California just got too big for its carrying capacity — at least in the sprawling, ranch-house lifestyle that so many people covet and symbolizes the state’s easy-living persona. “Grow and grow and grow and eventually there’s not enough room,” says Hans Johnson, a demographer at the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California. “The easy places for growth have been used up. Growth today means infill development [in cities]. That’s expensive and controversial. Or you live further away from your job.”
