Will California’s Housing Shortage Epidemic Infect the Rest of the West?

A Visit to Utah Shows How the Crisis Has Spread, and Suggests Some Cures

Sorry, Utah.

And apologies to the rest of the West. California’s epidemic shortage of housing hasn’t just sickened our own state—by driving up prices, forcing residents into rentals and onto the street, and putting a $140 billion annual drag on the Golden State’s economy. The disease is spreading to our neighbors, too.

Today, every significant city in the Western United States is experiencing a minor league version of the California housing crisis. Shortages are especially severe in Seattle, Portland, and Eugene, Oregon, and cities across the Mountain West are seeing big …