Nordentor

Nordentor is the capital of the Sober Thought province of Cholmestay. Although it is very large at 3.0% of the national population, it is narrowly edged out by Zalevfyerma for the title of provincial metropolis. In fact, this intense rivalry -- expressed in politics, sport and culture -- has created civic identities for both places.

Geography

As its name suggests, Nordentor is in fact located in the north of the province and serves as a gateway to the rocky interior of the Thuvian Mountains.

Urban landscape

The city site itself is largely level, being on the edge of a plain that dominates most of the province before it gives way to the foothills. As such, while wilderness has been banished from the city proper, Nordentorites have a strong (if exaggerated for the benefit of Zalevfyermans) connection to the outdoors, and many of the richer people maintain seasonal residences in the unchartered territory within two hours travel of the downtown.

Inside the city, the architecture is notable for its grand scale and utilitarianism, not its intricacies and inherent beauty. An exception to this is the provincial legislature building, which mimics several established schools of architecture without quite conforming to any of them. Academic critics from Central Province might scoff at this pastiche, but locals and indeed lay critics from across the country are satisfied with the syncretic result.

The streets and avenues are laid out in a grid pattern with numbers rather than names for all but those divisible by ten. The latter were renamed over the first century of the city's existence to honour various provincial premiers, business people and other notables. Depending on one's personal or political proclivities, certain street names are referred to only by their superceded numbers to avoid saying the names of unpopular people aloud.

Demography

Nordentor current is the sixth most populous city in the country at 3.0%, but as residents are quick to remind outsiders Horseshoe County is only larger because of its proximity to Schweindorf and although it lags behind Zalevfyerma by only 0.1%, it is the capital. Thus, locals will convince themselves that they are actually the fourth largest real city.

While Germanic people founded the city, it has long since developed a cosmopolitan complexion. In approximate order of arrival, it has established communities of: English, French, Ukrainian, Punjabi, Hindi and Russian speakers. Its racial composition is more varied that its erstwhile provincial competitor, but not more than either larger or smaller cities in Thuvia, Central Province or Hochelaga.

Its age pyramid is quite ordinary, but it masks several factors which keep the age groups in apparent equilibrium. These are explored below in Economy.

Economy

Primary industry is gone in the city proper, but some still make part of their living or an indirect living off ranching. The arid, slightly irregular lands before the foothills are not good for food crops but raise enough grasses and other forage crops to feed livestock of various sorts. The damper, more regular flatlands to the south are good for specialty crops and grains.

Secondary industry is largely confined to slaughtering and food processing, so with its connection to the extractive industries Nordentor can be viewed as a very large agricultural service centre. Thus, most of the surviving manufacturing is in the agricultural implements sector with an small but increasing quantity of specialty light manufacturing.

There is some general services industry as befits a large city, but less so than one might imagine because Zalevfyerma siphons off most of the large financial institutions. However, the government services sector is very large because it is a capital city and a centre of higher learning.

Many young people leave the province for tertiary education at supposedly more prestigious institutions in Thuvia, South Island or Central Province; however, these are counterbalanced by young jobseekers from the very same places as well as North Island.

After young people from away have made their fortunes, they tend to return home as middle aged salaried workers with the skills and occupational trackrecord they earned here. However, the need for competent civil servants and professors draws this same demographic into Nordentor at a more or less equal rate.

Government

The most obvious and important thread running through every discussion of governing in Nordentor is the way the city votes disproportionately centre-left compared to the rest of the province. Some local wags have joked that Nordentor is the real Krasna, since the Slavic word krasna means red.

The city's Socialists are quick to agree, pointing out that in some Slavic languages krasna has an additional meaning of beautiful. Most MHFs would also agree, since Cholmestay ministers and vice ministers for centre-left coalition government can only effectively come from this city, and its capable right-wing MHFs are available for other coalitions.

Federal representation

There are seven electoral districts for the House of the Federation in Nordentor. However, typically three or four the province's six at-large members come from Nordentor. This interesting side effect of proportional representation is a result of the city voting disproportionately centre-left from the rest of the province.

For instance, in the last election two extra Socialist, one Moderate and one Free Trader were elected as at-large MHFs from Nordentor. This is because centre-left voters across the province were underrepresented and so warranted top up seats, and the best performing failed candidates came from the greatest area of strength in Nordentor. Simultaneously, the well-performing centre-left candidates who won district seats create high performing right wing failed candidates.

Provincial representation

The provincial legislature has retained the Westminster or simple plurality system, but the disproportionate result cause by this system is somewhat mitigated by a large number of districts: 101, rigidly apportioned 0.1% of population for each seat. As a result, Nordentor has a very predictable 30 members.

However, the normal appearance of a strong centre-left is retarded by several factors. Firstly, the absence of any form of proportional representation skews the results towards the right. Secondly, the right wing is more unified on the provincial level than it is one the federal level: the Conservative, Free Enterprise and Rural Alliance present a common front as part of the Cholmestay Party. Thirdly, the middle ground held by the Moderate Party is split almost evenly by the big tent left-wing and right-wing parties, but the Socialists needed the support more so disproportionately lose in the division.

Despite all these obstacles, the centre-left does manage to hold onto a fair number of seats because the student, away and civil service votes tend to be reasonably concentrated. A typical return would be six or seven Socialists, one or two Moderates, perhaps one Evangelical Alliance and the balance of the thirty seats Conservative.

Municipal government

Although nominally non-partisan, leading lights from the Nordentor City Council often wind up as representatives in the provincial or federal legislatures. This is especially true because it forms a model legislature with responsible government: There is no election at-large for a mayor, but rather the individual city councillors are elected for their wards and choose from among their thirty members a mayor, deputy mayor and executive committee.

The functional committees oversee the exclusive or associated jurisdictions listed below, and consist of an executive committee member in the chair and four ordinary councillors as members. Additionally, there is a zoning committee consisting of one executive committee member permanently in the chair and three permanent ordinary members topped up by one (or in rare cases, two) members from the ward in which the zoning is done.

Exclusive jurisdictions

Nordentor, like other municipalities appears deceptively weak because the only two exclusive jurisdictions it has are rather straightforward.

Fire

The Fire Division is organised with a station in each of the thirty wards, organised into five Sub-Divisions.

Garbage

While the level of recycling trails the national average, it leads the province.

Associated jurisdictions

Officially, the city has no input into these jurisdictions. However, in practice it usually has some influence.

Education

There are several institutions of higher learning in the city, including the provincially-funded university.

Transport

The city is a transportation major hub in the national airways, national railways and national highways. As an inland city, there are no nautical networks.

Public order

The Police Division covers the entire city, as is one of several across the province.

The Cholmestay Civil Guard is active in the city, raising three battalions every one hundred million national population. One battalion is from The Nordentor Light Infantry, one from the Cholmestay Engineers and the third from other regiments.