Tech workers in San Francisco plan to create a square-mile downtown ‘commune’ that allows people to ‘live, eat and work’ all within a 15-minute walk

Tech workers in San Francisco plan to create an urban community where people can “live, eat and work” within a 15-minute walk.

City Campus, a nonprofit organization, will launch May 11 and plans to create a one-square-mile “campus” in the Hayes, Alamo and Duboce neighborhoods. The exact location of the City Campus has not yet been determined.

According to the nonprofit websiteThe aim of the new urban space is for people to ‘find and pursue your life’s work, meet inspiring employees, live close to friends, raise children in the community, do targeted work and participate in civic and social life.’

The plan was created by four ‘community builders’, Patricia Mou, Thomas Schulz, Jason Benn and Adi Melamed.

“The synergy of encountering people working on the same work or doing the same thing creates this very positive cycle,” Schulz told the San Francisco Chronicle.

“A campus is a place where you can find really incredibly meaningful work and relationships, all within one very walkable area.”

The location of City Campus is expected to be in downtown San Francisco, near the infamous Painted Ladies houses and just outside the drug-infested Tenderloin District.

The progressive downtown Tenderloin neighborhood, once known for its rich cultural history, trendy restaurants, galleries, museums and nightlife, has deteriorated as homelessness and drug use rise in the Democratic-led city.

“The city needs help,” Schulz said.

Financially, the group has asked people to donate $750,000 to help create the city campus. The funds will cover investments every six months for two years, plus a 20 percent overhead fee.

a GoFundMe page called ‘Help us launch the City Campus Fund’ has been created to accept donations. As of Tuesday evening, $380 was raised.

‘The City Campus Fund is there to bring this vision to life. It exists because community spaces are harder to start than traditional commercial spaces, given the long time horizon required to nurture a true community,” the manifesto said.

Some of the places expected to form the utopia-like community include communal cafeterias, late-night cafes, public spaces, debate halls, community experiences, “pluralistic and secular spiritual spaces,” “multifunctional co-working spaces,” and “ mixed-use daycare centers

“You’ll find everything you need and everyone you love within a 15-minute walk.” said Ben.

The City Campus Project also aims to solve the problems of the city’s “current social infrastructure” and help residents with their “belonging, emotional resonance and security,” according to the manifesto.

“Many of us are missing deep relationships, feeling isolated in our interactions, muted in our self-expression, stuck in our journey of self-development, and missing a heart connection with our physical environment.”

‘Fortunately, we have an opportunity to create more connection and vibrancy for our city.’

Futuristic images of what the campus will look like include lots of people playing in a large park, an abundance of greenery and families enjoying the outdoor space.

Setha Low, an anthropologist and director of the Public Space Research Group at the City University of New York, told the San Francisco Chronicle that a group coming together to build a better community is not a new development.

“What seems to be happening is that people really want to ‘stay in San Francisco,’ but they want to leave society,” Low said.

“They don’t want to have to deal with the complexity, the differences, the poverty, the needs, the care for others that have always been part of urban culture.”

‘They want to escape. They want their own currency, their own culture, their own people. And they wanted it to look like Disneyland.”

On the official launch day of the utopia-esc community, the founders have planned a ‘City Campus Launch Party’.

People interested in living on campus should go to a listand during the festivities, the group plans to share their “vision” and bring together a group of individuals who are “the most serious and optimistic people in SF.”

The Commons, a “members-only co-working space and social club” at 550 and 540 Laguna Street, was founded by Mou and is a “fourth place dedicated to community meaning-making and self-expression.”

Mou’s organization is one of three ‘community builders’ who together created the City Campus. Melamed is the other co-founder of The Commons.

“The Commons is a community space that reinvigorates thoughtful dialogue, playful curiosity, and community, in the heart of SF. We are building a multi-use space in Hayes Valley that will include a coworking café, community library, event space and meditation studio,” the page said.

Schulz is the founder of Solaris, an infrastructure construction company. He has built houses, a private home directory and AI startups.

“I believe that this century we have an opportunity to live dramatically better than previous generations of humanity,” Schulz said on his website.

The third community builder involved in the plan is Jason Benn. He is also the founder of de Buurt, a real estate organization founded in 2021.

He runs City Campus Real Estate, which gives 10 percent of real estate agents back to City Campus, according to the site.

Benn said the difference between other groups coming together to create new communities and the city campus is that others are about “exit,” while they are about “loyalty.”

‘I mainly see that those projects fail. And actually, one of the great insights of our project is: if you try to make a place where everyone already wants to live, then you don’t have that cold start problem anymore – and you have all your favorite people. already bought,” he said.

Another “utopian city” was proposed in Northern California, known as “California Forever” in Solano County, about 60 miles northeast of San Francisco.

An ad launched in March promised to create “walkable, middle-class neighborhoods we can afford,” and add a new safety zone for nearby Travis Air Force Base.

It showed people identified as Solano County residents asking questions like “where would this city be built?” and “what will it mean for Solano County?”

The ad also promised $400 million in down payments for residents and 15,000 new jobs with “good wages in manufacturing and technology.”

Images shared by the group showed rolling landscapes with families enjoying a picnic among a stand of trees, while young people cycled.