Zócalo's Connecting California
Little Santa Rosa is making big moves
Formerly sleepy Santa Rosa is perhaps best known as the home of Charles Schulz, the creator of "Peanuts." But it could soon standout for its sensible approaches to things like housing affordability, homelessness and recreational pot.
By Joe Mathews • • 5m ListenSanta Rosa is one of the fastest growing cities in California. The mid-sized Sonoma County town is also one of the most progressive when it comes to embracing growth, addressing homelessness and taking steps to capitalize on the legalization of recreational marijuana. Zócalo columnist Joe Mathews calls it an "edge city," similar in some respects to places like Riverside, Santa Clarita, Escondido and Fairfield. Mathews says those places – and California's larger coastal cities – could all learn something from Santa Rosa about how to go about creating middle-class opportunity and positioning itself for relevance in the future.