Windstrand

Windstrand
City
Clockwise from top: the skyline of Windstrand along The Strip, condominiums lining West Beach, the colonial Hennish architecture of the Oustad, Windstrand City Hall
Nickname:  "The Windy City"
Country	Nuvania
Province	Etten
District	Windstrand
Municipality	Windstrand
Established	August 5, 1547
Legislature	Windstrand City Council
Government
• Mayor	Yvette Ryder (DAP)
Population  (2020)
• Urban	3,120,282
• Metro	4,661,793
Demonym	Windstrander
Time zone	UTC -6
Website	www.wcc.nv

Windstrand is a city located on the northern coast of Nuvania, straddling the equator as well as Nuvania's northernmost point, Cape Kuypers. With a total population of 4.6 million, it is the second largest city in Nuvania, and the largest city in Etten province. The city is an important manufacturing and logistics centre, and is the location of Nuvania's largest and busiest port.

Founded on August 5, 1547, Windstrand was known as Port Veer throughout most of its early existence as a trading port as well as the jumping point for Hennish settlement by the First Hennish Republic, whose South Asterian Company (ZAK), established Windstrand as the settlement. Windstrand's growth and influence was tied both to the colonialism and conquest of the ZAK and to its connections with other Hennish colonies in the West Arucian Sea, and those of other Euclean states. Windstrand competed with Pietersburg for influence and prestige within the ZAK colonies, which were assumed by the Sotirian Commonwealth between 1642 and 1719. The city became wealthy with the conquests of both the Tairona and the Mwiska peoples, seeing massive trade in gold, silver, precious stones, and salt. Beginning in the early 18th century, Windstrand was also underpinned by an increase in trade in cash crops from farms grown in Etten province, of which it was the capital until the establishment of Ettensburg in 1712.

Windstrand's growth continued through the Grand Duchy of Flamia and into Estmerish rule, the latter seeing substantial population and economic growth as well as development, with a number of famous buildings built during Estmerish rule. The city played an important part in the War of the Arucian, the port hosting much of the Nuvanian fleet that helped secure victory, and became one of the most multicultural cities in Nuvania owing to its economic importance.

The city was renamed from Port Veer to Windstrand in 1898 and was at the forefront of Nuvania's industrialisation, hosting a large number of factories that grew until the Great Collapse. During the Volksfront era, a policy of the separation of ethnicities was used for Windstrand's urban planning, which then went on to be used around the country. This urban planning policy was one of the factors in the deadly Maitland riot in 1949, and subsequently saw the birth of a social and civil rights movement for Nuvania's minority communities in the 1950's. The city saw significant social upheaval in the 1960's with the May riots taking place in 1969 as well as other significant social protests. This lead to significant changes in how the city was managed, including the allocation of housing to various different ethnic groups. Windstrand became a model for other large cities in Nuvania, and the Windstrand model is often used as a template for both social housing and private developments.

Today, Windstrand remains one of the most liveable cities in Nuvania in terms of safety and quality of life, and prior to the Pico de Sangue eruption, was one of the country's most important tourist destinations. It also remains one of the most multicultural cities in Nuvania.

Etymology

Windstrad was named Port Veer after Fransz de Veer, the first appointed director of the South Asterian Company (ZAK) who helped to found the city and became its first administrator. It was originally to be named Heemskerck after the Stadtholder Cornelis van Heemskerck but this was rejected in favour of Port Veer by the inhabitants, or Veerspoort in Hennish. Windstrand appeared as Veerspoort in Hennish maps and documents, and from 1749 until 1898, as Port Veer. A proposal to rename the city Kuypersburg after the death of former Minister-General Adriaan Kuypers was rejected by the then town council and the inhabitants after a plebiscite on the issue.

The Windstrand name comes from the Estmerish and Hennish words "wind" and the Hennish strand for beach, noting that the city had continual sea breezes as well as trade winds blowing from the north and northeast. The proposal to rename the city had originally been mooted in 1879 but was deemed to be unimportant. The post-independence national government of Piet van Kyl thought of the prior name as being too reminiscent of the colonial period, and passed laws in Parliament to have the name changed as part of a wider program to rename cities and towns the government felt to have too much Estmerish influence. Thus in 1898, the city's name was officially changed to Windstrand. It would take a plebiscite held in December 1941 to affirm the city's name as Windstrand in the eyes of the general public.

Geography

Windstrand occupies a headland on the flat northern coast of Nuvania, covering the northernmost portions of the country. The northern parts of the city lie directly on, or just above, the equator, making Windstrand unique in Nuvania in that it occupies both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The northernmost point in Nuvania, Cape Kuypers, lies six kilometres within the Northern Hemisphere.

Because of the shape of the headland, Windstrand's developed has been influenced by its geography. Extending westwards from the headland is a spit of land less than a kilometre wide known as The Spit, which extends for three kilometres and is one of the defining features of Windstrand's geography. Much of the city is built on reclaimed swamp and wetlands, with some coastal areas reclaimed from mangrove swamps. Much of the original landscape now lies underneath the city, and as a result, many parts of Windstrand suffer from issues associated with subsidence. This is especially problematic in northern and central parts of the city where the soils are less dense, and therefore take longer to settle or are unable to support large structures. The city's rapid upswing in construction of high rise buildings and skyscrapers has accelerated the subsidence.

Located on a flat coast, Windstrand has few natural elevated points within the city. The centre of the headland rises to a total elevation of 16 metres above sea level, while some outer areas are higher. Along the coast and especially along The Spit, the altitude above sea level is barely one or two metres. Further inland, the terrain undulates somewhat and low hills populated inner parts of the city, particularly in places where many of the original lakes and weirs have existed, and which continue to exist. These have created natural vantage points looking out across the city, although these hills are modest in height, with none of them having an altitude higher that 40 metres. Many of these hills lie within parklands created alongside the weirs and lakes that provide Windstrand with fresh water, although some have been developed, and as a result, have negligible influence in the city's development.

The swampy nature of the original landscape has meant a large number of ponds and lakes exist within the urban limits as well as areas of swamps and wetlands that remained undeveloped, either due to a lack interest or protections from local and provincial governments. Many of these lakes often have urban developments around them and were only granted protections recently. These pools of freshwater have historically been sources of drinking water for the city, as well as water for irrigation and other activities. During the 20th century, the city undertook a series of projects to construct and retain fresh water for the city without having to construct expensive desalination plants. The first of these was constructed between 1909 and 1924, this one providing the majority of Windstrand's water until the late 1960's. It was joined by a second weir in 1973, and the third and largest weir in 1981. These projects are continually fed through diverted water courses as well as through seasonal rainfall, and collectively hold 453.1 million cubic metres of fresh water. In addition to providing fresh water, these also provide a place of recreation for the residents of Windstrand and surrounding cities.

Beaches are a predominant feature in Windstrand's geography, outlining the coastal fringes of the city. They are often a focal point for many events in the city, hosting events and festivals as well as being popular with locals and tourists. Windstrand's principal beaches are named after three of the four cardinal points; East, North, and West. Of these beaches, West Beach is the largest and the most popular owing to its western facing which often makes it popular with those wanting to view sunsets. West Beach is also the largest of the beaches and runs continuously for over ten kilometres. North Beach is three kilometres in length and is often popular with locals, especially residents who live in the residential areas in the north of Windstrand. North Beach is also a popular kitesurfing location due to consistent winds in the area. East Beach is less popular than the other beaches, and also extends for four kilometres, extending between Cape Kuypers to the northwest and the mouth of the Chikiruru River.

Climate

Located close to the equator, Windstrand experiences a tropical rainforest climate with significant year round rainfall as well as hot and humid weather, with average humidity between 85-90% most days of the year. Windstrand is the wettest of Nuvania's major cities, seeing over 2,400 millimetres of rain annually, as well as its second warmest, with an average mean temperature of 27.1°C. Despite this, the city experiences near constant sea breezes that keep coastal areas of the city cool, and give rise to the city's name.

Windstrand's dry season is short, due to its equatorial latitude. Although not a true dry season, rainfall is significantly reduced for four months of the year between August and November. During this time, monthly rainfall totals virtually halve, and the city experiences overall drier conditions, as well as slightly reduced humidity. Overall temperatures remain similar to those during the wet season, although slightly reduced in intensity. October is the wettest month of the year, seeing barely 40 millimetres of precipitation.

Windstrand's wet season lasts for the remainder of the year, between December and July. During this time, humidity increases significantly as well as rainfall, which virtually doubles during the first month of the wet season. This is not continual rain, but rather heavy convection activity that occurs during significant increases in overall humidity and comes in the form of large thunderstorms that move in from the West Arucian Sea. This gives way to more consistent rainfall patterns by February, with the peak reached during the months of March and April, the former being the wettest month of the year on average. Temperatures decrease during this period slightly, with February seeing the lowest average high temperatures and March seeing the lowest average mean temperatures.

Windstrand has comparatively few natural hazards as a major city, owing to its location inside the West Arucian Sea. Because of this, the most frequent hazard is flash flooding, which can occur from December through to February when rainfall patterns are more erratic.

The highest official temperature recorded in Windstrand is 37.3°C, which was observed at Windstrand International Airport on September 4, 1973. The city's lowest temperature is 11.2°C, and was observed at the Hyland Park Weir on October 19, 2004.

Climate data for Windstrand, Nuvania
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	29.5 (85.1)	29.1 (84.4)	28.7 (83.7)	28.8 (83.8)	29.0 (84.2)	29.8 (85.6)	30.0 (86.0)	31.4 (88.5)	31.9 (89.4)	32.4 (90.3)	32.4 (90.3)	31.1 (88.0)	30.3 (86.5)
Daily mean °C (°F)	26.7 (80.1)	26.1 (79.0)	26.2 (79.2)	26.3 (79.3)	26.5 (79.7)	26.7 (80.1)	26.7 (80.1)	27.7 (81.9)	28.1 (82.6)	28.7 (83.7)	28.8 (83.8)	27.8 (82.0)	27.1 (80.8)
Average low °C (°F)	24.2 (75.6)	24.1 (75.4)	24.1 (75.4)	24.2 (75.6)	24.5 (76.1)	24.5 (76.1)	24.3 (75.7)	24.8 (76.6)	25.2 (77.4)	25.4 (77.7)	25.6 (78.1)	25.0 (77.0)	24.6 (76.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	293.62 (11.56)	328.11 (12.92)	374.72 (14.75)	367.20 (14.46)	330.46 (13.01)	161.99 (6.38)	128.59 (5.06)	85.69 (3.37)	39.26 (1.55)	40.72 (1.60)	55.44 (2.18)	224.96 (8.86)	2,430.76 (95.7)
Average precipitation days	30	27	31	30	29	27	21	20	13	11	14	24	277
Source: Nuvanian Weather Service

Cityscape

Windstrand is divided into six regions for geographic and administrative purposes. These correspond with different geographic areas of the city and are colloquially referred to largely from the points of the compass, as well as different areas of the city. These names are North, South, East, and West, as well as the Inner South and Parklands. These contain a number of suburbs within Windstrand's contiguous urban area, as well as some smaller satellite cities and towns within Windstrand's wider metropolitan area.

The North consists of the northernmost areas of the city, particularly Cape Kuypers as well as North Beach and some inner suburbs. It is the smallest of Windstrand's regions, and extends only a few kilometres inland to the south and along the coast from The Strip in the west, to the upper west bank of the Chikiruru River, including the Oustad, Windstrand's old historical centre.

South Windstrand is located in the southwest of the city and is the most distant of Windstrand's boroughs from the city centre. It was formed during territorial expansion and reorganisation in 1976 with the annexation of several municipalities around the city of Marionvale, which became the central business district for this part of Windstrand. It was created, in part, because Marionvale represented the southernmost extent of Windstrand's contiguous urban area. In addition to Marionvale, South Windstrand also contains a number of suburbs created since the annexation of Marionvale, such as Kamana and Winchester.

The Inner South, formerly Windstrand's South Windstrand region, was formed in 1976 alongside the South borough during the reorganisation process. It contains Windstrand's most ethnically diverse areas and lies between South Windstrand and West Windstrand regions. It predominantly residential in nature, with working class and lower middle class suburbs centred around the principal urban area of Maitland. Other suburbs within this part of Windstrand include Gakaba, Mahaikoni, and Stanwich.

West Windstrand is one of the largest regions in the city, and contains Windstrand's western coastal suburbs along West Beach, as well as the city centre to the banks of the Chikiruru River. It is the most populous of the city's regions, and is almost entirely composed of the city's urban area. It contains almost the entirety of the central business district as well as many of the inner city neighbourhoods and suburbs. In addition to well known suburbs such as West Beach, West Windstrand also includes parts of the old Hennish city, such as Kuypersdorp and Wetsplaas as well as parts developed under Estmerish administration, such as Newtown.

East Windstrand includes much of the city's urban area east of the Chikiruru River and northeast of Parklands. It is predominantly working class and industrial, and includes the Port of Windstrand, as well as a large number of industrial areas, including the most well known industrial district; Rosebank. In addition, Windstrand International Airport is located in the East Windstrand. The region includes residential areas such as East Beach as well as inner working class suburbs like Burnside and Malaitawa. In addition, East Windstrand also contains the satellite city of Blairmont.

Parklands is the largest of Windstrand's regions and is the least populated, containing only a few thousand inhabitants. Most of the borough is composed of the parks surrounding the freshwater lakes and weirs Windstrand relies on. The only urban centre of note is Hyland Park Village, which is located close to the Hyland Park Weir. The area is mostly forested aside from the lakes themselves.

Parks

There are over 40 parks and recreation areas around Windstrand, the largest surrounding the various freshwater lakes and weirs to the south of the city. Most of the parks within the contiguous urban area of Windstrand are managed by the city council, while parks within the metropolitan area are managed by local councils. The exception to these are the Chikiruru Urban Ecological Park located within the central part of the city south of the Oustad, and the Hyland Park and Reserve, located south of the city proper. Both of these are significant conservation areas managed by the provincial government through the Department of Parks and Reserves.

The Chikiruru Urban Ecological Park is one of the largest urban parks in Asteria Inferior, and was inspired in part by the success of Albertina National Park in Pietersburg. Plans to preserve many of the mangroves and other ecosystems surrounding the Chikiruru River began in 1977 and the park was officially created in 1989. It remains one of the most important provincial parks in Etten, protecting a variety of endangered habitats as well as providing a refuge for numerous species of mammals, reptiles, fish, insects, and birds. It is also one of the most visited provincial parks, seeing roughly 60,000 visitors annually.

Hyland Park and Reserve was formally two recreational areas managed by the Windstrand City Council and once included a game reserve. Issues with both invasive animals entering areas outside the game reserve and issues with illegal hunting resulted in the city council handing control over to the Etten provincial government in July 2006, where the two areas were amalgamated and a significant amount of ecological renewal took place. Today it remains the only provincial park in Nuvania with permanent human habitation and one of the few accessible by motor vehicles.

Among the parks managed by the city council is the Windstrand Botanical Gardens. One of the oldest public gardens and arboreums in Nuvania, the Botanical Gardens contains a wide variety of tropical plants, including a large number of fruiting plants. It also contains a number of fountains, ponds and lakes, as well as glasshouses containing flowers and smaller plants. It's best known feature is the Avenue of Palms, which contains a path lined with the Arucian royal palm, with those planted in the Botanical Gardens among the tallest of their kind in the world.

Government

Local

Windstrand falls under two council jurisdictions; that of the Windstrand City Council and Windstrand Metropolitan Council. The former provides administrative functions for the municipality of Windstrand while the latter provides administrative functions for the wider metropolitan area, which is composed of a single district.

Windstrand City Council governs the borough of Windstrand located within the centre-north of Windstrand's urban area, and follows the mayor-council governance model. The council is split between the legislative council itself, the Executive Council, and the Mayor.

Windstrand's City Council is the predominantly legislative body of the Windstrand City Council, and is composed of 52 elected city councilors, each representing one ward of the city. The role of the City Council is to propose and pass legislation as well as hold elected officials to account. Above that is the Executive Council, who function as the primary policy setting body of the Windstrand City Council. It's job is to manage the policies and the plans put forward by the dominant party within the City Council. The council is composed of sixteen members: fourteen appointed members from the City Council, the Mayor, and the Chief Executive Officer, the latter being an apolitical appointee by the Mayor. The Mayor themselves is an elected position and functions as the executive of the City Council as a whole. Their role is to set and implement policy as well as approve legislation passed by the legislative body of the City Council.

Following the 2020 local government elections in Nuvania, the Democratic Action Party control a majority of seats in the City Council, winning 48 of the 93 seats available. The National People's Party won an additional 37 seats. Six of the remaining seats were won by a local party, the Citizen's Action Movement, a party affiliated with the Citizen's Alliance. The two remaining seats were split between the Municipal Taxpayers Party and the Socialist Alliance for Justice and Progress.

In addition to a majority of seats, the Democratic Action Party also controls the Executive Council, including the mayoralty. The incumbent Mayor is Yvette Ryder, who is serving her second term.

The Windstrand Metropolitan Council is a separate entity that exists above the borough and municipal councils that exist within the district. It's role is managing the strategic infrastructure and services of the city, such as infrastructure and services. The council is composed of twenty elected mayors from the broader urban and metropolitan area of Windstrand. The council meets twice monthly to discuss matters that affect the city as a whole.

Administrative Divisions

Windstrand forms its own district within Etten and is composed of 18 municipalities and urban boroughs, six of which are within the urban area of Windstrand and the remaining 12 are composed of various rural and urban municipalities within the district.

Windstrand's six urban boroughs correspond with the equivalent of a municipality but have less powers owing to the existence of the Windstrand Metropolitan Council. These do not share the same colloquial names as areas of the city but have different official names. These are East Windstrand, Maitland, Marionvale, Parklands, West Beach, and Windstrand. With the exception of Parklands, each is governed by a borough council which has similar powers to that of a municipality. Borough councils are of the mayor-council type with elected councillors and an elected mayor. Their boundaries roughly correspond with the contiguous urban area of Windstrand, although they include smaller satellite cities and towns. The largest of these is Blairmont, which is entirely separate from Windstrand but is included within the boundaries of the Borough of East Windstrand. Because of its low population, Parklands does not have a borough council, and is instead administered from Windstrand.

Outside of the city boroughs, the remainder of Windstrand's metropolitan area is composed of different municipalities, of which there are five rural and seven urban. The five rural municipalities are centred around the smaller cities and towns of Bracefield, Bowensville, Karare, Malmesbury, and Tamton. Among the urban municipalities include Ashton, Carford, and Thorndale, which collectively have half a million inhabitants.

Provincial

Windstrand is represented by 47 of the 150 seats in the Etten Provincial Assembly, accounting for 31.3% of the total seats in the legislature. It is the largest city in Nuvania to not hold the status of provincial capital. However, it has significant influence within provincial politics owing to its size as well as being the province's economic and financial centre.

Of the 47 seats representing Windstrand in the Provincial Assembly, 23 are held by the Democratic Action Party, 19 by the National People's Party, three by the Citizen's Alliance, and two by independent candidates.

National

Windstrand is represented in both houses of Parliament by seats allocated to it based on population. In the House of Assembly, the city is represented by 39 seats, the second largest number of any city in Nuvania. In the Senate, the city is represented by four seats of the 12 allocated to Etten.

Of the seats in the House of Assembly, 24 are held by the Democratic Action Party, 13 by the National People's Party, and two by the Citizen's Alliance. In the Senate, Windstrand returned three senators from the Democratic Action Party, and one from the National People's Party.