The University of California, Berkeley’s Possibility Lab is advancing an initiative called the Abundance Accelerator, which seeks to address chronic shortages in essential goods and services across California. The project, now two years old, is directed by Amy E. Lerman, a professor at Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy and Department of Political Science, and Lindsay Maple, director of the Abundance Accelerator.

The initiative challenges the common assumption that scarcity is an unavoidable part of life. Instead, it argues that many shortages, such as those in housing, childcare, and healthcare, are the result of policy choices rather than inherent limitations. Lerman explained, “It’s a pragmatic approach to thinking beyond the left-right divide. We’re really thinking about how liberals can do a better job investing in supply-side politics, and how conservatives can do a better job investing in workers and communities, and how we together can think about solving these problems that we all want to solve.”

Maple added, “Things are hard right now. The affordability crisis, the lack of access to basic goods — these are real problems affecting millions of Californians and millions of Americans. People want their local and city governments to solve problems. They want their county governments to solve problems. Regardless of ideology, people are tired of waiting for government to deliver.”

Founded in 2022, the Possibility Lab employs data, research, and community engagement to inform policy decisions. The Abundance Accelerator has quickly built a network of partners and has drawn attention from both supporters and critics. The concept has also entered national discussions, supported by journalists like Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, whose recent book “Abundance” highlights these ideas.

The initiative builds on previous projects at UC Berkeley, such as efforts focused on public safety in Oakland and farmworker health in the Inland Empire, as well as the California 100 project from 2021-2023. The core idea is that shortages in areas like housing or childcare are often due to regulatory barriers and inefficient policies. As stated in a recent report: “To serve people better, we need to build and create more. Solving our biggest challenges, from housing to clean energy to affordable childcare, requires removing the regulatory barriers, local veto points, and institutional bottlenecks that make it too hard to produce the things people need.”

Lerman and Maple also emphasize the need for policies that support workers in key sectors. “If we truly want to realize abundance, we need policies that make these jobs attractive and achievable: offering better wages, improving working conditions and building career pathways that recognize their vital contributions to a thriving society,” they wrote earlier this year in CalMatters.

A significant part of their work involves collecting data to inform policy. In January 2024, the lab, in collaboration with the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, conducted a poll of over 8,000 Californians. The poll found that more than half struggled to access basic resources such as housing, eldercare, childcare, and healthy foods. Lerman commented, “We need policy solutions that tackle these gaps in a meaningful way, so that all Californians can live full, dignified lives with access to the essentials they need. By leveraging innovation to redesign systems of production and distribution, we can unlock abundance and mitigate scarcity.”

The chronic shortage of affordable housing in California is a key focus for the initiative. Maple noted, “Our housing crisis has only been getting worse since the ‘70s. It’s not new. This is a result of 60-plus years of the decisions that we’ve made around policy.” To address this, the project is working with state agencies and local planners to improve data collection on housing needs.

Maple explained, “If we could be much more accurate about the income levels where we need more housing, and in what parts of the state, and know that with certainty, the conversation starts to shift. … Then we can start talking about affordable housing in a more data-driven way, in the areas where it’s needed the most.”

The initiative has advocated for reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which has been seen as an obstacle to housing and infrastructure development. In June, Governor Gavin Newsom signed budget legislation including CEQA reforms. Newsom stated, “This isn’t just a budget. This is a budget that builds. It proves what’s possible when we govern with urgency, with clarity, and with a belief in abundance over scarcity.”

While the Abundance Accelerator was not directly involved in drafting Newsom’s budget, its leaders view his embrace of these ideas as a significant step for the movement. The project has also organized summits with policymakers and community groups and released reports addressing criticism of abundance-focused policy.

Lerman sees potential for broader change: “There’s a ton of interest in this. We’re hoping to both educate them and learn from them as we increase this conversation, not just in California, but around the country.”

The initiative plans to release a study later this fall on public attitudes toward tradeoffs between development and other community values. Lerman remains hopeful: “There’s a wide swath of Americans who aren’t on the hardcore ideological ends of the political spectrum. They can be brought together to really think about these issues and ideas in productive ways, if we can figure out how to communicate the benefits of this approach for their communities and their families.”