Could the “Edge City” of Santa Rosa Become a Center of California?

A Budding Cannabis Industry, New Housing, and Better Transportation Are Expanding Its Clout

Adjust your California maps: The little dot marking Santa Rosa needs to be a lot bigger.

Dramatic changes in housing, aging, transportation, and criminal justice are altering the Golden State’s geography, and no place in California stands to benefit more than Santa Rosa.

The charms of this Sonoma County seat have been sung at least since 1875, when the legendary horticulturist Luther Burbank, who created new classics like the Shasta Daisy in his Santa Rosa garden, declared it “the chosen spot of all this earth.” In the 20th century, journalist Herb …