Recent state legislation in California has legalized backyard cottages in many places they used to be illegal, including some places where the housing crisis is worst. I know a homeowner who is making use of that new law to build a backyard unit. This is a long, difficult, and expensive process. Hiring an architect, finding a contractor to build it, etc. There are not nearly enough construction workers locally, they can’t afford to live here.

Prefab backyard homes could be part of the solution - and at scale could make a big difference.

While that’s a step in the right direction, it would likely be better to allow mixed zoning, so we could mix more multi-family into existing urban and semi-urban areas.