Schweindorf
Schweindorf is the most populous city in both Sober Thought and its Central Province. Its name is German and may be understood as "Hog Village" or "Boorish Village." Locals prefer the former connotation and out-of-towners the latter, and dislike or ridicule of the hog town is one of the sinews that binds the country together.
Contents
Geography
Physical geography
Small rivers and creeks wend their way through the city. Some of them, especially in older neighbourhoods, were filled in during the 19th century to relieve land scarcity. Unfortunately, this shortsighted policy resulted in grave environmental harm as waterways were permanently diverted and fauna corridors interrupted. Fortunately, later residents realised the harm caused by infill so they ceased covering new watercourses and uncovered some of the more important ones already damaged.
=Urban geography
The city limits expanded in fits and starts over the 18th and 19th centuries as Schweindorf freely annexed its rural hinterland when Central Province was independent. However, upon federation and the chartering of surrounding Horseshoe County, the city had to rely on negotiation and reason to expand. Thus, in the 20th centuries the territory expanded much more slowly but it included much more committed new burghers.
As the provincial captial, and the national and provincial metropolis, Schweindorf has an interesting architectural history. And because of the voluntary and subsidised efforts of enthusiasts, much of this history has been preserved (even if just as façades). There are many public institutions created to serve the municipal, provincial and federal governments, and most of these have very striking architectural features.
Demographics
Roughly one sixth of the residents of the city are native born Schweindorfers, another sixth natives of Central Province, one third natives of other provinces in Sober Thought and the final third natives of other countries. The diverse racial, ethnic, cultural and linguistic origins, and communal peace the city maintains, makes it the most cosmopolitan city in the land.
Schweindorfers are also more likely to be younger for a variety of reasons. Firstly, native born elderly on fixed incomes are more likely to retire outside the city where the cost of housing and living is lower. Secondly, residents from elsewhere in Sober Thought are usually drawn by work and so tend to be aged in their 20s to 40s. Thirdly, immigrants are usually younger since older people have a greater attachment to their land of birth and weaker desire to emigrate to a new land of opportunity (save for refugees who are not immigrants).
City government
As a chartered municipality, Schweindorf has certain areas of exclusive jurisdiction and some which are unofficially shared. Like the national and provincial governments, it also has democratic control and civilian oversight.
City councils
Schweindorf City Councils tend to resemble provincial legislatures because the city is more populous than all but four provinces: Central Province of which it is part, Hochelaga, Thuvia and Western Province.
The electorate chooses the mayor to represent the city at large and act as the de facto head of city-state. Each 0.1% of the national population is represented by a city councillor elected only by the people resident in each single-member district. The city council, acting as the de jure legislature, elects one of its 78 members deputy mayor to act as the de facto head of government. The whole council conducts roughly a third of the business brought to the municipal government's attention, an additional third delegated to topical committees of the whole council and the final third delegated to neighbourhood councils.
The city council districts are grouped into 12 neighbourhood councils, comprising 6 to 12 councillors. Each council elects its own deputy mayor and exercises the responsibilities that the executive committee delegates to it.
The executive committee, the de facto cabinet with geographic rather than portfolio representation, consists of the mayor, the deputy mayor-at-large and the twelve neighbourhood deputy mayors. It decides what matters rightfully belong to the whole council and which belong to the neighbourhood councils.
Fire
The Schweindorf Fire Chief is appointed by the City Council as a whole and is responsible for firefighting, fire education, fire prevention, and arson investigation. The latter three functions are conducted at the city level while the former is subdivided geographically.
The entire city is divided into four districts based on cardinal points of the compass, each the responsibility of a fire superintendent. Each neighbourhood raises a fire brigade under the command of a fire brigadier. Two to four fire battalions exist in each neighbourhood, commanded by fire captains.
At the smallest level is the fire company, commanded by a fire lieutenant. It typically comprises one piece of specialised firefighting equipment such as a ladder, pumper, hazardous materials or rescue vehicle. Six to twelve crew are need to operate and support each piece of equipment, and there are three shifts (headed by deputy fire lieutenants) dedicated to each piece of equipment. Most fire companies are located in their own station, hence the colloquial use of the unofficial rank of "station chief," but some are co-located.
Waste
Although lacking glamour, waste management is one of the most important functions of any city. Schweindorf has benefitted from national policies requiring businesses to be responsible for their products throughout the lifecycle from the extraction of raw materials to final disposal. It has additionally agressively promoted composting for organic wastes and burning other wastes with the added benefit of electrical or thermal co-generation. The latter technique has draw comment and sometimes sharp criticism from individuals and political parties.
