California Construction News staff writer
The Assembly Select Committee on Housing Construction Innovation has released a new report from UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation outlining strategies to expand the use of industrialized construction and modern building methods in California.
The report, released March 9, is intended to support legislative efforts aimed at reducing barriers that prevent innovative construction methods from scaling and increasing housing production across the state.
Despite California’s reputation as a hub for technology and innovation, the report notes that housing construction techniques have changed little in the past century. Industrialized construction applies principles of manufacturing to homebuilding, producing building components or entire modules off-site in controlled factory environments, which are then transported and assembled on-site. Emerging technologies such as 3D printing and artificial intelligence are also being used by some companies to streamline design and production.
The report draws on research trips taken by Select Committee members to Sweden and Boise, Idaho, where they studied large-scale factory-built housing production. The committee also held public hearings in Sacramento, consulting with more than 65 stakeholders, including developers, manufacturers, academics, labor groups, and investors.
The final report identifies 40 potential policy actions grouped under seven themes:
- Reforming fragmented building codes and clarifying enforcement.
- Improving consistency and replicability through updated standards and processes.
- Reducing financial risk and liability to encourage industry growth.
- Addressing uncertainty in project pipelines through demand aggregation.
- Developing a strong construction workforce for the future.
- Adapting state funding streams to reflect the realities of factory-built housing.
- Educating the public and industry to reduce negative perceptions of risk.
The findings are expected to guide legislation that would support scaling industrialized construction and other modern building methods to produce homes faster, lower costs, and improve quality.
The select committee will continue its work throughout 2026, using the report’s insights to develop a legislative package focused on accelerating smart, sustainable housing production in California.
The full report is available at https://ternercenter.berkeley.edu/blog/potential-pathways-to-scale-innovative-construction-methods-in-california/.
