The data in aggregate
Every case in this database is a specific building that didn't get built. Taken together, they reveal a pattern — the same mechanisms, the same outcomes, the same costs, repeating across California. Here is what the documented record adds up to.
Plus 14,876 geocoded permit records from California HCD data and 44 housing-law court cases tracked separately. California Forever, a speculative 400,000-unit new-city proposal, is tracked as a case but excluded from the homes-proposed total above.
How housing gets stopped
Across 26 researched projects, these are the legal and procedural tools invoked to block or delay them. A single project is often obstructed by several at once.
What happened to them
The status of each tracked project as of the last update.
Where the homes were lost
Total units across documented projects in each part of the state. Excludes California Forever, tracked separately.
Number of cases by region
When they were filed
The year each tracked project was filed or entered the public record.
These numbers grow as more cases are researched and verified. Each one began as a real proposal for real homes.