VOA新闻杂志2024--Plan to Create ‘Green’ City in California to Be Put to Voters

Plan to Create ‘Green’ City in California to Be Put to Voters

Developers of a proposed new city in northern California have begun presenting their plans to voters.

Jan Sramek leads the project, called California Forever. Sramek is a former trader with American financial services company Goldman Sachs. He recently started a campaign to seek community support in Solano County for the new city.

The project needs the support because current community rules bar development of some agricultural land. California Forever needs the written support of 13,000 Solano County voters to propose the building project on a ballot¹ in November elections.

Leaders of the project have already spent more than $800 million on land purchases in an area between San Francisco and Sacramento. Planners say they aim to create an environment friendly and walkable city with affordable² housing and good jobs.

Among billionaire backers of the project are philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and investor³ and Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen.

Planners want to build about 20,000 homes for 50,000 residents. The city will sit between Travis Air Force Base and the small city of Rio Vista⁴. The housing is to be built within walking distance to jobs, schools, restaurants and stores. Developers have suggested the city's population could one day reach 400,000.

Since it was formed in 2017, California Forever has bought more than 202 square kilometers of farmland in Solano County. The plan calls for $400 million to help Solano County residents buy homes in the proposed community.

Sramek has already held a series of community meetings around the county. But the efforts have not quieted critics who have been opposed to the project since the start of land-buying began in the area years ago.

The land California Forever is targeting sits in the heart of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta⁵, which serves as home to many fish and wildlife species. The Delta is also a source for the area's already limited water supply. Critics of the project worry that adding more development will further harm an already threatened ecosystem⁶.

But supporters say Solano County is a smart place to build because the area has a big need for additional housing. There is especially a great need for affordable homes for teachers, firefighters, police and other public workers.

Gabriel Metcalf is head of planning for California Forever. He told The Associated Press he thinks Solano County is a good place because it will appeal to military contractors⁷, as well as technology and construction companies seeking a new project.

Metcalf said, if "we can provide companies with a pathway to growth, we think we'll get some major employers creating jobs here that would otherwise go out of state, to places like Texas."

Words in This Story

affordable – adj. having a low price

philanthropist – n. someone who gives money to people who need help

ecosystem – n. all the living things in a particular area, as well as the ways the things affect each other and the environment

1 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

2 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

3 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

4 vista   

n.远景，深景，展望，回想

参考例句：

• From my bedroom window I looked out on a crowded vista of hills and rooftops.我从卧室窗口望去，远处尽是连绵的山峦和屋顶。
• These uprisings come from desperation and a vista of a future without hope.发生这些暴动是因为人们被逼上了绝路，未来看不到一点儿希望。

5 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

6 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

7 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》