Is the brand new city in California for real? episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 11, 2026 · 1H 3M

Is the brand new city in California for real?

from Volts · host David Roberts

In this episode, I’m joined by Jan Sramek to discuss California Forever, the much-debated proposal to build a brand-new, sustainably designed city in Northern California. We explore the urbanist vision at the heart of the project, including a street grid inspired by Barcelona superblocks, and address the elephant in the room — the stealthy land acquisitions and the billionaire backers. Is this an urbanist utopia in the making or a grandiose con job? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe

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Is the brand new city in California for real?

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This episode is 1 hour and 3 minutes long.

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This episode was published on March 11, 2026.

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In this episode, I’m joined by Jan Sramek to discuss California Forever, the much-debated proposal to build a brand-new, sustainably designed city in Northern California. We explore the urbanist vision at the heart of the project, including a street...

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