Kyusigai
| きゅしがい Kiyu Sigahi Sekolah | |
|---|---|
 Top to bottom, left to right: Kedai Pinus park, Kotak Timur metro station roof, Pusat multi-modal station square by night, view from a northern suburb Batu Menangis hill with Mount Sebelumya in the background, Jerami shopping district, dockyards in Jembatang Arsan. | |
| File:KYUflag.png Flag |
File:KYUcoapng Coat of arms |
| Location | |
| File:KYUlocatormap.png | |
| Country |  Sokoku
|
| Region | Shuuen |
| Foundation | ~7200 |
| Government | |
| Type | Staggered democratic |
| Body | City Council |
| Mayor | TBA |
| Physical | |
| Elevation | 31 meters (average) m |
| Total area | 6524 km2 |
| Urban area | 683 km2 |
| Metro area | 6524 km2 |
| Time zone | UTC-10 |
| Population | |
| Total | 3,381,320 |
| Rank | 3rd place |
| Density | 518.29/km2 |
| Demonym | Sigaian |
Kyusigai, also spelled きゅしがい in Bahaso, is the capital city of Sokoku located in the state of Shuuen on the island with the same name. With its 3.4 million inhabitants, it is the 3rd largest urban settlement of Sokoku. The city's full name is Kiyu Sigahi Sekola (きゆ しがひ せこら) but that name is hardly used. Since it is the capital of a multilingual nation, it has different spelling in those languages, like Olta in Iztomal, Skola in Wortsproke and Kyo Sikai in Kakuri
Etymology
The name Kyusigai originally comes from the Kakuri language and was introduced by Chika Mirei shortly after the liberation of Schlung from Hellish colonisers. She refered to the former häverist urbanate as "a place where we can dedicate ourselves to learning", in this case learning to co-exist and execute good governance. A "place dedicated to learning" (Kyo Sikai) became a commonly used term for the settlement. In Bahaso, it was transformed to Kiyu Sigahi Sekola with that final addition literally meaning "school".
History
The foundation of Schlung as a Hellish fortress happened more or less by accident. A ship with Hellish settler, the Feuerborg, got stranded here in 72XX after a storm. With a dinghy the ship crew went for help, but the rescuing vessel Wasserstein got wrecked on a submerged rock and was damaged beyond repair. Then the decision was made to build a small fortress with the ship's material, after which the makeshift settlement got nicknamed Festung Schlunge, meaning "fortress of casted material".
After the Häverist revolution, Schlung was designated as one of the three major Häverist urbanates that had to be constructed in order to get the entire colony of Schangtienrand under Häverist control. Schlung would become the southern stronghold in the colonisation effort. The old town and some adjacent native settlements were incorporated and then largely levelled.
The ongoing unrest in Schangtienrand led to a very long construction time, with the urbanate not even half ready when rebel forces captured it with the help of Fisks vessels and Kakuri strategies. Instead of destroying the oppressive colonial structure, Chika Mirei suggested to use the half finished settlement as an example of modern planning with a native basis, instead of demolishing it like the colonists had done previously to pre-colonial settlements.
Kyusigai got an ambitious blueprint plan as the capital of Shuuen aiming at 500,000 inhabitants. But when Sokoku was founded in 76XX the plan was extended to 1 million inhabitants. The structure was based on that of Toshi-bu but then with four metropolitan railway lines and two regional railway lines as backbone for development. The stations on the Kyusigai Metro would create opportunities for business establishment, transportation and local trade. Government buildings were constructed as footholds on the different branches, generating cross town traffic and good possibilities for residential development across the urban landscape. The central part of the city, re-using the urbanate's circular structures, was partially designed by Sanna Palnesdotter av Blåkulla, the older sister of Queen Tovemor of Vittmark, who also had been the managing designer for Nushudawara in Mirei.
When Sokoku became larger and larger, so did the demand for government related activities in the capital. The master plan had to be adapted several times and is currently in the form of seven development corridors, mimicking the lay-out of Toshi-bu even more than the original plan.
Demographics
Around the turn of the 77th century, Schlung was a half finished urbanate with about 80,000 inhabitants. Since Sokoku's independance in 76XX the city has seen a growth rate of about 4-4.5% anually for decades. This meant that the milestones of 500,000 inhabitants was passed in 7644 and the 1 million mark was passed 17 years later in 7661. Only a small part of this growth was realised through inclusion of former separate settlements, about half through net migration and the other half through natural growth because of the young, migrated population.
As a result, the city has a relatively young population. About 40% of the population is between 20 and 44 years old. Due to the city's function as federal and state capital, it has a the highest education level nationwide (except some dedicated university towns). The presence of many polytechnics and universities adds to this.
The capital contains about 2% of Sokoku's population, which makes it a relatively small capital. Despite its administrative function, based mainly on tax money as source of income, the city still stands for a disproportionally large 3% of the nation's GDP.
Curiously enough, Kyusigai has a bit less of a cosmopolitan feeling than Berewan or Taumakan, due to the fact that a lot of the migrant population is demestic, mainly from the countryside of Shuuen and Garis Hati and a to a lesser extent the other member states. Only 15% is of the Izto ethnicity, which is just a little above Sokoku's average, and about 10% of people have foreign roots. However, many of the localities clearly have an ethnic or regional feeling due to people from the same area tending to locate in the same area. For example, the Izto population tends to live around some metro stations on the orange line's northern branch, as well as the blue lines' southern branches, where a place like Gunung Garudah also is known as "Little Diyin Tsiidi". People from Shuuen and Garis Hati gather in places around the purple lines' southern branches and red lines' northern branches.
The main language spoken is Bahaso, but in some ethnic enclaves all sorts of regional variations of the language, as well as Izto can be used. The main religion of the population is Guso which has a more firm stronghold in this relatively young city compared to the more traditional countryside or regions where Tamahunan and other Lizehanist branches are more dominant. But all minority religions can be found here, including Orkanan (Peratolian, Mellanhand and even Stellist) and more indigeonous religions.
Culture
As the nation's capital, Kyusigai is a primary center for cultural life on Shuuen and in Sokoku. The city also hosts several architectural masterpieces, most of them from the modern, post independance age. But there are quite a few traditional houses and religious building even dating from pre-colonial times still scattered around the urban landscape.
The city has a vast amount of smaller and medium sized art galleries, which often function as museums as well. Most of the non-art themed museums have an educational function and are often connected to one of the universities, colleges or polytechnics in Kyusigai. While there is a focus for these types of cultural outings in the city centre, both north and south of the river, many interesting museums and galleries can be found in older towns and suburbs outside the center as well.
Music and other performed arts are however the prefered art forms for many Sokokans, resulting in a vibrant music scene with lots of stages ranging from smal cafés to large concert halls and everything in between. Just as the nation itself, the emphasis lies on contemporary and modern music. Through well aimed development suvbsidies for promising artists, heavy funding for music and performance education and support for innovation, Kyusigai is the main breeding ground for music culture in Sokoku. Styles like S-Rock and Kyusic have become popular in much af Altaia, several Anarian nations as well as Kamura.
It is obvious that the Kyusigai cuisine shows just as much variation as its population. Various regional cuisines have become commonplace in Kyusigai, where fusion between different approaches are typical for any larger city in Sokoku. A part of the traditional Hellish culture with taverns and inns has survived decolonisation, although many of the places have been rebranded into a Nubugaru identity. Curiously enough it has been the Kakuri community that has introduced some Hallish elements into the local cuisine as well, like baked puddings, potato hotpots and battered fish with fried potatoes. The Izto contribute with meals based on potatoes, beans, corn, tomatoes and avocados, often served in wraps or as oven dishes.
Urban townscape
Kyusigai is located on the Benteng bay, part of the Jameh Sea between Shuuen and Garis Hati. The city stretches out along the coastline with small ports and pleasant residential areas around metro stations, lacking the vast port facilities that dominate Sokoku's largest cities Taumakan and Berewan. A lot of the coastline is still covered in mangrove forests or has palm lined sandy beaches, depending on the geological conditions.
The river Melara has its mouth just south of the city center and much of the area the city covers is a river delta between rocky outcrops. So rocky hills dot the urban landscape, creating identifiable places in the extended built-up area. Further to the west the river has been turned into the Danau Melara reservoir for drinking water and electricity production, separating the northern and southern outskirts. The reservoir was constructed during colonial times. It has created a new, inland shoreline that gives many inhabitants access to the water for leisure, but also goods transportation. The reservoir is protected by strict regulation regarding industrial activities, agriculture, mining and wastewater treatment, which also applies to the catchment basin of the Melara river. Most of the coastline has guaranteed free public access.
A characteristic feature of the city is Mount Sebelumya in the southern suburbs, an extinct volcano with a typical cone shape dominating the surrounding landscape. It is located between Sisi Sela on the south coast and the purple line suburbs around Tajam, creating a dramatic background for both parts of the city. The area is designated nature reserve, partially because soil conditions make it difficult to have agriculture or buildings here.
The city structure with its carefully planned metro lines has been nicknamed "pearl strings", since each area around a metro station is treated like an individual locality. This makes Kyusigai an urban landscape of station towns with about 10,000 inhabitants each, with local service like schools and shops all at walking distance. Older settlements like Kawana, Palu, Suci, Suara, Tenaga Surya and especially the coastal towns of Leher and Taman can still be identified as separate towns within the city, giving Kyusigai a multi-faceted character. Kawana and Suara still have many buildings left from colonial times, like the iconic Hotel Exemplar Mirei which has served as urban villa, post office, state company headquarters, training facility, hotel and state office. This characterises Sokokan architecture and building, trying to create flexible and adaptable buildings and places, enabeling the dynamics that come with an urban society with over 1 million inhabitants.