The Power of Place: Redefining Community and Behavior

Devon Zuegel: How To Create A New Town - [Invest Like the Best, EP.413]

My guest today is Devon Zuegel. Devon is the founder and president of the Esmerelda Institute, and she is creating a new town called Esmerelda in California wine country. Learning of Devon and her plan, I couldn’t help but wonder why there aren’t more people building new towns. She shares the origin story of her project Esmeralda, a modern reinvention of the Chautauqua community she cherished growing up, and we explore her fascinating work building communities and reimaging how we live together. We discuss how environments fundamentally shape human behavior, how cost of space impacts creativity, the financial challenges of town-building despite their potential for strong returns, and the plans in place for Esmerelda. Please enjoy this fascinating conversation with Devon Zuegel. 

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For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com).

Show Notes:

(00:00:00) Learn About Ramp, Ridgeline, & Alphasense

(00:06:00) The Origin of Devon's Obsession with Places

(00:08:07) Proximity and Cost of Space

(00:10:02) The Chautauqua Inspiration

(00:11:31) Building a New Town: Esmeralda

(00:13:23) Urban Design and Street Importance

(00:15:44) Community Values and Peer-to-Peer Learning

(00:18:15) Edge Esmeralda: A Prototype Community

(00:21:38) Challenges and Trust Building in Development

(00:26:45) The Role of Cars in Urban Planning

(00:31:10) Mortgages and Taxes: Shaping Communities

(00:42:11) Devon's Journey: From Stanford Review to Esmeralda

(00:43:41) Tools for Thought and Feedback Loops

(00:46:33) Urban Design and Pop-Up Villages

(00:50:06) Exploring Las Catalinas and Car-Free Living

(00:52:31) Placemaking and Organic City Development

(00:56:25) Frontier Camp and Creating Collaborative Spaces

(01:02:39) Building New Towns: Financial and Infrastructure Challenges

(01:12:05) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Done For Devon