[Antrium]

I was looking through Wikipedia articles, and came to the article for Chicago. I saw that it had a large list of "sister cities." I read more about them, and thought it might be something interesting to implement here.

Article here: click me.
The IDUSCP page: click me.

What it is is basically two cities agree to be "sister cities", which would promote cultural understanding, stimulate economic development, and encourage conducting long-term programs of mutual benefit.

We could do this inside the region, or with nations outside the region. (Perhaps in allied regions...see I can tie this into my Foreign Minister position! ) I just thought it would be something nice to have to add to wikis really. Who doesn't want more for the wikis?

Opinions please

[Adam Island]

Sounds like it could be fun. I remember when I was a kid we had to write some letter in Elementary School to send to our 'Sister City' in Russia right when the Berlin Wall fell.

[Eisophca]

In RL, sister cities are something I tend to make fun of, because a town near my hometown has way more than it needs. But here, I'm willing to put my RL biases aside and go with this!

[Baranxtu]

Sounds very nifty
Also, it might make me write more about my cities at last, so, go, good idea, go !

[vampyro]

I think that's a geat idea! we could also have like sister countries with countries in allied regions? That would help with connections and keep the barrier open.

[Antrium]

CeoranaJun 1 2006, 07:37 AM In RL, sister cities are something I tend to make fun of, because a town near my hometown has way more than it needs. But here, I'm willing to put my RL biases aside and go with this!  [/quote]
My hometown has none. Not very many towns in Iowa have one...because there's only one city that could be considered "major" in any way. So it was an interesting new idea to me anyway.
(EDIT: Actually, quite a few do. They just weren't wikied. There are some really small towns with lots of sister cities :blink: )

If there's enough interest, we could start naming a few cities and then linking them up. Might want to wait until there's a few more countries interested though. More options would be better.

I could include it in the IDU Regional Update thing I'm about to send to our allied regions too

[Baranxtu]

AntriumJun 1 2006, 10:10 PM More options would be better. [/quote]
Yeah, the more, the better

Speaking about the more, I have about 50 cities on my as-of-now SECRET map-with-cities, so come all ye countries, they need some sisterly wuv.

[Sober Thought]

As usual, Antrium, an excellent idea.

Adam Island is a good bet for those looking for twins, since all his cities have "Adam" in them but are modelled on an another city/jurisdiction or class of cities/jurisdictions, e.g., Adamyoto ~ Kyoto or similar Japanese, Adamsburgh ~ Edinburg or similar Scottish, Adamiian Island ~ Hawaii, Rio de Adam ~ Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

For people without fertile minds like me who have thinly fictionalised the major and capital cities in my RL country of Canada, it's easy, but I'll add some vague details to help the twinning process. I'm sure Domnonia and I could announce some easy twins -- evil twins separated at birth, most likely! So in approximate order of RP'd population:

Schweindorf = Toronto: Any large city insecure about being a "world class" city is a good match; animal slaughtering history also helpful; cosmopolitan helps; tolerant; smug; biggest city in country also a good match. [My current home.]

Mont Royaume = French Montreal : Any large city obsessed with having a better culture than economy in its home nation is a good match; religious history, esp. RC, very helpful; francophone or language purity; freewheeling, funloving and slightly corrupt also good; high levels of organised labour and business red tape. [Occasionally nice place to visit, wouldn't want to live there.]

Georgetown = Vancouver: Granola-eater heaven; cosomopolitan; liberal; Southern California-style; aging hippies and dopesmokers; close to nature (esp. ocean and mountains), conservation conscious; port city. [Nice place to visit, one ex-wife and others live there now, home of (Paul) Hyde and the Payolas.]

Zalevfyerma = Calgary: social, economic and religious conservatism; Slavic heritage; economy boom-and-bust, esp. energy; devil-take-the-hindmost social service net. [Never been, not keen to go.]

Nordentor = Edmonton: Relative-liberality in an illiberal province/state; provincial capital. [Brief business trip in November, cold but otherwise fine; looks like most other cities of its size and is friendly as these cities go.]

Ville de Hochelaga = Quebec City: RC, French and francophone heritage; government and tourism dominated local economy; collectivist politics; good architecture and history. [Visited it but it was extremely unfriendly to foreigners (i.e., English Canadians like me, with a good working knowledge of French, a keen interest in local history, and the willingness to buy anything flag or playing card related). I will never return.]

Kolashek and Saint-Visage-Osseux = Winnipeg and St. Boniface: Cosmopolitan; Slavic, French, English and misc. bg; labour friendly but politically diverse; RCism and Orthodoxy big; furtrading history; transport hub and manufacturer. [Passed through twice on X-Cda roadtrip, never got a chance to look around; home of the Guess Who.]

Kingsmount = English Montreal: Impudent linguistic minority (as only anglophones can be!); "Westmount Rhodesians," as described by Rene Levesque and Bowser & Blue; very economically productive; obsessed with equality and language rights. [One ex-wife came from here.]

Worthington = Hamilton: rustbelt; steel industry; university town; more greenfields than brownfields as one might not suspect; overshadowed by Schweindorf=Toronto; overshadows Magnificent Falls/Beau Sault = Niagara Falls; Escarpment and associated creeks. [Out and proud Hamilton nationalist by birth.]

Sax River/Valley = southwestren Ontario: Sax-Caughburgh = Windsor (Saxe-Coburg-Gotha being the former name of the Royal House of Windsor), auto manufacturing; Middle Sax = London (seat of Middlesex County), quasi-rural, smug, tri-national British heritage including Black Donnelleys bloodfeud, some auto mfg. in nearby towns; Upper Sax = Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge-Guelph, university towns, German heritage. [Bicycle-camped through most of the closer places, never been to Windsor or London in a meaningful way.]

Drewburgh = Halifax: Scottish origins but small cosomopolitan city; big harbour and port; major naval base; big university town; heavy on high and low arts; lots of museums and cultural institutions; big fish in a small pond; inviting, friendly and welcoming; a little chip on shoulder from faded glories, but hardly noticable except foreigners like me identified as "Upper Canadians." [Visited repeatedly in the offseason, would relocate there if I didn't care about being close to family.]

Chapeauxdix = Victoria: provincial capital, major naval base, and English Ville de Hochelaga or Northern Drewburgh. Quaint and smug, longer history than usual. [Never been.]

Potato Island/Princetown = Prince Edward Island/Charlottetown: Small island subsiding on spuds and tourists. RP'd it into becoming a single political unit and joining mainland Braunekuste = New Brunswick. [Never been, considered excessively touristy, but nice and flat for cycling.]

[Sober Thought]

Incidentally, I named fleet aircraft carriers after my own provinces and IDU members (mostly ones that were close to me, and in approximately the order I made contact with them) and hybrid cruiser-escort carriers after my own municipalities and those in IDU members (same process, except Adam Island heavily featured because of his fun city names). I suspended my naval building program after reaching 2 billion because who really needs armed forces after that in peacetime? However, if we're luck there might be a major war and I can name some new vessels after more recent IDU nations and cites.

[Antrium]

Some brief descriptions of major Antrian cities (I haven't really put much thought into some of these...):

Sivaris - Loosely based on RL Chicago, but larger. Set in the Granv?o Mountains. The largest city in Antrium, and its governmental and economic center. Strong banking, tourism, and automobile industry. Extremely Green politics. Multi-lingualism common. Also known for world-class skiing. Pop: 8.5 million, growing fast.

Corico (or Koriko, in proper Alv?sin) - Based on RL Florida and my guess of Las Vegas. Second largest city, on a large bay in eastern Antrium. English-speaking. Known for theme parks, casinos, hotels, and bizarre tourist traps. Pop: 4.8 million.

Devros - Based on my guess of RL Detroit. Mostly industrial factories, known for its unenvironmental policies that contradict most of Antrium. Primarily English-speaking, with some Alv?sin. Rapidly growing city with little culture and few attractions. Mainly automobile manufacturing. Pop: 3.1 million.

Marinik (M?r?n?k) - Major seaport, loosely based on my guess of RL San Francisco/Seattle. Newer, rapidly growing city. Important naval base. English and French-speaking. Known for its open air markets and beaches. Pop: 2.2 million.

Port Spitz - Resort town on Lake Spitz, in northwestern Antrium. English-speaking, centrist politics, Keesland heritage. Important transport city. Pop: 1.6 million.

Marime (M?r?m) - French heritage, primarily Francophone. Strongly Catholic, more conservative than most of Antrium. Older city. Based on RL France. Pop: 1.2 million.

Orlesk - Keesland heritage, semi-conservative, strong fishing industry. Surrounded by agricultural land. English-speaking. Bayside, near sea city in northeastern Antrium. Pop: 875,000.

Anv?ln - Somewhat based on RL Iowa City, Colorado, and some Chicago influences. The cultural center of Antrium, known for its artisans. Lively downtown, large music and fashion scenes. Surrounded by mountains, known also for parks. University town. In central Antrium, northeast of Sivaris. Pop: 425,000.

Marnezjalis (M?rnezj?l?s) - Center of Alv?s-Navlan minority, Alv?sin-speaking, swampy area. Tourism industry from Lake Kernow, economy made up of small, family-owned stores and large markets. Recently built. Pop: 135,000.

(new) M?n? - (Pronounced "moy-now") Inspired IRL by a trip to New Orleans. Older city (with many historical homes and buildings) with a modern downtown. Liberal politically, and the center of (new and currently unwikied) Y?ern?ıar culture in Antrium. Pop: 675,000.

(new) Des Chenes - A smaller, modified version of RL Montr?al. Modern city with large underground music and arts scene. Divided between French and English-speakers, with a French majority. Close enough to Sivaris to have some commuters, but not at all a suburb. (I am connecting everything with high-speed trains soon.) Pop: 500,000.

(new) ?ķt?br?o - (Pronounced "each-tuh-bray-oh") In some ways, a large suburb of the Domnonian city of Isca, but also an independent, mostly self-sufficient city which serves as a business hub for its region. Antrium's insurance industry is largely based here. Based off of RL Des Moines, except with the addition of a larger city across the river. Pop: 525,000.

Not all of these need sister cities, but I'm just throwing them out there for options

[Sober Thought]

Quote: Some brief descriptions of major Antrian cities (I haven't really put much thought into some of these...):

Sivaris - Loosely based on RL Chicago, but larger. Set in the Granv?o Mountains. The largest city in Antrium, and its governmental and economic center. Strong banking, tourism, and automobile industry. Extremely Green politics. Multi-lingualism common. Also known for world-class skiing. Pop: 8.5 million, growing fast.

GOOD MATCH FOR Schweindorf = Toronto; also the RL Second City, Great Lakes connections help

Corico (or Koriko, in proper Alv?sin) - Based on RL Florida and my guess of Las Vegas. Second largest city, on a large bay in eastern Antrium. English-speaking. Known for theme parks, casinos, hotels, and bizarre tourist traps. Pop: 4.8 million.

Iffy match for GEORGETOWN = Vancouver, except for the Fantasy Gardens themepark scandal in the early 1990s, a.k.a. [Premier] Bill [Vander Zalm] and [Integrity Commissioner] Ted [Hughes]'s Excellent Conflict of Interest.

Devros - Based on my guess of RL Detroit. Mostly industrial factories, known for its unenvironmental policies that contradict most of Antrium. Primarily English-speaking, with some Alv?sin. Rapidly growing city with little culture and few attractions. Mainly automobile manufacturing. Pop: 3.1 million.

Either SAX-CAUGHBURG = Windsor, just across the river for Motown, or WORTHINGTON = Hamilton

Marinik (M?r?n?k) - Major seaport, loosely based on my guess of RL San Francisco/Seattle. Newer, rapidly growing city. Important naval base. English and French-speaking. Known for its open air markets and beaches. Pop: 2.2 million.

Iffy match for either CHAPEAUXDIX = Victoria, B.C. or DREWBURGH = Halifax, N.S.  (What can I say?  Canada only has one naval base for each of the Pacific and Atlantic.)

Port Spitz - Resort town on Lake Spitz, in northwestern Antrium. English-speaking, centrist politics, Keesland heritage. Important transport city. Pop: 1.6 million.

Maybe KOLASHEK = Winnipeg, except missing the francophone connection of SAINT VISAGE OSSEUX = St. Boniface

Marime (M?r?m) - French heritage, primarily Francophone. Strongly Catholic, more conservative than most of Antrium. Older city. Based on RL France. Pop: 1.2 million.

Good fit for VILLE DE HOCHELAGA = Quebec City

Orlesk - Keesland heritage, semi-conservative, strong fishing industry. Surrounded by agricultural land. English-speaking. Bayside, near sea city in northeastern Antrium. Pop: 875,000.

OK fit for PAIDRIG = St. John's, Nfld. except not much farming on the Rock.

Anv?ln - Somewhat based on RL Iowa City, Colorado, and some Chicago influences. The cultural center of Antrium, known for its artisans. Lively downtown, large music and fashion scenes. Surrounded by mountains, known also for parks. University town. In central Antrium, northeast of Sivaris. Pop: 425,000.

Maybe KINGSMOUNT = Anglo Montreal (where the Pet Shop Boys' anglo "West End boys" fraternised with the franco "East End girls"); perhaps CHAPEAUXDIX = Victoria, B.C., a better fit if still available.

Marnezjalis (M?rnezj?l?s) - Center of Alv?s-Navlan minority, Alv?sin-speaking, swampy area. Tourism industry from Lake Kernow, economy made up of small, family-owned stores and large markets. Recently built. Pop: 135,000.
[/quote]

Maybe MOINEVILLE = Moncton, N.B. and/or COMTE MIRAGE = Acadian New Brunswick, although the twinning would have to be mentioned in the provincial (Braunekuste) article only since no municipal articles for either of them.


I think we've got four or five good hits, a two or three maybes and a couple of marginally-accepable-if-you-squint-really-hard.

[Antrium]

Sober ThoughtJun 8 2006, 09:15 PM *snip*
I think we've got four or five good hits, a two or three maybes and a couple of marginally-accepable-if-you-squint-really-hard. [/quote]
I'm glad someone remembered about this

I'd be willing to officially take the best of those, since some of them do match up very well.

One note: Sivaris isn't on a lake. But it is based on Chicago, which is so far one of my favorite places.

Other nations: please post some city descriptions if you are interested. They can be really, really basic, as long as there's enough to make a match

[Baranxtu]

*sings personal unoffical city twinning anthem* Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match, find me a find, catch me a catch...

Okay, it's city list time! Pick a city and tell me. Wikification will follow... sometime

[Mikitivity]

How big must a city be?

The Mikitivity village of Brig has a short Wikipedia entry, and would like a sister city.

http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Brig

Obviously this is a city I would like to add more to.

[Antrium]

MikitivityJun 8 2006, 10:42 PM How big must a city be?

The Mikitivity village of Brig has a short Wikipedia entry, and would like a sister city.

http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Brig

Obviously this is a city I would like to add more to. [/quote]
I don't think there are any size limits, you would just probably want a city of similar size, which could be harder to find. But if you can, go for it

As I said earlier, there are quite a few small little towns with sister cities in RL.

I don't have any good matches for Brig, but I could always invent a small little farming town if you were desperate

Baranxtu:
Deioprajji Make - Possibly Devros (not environmental, industrial center)
Kimesa - Could fit Orlesk (agricultural, more conservative)
Leiris - Maybe a match for Marinik (seaside, major port)
Milhaη - Perhaps Anv?ln? (cultural, liberal, hospitable, friendly)
Pnema - Marnezjalis (minority center, multicultural, tourism industry)
Ωn-Baranxi? - Sivaris, for sure. (largest city, environment-friendly, capital, commercial center)

Of course, if you have better ideas, let me know

[Eisophca]

fNEW BOSTON: The capital, somewhat similar to a combination of RL Washington, DC, futuristic Seattle, WA, and Revolution-era Boston, MA it is a large governmental and IT sector town.

TZATZING: The largest city, somewhat very vaguely similar to a combination of RL Boston, MA and Anchorage, AK, concentrates on fishing as its major industry as well as entrepreneurship and business in general.

FJORD CITY: A shipping center, lots of international connections, good choice for sister city.

AGRIQO: An agricultural town, small

KOMOSIT: Industrial, produces lots of steel and aluminum as well as manufactured parts, declining in population, somewhat similar to RL Pittsburgh, PA or Detroit, MI

[Antrium]

Ceorana:
New Boston: Closest match would probably be Sivaris (capital)

Tzatzing: Sounds like Marinik (large, coastal, entrepreneurship [many stores in the Marinik markets are owned by families])
Could also possibly fit Sivaris (largest city, business center)
Or Orlesk (coastal, large fishing industry)

Fjord City: Port Spitz (transportation industries, multicultural?)

Agriqo looks like a possible match for Brig, Mikitivity

Komosit: Devros (Detroit-based, industry)

Overall, I think Tzatzing, Fjord City, and Komosit are good matches. Of course, you would have to pick one (or two, I don't know if that's possible or not) for Tzatzing

[Eisophca]

I think Tzatzing would go with Sivaris more than Marinik; it's really more large-scale businesses. (It was entrepreneurship a LONG time ago. )

The other three look like good fits.

[Sober Thought]

The four closest Antrium-ST twin or sibling cities matches:

Sivaris Schweindorf

Devros Sax-Caughburgh

Port Spitz Kolashek

Marime (M?r?m) Ville de Hochelaga


Antrium, say the word and I'll make the links.

[Antrium]

Sober ThoughtJun 11 2006, 09:38 PM The four closest Antrium-ST twin or sibling cities matches:

Sivaris  Schweindorf

Devros Sax-Caughburgh

Port Spitz Kolashek

Marime (M?r?m) Ville de Hochelaga


Antrium, say the word and I'll make the links. [/quote]
On behalf of the governments of Sivaris, Devros, Port Spitz, and Marime, we officially accept the offer for these sister cities.

I'll add the link on Sivaris, the other three aren't wikied yet. You can link to them on your articles, they'll just be red for a while until I have time to write them

We're also interested in pursuing the links to Ceorana and Baranxtu, or at least some of them.

[Sober Thought]

possible Baranxtu-Sober Thought Geschwisterstaedte:

Ansa, Siragge or Leiris Chapeauxdix (good matches)

Eisha Kolashek (okay match)

Gil Sax-Caughburgh (pretty good match)

Inar Moineville (excellent match, Moine = Monk), but only link to Braunekuste Province since no city article.

Leu Mont Royaume (excellent match)

Misma or Xanai Drewburgh (pretty good match or okay match)

Na?a? Worthington (good match)

Nei Schweindorf (excellent match)

[Eisophca]

The Chamber of Commerce in Fjord City has informed me that they would be interested in a sister city link with Port Spitz.

[Antrium]

CeoranaJun 11 2006, 09:51 PM The Chamber of Commerce in Fjord City has informed me that they would be interested in a sister city link with Port Spitz. [/quote]
The Port Spitz Chamber of Commerce has accepted your offer.

A link will be added when its wiki page is completed. (Hopefully this summer...)

And ST, do you have a small (about 22 x 14 pixels or so) picture of your flag that I could put next to the link, kind of like this page? It would look nicer

**EDIT: ST added a thumbnail as requested**
**EDIT 2: Thanks ST **

[Sober Thought]

Mik --

Brig could work with Potato Island = [Charlottetown,] Prince Edward Island -- not cheese but agriculture nonetheless. Your delegations could always say hi to Anne of Green Gables if they visited the Chamber of Commerce. This is the smallest place I've got with its own article.

Attachments:

• ST_thumb.jpg (1.84 KB)
  

[Sober Thought]

Good prospects for Ceorana-ST twins:

TZATZING ZALEVFYERMA (not similar in fishing, but very similar in entrepreneurship and business)

FJORD CITY GEORGETOWN

AGRIQO POTATO ISLAND

KOMOSIT SAX-CAUGHBURGH or WORTHINGTON (both industrial or Rust Belt cities)