Aalmsted

Aalmsted
Capital city and province
From top down, left to right: Stefansburg skyline, University of Aalmsted Midelbulþen, Kiiþenspark, Aalmsted-Stedshaal and Nysted Park
Flag
Etymology: From aalm (elm) and sted (city)
Motto(s):  De Hyymaþ fân Industrije (The Home of Industry)
Country	Azmara
Province	Aalmsted
City Hall	Stefansberg
Boroughs	Seven districts Stefansburg Eleinasburg Oststed Friihâben Nord-Wiljâmsburg Sooþ-Wiljâmsburg Lilijenburg
Government
• Body	Aalmsted City Council
• Mayor	Analiisa Aleksdohter (Workers')
Area
• City/Province	412 km2 (159 sq mi)
• Land	375.75 km2 (145.08 sq mi)
• Water	36.25 km2 (14.00 sq mi)
• Bojnersteden	5,039 km2 (1,946 sq mi)
Elevation	15 m (49 ft)
Population  (4 September 2017)
• City/Province	1,023,942
• Urban	1,558,755
• Bojnersteden	3,340,844
Demonym	Aalmsteder
Town code	List of town codes 1-SB 1-EB 1-OS 1-FH 1-NW 1-SW 1-LB
Area code	01
Website	www.aalmsted.az

Aalmsted (/ɑːlmstɛd/; Azmaran: [ɑːlmstɛð], locally [ɑːlmʃtɛð]), officially the Free City of Aalmsted (Azmaran: Friisted âb Aalmsted) is the capital and largest city of Azmara. The city itself houses 1,023,942 people and comprises one of Azmara's eight provinces, bordering the country's two largest provinces of Westmaark and Groonbank. Both of these provinces contain parts of the city's urban area, and the city forms a key part of the Bojnersteden conurbation alongside major cities in both provinces such as Jorś-Hylager, Stajnensby and Ryksby, which by some estimates has 3.3 million people, or one third of the entire Azmaran population.

The city's origins lie in its placing on a ford on the river Bojner and there exist records of consistent settlement in the area from Tenic times, yet it is thought that before the 13th century the settlement remained rather small. However, as the two Rudolphine polities of the Western March and the Duchy of Groonbank entered a personal union in 1238, the settlement's key position on the border between the two polities gave it some key importance, with the territory's monarch operating in the then-village of Aalmsted and the nearby town of Stefansburg. This led to the expansion of the two settlements, and by the time of the breakaway of the Azmaran Confederation from the Rudolphine Confederation, the two had merged into a notable town which would serve as the capital of the new state.

While its status as the capital of the Azmaran Confederation gave the city a notable profile, its population would start to grow exponentially during the early 19th century as the Industrial Revolution took off in the city and in nearby Cislania as first textiles and later the production of steel grew exponentially in the city and surrounding areas, leading to the city engulfing nearby settlements such as Eleinasburg, Friihâben and Wiljâmsburg. This would coincide with notable revolutionary action in the city as its growing entrepreneurial class and educated working class rejected their lack of a say in the national government and would therefore be the scene of the declaration of the Commonwealth of Azmara in 1855 and would provide vital support for Mikel Hankssun, the leader of the republican movement within the country. In the late 19th century, the city would also become the home of the University of Aalmsted, which has established itself as one of the most prestigious in Euclea.

Much of the early sites from the Industrial Revolution which remain form the collective Progenitors of the Industrial Revolution World Heritage Site alongside many similar sites in Cislania. In recent years, the city has performed very highly on quality of life indices and has grown attractive as a tourism destination. It is also known for being the home of many information technology startups in recent years due to a suite of municipal and national policies encouraging small enterprise in the sector, and for the Aalmsted urban rail system, which has been viewed by many as a model for urban transit. The city is divided into seven boroughs, largely based on the various towns and settlements which were absorbed into the city over its period of growth, the largest of which is Stefansburg in which many institutions of the Azmaran government are housed.

Government

The Basic Law of the Commonwealth of Azmara establishes Aalmsted as a free city with a status that has been described as that of a sui generis province, with equal legal status to the other provinces but with alternative terminology and the unique institution of a directly-elected Mayor as opposed to the council-appointed Provincial President that the other provinces possess.

Aalmsted City Council Composition:

  Workers' Party: 24 seats

  Gold Flame: 14 seats

  The Radicals: 13 seats

  Green Party: 12 seats

  Generation Aalmsted: 6 seats

  Onwards!: 5 seats

  Sotirian Democrats: 4 seats

  Socialist Party: 3 seats

  New Azmara: 3 seats

  Grey Party: 1 seat

As with all provinces, the Basic Law creates a provincial council with authority over the province. This council is known as the Aalmsted City Council (Aalmsted Stedþing) and possesses 85 members elected through open-list proportional representation using the seven boroughs of the city as constituencies. Since the June 2019 Council election, the largest party within the City Council is the Workers' Party, who have 24 seats within the body and have traditionally been the strongest party within the city. However, other national parties such as the centre-right Gold Flame, the left-liberal Radicals and the Greens also have a strong presence within the city.

The Mayor of Aalmsted is elected every four years through a ranked choice method of voting and takes on the responsibilities that a Provincial President would in other provinces. Since the June 2019 mayoral election, this office has been filled by Analiisa Aleksdohter of the Workers' Party, who won against Jon Leifssun of Gold Flame with 63.2% to his 36.8% after all preferences had been reallocated. Her election makes her an ex officio member of the Free City Government, of which the other nine members are appointed by her subject to the approval of the City Council. Currently, these other nine members are split evenly between the Workers' Party, The Radicals and the Green Party, who each possess three positions responsible for various aspects of city government.

Administrative divisions

The city is divided into seven boroughs, which are officially considered municipalities of Azmara under the two-tier province-municipality governance system. These boroughs have power largely over urban planning and basic facilities within their territory, with many matters of local government being controlled by the city government.

While each borough maintains an elected municipal council which is responsible for its governance, the boroughs of Lilijenburg and Eleinasburg have carried out notable experiments with participatory democracy and e-democracy, with residents being advised to have their say on matters of the borough through online interfaces with the municipal council. Each borough is also headed by a borough mayor, who is appointed by the council. For the boroughs of Oststed, Friihâben, Nord-Wiljâmsburg and Sooþ-Wiljâmsburg, this position is held by a member of the Workers' Party, while in Stefansburg, Eleinasburg and Lilijenburg respectively it is held by members of Gold Flame, The Radicals and the Green Party respectively.

District	Population (September 2017)	Area	Density	Borough Mayor
Stefansburg	208,467	85.29 km2 (32.9 sq mi)	2,444.2/km2 (6,330.5/sq mi)	Lars Ryginssun
Eleinasburg	181,385	83.01 km2 (32.1 sq mi)	2,185.1/km2 (5,659.4/sq mi)	Alessandro Marini
Oststed	144,949	72.12 km2 (27.8 sq mi)	2,009.8/km2 (5,205.4/sq mi)	Sofija Karlsdohter
Friihâben	128,006	75.74 km2 (29.2 sq mi)	1,690.1/km2 (4,377.3/sq mi)	Mâþijas Helmutssun
Nord-Wiljâmsburg	119,916	112.51 km2 (43.4 sq mi)	1,065.8/km2 (2,760.5/sq mi)	Maarija Þurisasdohter
Sooþ-Wiljâmsburg	108,472	82.2 km2 (31.7 sq mi)	1,319.6/km2 (3,417.8/sq mi)	Niina Edmundsdohter
Lilijenburg	132,747	81.13 km2 (31.3 sq mi)	1,636.2/km2 (4,237.8/sq mi)	Mikel Nikossun

Demographics

Historical population
Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1400 12,000 —     1500 18,600 +0.44% 1600 34,900 +0.63% 1800 107,200 +0.56% 1855 499,983 +2.84% 1857 515,780 +1.57% 1867 580,039 +1.18% 1877 650,384 +1.15% 1887 723,927 +1.08% 1897 774,035 +0.67% 1907 826,986 +0.66%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1917 862,001 +0.42% 1927 899,954 +0.43% 1937 876,303 −0.27% 1947 894,294 +0.20% 1957 923,764 +0.32% 1967 910,022 −0.15% 1977 894,073 −0.18% 1987 902,234 +0.09% 1997 938,558 +0.40% 2007 978,623 +0.42% 2017 1,023,942 +0.45%
Source: Commonwealth Internal Affairs Ministry

Aalmsted is Azmara's largest city, with 1,023,942 residents as of the 2017 census, also making it the country's fifth most populous province. Its statistical urban area, consisting of the free city plus surrounding towns in Groonbank and Westmaark, had a population of 1,558,755, while the broader Bojnersteden area of consistent urbanisation in central Azmara including Aalmsted the cities of Jorś-Hylager, Stajnensby and Ryksby had a total population of 3,340,844.

The city's population grew rapidly during the 19th century as a consequence of the Industrial Revolution - while the population in 1800 was estimated at 107,200, the 1897 census revealed a population of 774,035. This growth would continue through the early 20th century yet would decline between 1927 and 1937 due to the death toll and displacement in the Great War. Slow, steady growth in the immediate post-war years would start to unwind at the turn of the 1960s due to deindustrialisation, declining birth rates and relocation to the suburbs, yet since the 1980s the population has consistently grown largely due to high rates of immigration to the city. Much of this immigration has come from Etruria and Piraea, with figures from 2020 estimating that those of Piraean and Etrurian origin respectively made up 11.3% and 9.5% of the population. Aalmsted also has the highest proportion of non-Euclean residents in Azmara, with 7.6% of the population having a background from outside of Euclea.