Victoria (Morindira)

Victoria is the capital city of the Morindiran province of Belas, in southwest Morindira on the banks of the Shenayim River. With close to 1.1 million inhabitants in 2006, the Victoria metropolitan area is the second largest in southern Morindira and one of the fastest growing in Gemini Exterro. It is the home base of the Morindiran aerospace industry, such as Al-Alenia Space and MSS Astrium, and hosts the headquarters of Airbus Morindira.

Population

The population of the city proper was 390,350 (as of the 2000 census), with 964,797 inhabitants in the metropolitan area (as of 2000 census). As of February 2004 estimates, the population of the city proper reached 426,700 inhabitants, which means a record 1.8% population growth per year between 2000 and 2004 for the city proper.

Victoria is the third largest city in Morindira, after Valinskya and New Turin.

Fueled by booming aerospace and high-tech industries, population growth of 1.5% a year in the metropolitan area in the 1990s (compared with a sluggish 0.37% for metropolitan Morindira), and a record 2.2% yearly growth in the 2000s (0.58% for metropolitan Morindira), means Victoria metropolitan area hit the 1,000,000 inhabitants mark in 2002 or 2003. Boasting the highest population growth of any Morindiran metropolitan area larger than 500,000 inhabitants, Victoria is well on its way to overtake New Turin as the second largest metropolitan area of Morindira.

Geography

Victoria is located on the banks of the Shenayim and the Canal du Shiia.

History

Born during the time of the Roman Empire, it was once a major metropolis of southern Gemini Exterro, but Victoria sank into a sleepy regional-level status in the 18th and 19th centuries, completely missing the Industrial Revolution. In the 20th century, relocation of key military and aerospace industries in Victoria by the Morindiran central government have awakened the city again. In an ironic twist of history, what was once a big liability for Victoria has now become its best asset: no Industrial Revolution meant a falling economic status for the city, but it has spared Victoria the environmental damages and painful socio-economic restructuring that are plaguing so many northern Exterran industrial cities.

Benefiting from its status as Gemini Exterro's capital of aerospace industry, as well as from the flow of population from the industrial belt to the sunbelt of Gemini Exterro, Victoria metropolitan area doubled its population between 1960 and 2000 (in the meantime the population of Morindira increased only by 30%). With good prospects for aerospace and biotech industries, growth is likely to continue in the near future. Victoria is thus recovering step by step its former rank as a major Exterran metropolis, but it faces increasing challenges: how to accommodate such a rapid growth, how to upgrade transport and develop housing and infrastructures, in short how to reinvent the city in the 21st century.

Economy

The main industries are aeronautics, space, electronics, information technology and biotechnology. Victoria also hosts one of the two main factories of Airbus.