Dorms, job training envisioned for 300-acre CA city for nation's homeless

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Monday, December 23, 2019
Activists hope to build 'all-inclusive' city for nation's homeless in CA
A California company is crowdfunding to create a new city to house the nation's entire chronic adult homeless population.

A California company is crowdfunding to create a new city to house the nation's entire chronic adult homeless population.

The 300-acre city would be built from the ground up with high-density housing and a hospital, along with full health care, food services, activities and more.

Details on where the city would be built have not yet been released.

"It's time to think differently about solving this crisis. Instead of taking hundreds of years to build thousands of shelters; the clear solution is to build 1 city for up to 150,000 people," the company, Citizens Again, wrote on its website. "By building outside the urban core and utilizing economies of scale, Citizens Again can build a complete, large-scale, economically sustainable solution desired by the entire chronic homeless population; within about 11 years."

The company estimates the city would cost about $3 billion to build, which it says is billions less than current efforts.

Citizens Again said the city would allow the homeless to "live with dignity, rebuild their self-respect, enjoy friendships, live safely, and start a new chapter in life."