Villa Constitución, DF

Z10, -24.25 °S, 123.94 °E
Villa Constitución
Official Name: Ciudad Especial de Villa Constitución
Other Names: Villa, VC (Vece), La Capital, The Ville, 비야, 비시
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Ciudad Especial in the Ardispheric Federation
Status	Federal Capital
Federal Subject	Flag of Distrito Federal Distrito Federal (DF)
Geography
Elevation	25 m
Area	792.26 km2
Population
Demonym	Villan, villaconstitucionense, villano, vecino, capitalino
Population	5,414,000 (2014)
Density	5457/km2
Government
Mayor (Alcalde)	Gertrudis de Senechal
Transport
Airports	Aéropuerto Internacional Presidente Ángel Keum
Passenger Rail	Commuter Rail 3 operators - 24 lines Regional Rail 2 operators
Metro	MetroVC - 13 lines
Tram	3 Operators - 39 lines

Villa Constitución is the capital and largest city in the Ardispheric Federation. It is located in the southern part of the country at the mouth of the Río Grande (which is the estuary of the confluence of the Río Albañiles and Río Hierro), at the northernmost reach of the broad curve of the Bahía Negra, an inlet off the White Sea to the south. The city itself has a population of approximately 5,414,000 (2014 est.), and it is the center of a metropolitan area of about 13,000,000. Commonly referred to as "VC" or simply "Villa" by Ardispherians, the capital and surrounding suburbs are a major manufacturing center and transshipment port between rail and ship, as well as having strong banking and education sectors.

History

Founding

Villa Constitución was incorporated March 4, 1820, having been established to be the new capital for the recently created nation, which was desiring a "fresh" start and thus wanted to abandon the old capital at Faro, DS. In fact, of course, the new capital was built so close to Faro that within 20 years the two cities had grown together, with Villa dominating its antecesor.

Geography

VC occupies the major part of a sort of peninsula between the Río Hierro to the north and the Bahía Negra to the south, but a narrow strip of land along the south side of the peninsula, fronting the Bahía Negra shore, belong to a number of smaller cities, due to the historic "East-West Line" that originally divided the Ingerish Grant from the Castallanese Grant. That line became the division between the Southern Province and the Central Province during the colonial period, and with independence, it became the division between the Departamento del Centro and the Departamento del Sur. With the creation of the Federal District in 1870, the line now constitutes the division between the Distrito and the Departamento del Sur. To the south of the line lie the cities of Faro, Gran Playa and Caracol, in order from west to east, with the Avenida del Estado paralleling the political division. In fact, the "downtown" of Villa straddles this line, with the colonial capital Faro (formerly Santiago del Río Grande) at the southwest corner of the city.

File:973px Barrio Coreanos.jpg

Inside the Palacio de los Exiliados looking northwest toward new development in the Barrio Coreanos, east of downtown.

The western end of the peninsula is the estuary Río Grande, which is formed by the confluence of the Río Hierro flowing from the east and the Río Albañiles flowing from the north. These two rivers form the original transport arteries of the Ardisphere. The Río Grande area is the main port area (although port facilities extend all along the Río Hierro to the northeast and along the coast to the southeast as well).

There are a number of independent cities carved out of the north side of the peninsula - these cities lie within the Federal District but are independent of the VC city government. In the northwest, from west to east, these are Rancho Hollingsworth, Ancho del Río, Ciudad Valdivia, Josusí, as well as the area where the international airport is located. To the northeast is found Siete Colinas. The remainder of the Federal District is the city of VC.

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Politics and Government

Villa Constitución is divided into 17 boroughs or wards (delegaciones), which are rather uncreatively numbered from Primera (I, at downtown in the southwest) to Decimoséptima (XVII, in the northeast), each of which has its own elected borough council. In fact, the city does not have a separate legislature (council), so legislation is either handled supra (in the Federal District Legislature) or infra (in the borough councils). The mayor is thus remarkably weak.

There are also a number of regional and even Federal agencies that handle various aspects of infrastructure. Thus, for example, public transport, although largely privatized under several dozen operating companies (see Transport, below), is coordinated federally by the agency RUTA (Red Unificada de Transportes Ardesféricos), a division of the Transport Ministry, and local government is only empowered to make recommendations.

Education

Universities

As the capital and largest city in the Ardisphere, VC hosts many important universities, including a half-dozen top-ranked institutions.

Public Universities

• Instituto Federal de Investigación
• Universidad Nacional
• Universidad Autónoma del Distrito Federal
• Universidad Federal Autónoma Politécnica

Private Universities

• Prifysgol Fetropolitan Fisi
• Universidad Central Gautámica Ardesférica
• Université Châteauguay
• Universidad Loyola Cerro Silla
• 남궁대학교
• Universidad de Villa Constitución
• Universidad Wisniewski

For rankings, locations and other details, see also the list of Higher Education Institutions in the Ardisphere.

Economy

Villa Constitución is the home many of the nation's leading corporations, especially in the areas of entertainment, banking and manufacturing. The financial district, located along Calle Paredes (in the eponymous Barrio Paredes - map), hosts not only the main financial institutions of the Ardisphere but is one of the major financial districts on the Archantan continent.

The famous so-called "Woody-Hall" district (map), in the northern part of Delegación V (Barrios Usonia, Febo and Acrasia), along with the neighboring suburb of Josusí, DF, hosts most of the Ardispherian entertainment industry, including various television and movie studios.

Many manufacturing and industrial companies have their headquarters in the midtown area around city hall (Barrio Llano - map).

Transportation and Infrastructure

Streets and Highways

File:4000px Rio Alto.JPG

The northern extension of the Carretera de la Peninsula along the bluffs of the Rio Hierro is visible in this view looking up the river in a northeasterly direction from the Presidio toward the Rio Alto neighborhood, with the Sorabol Bridge visible to the left (map location).

The original city plan had a highly structured grid with diagonals connecting rotaries and parks. This plan is still quite noticeable but there have been many deviations and changes.

The city's motorways and expressways never had a master plan, however, and this is evident too. There are many examples of "unfinished highways" throughout the city, and in other places they follow indirect routes due the resistance of neighborhood associations to disruptive new infrastructure.

Public Transport

All public transportation in Villa Constitución is under the Federal agency for public transport, called RUTA (Red Unificada de Transportes Ardesféricos). This includes, buses, ferries, rail, the Hollingsworth Monorail and even taxis.

From a user standpoint, since the RUTA implementation of electronic pass cards and a unified fare system, transfer between modes is seamless. Many users perceive the legacy commuter lines, for example, as just oddly-numbered metro lines, and the frequency and efficiency of these lines mean they are perceptually the same, even, in many cases, using the same operating equipment and standards (train length and rolling stock).

Rail

See main article at RUTA-VC

There are legacy commuter rail lines, an extensive metro network, and almost 30 separate tram lines.

Commuter Lines

Commuter Lines are the oldest compenent of the VC transport system, many dating from the 19th century. Currently there are three main networks, each profitably operated by a different operating company.

Ferrocarriles Orientales (FFOO) operate the Blue Lines (numbered by RUTA 20-29), and mostly serves eastern suburbs (e.g. Colofón, Lowe and Fernando de Puy, Fin Ghiuletti) and a few go to the north or south (Palo Rojo via Nueva Tolusa, Onírica via Realidad). Several commuter lines (ie 22, 24) extend as far as the eastern border of the Ardisphere, at Quiroga, Verde y Blanco, Nuevo Lidgate and Quentín di Battista, thus stretching over 125 km from downtown. The Ferrocarriles Orientales are based at the Calle 29 station, departing from there both northbound-then-eastbound (via Parque Quichago) and southbound-then-eastbound (via Caracol on the FFBN trunk).

Ferrocarriles Bahía Negra (FFBN) operate the Black Lines (numbered by RUTA 30-39), which include the south and the Bahía Negra littoral, and the Au River valley. Destinations include southeast suburbs like Ciudad Independencia and Palmeras Grises, and continue on beyond the metropolitan region boundaries to Yacimientos Petroleros, Bahía Negra and Princesa (with well-timed frequent ferry connections to El Cabo). These are based out of the Pittsbourg de Caracol station (in downtown Caracol, not in VC), with a trunk extension connecting to both Calle 29 and Central de VC.

Ferrocarriles Federales (FFFF, which also operates most of the national-level trunk passenger routes and the national freight network) controls the White Lines (numbered by RUTA 40-49) which mostly go to northern suburbs and exurbs, deep into the Dragones delta plain as far as Peligro-Volquete, Yucas, Fuerte Cuadrado and Ocho Fuegos (at Macondo on the Albañiles), almost 100 km distant. These are based out of the Central de VC station.

Metro (Subway and Elevated Lines)

File:1024px avenida13bridge.jpg

The elevated line 4 (brown line) crossing the Avenida 13 bridge over the Río Grande toward Huañón, just northwest of downtown.

The VC Metro, which includes service to many surrounding suburbs, is quite old but was stagnant at 6 lines for many decades. A recent boom has led to many more lines being added.

There are two networks under a single operating umbrella, MetroVC, although different lines are built and operated by different contractors. The two networks are the MetroVC Líneas Subterráneas (underground lines "S" or subte) and the MetroVC Líneas Elevadas (elevated lines "E"), but currently these old names are misnomers, because both "S" and "E" lines have underground and elevated sections - many lines will be part underground and part elevated, and there are grade-level sections too (e.g. Line 11 at Barrio Usinas in Caracol). The RUTA numbering scheme numbers these 1-19, with either an S or E prefix.

Tram Networks

There are two main operating companies in VC, and various independent companies in several suburbs, whose lines often connect to these VC lines as well.

Tranvías Metropolitanas (TTMM) operates two mostly disconnected networks that cross each other at many points, but use different equipment. These were once separate companies. The Gold Lines (Líneas Doradas, RUTA numbers 50-59 and 70-79) have two bases, one downtown around the Plaza Manzano, and one at the appropriately named Plaza Línea Dorada, along Calle 160 on the borough boundary between Delegaciones X and XIV. These are connected via the trunk line 70 (mostly along Avenida 26). There is also a Gold line 50 (La Costera) that serves Faro, Gran Playa and terminates at Plaza Italia in Caracol. The Silver Lines (Líneas Plateadas, RUTA numbers 80-89) have their base at the Plaza Setenta-y-Nueve, with a branch incorporating the old Avenida 13 line connecting to the north end of downtown at the Taller de Tranvías.

Compañía Capitalina de Tranvías (CCTT) is a completely separate network, operating mostly north-south lines that branch off of an east-west trunk (mostly along Avenida 3, near the southern boundary of the city) that connects the downtown waterfront (at Puerto Nuevo) with the Plaza de Armas (the "new" city government area, built in the 1920s, midway between downtown and the Congreso). Their RUTA numbers are 90-99. This company operates the downtown circuit line 99, which covers the downtown area in both VC and Faro, and includes some very long extensions to the suburbs, such as the line 91 northwestward to Presidente Errázuriz, crossing the river at Puente Avenida 119 in the north of Siete Colinas.

The suburban tram networks with branches into VC include Tranvías de Caracol (TdeC, prefix "C"), which cross the boundary to terminate at metro stations at several points, and the Tranvías Urbanas (TTUU, prefix "U", based in Siete Colinas) which connect into parts of the northern and western Annexes in VC (i.e. Delegaciones XI, XII and XV). Most suburban trams are numbered by RUTA 60-69, with one, the legacy line between Siete Colinas and the Cincuenta-por-Cientosetenta station and connecting southward to Plaza Línea Dorada, bearing the aberrant number U57.

Buses

There are literally thousands of bus lines in VC and surrounding suburbs. The RUTA numbering scheme is designed to guarantee that each line has a system-wide unique number, and since 1991 these have been standardized at 4 digits. The first digit indicates service level (i.e. from local circulators "1" to interurban expresses "9", the second digit indicates, roughly, the quadrant of service, and the last two indicate the specific route. Thus the 9111 is an express bus connecting downtown VC (Estación Desolado) with Nuevo Séul and Mesopotamia, while 1977 is a circulator bus along the Diagonal 17 de Noviembre, in the Cerro del Puerco - Mercado Nuevo neighborhoods.

Taxis and "Combi" Vans

Public transport RUTA fare cards can also be used in taxis and the route-based circulating "Combi" vans, making these modes highly convenient if somewhat more expensive than rail and buses.

Interregional Transport Hubs

Rail

Regional, national and international trains operated by Ferrocarriles Federales depart from the Central de VC Station for all points north and west, including Albañiles, Torre de Ladrillo, Cerro y Casa, Comala, Isla Extranjeros (Ynys Diethriaid in Colonia Galesa), Ciudad Trece Templos, the Marverde region, and Tierra Pura (Jeongto City 정토시) and Gloria (Yeonggwang City 영광시) in the Colonia Coreana. Also served are international rail crossings at El Alguacil (only 8 km distant, northwest from downtown across the river), Moyica, Gloria and other northern and western points.

Some regional rail points on the eastern frontier are served by the Ferrocarriles Orientales out of the Calle 29 Station, such as Eusquerria, Altazor, Piedra Colorada and Río de Plata (Eungang City 은강시) in the Colonia Coreana, connecting to Federales lines in Jeongto. Eastern international destinations can be reached via the eastern border crossings at Quentín di Battista, which is the terminus of the Orientales RUTA 24 commuter line, or at Verde y Blanco, terminus of the Orientales RUTA 22.

Regional Buses

There are many point-to-point bus routes operated by innummerable private companies, but there is also a consolidated bus terminal downtown with national and international service by multiple companies. This is located at the Terminal de Buses metro station on the Red Line 2, also reached by tram via the Bronze Line 99 along Calle Fundación or the Silver line 80 along Avenida 13.

Ferry and Passenger Vessels

The consolidated ferry terminal for all Bahía Negra ferries was moved to Caracol (at Embarcadero, reached via Yellow Line 3 at Terminal de Transbordadores station) in the 1980s. National ferries to El Cabo, Sailtown and international locations depart from there. However, private international ocean passenger vessels still call at the old ferry terminal, now a dedicated cruise line facility best reached by going to the Cruceros stop on the Bronze Line 99, or about a kilometer east of the Terminal de Buses metro stop.

Airports

The Angel Keum International Airport (AAK) provides connections to locations all over the world via multiple national and international carriers.

Southeast of the city, in the suburb of Ciudad Independencia, DS, there is a second international airport, Nicolás Jameson International Airport (JAM), which was recently upgraded to take some of the pressure off of AAK.

Culture

Arts and Architecture

Towers and Skyscrapers

File:1784px LaKapa desde DGL.jpg

View of Torre Kapanadze, looking south from the intersection of Diagonal Grandes Lagos with Calle 99.

In such a high-density city, it was inevitable that much of the architecture is vertically-oriented. There are many skyscrapers in the city, including several global icons.

Without a doubt, the most famous and iconic element in the city's skyline is the Torre Kapanadze. Other major skyscrapers include the Torre 79, built in 1959, the Torre Yi (1984), and the Zigurat (2005).

Sports

The three most popular sports in VC, just as in all of the Ardisphere, are football (soccer), cricket, and aldepaloti (an aboriginal sport similar to lacrosse but adapted to an oval-shaped cricket pitch, which abound in the country).

Football

There are three main teams that have their homes within VC proper. The oldest in top division is FC Villa, who play at the Estadio Nacional, with its own station on the Metro Green Line 1 (map).

The Deportivo Riograndense also has a long history, and play at the Estadio Río Grande, located at Estación Península on the Commuter White Lines 40,48,49, or via tram on the northern Gold Line 75 (map).

Lastly, the current reigning champions (2013) are the Club Bosque ("Los Verde Killers"), only promoted from second division 5 years ago, but whose rabid fans recently destroyed an elevated metro station (which nevertheless remains the best access to the stadium): Metro Tan Line 8, Estación Calle 123 (map).

Cricket

In recent years, the national cricket league has been dominated by the Jaguares (officially Club de los Lagos VC), who play their home matches at the "Castillo Jaguares" stadium in the Lago Sur region of the city, which is easily accessible on the Commuter Blue Lines 21,23,24, Estación Calle 144 (map). The other home team has never done well, but their fans are notorious for their loyalty. They are the Barrio Galés ("Blancos"), who play at the Parque Deportivo Galés next to the Estación Birmingham on Metro Dark Green Line 7 (map).

Aldepaloti

The local favorites have always been Arcoiris, who play at the Estadio Andrés vonder Brücke (which they share with the Class III cricket team Universidad Central Gautámica), accessible via Metro Orange Line 5, Estación Busán, or via one of the Avenida 26 Gold Line trams (map). A new top-tier team has been chartered for the city, projected to start playing in 2015, because of the growing popularity of the sport. They are intended to be called the Zigurat, and have signed a stadium-sharing agreement with the Blancos cricket team to play at the Parque Deportivo Galés (see above).

Other Sport

Basketball has been increasing in popularity, and a new arena has been constructed on the waterfront at Puerto Viejo, straddling the city limit with neighboring Faro. The Estadio Presidenta Carlota Juárez y Cabal is a striking new landmark for the harbour area, and is the new home for the Rayos Verde y Blanco, the region's premier basketball team. It is accessible via Metro station Puerto Viejo, on Green Line 1 and Red Line 2, or via the downtown circuit tram, Bronze Line 99 at the Avenida del Estado stop (map).

There are many other national-level teams in all three sports, as well as many others, that play in various surrounding suburban locales, so sporting life in the Capital is quite diverse.

Sibling Cities

Villa Constitución has several sibling cities, as per the guidelines of Sibling Cities of the World:

• Drull, Template:Drull
• Gobras City, Template:Gobrassanya
• Latina (Cidudad), Template:Latina
• Morros, Template:Balonis
• St. Richards, Template:Pretany

See also

• The complete listing of towns and cities in Distrito Federal

Ardisphere Portal