The United States doesn’t have a land shortage. From booming metro areas in the Mountain West to suburban towns outside Boston, there is land to build on—much of it publicly owned. What we lack is the ability to use that land effectively to address the urgent housing crisis.
In a recent New York Times opinion piece, Binyamin Appelbaum, lead economics writer for the editorial board, makes a compelling case: the federal government owns enormous tracts of underutilized land near fast-growing cities like St. George, Utah. If policy were reformed to make that land available for affordable housing—not just luxury subdivisions—it could unlock tens of thousands of new homes.
“The United States has a housing crisis in large measure because our society has become better at saying no than saying yes.”
—Binyamin Appelbaum, The New York Times
But the issue isn’t just where we build. It’s how.
Appelbaum’s article calls for rethinking how we use land—particularly federally owned land that is neither environmentally sensitive nor currently protected. He highlights a program near Las Vegas where public land was sold for housing, generating billions in proceeds for conservation while creating new homes. The catch? Much of that housing was sprawling, high-cost, and slow to build. The policy solved the location problem but not the delivery problem.
This is where construction innovation becomes essential. If policymakers do the hard work of unlocking land, the building sector must respond with solutions that match the urgency—systems that are fast, scalable, sustainable, and affordable.
At Simplus Systems, we’re focused on that response. Our prefabricated wall and roof panels, combined with Passive House design principles, enable projects to go up faster, use less energy, and cost less to operate over time. When land becomes available—whether public or private—we help developers build better.
This approach echoes ideas shared by Rep. Jake Auchincloss (MA) in a 2024 interview with Ezra Klein. Auchincloss described a successful affordable housing development in his district built on state-owned land. The key wasn’t just the land itself—it was that local and state governments created a framework that prioritized speed, clarity, and affordability. Permitting, approvals, and project goals were aligned from the start.
“We had the public land, we had the money, we had a nonprofit that was ready to go. But it still took three years to build. We need to figure out how to get that down to one year.”
—Rep. Jake Auchincloss, interview with Ezra Klein
Watch the 5-minute housing segment
This kind of forward-thinking policy doesn’t eliminate zoning or regulation. Those systems exist for good reasons—to ensure safety, equity, and long-term planning. But they must evolve to meet the urgency of today’s crisis. Auchincloss and Klein both point out that the real problem isn’t engineering or materials—it’s bureaucracy. We need systems that say "yes" more often, and faster.
Public land reform is only one piece of the housing puzzle. What matters most is how government, developers, and builders coordinate to meet shared goals. Here’s what that could look like:
In this ecosystem, everyone has a role—and innovation is key.
We’re not here to take positions on which parcels of federal land should be developed. That’s a public policy conversation with many stakeholders. But we are here to say: when those decisions are made, and when the need is clear, we must be ready to build with the urgency the crisis demands.
That means not defaulting to business-as-usual construction methods that take years and cost too much.
That means bringing proven systems like ours to the table.
That means treating housing not just as a market issue—but as an infrastructure issue.
If you’re a developer, city planner, or policy advocate looking to make housing work for your community, contact Simplus Systems to learn how we can help you deliver faster, more sustainable results.
Simplus Systems combines cutting-edge prefabrication with Passive House technology to deliver high-performance buildings faster and more affordably. Let us know what you think in the comments below.