Dorne – Wooddijan C

Ambassador: Conor Lovell.159
Ashley Byers
David Leibas
Emily Barber

 

 

 

       During the mid 1960’s the city was developing quite well due to its prosperous harbor. The Harbor was the only way that they were able to trade resources internationally and the entire nation depended on them for this. Because of this, agglomerate economies sprung up, creating a boom in the population and industries throughout the city. The local government decided that they wanted to make the port an international trading hub. During the late 1960’s and early 70’s, environmental consciousness led some citizens to oppose the industrialized harbor. The Environmentalists who lived in the community were concerned about the overall well-being of the marine life and if it had the capacity to survive through all of the pollution and possible invasive species being brought into their ecosystem by traveling ships.
       The Environmentalists protested, but the larger corporate businesses had strong ties to the local government in the city and the current issues of environmental justice were not able to persuade them otherwise. Their main concern was having international trade because they wanted their economy to thrive. Due to their seemingly careless attitude towards the environment after many decades of ships traveling in and out of the docks the natural ecosystem began to degrade. The populous species of marine life and the beautiful coral reefs had died. The city then began to focus all of their attention toward international trade. They were not in favor of donating any funds towards other social groups such as the environmentalists because of their conflict over the Harbor.
       The city government also does not give much money to fund education, and therefore there is a strong divide between the blue-collar, lower income workers and the highly skilled and wealthy traders and businessmen who attended the college in Community B. The government then focused all of their resources towards making the Harbor as prosperous as possible. During the mid 1980s there was a large deal of controversy between the blue-collar workers and the larger corporations because there were no job opportunities for low-skilled workers. There were high levels of unemployment and many people were protesting the government for not providing them with funds to do construction work. At this time the community’s infrastructure was beginning to degrade. The main bridge that was used for people to reach the highway to the mainland, which could be fixed if there were jobs to be provided for the workers. At this point they were also dealing with trade conflicts with other countries. Which in turn lead them to become less eager to trade with other countries.
       The local government has a firm stance against raising taxes, which would help lead to paying for infrastructure repair, and funding of other organizations and new businesses that could provide jobs for the lower-skilled workers. During the late 1900’s this was when the divide between the social groups had set in because the larger corporations were not willing to make a compromise to help other sectors of the community thrive.

Community C: this community is located on the ocean and is tied economically and culturally to its harbor.

Population size = 2,800,000 residents

 

Natural: 5 This city was initially founded due to its great harbor; the harbor was developed to serve as a key port for international trade for the nation; its natural marine resources have been degraded from pollution, overfishing (contributed to by community J), and non-point source runoff (from surrounding local areas and community H’s river outlet into the ocean).

 

Cultural: 4 The city maintains an “international and cosmopolitan” identity in part due to its connection to other international cities through its port and rich history in trade. The arts and cultural sectors in the city are underfunded and not well connected to, or supported by, wealthier philanthropists in the city.

 

Human: 4 This city is the most populous in the nation; however, the general labor force is divided between high-skilled, white-collar workers in trade and finance, and unskilled, largely blue-collar workers; in-migrants come to find high-wage, low-skill jobs in the port with limited success; strong postsecondary education (vocational schools, community colleges, universities) are lacking in this city.

 

Social: 4 There is strong bonding social capital within the unionized dockworkers and longshoreman communities, which are bonded through several close-knit civic associations and industry organizations; but there are very few connections between those civic associations and the much wealthier financial and trade corporate sectors. There is also a small group of residents interested in improving tourism and recreation opportunities in the city, but they are not connected to any major political or civic leaders.

 

Political: 3 The local government and its robust port authority has had clashes with organized labor in the past and is distrusted by some in the community. Environmental groups, poorly funded, argue that the community and local industries violate basic environmental management policies; there are deep, long-lasting political factions within the community.

 

Financial: 6 Traditionally lots of shipping containers move through its port due to a very strong trade industry; the corporate offices of several major banks are located here; instability in international trade have made investors in the community very conservative; business leaders tend to underfund the non-profit sectors and are firmly against raising taxes; recently, there has been some small interest in eco-tourism in the area to provide an alternative revenue outlet but these run into conflict with current industries and lax environmental standards.

 

Built: 4 While the city’s port is traditionally well-maintained, water pollution management has been a historical problem for this city; it’s responsible for maintaining a bridge that links the city to the nation’s mainland highway, which is in disrepair.