#46 Jan Sramek: California Forever - Building the Next Great American City
Tue Jan 13 2026
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.
Chapters
0:00 — Why This Conversation Matters
02:05 — Meeting Jan and the Origins of California Forever
06:45 — Growing Up in the Czech Republic and Coming to America
12:10 — What California Forever Is Actually Trying to Build
17:55 — The Housing Crisis and Why Incremental Fixes Aren’t Enough
23:40 — Walkability, Safety, and Designing for Families
30:15 — Why Cities Should Work for Kids and the Elderly Alike
35:50 — The Reality of Building a New City in California
41:30 — Regulation, Risk, and the Cost of Not Building
47:20 — Reviving American Manufacturing and Shipbuilding
53:10 — Master Planning, Density, and Mixed-Use Neighborhoods
59:00 — Learning from Traditional Urban Design
1:04:45 — Community, Belonging, and Social Trust
1:10:30 — What Success Would Actually Look Like
1:15:40 — Long-Term Vision and Final Reflections
CONNECT WITH JAN SRAMEK
California Forever - Building the next great American city
Jan Sramek | LinkedIn
https://x.com/jansramek?s=11
CONNECT WITH AUSTIN TUNNELL
Newsletter: https://playbook.buildingculture.com/
https://www.instagram.com/austintunnell/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/austin-tunnell-2a41894a/
https://twitter.com/AustinTunnell
CONNECT WITH BUILDING CULTURE
https://www.buildingculture.com/
https://www.instagram.com/buildingculture/
https://twitter.com/build_culture
https://www.facebook.com/BuildCulture/
More
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. Chapters 0:00 — Why This Conversation Matters 02:05 — Meeting Jan and the Origins of California Forever 06:45 — Growing Up in the Czech Republic and Coming to America 12:10 — What California Forever Is Actually Trying to Build 17:55 — The Housing Crisis and Why Incremental Fixes Aren’t Enough 23:40 — Walkability, Safety, and Designing for Families 30:15 — Why Cities Should Work for Kids and the Elderly Alike 35:50 — The Reality of Building a New City in California 41:30 — Regulation, Risk, and the Cost of Not Building 47:20 — Reviving American Manufacturing and Shipbuilding 53:10 — Master Planning, Density, and Mixed-Use Neighborhoods 59:00 — Learning from Traditional Urban Design 1:04:45 — Community, Belonging, and Social Trust 1:10:30 — What Success Would Actually Look Like 1:15:40 — Long-Term Vision and Final Reflections CONNECT WITH JAN SRAMEK California Forever - Building the next great American city Jan Sramek | LinkedIn https://x.com/jansramek?s=11 CONNECT WITH AUSTIN TUNNELL Newsletter: https://playbook.buildingculture.com/ https://www.instagram.com/austintunnell/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/austin-tunnell-2a41894a/ https://twitter.com/AustinTunnell CONNECT WITH BUILDING CULTURE https://www.buildingculture.com/ https://www.instagram.com/buildingculture/ https://twitter.com/build_culture https://www.facebook.com/BuildCulture/