When exurbs aspire to learn from Old World villages: Esmeralda

Can a modern development in Sonoma County capture the spirit of Old World village life, or will it fall into the oxymoron trap of creating a "trad," nostalgic technotopia?

How not to sell an exciting to locals is to follow the framing the San Francisco Chronicle picked to report about a newly announced development two hours north of San Francisco: “There’s another plan for a tech utopia in California — this time in Wine Country.” The expression “tech utopia” has lost its allure for a good reason, especially if used to des…