One of the issues is that we, in the US, don't look at other successful cities or countries and consider implementing their solutions. Then in California, we don't look at other cities or states within the US who have solved similar problems. Tokyo has rational zoning rules that has lead to affordable housing in a growing metropolis. This blog post https://devonzuegel.com/post/north-american-vs-japanese-zoni... describes the differences in Japanese zoning versus North American zoning.