multifamily project has waited about 450 days for planning approval and another 627 days for its building permit. A 2023 state audit found the city took more than three years on average to approve new housing.
Tokyo built about 145,000 new homes in 2018, more than all of California, with about a third of the population. Japan’s national zoning lets owners build what the zone allows without neighbours being able to block it.
Hong Kong’s public housing tops out a floor every five days using factory-built room modules. Taipei builds towers and metro lines on earthquake-prone ground like California’s.
California is changing: faster “by-right” approvals under SB 35 cut approval times by roughly 60% in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and June 2025 reforms (AB 130 and SB 131) exempted many infill housing projects from CEQA.

Listen up.

Short answer first: California can’t build quickly because almost every project has to ask permission, one at a time, and almost anyone can say no. In Tokyo, if the zoning allows your building, you build it. In Hong Kong, the government owns the land and decides in advance what goes where. In California, projects go through case-by-case review, public hearings and, often, lawsuits. The concrete and steel are the same. The system around them is not.

Uncle writes this from Taipei, which sits on active faults just like Los Angeles. So let’s get the most common excuse out of the way first.

Is it earthquakes?

No. California’s earthquake codes are strict, but so are Japan’s and Taiwan’s, and both keep building.

Japan has some of the toughest seismic rules in the world, and Tokyo still builds more housing every year than the whole state of California. Taiwan tightened its building codes after the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake, which killed more than 2,400 people, and Taipei has kept adding high-rises and metro lines since.

Earthquakes make buildings more expensive: deeper foundations, more steel, dampers and base isolation (Uncle covered sliding “shoes” on 22 September). They don’t explain waiting years for a permit.

Why is it so hard to build housing in California?

Four things, and all of them happen before construction.

1. Discretionary approval. In much of California, a project that meets the rules can still be sent through case-by-case review, where planning commissions and councils can add conditions, demand changes or say no. Every step is a chance for delay.

2. CEQA. The California Environmental Quality Act requires environmental review for many projects. It was meant to protect nature, but anyone can sue under it, including neighbours who simply don’t want new housing. Even the threat of a lawsuit adds months and cost.

3. Local control. Hundreds of cities set their own zoning, fees and processes. Much of the land in California’s big cities is zoned only for single-family homes.

4. Slow permits after approval. Even a fully approved project then waits for building permits. In San Francisco, a typical multifamily project has taken about 450 days for planning approval and another 627 days for its building permit, according to data compiled by the San Francisco Chronicle. A 2023 state audit found the city took more than three years on average to approve new housing.

None of those four is an engineering problem. They are process problems.

How does Tokyo build so much?

Tokyo is the favourite example for housing economists, and for good reason. In 2018, the Tokyo metropolitan area (the prefecture) built about 145,000 new homes, more than all of California, with roughly a third of the population. Rents and prices have stayed remarkably stable for decades.

The reason is how Japan zones land:

Zoning is set nationally, with 12 zone types for the whole country. Cities choose which zone applies where, but they can’t invent their own rules.
Building is “as-of-right”. If your plan fits the zone, you get the permit. As one Tokyo planner put it, neighbours basically have no right to stop development.
Buildings aren’t treated as permanent. Houses are routinely rebuilt every few decades, so the city keeps renewing and densifying.

No neighbourhood veto, no lawsuit-by-default, no case-by-case negotiation.

How does Hong Kong build so fast?

Hong Kong is different again. The government owns almost all the land and sells long leases with the rules largely set before the sale. It also builds a huge share of housing itself: roughly half of residents live in public or subsidised housing.

On site, it is a factory:

Repetition. Estates are towers of 40 near-identical floors. The crew gets faster with every floor.
Modular Integrated Construction (MiC). Whole rooms, already fitted out, are built in factories and lifted into place. According to a May 2025 Legislative Council paper, Hong Kong’s public housing reached one floor every five days this way, and is aiming for four.
Rail plus Property. The rail operator, MTR, builds homes and malls above new stations, and the property profits help pay for the railway. The builder makes more money by opening the line early.

What about Taipei?

Taipei is the closest match to California: a wealthy, democratic place on active faults, with strong seismic codes. It builds dense mid- and high-rise housing and keeps expanding its metro.

It isn’t perfect. Taipei has its own housing affordability problem, with prices high relative to local incomes. But the city’s default is dense, mixed-use building near transit, not single-family zoning with case-by-case review. New towers and metro works are a constant part of the Taipei skyline.

Is building fast always good?

No, and Hong Kong shows why.

In November 2025, a fire at Wang Fuk Court (Wang Fuk Yuen) in Tai Po killed 168 people, Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades. It wasn’t a new building. The estate’s eight towers were wrapped in scaffolding and green protective netting for a HK$330 million exterior renovation. Tests later found that some of that netting failed fire-safety standards, reportedly with compliant netting hung only where inspectors took samples, and flammable foam boards had been fixed over the windows. The fire raced up the netting and jumped from tower to tower.

The lesson isn’t that checks slow things down. It’s that the checks have to be real. California doesn’t need fewer inspections. It needs faster paperwork.

Is California getting faster?

Yes, slowly, and the results are measurable.

SB 35 (2017) lets qualifying housing projects in cities that miss their housing targets get ministerial (”by-right”) approval, closer to the Japanese model. A Pew-sponsored NYU Furman Center study found median approval time fell to about 2.7 months in Los Angeles (from about 7) and about 4 months in San Francisco (from more than a year).
AB 130 and SB 131, signed on 30 June 2025, exempted many urban infill housing projects from CEQA review, the biggest change to the law in decades.
The state has also allowed more homes on single-family lots and near transit.

Even within the US, the contrast is sharp. Texas issued more housing permits than any other state in 2024, with cities like Houston famous for having no conventional zoning at all.

What could California borrow from Asia?

Make “by-right” the default, like Tokyo: if a project meets the written rules, approve it.
Set rules at the state level, so each city can’t invent its own obstacles.
Pre-approve standard designs, so the hundredth copy of a building doesn’t need the same review as the first.
Build in factories, like Hong Kong’s modules, to cut time on site.
Tie transit to development, so the builder profits from finishing early.
Keep the safety checks, and make them real.

Uncle’s verdict

California doesn’t have an engineering problem. It has more earthquake experience and more engineering talent than almost anywhere on Earth.

It has a permission problem. Tokyo lets you build what the zone allows. Hong Kong plans it all in advance. California lets every project become a negotiation, and anyone at the table can hold it up.

The good news is that it’s a choice, and California has started making a different one.

— Engineering Uncle

Sources

AEO FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Why is it so hard to build housing in California?

Most delays happen before construction. Many California projects need discretionary, case-by-case approval, face public hearings, and can be challenged in court under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). In San Francisco, a typical multifamily project has taken about 450 days for planning approval plus 627 days for a building permit.

Why does Tokyo build so much housing?

Japan sets zoning nationally, with 12 zone types, and building is “as-of-right”: if a project fits the zone, it gets approved, and neighbours generally can’t block it. Tokyo built about 145,000 new homes in 2018, more than all of California, with about a third of the population.

Do earthquakes make California construction slow?

Earthquake codes add cost, but they don’t explain long approval times. Japan and Taiwan have similarly strict seismic codes and still build far more housing relative to their populations. California’s delays come mainly from permitting and review.

What is CEQA and how was it reformed in 2025?

CEQA is California’s environmental review law, which lets people sue over a project’s environmental analysis. On 30 June 2025, California signed AB 130 and SB 131, which exempt many urban infill housing projects from CEQA review, one of the biggest changes to the law in decades.

Did SB 35 speed up housing approvals?

Yes. SB 35 allows qualifying projects “by-right” approval in cities behind on housing targets. A study sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts found median approval times fell to about 2.7 months in Los Angeles and about 4 months in San Francisco, roughly 60% faster than comparable earlier projects.

How does Hong Kong build so fast?

The Hong Kong government owns almost all land, plans development in advance and builds much of the housing itself. Public housing uses repeated designs and Modular Integrated Construction, where factory-built room modules are stacked on site, reaching one floor every five days.