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Fret not. The future of new home design is not just stripped bare and built spare. Talking to David Johnson, West Coast Studio Director of William McDonough + Partners, is to enjoy an intelligent and optimistic look at the future of residential architecture. David looks at the near future as a time in which we will witness “an explosion of new technologies for a new level of quality” in homes. He thinks that more and more people—politicians, planners, designers, financial institutions and builders—will see the value and quality of the sustainable approach.

Given that the mission of William McDonough + Partners is to deliver innovative solutions, enhance quality of life, and celebrate nature’s abundance, it is fascinating to hear his take on the future of our much-maligned state. He says that the California that our parents knew will be unrecognizable to our children… but that it’s not necessarily a bad thing. With population growing from 35 million to 60 million people in the next 40 years, we are going to have to change the way we look at things, and go for better long-term thinking. He tells The Real Story that SB375 is moving us toward regional planning in transit, mobility, density—which takes decision-making out of the hands of towns and into a planning discussion that will look at the integrity of whole areas, and not just regions as the sum of many local decisions.

The California Planning and Development Report website explains SB375 as having five components:
1.  Sets regional targets for greenhouse gas emissions reduction tied to land use;
2.  Affirms that regional planning agencies to create the plans for these targets;
3.  Requires that regional transportation funding be consistent with the plan;
4.  Ties together regional transportation and housing; and
5.  Sets up a streamlining process for projects that fit these regional guidelines.