#46 Jan Sramek: California Forever - Building the Next Great American City

In this episode, I sit down with Jan Sramek, Founder and CEO of California Forever, to talk about one of the most ambitious development efforts in the country: they're building the next great American city. Chapters0:00 — Why This Conversation Matters02:05 — Meeting Jan and the Origins of California Forever06:45 — Growing Up in the Czech Republic and Coming to America12:10 — What California Forever Is Actually Trying to Build17:55 — The Housing Crisis and Why Incremental Fixes Aren’t Enough23:40 — Walkability, Safety, and Designing for Families30:15 — Why Cities Should Work for Kids and the Elderly Alike35:50 — The Reality of Building a New City in California41:30 — Regulation, Risk, and the Cost of Not Building47:20 — Reviving American Manufacturing and Shipbuilding53:10 — Master Planning, Density, and Mixed-Use Neighborhoods59:00 — Learning from Traditional Urban Design1:04:45 — Community, Belonging, and Social Trust1:10:30 — What Success Would Actually Look Like1:15:40 — Long-Term Vision and Final ReflectionsCONNECT WITH JAN SRAMEKCalifornia Forever - Building the next great American cityJan Sramek | LinkedInhttps://x.com/jansramek?s=11CONNECT WITH AUSTIN TUNNELLNewsletter: https://playbook.buildingculture.com/https://www.instagram.com/austintunnell/https://www.linkedin.com/in/austin-tunnell-2a41894a/https://twitter.com/AustinTunnellCONNECT WITH BUILDING CULTUREhttps://www.buildingculture.com/https://www.instagram.com/buildingculture/https://twitter.com/build_culturehttps://www.facebook.com/BuildCulture/