A utopian city planned in California would tentatively house about 50,000 residents but could be built out to accommodate 400,000.
The vision for the mega-project belongs to Jan Sramek, a former Goldman Sachs trader, who initially aims to construct at least 20,000 homes in rural Solano County, between Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area.
It is financially backed by well-known Silicon Valley investors such as Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn, OpenAI), Marc Andreessen (Netscape, Andreessen Horowitz), Patrick and John Collison (Stripe), Chris Dixon (eBay, Hunch) and even Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of the late Apple founder and CEO, Steve Jobs, per Forbes.
The plan needs the approval of county voters in November to bypass protections put in place in 1984 to keep agricultural land from being turned into urban space.
If approved, it would be built on more than $800 million of rural land Sramek and his company, California Forever, stealthily purchased over years to the great suspicion of locals.
This city, which is being funded by a who’s-who of tech billionaires, would be a “model for how to create new communities that provide the benefits of dense, walkable life to more people,” the development team wrote in a blog post.
Sramek said according to the Associated Press (AP) the development could be “an amazing success story” in a state in need of a win at a time when leaders of Texas and Florida are routinely beating up California, something he said was unimaginable 50 years ago when all anyone could talk about was the “California Dream.”
“California used to be this place of optimism,” said Sramek, who was born in the Czech Republic and now lives in Solano County. “And if this project is done right, I do think it’s going to change the conversation. It’s going to open up a new path for the state and for the region,” AP quoted him as saying.
The city is designed to be walkable, with extensive use of public transportation and green spaces. Renewable energy sources like solar panels and windmills will be a major part of the energy infrastructure.
Critics blast California’s utopian city
California Forever promises to create 15,000 jobs with a minimum salary of $88,000 to address California’s housing crisis. The plans include a large park with sports facilities, trails, and open space. A recent addition is a sports complex to cater to the residents’ recreational needs.
Critics argue the development disrupts existing agricultural land and could negatively impact the surrounding environment. Even if considered “low quality” by California Forever, the land might be valuable for local food production or ecological reasons.
Skeptics doubt the project will create a truly diverse economic environment. With a high minimum wage focus, it might attract wealthy tech workers rather than a broader range of income levels, potentially creating a homogenous community.
The project’s secretive land purchases and billionaire backing raise concerns about a lack of transparency and potential manipulation of local residents.
Utopian city of Telosa
Sramek’s proposal for a new city is far from the first of its kind. Back in 2008, Peter Thiel cofounded the Seasteading Institute, which aims to construct a crypto-loving, tax-hating town off the coast of French Polynesia, where it would float on seaborne platforms that call to mind renderings of the lost Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán.
In a similar vein, billionaire Marc Lore is pursuing the proposed community of Telosa, envisioning a 240-square-mile metropolis that would shine as a beacon of “reformed” capitalism, complete with autonomous EVs, high-speed transit, solar roofing, and a massive skyscraper.
Telosa draws its name from the Greek word telos, which means “greater purpose” or goal. The term was a staple of ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle’s thinking, and he used it to explore the meaning of the fullest purpose a person or thing may hope to achieve.
“I’m trying to create a new model for society, where wealth is created in a fair way,” Lore explained in a recent interview with Fortune.
“It’s not burdening the wealthy; it’s not increasing taxes. It is simply giving back to the citizens and the people the wealth that they helped create.”
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