Stangeland
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| Motto: Success in Unity. | ||||
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| Official languages | English, Solroslandic | |||
| Mayor | Preston Huang (AFP) | |||
| Area - Total - % water |
3,898,290 km² 22.8% | |||
| Population - Total (2006) |
21,000,000 | |||
Stangeland is the capital city of Solrosland. With a population of 21 million, it is the largest city in the nation. The amount of influence Stangeland exercises over the rest of the nation is immense - this city is the centre of the political, economic, and pop culture heartbeat of Solrosland.
The city was founded by the explorer Janst Stangeland for the British Empire in 1750, under the name St. Augustine. With one of the few sheltered deep harbours on the island and a proximity to areas rich in natural resources, St. Augustine rapidly grew as a colony throughout the final half of the 18th century.
In the 19th century, a gold rush in the foothills to the southeast of the city turned St. Augustine into a magnet for immigrants from around the world hoping to hit the motherlode. In the process, infrastructure such as public buildings, roads, railroads, and an expanded port helped to cement St. Augustine's place as the single most important settlement in the islands In 1850, the citizens of St. Augustine celebreated their city's centennial by voting overwhelmingly to rename it Stangeland in honour of its founding father. On 1 January 1851, the switchover was completed by the replacement of the last sign at Stangeland Railroad Terminal.
The 20th century saw the continued booming growth of the city. The highly centralised bureaucratic apparatus of the national government, coupled with the high development of the area compared to the rest of the country helped to keep the city attractive to people looking to seek their fortunes in the 'big city.'
Today, in spite of the advent of federalism and the devolution of many government functions to the provinces, Stangeland is the focal point of all happenings in the country.
Contents
Geography and Climate
The city has a subtropical climate, with foggy wet winters and mild, clear summers. The city does not have four seasons in the conventional sense. Between the summer and winter, there is a very brief fall before the arrival of the winter's rains. The weather is influenced by the city's location in an inner harbour near the Strait of St. Augustine, which channels winds and creates a relatively cool climate, with fog created by interaction between the cool waters of the channel and the warmer summertime air.
Politics
Stangeland is divided into 18 boroughs and 31 districts, each with a seat on the Metropolitan Council. Prior to 1989, these
Each borough retains a character that makes them cities in their own right, with a range of populations ranging between a mere 21,000 in the semi-rural coastal community of Kigarua (home to Stangeland International Airport) to about 360,000 in Victoria Landing.
Recent breakneck growth in the city has led to some very real growing pains. Urban sprawl and relatively lax urban planning rules due to the traditionally decentralised nature of the metropolis has led to poor traffic on motorways and surface streets and a strain on resources that required several acts of Parliament on behalf of the metropolitan government to increase funding for transportation and sanitation infrastructure.
Under the current governorship of Preston Huang, certain reforms in the tax code and concerted efforts to reduce waste have created new sources of revenue for projects and improvements that were once considered not yet feasable. The widening of major arteries in the most heavily affected areas as well as a much-needed upgrade to the mass transit system have, since 2001, vastly improved the situation though there are still numerous rough patches in the system that exasperate commuters on a daily basis.
Cityscape
Stangeland's cityscape is diverse, with several major commercial and residential districts spread out across the boroughs creating multiple clusters of high rises that create unique skylines in many different areas. There are three highly recogniseable skylines: Victoria Landing (the largest and most well-known), the Kamaigsau Square district, and Old St. Augustine (near Victoria Landing).
The types of architecture that can be found in the city are diverse, and depending on where one goes, one can see many of them side by side. In Victoria Landing for example, many low slung buildings of the neoclassical style and neoclassical revival can be found alongside modern and postmodern office blocks. Kamaigsau Square is characterised by a mixture of more traditional Victorian and Georgian styles intermingling with many boxier, international style buildings erected during a construction boom in the 1960s and 1970s. A prime example is the housing estates of Trinity Hill, built by the South Capital Redevelopment Corporation in a privately funded scheme to ease a housing shortage.
In spite of the rather free-wheeling nature of Stangeland's traditional planning policy, all districts were forced to compete against each other to attract residents and be as liveable as possible, creating a common thread in the various policies of the borough governments. As a result, greenery and water became to major elements to any long-term planning model taken up by the boroughs. Approximately 12,000 hectares of Stangeland's surface area is occupied by parklands and other forms of green open space.
This number has continued to grow with the rise of the environmentalist movement and the decline of many industries in the face of the rising information and services sectors. As a result, warehouse and factory districts have been converted into parks and recreation areas. Also, the creation of a unified planning policy for all of Stangeland in 1989 granted the Metropolitan Government the powers to create the Capital Greenbelt Authority, charged with linking together and maintaining the city's "urban canopy." As a result of this initiative, since 1996 all parks in the city have been linked together in one unbroken web of parks space.
Economy
Stangeland is the single largest metropolitan economy in the country, and by itself it accounts for a high proportion of Solrosland's economic output.
The backbone of Stangeland's economy is services, represented by banking and finance, publishing, and the administrative and management elements of the country's automotive industry, whose headquarters are located in the city. The Victoria Landing CBD is the largest business district in the country and one of the largest in the world. The rest of the services sector, like that of many other big cities, revolves around catering to the population of the city itself.
Tradition and a role as the major container port of the country and the hub of the national transportation networks has helped to keep Stangeland in the league of one of the major industrial players in Solrosland as well. The suburbs within the city's boundaries play host to some of the largest automobile, aircraft, and electronics manufacturing facilities in the country
In the second half of the 20th century, economic and administrative centralisation concentrated a lot of the nation's power towards Stangeland. In the last decade however, this trend has begun to slow, partially as a result of the high cost of living and doing business in the capital.
In spite of the rather high cost of living and doing business in the city, most choose to put up with the inconvenience, looking at it as a part of the cost of living and working near the heartbeat of the country.
Transportation
Besides serving such an important socioeconomic role, Stangeland is strategically located at the Strait of St. Augustine and because of this, the city serves as the gateway between the north and south islands, making it the hub of the nation's rail, air, and road networks.
International passengers arriving and departing by air pass through Stangeland International Airport in Kigarua (41 km. from the city centre). This airport is the single point of entry into Solrosland. Passengers flying domestically arrive and depart from Iain Langford International Airport, in Barnesborough (14 km. from the city centre).
With rail as the most popular means of transport in Solrosland, all of the major rail networks converging upon the city at one of four major terminals in the city.
Within the city, residents, commuters and visitors enjoy one of the world's most extensive mass transit systems and most choose to take advantage of it. Busses, subways, monorails, commuter rail, and ferries provide services within the city and to the outlying suburbs and exurbs. Subways, above ground local rail, and busses are operated by any one of three private operators, contracted and regulated by the Metropolitan Government. The largest of the three is the Stangeland Metro Transit Corporation, a subsidiary of Solrosland National Rail.
The road network in Stangeland and the surrounding areas has not yet been expanded to fully cope with the rising population and as a result, the traffic is heavy during most times of the day, and especially dense during rush hours (6 to 10 in the mornings and 4 to 7 in the evenings).
In spite of its size, the neighbourhoods of Stangeland are very pedestrian friendly, with broad tree-lined sidewalks, numerous benches and resting places, well-maintained and safe pay toilets, and an extensive network of staffed police boxes (akin to the koban system in Japan). Due to the numerous accomodations provided for people travelling on foot, a high number of Stangelanders walk to work and school on a regular basis.
The city has also invested since the 1980s in a system of elevated cycleways, providing safe, well-lit, dedicated network of paths for bicyclists. Though the system is only available in the most densely populated districts of the city and is mostly limited to direct routes to major business and shopping districts, the network of street-level dedicated bike lanes is also extensive, well-maintained, and safe. The level of bicycling related injuries and fatalities is one of the lowest in the world, for a city of Stangeland's size.
Education
There are seven accredited institutions of higher learning in Stangeland, the largest of which is the University of Stangeland. The seven colleges of the University of Stangeland provide an internationally recognised education in a wide variety of fields and disciplines.
There are 400 primary and secondary schools, 129 vocational and polytechnic academies, and a wide range of publicly and privately funded institutions of continuing adult learning.
Stangeland is home to a wide range of high quality museums and cultural centres, including the National Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Natural History, and the Solroslandic Institute of Science and Technology's De Brandt Museum.
Tourism and Leisure
Stangeland's sights make it popular as an international tourist destination. The museums, surrounding natural scenery, and overall sophisticated urban atmosphere of Stangeland attract visitors from around the world.
Culture
Visual and Performing Arts
The city is home to dozens of major museums, a burgeoning arts district, and several neighbourhoods anchored by studios and performing arts companies. In the dry season (June through August), the Summer Festival Series gives Stangelanders and tourists the opportunity to make the journey to parks and squares throughout the city to view public performances by the many acclaimed organisations in the city, including the National Symphony and the Royal Ballet, the Solesi Cultural Union, the Solroslandic Shakespeare Society, North Coast Noh and Kibuki Society, and the Solroslandic Chinese Opera Organisation.
These organisations also provide performance programmes during their regularly scheduled seasons.
Museums
The Modern Arts Museum, The Royal Gallery, Remaii Royal Museum, Stangeland Museum of Natural History and Lie Centre for Science and Technology, Park Museum of Architecture and Interior Design, and The Solrosland Institute for Culture represent the most popular museums in Stangeland.
Neighbourhoods
The city nurtures dozens of unique neighbourhoods with their own unique character, style, and attractions.
Ethnic Neighbourhoods
Neighbourhoods with ethnic identities include Iie Park, home to the city's Japanese community and Japantown, Chinatown, O'Hare (Irish), Bennington (Russian and Ukrainian), and Frederickston (Latin American).
Shopping Districts
The north end of Frederickston is the home of the most prestigious shopping district in Solrosland. Sandwiched between the Latin quarter just to the south and the CBD to the direct north, the world's most prestigious international labels as well as homegrown designers all have set up shop there.
Eames Road, Goldman Street, and Victoria Wall are all popular shopping districts as well, with many diverse shops, restaurants and small parks nestled between mixes of brownstones and modern glass and steel apartment and commercial buildings. Victoria Wall is known for its many dozens of independent book and record shops and is generally regarded as the best place in Stangeland (and perhaps Solrosland) for procuring virtually any form and genre of print and video media, resulting in the nickname "book street" for the neighbourhood's Maartens Boulevard.
Parks and Squares
Most old neighbourhoods (within a 20 mile radius of Parliament Square) are anchored by a central square or park, from which shops, services, and residential sections radiate. These areas provide scenic and usually peaceful shaded green spaces. Every area of the city is also linked to the greenbelt system.
Especially notable parks are Federation Park in the city centre (the largest urban park in Solrosland), the Royal Botanical Gardens, Victoria Wall Park, the Inner Harbour Strand (home to the National Zoo and Aquarium), and Mount St. Augustine Park (with its famous scenic vantage point overlooking the city centre).
Places of Government and Palaces
Federation Park Complex
At the centre of the vast, sprawling Federation Park are the Houses of Parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Executive Offices. This small city within the city, open to the public year-round, is considered one of the country's architectural crowning jewels. Designed by the renowned Solroslandic modern architect Francoise Gould, the Federation Park complex is one of the most environmentally friendly and technologically advanced clusters of buildings on Earth. Powered by renewable energy, lit by natural sunlight during the day, and built with new and less wasteful composite materials, it is not only a place of interest for tourists interested in experiencing Solrosland's government at work, but for ecotourists interested in seeing the future of green design as well.
The Imperial Residences
While Stangeland was never the centre of Solrosland's indigenous monarchy, a palace and grounds were constructed in the city in 1911 to reflect both the official recognition of the Solesi monarch as the ceremonial head of state as well as his or her role in the government. The modest palace, located a half kilometre from the CBD, incorporates both traditional and European architectural elements. The ornate and carefully manicured grounds surrounding the palace are the largest draw at the Imperial Residences, as access to the palace itself is highly restricted.
Transport
While it is possible to rent a car, notoriously bad and occasionally perilous traffic, a vast and often confusing road network, and unique traffic rules make the city a daunting experience behind the wheel, even for native drivers. The mass transit system, with its dozens of transit lines, frequent arrivals and departures, and easy use is a far more attractive alternative. Many tourists also rent bicycles and set out on the cycleways.
Notable Natives
- Tsubaki Shindo - Federal Home Affairs Minister
