A unique project is set to go live next spring in the Bay Area. Organized by the Vitalism Foundation, it promises to be one of the largest longevity-related events ever.
They’re popping up!
Since the pop-up city of Zuzalu took the longevity community by storm in early 2023, its innovative concept has inspired a wave of adaptations around the globe. These include Vitalia on the island of Roatan, Honduras; ZuVillage in Georgia (the country, not the state); and Zelar City in Berlin, each offering its own spin on the original formula.
A pop-up city gathers like-minded people, blending co-living with a packed schedule of activities such as conferences, workshops, and hackathons. When the project is longevity-focused, the daily routine revolves around health and wellness, including healthy meals, cold plunges, yoga classes, detailed blood tests, and on-site treatments.
Pop-up cities give participants an inspiring glimpse into a future where people aren’t bound by national borders but instead unite around shared values and interests. This ambitious concept, known as “network states,” was coined by entrepreneur Balaji Srinivasan. Some projects, like Vitalia, have already taken the next step by establishing a continuous presence with a small, permanent community rather than disbanding after a few months.
Betting big on the Bay Area
Most pop-up cities have been set in remote or underdeveloped locations, due to factors like lower costs and relaxed regulations. Building such a project in a bustling, expensive metropolis is a serious challenge – one that Vitalist Bay is stepping up to meet.
Vitalist Bay, a future pop-up city set to operate in Berkeley, California, during April and May of 2025, is being organized by the Vitalism Foundation, a major non-profit in the longevity space. In a press release, the organizers described the initiative as “humanity’s boldest effort to extend healthy lifespan and solve aging” and “the Bay Area’s first longevity zone.”
Like a proper longevity-oriented pop-up city should, Vitalist Bay will offer its inhabitants and visitors perks like a gym, a sauna, a large co-working space, advanced diagnostics such as DEXA scans and VO2max tests, and, generally, a “pro-health social environment.” ‘Bayers’ will also be able to participate in a community clinical trial.
The program
Vitalist Bay boasts an exceptionally comprehensive program covering a variety of interconnected topics, including longevity science, decentralized science and network states, biostasis and cryopreservation, AI in biology, and investment in longevity biotech. Notably, an entire week will focus on healthcare policy, philosophy, and ethics – an encouraging sign of growing interest in longevity advocacy, a vital part of the movement.
“Aging and longevity have such wide scope – from policy and regulations to science and technology, investing in startups, and even crypto with decentralized science. Unfortunately, the interaction between these different areas has been quite limited,” Adam Gries, Vitalism’s co-founder, said to Lifespan.io. “Vitalist Bay is longevity’s new capital, which is a triple entendre – human capital, financial capital, and physical capital – because we feel longevity has been missing a focal point that converges its different aspects.”
The locals and the visitors
Despite the Bay Area’s notoriously high cost of living, Vitalist Bay will offer reasonably priced accommodations for several dozen permanent residents. “The event will be centered around the Lighthaven campus, where the rationalist community is based,” said Nathan Cheng, co-founder of Vitalism and the Longevity Biotech Fellowship. “We’ll bring in hundreds, if not thousands, of longevity experts across different domains with the common focus of solving the problem of aging.”
The primary emphasis, however, will be on visitors. “Vitalia and Zuzalu were designed as pop-up cities with residents as the dominant group,” Adam noted. “Our longevity zone is different – the dominant group will be visitors coming for shorter periods. With a venue that can host a thousand people but only 70 residents, we’re expecting thousands of attendees to participate in our conferences.”
Elaborating on why Vitalist Bay differs from its predecessors, Adam added, “Being in the Bay Area is crucial. Long-term pop-up cities in remote locations with limited infrastructure, research ecosystems, or innovation history are inherently restrictive. Think about the 10,000 or more angel investors in the Bay Area; how many would travel to Vitalia? Maybe the hardcore enthusiasts, but not those who are merely curious or geographically tied. With a local event, we can spark engagement beyond the dedicated longevity community.”
What’s next?
“Among the outputs we’re aiming for,” Nathan said, “are policy and ethics statements from philosopher groups, think tanks with recommendations for research funding priorities, and local community partnerships that emphasize the pro-social aspects of longevity. We also want to engage with the local art scene and, more broadly, build projects that bridge different parts of the longevity ecosystem. Of course, we’ll try to get more capital into companies and initiatives, both for-profit and nonprofit.”
Another ambitious goal is to create a longer-term physical presence in the Bay Area. “For that,” Nathan explained, “we’re partnering with Berlin House, which owns a 16-story tower in San Francisco. We’ll be governing one floor dedicated to longevity in partnership with VitaDAO and Foresight Institute. This could become our longer-term venue after the two-month event.”
