Walkable, bikeable and less lonely: Are planned communities the cure? [Video]

Frustrated urbanists want to build cities from scratch, claiming they could cure loneliness and climate change with good design.

This story is and excerpt from The Salt Lake Tribune Inno Lab Notes newsletter where we explore housing, transportation and energy solutions.

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Solano County is a small agricultural community in California’s Bay Area. The county has been the subject of national news stories lately because a group of billionaires secretly bought up agricultural land and want to build a city “from the ground up.” The New York Times reported that the project “was billed as a salve for San Francisco’s urban housing problems.”

It seems like part of a trend of frustrated urbanists giving up on older cities and their NIMBY reputations and turning to greener pastures.

Or, in Utah’s case, to former mining and prison sites. While planned communities get a bad rap for having “Stepford Wives” vibes, some feel …