Some enterprising tech workers in San Francisco are planning a “commune” in the downtown area, where people can get all they need to eat, work their jobs, and live their lives all within a fifteen-minute walking distance.
The nonprofit City Campus plans to launch the project on May 11, with the aim of creating a campus covering one-square mile area in the Alamo, Hayes, and Duboce neighborhoods. The exact location of the “campus” has yet to be established, but it is expected to be near the center of the city, just outside the crime-ridden Tenderloin and near the famous Painted Lades Victorian houses.
The Tenderloin was once known for its trendy restaurants, rich culture, art galleries, nightlife, and museums, but it has decayed into a drug-ridden open-air homeless camp over the last couple decades.
According to the plan on the City Campus website, they seek to establish a new urban space where people can pursue their life’s work, find purpose, live near their friends, find inspiration and meet collaborators, raise children, engage in social and civic life, and do focused work.
The plan is the brainchild of “community builders” Thomas Schulz, Patricia Mou, Adi Melamed, and Jason Benn. Schulz explained the plan to the San Francisco Chronicle as stemming from the desire for the synergy that comes from bumping into people who are working on similar things as you are. The concentration of creative energy, he said, creates a positive cycle for all involved.
The group aims to bring “everyone you love” and “everything you need” within a fifteen-minute walk, according to Jason Benn.
Schulz says that the city needs help, and he wants to be involved in restoring it to its former glory. The group is attempting to raise $750,000 on GoFundMe to create the City Campus. Monies raised will cover anticipated expense over the course of two years, plus a twenty percent overhead fee.
As of April 30, the GoFundMe page has raised $380.
