State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

A New Idea to Fight Silicon Valley Sprawl

Governing: This month, employees at Apple began moving into the company's gargantuan new headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. Nicknamed the "spaceship," the ring-shaped building cost an estimated $5 billion, the most expensive office building in history. And with 2.8 million square feet of office space and 11,000 parking spaces, it's one of the biggest.

But to many people, the Apple spaceship -- like similar Silicon Valley headquarters for Facebook and Google -- typifies the biggest challenges of the new tech economy in the San Francisco Bay Area: Massive, isolated corporate campuses plopped down in the 'burbs, which drive up housing costs and force many workers to endure hours-long commutes.

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