Valerius

Valerius
Nation: Halandra Function: Capitol Population: 17,841,200 Leader: {{{leader}}}

Valerius is the adminsitrative and economic centre of Halandra. With a population of approximately 17.8 million, it is by far the single largest city in Halandra. The city is divided into 21 wards, each acting as its own dependent municipality and ward president.

Designation

Valerius is designated as a prefecture of Halandra, which means it has its own governor. On the basis of bureaucratic designation, Valerius is not a city in and of itself. The individual wards themselves are counted as cities, with the ward presidents acting as low-level mayors who oversee a ward administrative council (the equivalent to a city council or board of supervisors). These wards however, fall under the Valerius Metropolitan Government, with the prefectural governor at its head as chief executive.

Location

Valerius is located on the northwestern coast of the island of Northern Terranova, in the Inner Harbour of the Bay of Terranova at the mouth of the River Coetzee. This places the capital region at the crossroads of ocean and river based trade.

Influence

</div> As the centre of politics, economy, pop culture, transportation, and mass media, Valerius exercises a huge amount of influence on the rest of the nation. Valerius is home to the nation's leading businesses, cultural institutions, and universities. This has led to the cultural phenomenon of a sort of resentment on the part of people living in outer prefectures, who feel as if the capital overshadows everything and that its residents "lord it over everyone else," as the famed pop-culture columnist Andrea Zhou once put it. Nonetheless, the city continues to attract residents from across the nation looking for excitement, opportunity and sophistication.

This emigration to the capital has sparked fears of a brain-drain and erosion of the tax-base in the outer prefectures. As a result, local municipalites across the country have started programmes of tax-breaks and other incentives to lure educated young families to cities other than Valerius. These programmes have had varying results.

Economy

Valerius has by far the largest economy of any Halandrian city. With a highly developed transport and information technology infrastructure, economic incentive zones, and a historic status as a centre of trade and culture, Valerius alone constitutes a significant portion of Halandra's GDP.

Major Companies based in Valerius

• AeroHalandra (airline)
• Argent (commercial investment)
• AWG (automaker)
• Borge Group (architectural firm)
• Cronje International Group (property investment)
• Dorval (bank)
• EVM (bank)
• Fortijn and Santiago (bank)
• Halandriana (airline)
• HCom (telecom)
• Louw and Stoltenberg (publishing)
• Pflüger (biotech)
• Schiller Group (advertising)
• Siebenmorgen (freight)
• Silva (pharmaceuticals)

Geography and Administrative Divisions

Wards

Valerius has 21 wards, managed by a Ward President (mayor) who presides over a Ward Council of members elected by ward residents. Ward Presidents also represent their ward in the Metropolitan Assembly. Wards vary widely in population and economy.

Demographics

By Age

By Time

By Nationality

Transportation

Airports

• Valerius Casalles International Airport
• St. Sebastiaan and South Lake District Metropolitan Airport
• Valerius Heliport

Rail

</div>Rail is the primary means of transportation in Valerius, with a comprehensive network of 20 monorail lines, 15 subway lines, 12 elevated rail lines, and 9 light rail lines linking the wards of the city. Most rail lines in Valerius are privately operated with the exception those operated by Transmetro, the prefectural transportation authority. Some 21 million people pass through the system each day.

The city is linked to the rest of the country through the Battery Point Station and Valerius Central Terminal, the two busiest stations in the country.

Buses

Transmetro operates comprehensive bus routes through all 21 wards and special districts. Private companies operate a variety of other bus routes within the wards as well as to the outlying suburbs. Transmetro buses charge a fare of 3 florins while private companies may charge based upon distance.

Road

National motorways M1 through M7 cross through Valerius, and interchanges between them are possible via various points along the Trans-Valerius Orbital, an expressway ringing the city, The TVO represents the traditional border between Valerius and its suburbs. A number of other major expressways cross the city. The Van Wijk, Coetzee, Matteau, and Samejima Expressways link the various sections of the city together and connect the city to the motorways.

Water

Private ferries travel up the River Coetzee to points inland and to the outlying islands.

Culture

Museums

• The National Museum of Art
• Halandra Museum of Asian Art and Artefacts
• Centre for Architectural, Visual, and Industrial Design
• Metropolitan Museum of Photography
• The National Museum of Literature
• Valerius Museum of Modern Art
• The Louwrens Gallery

Theatres

• National Centre for the Performing Arts
• Centennial Theatre

Recreation and Tourism

Parks and Public Gardens

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• Old Village Square
• Barnes Square Park
• Battery Point Park
• Casalles Park
• Cathedral Square
• Centennial Park
• Coetzee Garden Park
• Federal Hill Park
• Heller Park
• Hertzog Park
• Kuriyama Gardens
• Hillview Peak
• Steentuinbosch
• Van Wijk Park

Shopping and Entertainment

Each neighbourhood of Valerius has its shopping district, but these are the most popular with tourists. As each neighbourhood in Valerius has its own unique character, it's highly recommended that one not only see these locations, but also explore off the beaten path.

• Kuriyama Road - street fashion, teen fashion, electronics, arcades.
• Ainsley Street - high end shopping and dining area.
• Battery South - new and used books, electronics, appliances.
• Stonewell - farmer's market, fish market.
• National Stadium - football, rugby, concerts.
• Cyberdrome - Electronics, fashion, movie theatre, arcades. Adjacent to Kuriyama Road.

Ainsley Street, Kuriyama Road and Centennial Boulevard converge at the southern edge of Centennial Park to form Centennial Point. This confluence is a spectacular intersection, with neon signs, video billboards, and shopping centres. This section is one of Valerius's famous postcard spots and is analogous to Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo and Times Square in New York City. Centennial Point is the single busiest intersection in Halandra. RTH, the national broadcaster, has broadcast studios located at Centennial Point. Centennial Point's bright lights create the picture-window backdrop for the morning and evening national news programmes.

Education

Universities

Valerius is home to the nation's leading universities. Among these are:

• Valerius National University
• The University of Valerius
• Metropolitan Architectural Institute
• Valerius Institute of Technology
• Augustin Santiago University
• Institute for Fine Arts and Design
• Valerius Medical and Dental University

Primary and Secondary Education

There are 573 public high schools and 406 primary/secondary schools within the prefectural limits. In addition, there are 390 private high schools and 287 private primary/secondary schools.

Professional Sport

Valerius is home to the football clubs FC Valerius (National Stadium) and Valerius 86 (Valerius Stadium). The city is also home to the Valerius Rangers rugby club.

Greater Valerius Metropolitan Area

The Greater Valerius Metropolitan Area is a large urbanised zone ringing Valerius Prefecture itself, consisting of many smaller cities in the St. Maarten Valley.

Cities of the Greater Valerius Metro Area (with populations)

• Kansaimachi, New Anglia (21,090)
• Louwrensdorp, South Midlands (98,300)
• Mabase, New Anglia (82,900)
• Petersburg, New Anglia (183,000)
• Roodbos, South Midlands (96,320)
• Sheffield, New Anglia (215,000)
• Utrecht, New Anglia (63,000)