this post was submitted on 27 Aug 2023
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After weeks of local speculation, the purchasers of 55,000 acres of northern California land have been revealed. The group Flannery Associates – backed by a cohort of Silicon Valley investors – has quietly purchased $800m worth of agricultural and empty land, the New York Times has reported. Their goal is to build a utopian new town that will offer its thousands of residents reliable public transportation and urban living, all of which would operate using clean energy.

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[–] deweydecibel@lemmy.world 92 points 1 year ago (12 children)

Lol again with this? Wealthy fucks have been trying this since the 1700s. It never works.

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 10 points 1 year ago

CA is already only for wealthy people.

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[–] karmiclychee@sh.itjust.works 82 points 1 year ago (2 children)

They could just pay their fucking taxes so we can have trains

[–] SoleInvictus@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

But think of all the jobs they'll "create"!

(/s so hard)

[–] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 9 points 1 year ago (2 children)

That's not even limited by taxes, it's limited by 4 fucking companies owning most of the tracks, and them being given free reign to run freight as shittily as possible, not maintain the tracks unless actively forced to, and giving precisely 0 fucks about passenger service.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCBI3lPt3o4

[–] circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 1 year ago

The US likely cannot fix its rail issue without nationalizing the rail system. As a country, it has yet to admit that there are ~~some~~ many problems capitalism a) does not fix and b) actively makes worse.

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[–] ZzyzxRoad@lemm.ee 45 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I fucking hate that they used the term "empty" land. The poll question posed to residents asked them if they would be more in favor if they knew it was "bad soil" that only contributed to 5% of CA agriculture, as though making money is all that land is good for.

Yes, Fairfield, CA is kind of a shit hole. But NorCal open land is absolutely beautiful, like all of California. Every single fucking time I go there, which is pretty frequently, there are new mcmansion housing developments and business parks and data centers that are starting to be built or have just finished. There are protected wetlands between Sacramento and the east bay (far east) where migratory birds come back every year. Just because they don't build on the fucking wetlands doesn't mean this constant building isn't going to affect what little nature is left. I'm so fucking sick of seeing my home paved over for profit and I feel so powerless to do anything. Because I am powerless.

As if that weren't enough, we all know this is going to be some walled-off rich-people city where they can escape from us proles, right? Sick shit.

[–] YurkshireLad@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They're building more data centres and California has a water shortage?

5% of California's agriculture isn't "bad soil."

[–] Chickenstalker@lemmy.world 44 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Told you it's rich doom preppers who will build a literal walled garden.

[–] fiat_lux@kbin.social 19 points 1 year ago

Yep, it's a return to feudalism and vassalage. A fortress for themselves and their servants (billionaires don't do their own cooking and cleaning, they are important people afterall).

They know they need reasons for people to pledge fealty and they think public transport, apartments and clean energy is enough of a drawcard for their workers. The sad part is that they have eroded workers rights so far that they may well be right. Many other places in the world, these perks are much more normal.

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[–] MonsiuerPatEBrown@reddthat.com 42 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

The American Dream was get married and have a job, buy a house, have a family, and retire.

Now it is to be so rich and wealthy that you don't have to care about anyone else.

[–] ManateeFeet@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago

And if you aren’t getting rich, just don’t care about anyone else. You’re half way there. /s

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[–] AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world 34 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

There has to be more to this story...

If the distinguishing features are public transportation and clean energy, they’re probably not building it to live in themselves. And while there’s a big demand for more housing in the Bay Area generally, Solono County is a bit of a commute for current workers.

It feels like they’re building this as a company town for some yet-to-be-announced new business project that they want to be isolated from existing urban areas.

(edit) I guess I don’t mean "urban areas" so much as areas where employees would have contact with other Silicon Valley firms and culture.

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[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 26 points 1 year ago (1 children)

In my day they were called New Towns.

They're all shit holes now.

[–] kameecoding@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago

as Adam Something on YouTube puts it, ultra rich people + construction equals dumb shit.

[–] roguetrick@kbin.social 25 points 1 year ago

Just a bunch of rich fucks trying to con other rich fucks and hope to leave whoever is holding their junk bonds in the lurch.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 24 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Encircles an air force base. Why would anyone want to live encircling an air force base?

[–] Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I bet they'll act like people who move next to a farm and complain about the smell.

"Hiiii, we're your neighbors down the road. Do you think you could not fly your little airplanes around? They're awfully loud. Thanks bunches!"

[–] geodesic@slrpnk.net 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

You joke, but the towns of Portola Valley and Woodside (south of SF) are so wealthy and powerful they literally rerouted some plane routes by pulling strings of the FAA because they didn’t like the noise.

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[–] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 24 points 1 year ago

it's going to end up soulless and miserable, no doubt

just a series of mansions connected by roads, completely forgetting any sort of amenities or ability to produce things locally, because rich people think "mom and pop store" is when get your parents to bring things along on their private jet.

[–] young_broccoli@kbin.social 24 points 1 year ago (2 children)
[–] sharkfeek@lemmy.dbzer0.com 41 points 1 year ago (5 children)

You also misspelt dystopian.

[–] young_broccoli@kbin.social 11 points 1 year ago

Oh god... Its an epidemic!!!

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[–] Something_Complex@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago

Why improve current cities where people want to live when you can build the cyberpunk future distopian citry right here in your desert backyard.

[–] HiddenLayer5@lemmy.ml 18 points 1 year ago

Can't wait to owe my soul to the company store

[–] pulaskiwasright@lemmy.ml 18 points 1 year ago (4 children)

This is end game capitalism. They have their own cities with their own laws. You are essentially forced to live and work at the same place and buy your groceries and other essentials from your employees. You’re basically an indentured servant at that moment.

[–] MasterBlaster@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Actually, this is early stage capitalism. Company towns were a thing in the late 19th and early 20th century. Government eventually stepped in, broke up the trusts and made that kind of thing a relic of a worse time.

People have forgotten their past and they're now repeating it. We've been in the second Gilded age for what - 30 years now?

Child labor was just legalized in Kansas I think and it looks like some other Republican states are trying to do the same.

This is what happens when you let the foxes run the hen house.

[–] schroedingershat@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago

That was end stage capitalism.

Unions mostly defeated it after that, but then everyone forgot how bad it was and elected Thatcher and Reagan

[–] Fredselfish@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Exactly why Amazon been taking about building such towns for its workers. I swear if the conservatives get their way and the way things are going I see them trying to find a way legalize slavery again.

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[–] x4740N@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Utopian city for themselves and the select few

[–] jonne@infosec.pub 13 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Probably more like a company town type of deal. Musk is building something similar in Texas. The capitalists want to bring the 19th century back.

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[–] ElZoido@kbin.social 17 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Why do I have the feeling this is going to turn into some sort of cyberpunk distopia quickly?

[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 year ago

because this kind of plan went wrong multiple times before

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[–] AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space 17 points 1 year ago

Every generation gets the Galt’s Gulch it deserves

[–] Khalic@kbin.social 15 points 1 year ago (2 children)

So working public transportation = utopia ?
How can one country be so disconnected from reality?

[–] MasterBlaster@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Maybe it's a utopia that also has clean energy and public transportation.

Either way, I don't trust the agenda. If they're legitimately trying to help, something good might come of it, but it won't be a utopia as humans will human.

Hopefully some valuable lessons will be learned without too much suffering.

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Might as well call it Night City from Cyberpunk 2077.

[–] ratofkryll@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 year ago

I'm getting real California City vibes.

[–] SeeingWhereThisGoes@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Night city didn't work out so great in Cyberpunk 2077

[–] Almostarctic@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

What a waste of good farmland! I can't believe that people do not value the thing that actually sustains us.

[–] FReddit@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Genius. This area is a barren shit hole and a lot of it will be under water within 10 years.

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