Barnaclebae – Ohithere B

Ambassador: Sidney Johantges.2
Sierra Barlow
Cade Capper
Juliet Hall
Brittany Heigley

       The city of Barnaclebae is located in Ohithere and has a population size of 45,000 people. A large percentage of this population is due to our university, which is central to the community and the economy. Barnaclebae’s native language is English and there is no distinct dialect among the population. Our community is situated along one of the largest oceans and is historically a port town. The weather in our community is similar to other communities near the ocean, with maritime and humid subtropical climate patterns. Central Park is located within the city center and attracts residents in the summers. The population is largely highly educated, with most residents falling within the middle class and living in the urban core. However, there is a small portion of the population in the rural portion of the town that are lower class.
       Due to our historically productive economy, Barnaclebae’s UN classification is advanced, developed economy. However, in the last few decades, that economic productivity has stalled due to a decline in export sales. Historically, our economy was centered around automobile manufacturing due to our access to the port. However, the industry has been abandoned, leaving only research and development operations. Now, the main industries are research and development and STEM-related fields. The population employed in these industries work mainly at the university, which has created an over-reliance on the university as an economic driver.
       The abandonment of manufacturing facilities has also caused our built environment to degrade, leaving large facilities unoccupied. Similarly, our downtown infrastructure has begun to degrade, leaving old buildings that are no longer up to code. Our public transportation network is inefficient, with run down busses and inconsistent routes. It does not connect the rural community and the urban community, causing a divide amongst the communities.
       At the heart of Barnaclebae is Ohithere Star University, a state-of-the-art research university. Being the largest college in the nation with an enrollment of 12,453 students and growing, it is the drawing point and center of culture of the city. Unfortunately, this means that a large portion of the city’s residents come only for their education and go on to other places, so the culture in
the city is constantly shifting.
       The student population at the university is increasing, and as a result the city has had environmental problems, particularly with litter in the ocean from beach-goers and air pollution from traffic downtown. In 1999, a wildfire in the rural areas of Barnaclebae destroyed a large portion of the rural community. Due to poor governmental intervention, the rural community continues to lack trust in both the government and the urban population, causing a great divide between the communities.
       The rural residents often feel that the city government doesn’t understand the struggles they go through, and this creates a bit of a rift between the rural residents and the pro-government urban residents. To support the rural community, the government started a farmer’s market to connect the communities and provide the rural community a place to sell their goods. The market also supports local restaurants who get their food from local farmers and was a significant boost to the economy.
       Overall, Barnaclebae has both assets and problems. Our lack of economic diversification, community cohesion, and population retainment continues to be an issue. However, with our strong ties with the University and our dedication to community development, we believe that our community can be revived once again.

Community B: this mid-sized community is home to one of the nation’s leading, public universities.
Population size = 45,000 residents

Natural: 4 Some surrounding natural resources preserved through conservation efforts, but a growing population is putting pressure for the sale of natural land and large-acre lots for development.

Cultural: 6 Many different cultures, ethnicities, and ages populate the city and are unified by high educational attainment; however, the university brings people from out of the community in for short periods of time (not a lot of permanent residents) causing this community to lack strong cultural traditions.

Human: 7 Overall high educational attainment (college degrees) due to close ties with the university, and research and science-based industries; the community has an overcrowded public K-12 school system, and it can be difficult for this community to retain high talent individuals.

Social: 6 Some community cohesion and high bonding social capital within the urban, university area of town; but this area of town has low interaction and little (and, at times, negative) communication with its surrounding suburban and rural fringe communities; the university is known for having a limited research and outreach Extension program.

Political: 5 Urban residents feel that they have access to and influence on their local government, but there are problems maintaining government oversight boards due to a high turnover of residents.  Historically, rural residents and other local governments from the surrounding area do not work well with this community’s government.

Financial: 4 Traditionally, the city is recognized as being a stable area for investment mainly due to the university as an economic driver; there are concerns of the city’s overreliance upon its university for investment and economic stability. Residents tend to be more towards the middle-income class, with a limited higher-income base; most of the lower-income base is living on the fringe of the community; this community is located in area of the nation with generally fewer financial assets compared to areas to the west (such as C, A, and D).

Built: 4 The urban core has an aging, but “historical” downtown with some dilapidated buildings; there is pressure in town to expand its infrastructure into the surrounding undeveloped suburban and rural fringe.