Q&A: Search for answers to ‘the moral question of our day’ in California

As the state seeks solutions to homelessness and affordable housing, Assemblyman David Chiu has emerged as a key figure. “We have to think differently,” he says.

Recent polls show that a rise in homelessness ranks as the most pressing concern for residents of California, where almost a quarter of the country’s homeless population lives. At the same time, efforts to build more affordable housing face strong headwinds in the form of high construction costs, byzantine building regulations, restrictive zoning laws, and local resistance to low-income housing.

Assemblyman David Chiu has...