Southland
Southland
Tierra del Sur | |
|---|---|
City | |
 | |
| Nickname: "A City within a City" | |
| Country | Slokais Islands |
| Special Metro Region | New Liverpool |
| Founded | 1927 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Nadeem el-Mussa (Kaijan Unity Party) |
| Elevation | 1,278 ft (390 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 860,389 |
Southland is an independent city located in New Liverpool, Slokais Islands. With a population of 860,389 people. Founded in 1926, Southland has become associated with unique communities such as New Liverpool Kaijanese and Mallacan-Slokasians. The area is economically impoverished with a history of crime and violence.
History
The city of Southland was originally a region of farms known as Guanxian with a small temple and market street just to the south of modern-day Southland Central. In 1660, the region was declared as the San Isidro Municipo and divided into plot's of local farmers and settlers. Legacy resident's where displayed and forced into the Guanxian Town, where they formed a Komunitas Ren. San Isdiro was built with a central church along the banks of the Silverado River with several businesses and bank's. As New Liverpool became developed, several more waves of settlement continued, although land remained in the hand's of the original families until the Land Act of 1905.
Republic Era
In 1924, the Southland Iron Company built a factory site along the Silverado River. In 1926, Richard Livingstone personally called on developers to create a master plan as a "worker's city". Livingstone owned a stake in the Southland Iron Company and profited from the expanded local workforce. In 1927, the city was officially founded at a public ceremony by President Livingstone himself. Southland quickly attracted mostly Costeno workers from rural areas due to cheap housing. By 1950, 50,000 people lived in Southland however quality of life decreased as the cheaply made housing began to show signs of age. During the Juan Costa area, political dissidents would often find refuge in the densely packed projects. In 1958, the government took notice and began to mass bulldoze buildings. In total 15,000 people were left homeless, often these people fled and set up tent cities in the surrounding hills. During the Great War, the conflict between the Coalition of Democratic Forces and the National Reform Party militia destroyed much of the city.
Post-War
In the aftermath of the war, areas that has been destroyed continued to be cheap land. This sparked a new wave of high-rise development along with the construction of an extension to the New Liverpool Metro and the building of the S-10 Highway. During this time a large number of people from Kaijan began to move into the city. In 1995, a program began with the support of the Ministry of Internal Affairs called the Southaven Program, this encouraged the construction of new housing with lower rates for immigrants. This policy was criticized by some groups as a move to segregate immigrant communities from central New Liverpool. Starting in the 2010s, large numbers of Mallacans joined the established community with many living in the West Southland Ward.
Demographics
The city of Southland has the highest number of foreign-born residents of any area in New Liverpool, and the second highest nationwide behind Ciudad Providencia. The largest ethnic group is Kaijanese at 33.5%.
| Ancestry Group | % | # | Notable Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaijanese | 33.5 | 288,230 | Green's Farm District (75.8%) |
| Mesitzos | 20.5 | 176,379 | San Antonio (57.1%) |
| Ren | 13.3 | 114,431 | Guanxian (80.1%) |
| Mallacan | 10.3 | 88,620 | West Southland (70.1%) |
| Costeno | 6.6 | 56,785 | San Isdiro (40.4%) |
| Indigenous | 6.5 | 55925 | Livingstone: (11.1%) |
| Koldan | 5.4 | 46,461 | Central (14.5%) |
| Haesanite | 2.3 | 19,788 | Central (12.1%) |
| Blancos | 1.3 | 11,185 | Livingstone: (5.1%) |
| Other | 0.4 | 3,441 | Central: (6.1%) |