In March 2023, Gavin Newsom announced that the state would help local governments address homelessness by providing funding for 1,200 “tiny homes,” which are small, prefabricated units to provide temporary housing for those in encampments. “I get it,” Newsom stated. “You want to see progress and you want to see it now.” Newsom said he wanted the tiny homes ready by the summer. Newsom meant summer of 2023. But none were ready then, nor in the summer of 2024. I am unaware of reports that even one is occupied now.

It is not just the delay that is the problem with the tiny homes plan. It is also the cost. San Jose, one of the four locations chosen for this project, will be spending $30 million for tiny homes that will add 144 beds to an existing tiny homes site in the city, consisting of 72 single-occupancy units, which do not have plumbing, and 36 double-occupancy units, which have a bathroom but no kitchen. The standard sizes of these units are 70 square and 120 square feet, respectively. This works out to about $208,000 per bed and about $278,000 per unit. (A phone call to confirm the size of the units was not returned.) Images of the 70-square-foot unit show space for a twin bed, a small desk, and two shelves, with clothes hanging below the bottom shelf.

The cost of these units also needs to include the value of the 4.4-acre plot dedicated for the tiny homes. Silicon Valley land is among the most expensive in the........

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