Almere

The youngest city of the country was founded in the mid 70's to alleviate the housing shortage that Amsterdam was facing. Built in what's also the youngest province of the country, Flevoland, it's built entirely below sea level (an average of 5 to 6 metres). Prior to the 20th century, the area was a sea known as the Zuiderzee, making Amsterdam a coastal city. But the peril of future food shortages meant that more land was needed, and a bold and ambitious plan was devised to dam the sea, and reclaim large parts of land from it. This project, known as the Zuiderzee werken, remains to this day one of the most impressive feats of engineering pulled off in the 20th century.

The food production shortages that were foreseen however, failed to materialize as thought; While world war 1 did lead to shortages, it wasn't because of a lack of land; advances in agricultural technology and techniques led to increased production, and today, thanks in part to Flevoland, the Netherlands is the world's third largest exporter of food products.

Almere is the largest growing city of the country, and currently weighs in around 200.000 inhabitants. There are some noteable differences between the city and others in the country; The traffic infrastructure in Almere is recognisable because of its separate infrastructure for bicycles (which have separate bicycle paths), car and bus (In Almere the buses drive on a separated road network). The city is also well known in international architecture circles on account of it's unique architecture; numerous world famous architects have used Almere as a sort of testbed for unusual designs. All this architecture however is not as appreciated by the general public as it is by designers; The city is perceived of as bland, sterile, and generally ugly. This perception is not entirely correct, there certainly are nicer areas, such as the city centre and Almere Haven, but for the most part the perception is accurate.

For most of it's existence, the city has served mainly to provide housing for those working in Amsterdam, but that's rapidly changing, as the increasing industrial presence in the city, the institutes for higher learning, and the new corporate district behind the central train station are reshaping the city. Mostly suburban, there are houses and apartments available in nearly every priceclass. And both rich and poor make their home in the city.

Besides it's downtown shopping (which now contains a mega cinema and a theatre besides other entertainment venues) and business district, it's also noteable for it's wildlife reserve the Oostvaardersplassen (marshland), and the many other green areas and watersport opportunities. It boasts several marinas, and the central lake, known as the Weerwater, plays host to the world championships for powerboat races aswell as waterskiing (which one can engage in by cable rather than boat, oddly enough). It also boasts europe's biggest moving stage in the center of town. A hotel built after the design of a Belgian castle has not been finished as finances dried up, and today, the half finished remains of the castle serve as a sort of modern castle ruins.

Crime is quite common here, particularly youth and drug related, and many parts of the city can almost be called 'ghettos', at least in the Hollywood use of the word. Vandalism is a common occurance and in many places the city just doesn't bother repairing broken windows and signs anymore. It just isn't worth the trouble just to have it broken again the next day.

Fields of influence: Water sports, Hospitals and Medical Research, Higher education, Business, Corporate sector, Entertainment and Television, Industry, Psychiatric Healthcare, National wildlife Administration.

Haven qualities: Location up to 2, Size up to 5