Great Kirav and Housing in Urcea: Difference between pages

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{{Infobox continent
{{wip}}
|title              = Great Kirav <br> ''Ambrikiravia''
|image              = [[File:Kirmap Plain.png|250px]]
|area                = 10,801,735 km²
|population          = 1.4 billion
|density            = 953.55
|demonym            = Kiravite, Great Kiravian
|countries          = [[File:KiravianFlag.png|30px]] [[Kiravian Federacy]]
|list_countries      =
|dependencies        =
|unrecognized        =
|languages          =
|time                = Valēka Standard Time (IST -0:30)
|internet            = .gk
|cities              = [[Valēka]]<br>[[Saar-Silverda]]<br>[[Escarda]]
}}


'''Great Kirav''' ([[Kiravic Coscivian|Kiravic:]] ''Ambrix Kirav'', ''Ambrikirav'') is an {{wp|island continent}}, situated in the northeast of the [[Odoneru Ocean]], northwest of [[Levantia]], from which it is separated by the [[Kilikas Sea]]. The entirety of its landmass is governed by the [[Kiravian Federacy]], a pluricontinental federation of which Great Kirav constitutes the historic, cultural, and economic heartland.
'''Housing in Urcea''' is a vital sector in the [[Economy of Urcea|Urcean economy]], with housing development and adjacent activity comprising approximately a tenth of all economic activity as of 2020. Urceans have strong social views on housing and housing strongly relates to Urcea's view of itself and its relationship with both private property and {{wp|Catholic social teaching}}. Since the mid-20th century, [[Disurbanism|disurbanist approaches]] have been popular in [[Urcea]]. Much of Urcea's housing stock was constructed in the form of low density {{wp|suburban}} single family homes following the [[Second Great War]], although since the 1980s the priority has shifted to even lower-density exurban development due to both environmental and social concerns.


==Terminology==
In [[Urcea]], housing policy issues are typically regulated by the [[Ministry_of_Administration_of_the_Realm_(Urcea)#Agency_for_Housing_Development|Agency for Housing Development]] outside of cities and the [[Ministry_of_Administration_of_the_Realm_(Urcea)#Agency_for_Urban_Development|Agency for Urban Development]] within cities. The Agency for Urban Development also works closely with the [[Ministry_of_Administration_of_the_Realm_(Urcea)#Agency_for_Royal_Public_Housing_and_Royal_Dormitory_Aid|Agency for Royal Public Housing and Royal Dormitory Aid]] to identify and develop new public housing opportunities.
Until the latter half of the <sup>ʀw</sup>20700s, the island continent was simply referred to as ''Kirav'' (or local equivalents, see below) in ordinary speech. The adjective ''Ambrix'' ("great", "noble") had been attached to ''Kirav'' as a poetic honorific since the Third Empire, but did not enter common usage until Kiravian overseas expansion made it more frequently necessary to distinguish the island continent from the whole of the growing Kiravian realm. The adoption of 'Great' was also driven by the concurrent cultural zeitgeist in the coastal states, which embraced the nation's rise as a major power with imperial ambitions.


The ultimate etymology of ''Kirav'' is not definitively known. The theory with the most credibility among Occidental linguists traces it to the reconstructed Proto-Kasavic ''*ḱʏdɮ'', other descendants of which include the Kiravic ''Kūla'' ("planet Earth"), and the Æonaran Coscivian ''śad'' (" land"), and the leading minority theory traces it to ''*sḱəgʷʰ'', believed to be the endonym of the primordial Kasavic peoples for themselves. However, neither of these proposed etymologies has widespread acceptance among Coscivian [[Deep philology|dark philologists]], most of whom reject them as a superposition of Levanto-Sarpic thought patterns onto primitive Kiravian history, incongruent with attested patterns of semantic relationships between analogous words in later languages and unlikely given what is known about the cosmology and self-conceptions of the Kasavs. Some believe that academia is barking up the wrong tree entirely, and that the ''kir'' root is ultimately of [[Urom|Urom]] origin.
==History and overview==
===Enclosure===
{{wp|Enclosure}}, the process by which land held in common is transferred to private ownership (especially within the context of the {{wp|Feudal system}}) took place from approximately the end of the [[Saint's War]] in 1401 to the beginning of the [[Caroline Wars]] in 1740, during which time the vast majority of land held in common was enclosed for ownership. While much of the land was enclosed on behalf of local magnates, a great portion of it - especially following the weakening of the nobility during the [[Great Confessional War]] - was enclosed into relatively small parcels on behalf of the urban [[Social class in Urcea#Privilegiata|privilegiata]]. Unlike many other countries, however, anti-enclosure sentiments gained many successes in the period of the 17th century and onward. Balancing the various [[Social class in Urcea|social classes]] became an increasing concern to the [[Apostolic King of Urcea|Apostolic King]] and [[Government of Urcea|His Governments]] in the wake of the social upheavel of the Great Confessional War and subsequent [[History_of_Urcea_(1575-1798)#Gassavelian_integration_and_uprising|Gassavelian uprising]]. Accordingly, considerable amounts of common land began to be preserved beginning in 1620 onward, though these sentiments slowed rather than halted the process of enclosure. By 1740, further enclosure was prohibited by law, but conflicting and inconsistent land title deeds for enclosed lands existed, inaugurating more than two hundred years of legal disputes until land surveyance and commune reform efforts succeeded in [[Housing_in_Urcea#Proprietor_communes|in the 1950s]].


Residents of Great Kirav are usually called ''Kiravites'' (Kiravic: ''Kiraviēxtya'') rather than ''Great Kiravians'', though the latter term has seen some use. People from Great Kirav who no longer live there, especially first-generation colonists in the Federacy's overseas possessions, are called ''Kiraviēþûrix'' ("Kiravborn") or ''iodevahomax'' ("islocontinental").
===Attitudes===
===Suburban rise and fall===
===Passage of the Family Living Act===
{{Main|Family Living Act of 2003}}


Kiravians often refer to Grat Kirav as ''iodevahoma'' ("the island-continent"), ''hátihoma'' ("the mainland"), or ''atómihoma'' ("the homeland").
==Public housing==
Public housing in [[Urcea]] is generally overseen by the [[Ministry_of_Administration_of_the_Realm_(Urcea)#Agency_for_Royal_Public_Housing_and_Royal_Dormitory_Aid|Agency for Royal Public Housing and Royal Dormitory Aid]] or by provincial and local governments. Since the 1960s, the Agency has had specific policies for public housing, preferring to maintain single or multi-family rent controlled units within the same neighborhood within cities rather than {{wp|tower blocks}}. The general prohibition on tower blocks came about largely as both an ideological one as well as problems encountered in constructing them in the Urceopolis borough of [[Urceopolis_(City)#Campori|Campori]] following the [[Second Great War]]. The Agency is responsible for the general property maintenance of these facilities in conjunction with the occupants in the case of single family houses. Several "legacy" {{wp|tower blocks}} public housing projects exist as well, especially in and around [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]].


In modern scientific/geographic and cultural/political contexts, the term "Great Kirav" is understood to include adjacent islands such as [[Ixikéa]], [[Ilánova]], and [[Rhuon]], and to exclude [[Koskenkorva]].
==Private housing==


==Geoschemes==
Most [[Urcea|Urceans]] live in a {{wp|single family home}} or low-unit multi-family home according to surveys conducted over the course of the 2010s. Urcean society places a high value on home ownership, and private housing enjoys pride of place among types of housing in Urcea. As part of these efforts, the [[Ministry_of_Administration_of_the_Realm_(Urcea)#Agency_for_Royal_Public_Housing_and_Royal_Dormitory_Aid|Agency for Royal Public Housing and Royal Dormitory Aid]] provides subsidies to lower income families as part of the Royal Dormitory Aid program in order to encourage ownership.
The question of where Great Kirav belongs in various divisions of Ixnay into continent-based regions has two main answers. The most common perspective among Kiravians is that Great Kirav is an island continent unto itself and does not properly belong to any wider continent-level region. Most world maps and globes produced for the Kiravian market reflect this understanding. However, Occidental geographers have long classified Great Kirav, together with [[the Arctic]] and smaller islands in the general neighbourhood, as part of a continent-level division known as [[Arcto-Kiravia]] or [[Kiroborea]]. The Kiravian government has welcomed and increasingly promoted the notion of a Kiroboreal or Arcto-Kiravian region in modern times, viewing it as useful for maintaining strong diplomatic and economic ties to other boreal countries and legitimising its projection of power into the Arctic.


==Geography==
===Urban===
[[File:Växjö from plane.JPG|thumb|A mosaïc of forests, lakes, cropland, and settlements covers much of the Great Kiravian interior.]]
====Single family====
====Multi family and apartments====
===Suburban===
{{wp|Suburban}} development was the primary form of housing development during the 20th century in [[Urcea]] and comprises a large plurality of the nation's housing stock. From the end of the [[Second Great War]] to the end of the century, government policy, economic factors, and social attitudes drove the creation of Urcea's suburbs. By the end of the century, suburban sprawl comprised most of [[The Valley (Urcea)|the Valley]], with relatively close together single family homes extending out from [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]] especially. Suburban development in other areas of the country also occurred but to a less sprawling extent given the population and relative population density of the [[Archduchy of Urceopolis]] and its surrounding provinces. Many social commentators by the 1980s had begun to grow concerned regarding suburban sprawl due to environmental concerns (including both waste and pollution) as well as social concerns, as many perceived a kind of isolation and alienation from the extended family and estate [[Culture_of_Urcea#Kinship|kinship groups]] on which Urcean society was traditionally organized. Suburban development began to wane during this time in favor of exurban development, which developed both due to public policy pressures and market forces interested in different models; this shift had the practical effect of causing massive disruption in Urcea's [[Economy_of_Urcea#Construction|construction industry]]. The [[Family Living Act of 2003]] essentially prohibited the construction of new, "core suburbs" and subsequent legislation has created large preservation areas around [[Urcea]] and particularly within [[The Valley (Urcea)|the Valley]]. The preservation areas, which not only preserve existing natural areas but also has properties and homes default to the government for demolition in the event of no property heir or in the event of foreclosure, has had the unintended effect of decreasing the Kingdom's housing stock according to many policy analysts and {{wp|Non-governmental organization|non-governmental organizations}}.


Great Kirav is an island continent located in the upper temperate latitudes of Ixnay. {{wp|Temperate mixed forest}} and {{wp|Coniferous forest}} are the native vegetation across most of the landmass, though extensive areas have been cleared for cultivation over the centuries.
===Exurban===
{{wp|Exurbs|Exurban}} development has comprised the large part of [[Urcea|Urcean]] real estate development since the mid-1980s reflecting increased distances from urban centers as well as changing social views.


===Topography===
In [[2003]], the [[Concilium Daoni]] led by [[Michael Witte]] enacted the [[Family Living Act of 2003|Family Living Act]] (FLA), which establishes several rules governing the construction of multiple structures on a property by real estate developers intending to sell the land, known as {{wp|Subdivision (land)|subdivisions}}. Among other provisions, the FLA requires that contractors must first offer a condensed area within a development (intended to describe cul de sacs and other insular portions) to bidding by extended family groups before individually selling each house. In effect, this law has had the effect of making many portions of neighborhoods or even entire housing developments being comprised of related individuals. Since a considerable portion of Urcea's single-family housing stock has been constructed since 2003, the policy has had a large impact on Urcean housing and social relations, with many policy analysts calling the project a "major success" in restoring the proximity of extended families. Critics have said that the FLA has had the effect of artificially raising the price of homes and home ownership while suppressing housing stock and discouraging development.
Topographically, key features of Great Kirav include...


The upper interior plateau of Great Kirav was heavily glaciated during the last glacial maximum, with the retreating glaciers leaving an abundance of lakes in their wake. The largest of these lakes form an arc across the upper-middle latitudes of the continent between the Eastern and Western Highlands, known internationally as the Great Kiravian Lake Belt and domestically as the Fresh Seas (''Miśnafara'').  
====Urban town and country====
[[File:GlensFalls.jpeg|thumb|left|200px|Marchts, a small town in [[Hardinán]], exemplifies urban town and country design mostly utilizing older structures instead of new builds.]]
The primary design philosophy of exurban development in [[Urcea]] revolves around the notion of creating "urban town and country" (UTC), a design which has grown in frequency and popularity since the end of the 20th century. Though they existed prior to [[2003]], the [[Family Living Act of 2003]] introduced significant economic incentives for the design and construction of this style of development. Urban town and country design creates areas of moderate density housing, typically one to two blocks of {{wp|5-over-1}}s (or earlier mixed use structures) surrounding a {{wp|village green}}, {{wp|town square}}, or {{wp|roundabout}} park, surrounded by consistent low density housing with secluded cul de sacs and streets with large plots for homes separated by greenspaces and trees. This design is intended to allow individuals who can not own a home - either due to being short term transients to an area, lack of income, or some other reason - to live in rental units in and around the "central square" while simultaneously providing retail spaces - usually small businesses - in the central area. The "downtown area" is usually made up of several small retail outlets with restaurants in freestanding areas with parking, and this area is usually serviced by a [[Rail transportation in Urcea|rail-fed]] warehouse located on the periphery of town. Besides residential areas, churches schools, and libraries, and one to two large parking structures (depending on the size of the area) are intended to be constructed directly adjacent to the central square area for easy access to services by local residents. Since 2018 and 2019, most new UTCs are required to provide electric charging stations both in homes and in the public spaces, and many companies exist to transition existing UTC areas to electric compatibility on a large scale.


Most UTCs have only one or two major roads leading to the town square area, with small limited access urban neighborhood roads radiating outwards. The larger roads are typically multiple lanes in order to allow for commercial traffic to efficiently enter and exit the community. The major roads in UTCs typically lead to other UTCs or to highway access, while most of them also have a degree of access to {{wp|park and ride}}s and mass transit options. These transit options were enhanced with direct government subsidies to local public transit corporations with the Connectivity Act of 2012.


===Climate===
===Proprietor communes===
Great Kirav has a varied but thoroughly temperate climate ranging from submediterranean to subarctic. In terms of thermal belts, the warmest areas of the continent are the thermotemperate and thermo-submediterranean southerly parts of [[Argévia]] and [[South Kirav]], while the coldest are high-altitude areas in the northerly reaches of the Western Highlands, which experience oroboreal climates, pushing into cryoboreal at the highest peaks. In lowland areas the coldest climates are found in supraboreal pockests of the inland Far Northwest and parts of the Northern Isles.
Throughout [[Urcea]], small parts of land which escaped {{wp|enclosure}} exist. Efforts were made during the 19th and 20th century to create a stable legal framework for these entities to survive, and accordingly the distinction of a "proprietor commune" or PC exists within law. The creation of PCs was the result of massive land surveyance efforts conducted in the immediate wake of the [[Second Great War]] in the 1940s and 50s, as individuals living on ancestral communal land objected to encroaching real estate developers; the [[Government of Urcea]] issued a large number of charters for these lands in 1954. PCs are governed by the [[Consolidated_Laws_of_HMCM%27s_Kingdom_and_State#List_of_chapters|Alternative Housing Law]]. PCs are lands in which the title is held by a corporation consisting of all of the residents within it, and accordingly all lands under a corporate charter are owned in common. PCs can only be dissolved with a supermajority of members voting in favor. Most charters individually lay out the terms on which individuals and families can build structures within the commune, but most provide for an enforceable prohibition on trespassing, ensuring a kind of private property for homeowners. Charters also give the communes wide latitude to establish standards for structures within the PC while not totally exempting them from local and provincial zoning laws. In effect, PCs function in a similar manner to {{wp|home owners associations}} and collect fees. [[Levantine banking and finance|Banks]] are [[Family_Living_Act_of_2003#Protections_for_Proprietor_Communes|prohibited by law from discriminating against PCs]] and mortgages for individual homes are often assumed by the entire commune, who then levy the costs on the individual home resident.
 
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==Administrative Divisions==
Great Kirav does not correspond to a specific political entity within the Kiravian Federacy. All federal subjects located on Great Kirav and the adjacent islands are, together with [[Koskenkorva]] and [[Æonara]], part of the [[Kiravian Federal Republic]], a [[Theme (Kiravia)|theme]] of the Kiravian Federacy. References to "Great Kirav" in Kiravian law since Kirosocialism are understood to include all of the adjacent islands, while older references are understood to exclude [[Ilánova]] unless otherwise specified. References to the "Home Islands" include Great Kirav, its outlying islands, Ilánova, and Koskenkorva.
 
In the framework of administrative-territorial formations, Great Kirav comprises X states ("inner states"), Y territories ("inner territories"), and two Federal Districts.
 
[Table of federal subjects here]
 
==Languages==
There are several language families native to Great Kirav. At present, there is no ''demonstrable'' genetic relationship between the top-level families listed here, though ancestral connexions of great {{wp|time depth}} have been hypothesised. Occidental linguists generally presume, based on non-linguistic evidence of ancient migrations, that all of the indigenous languages of Great Kirav must descend from one, two, or - at most - three proto-languages. In Coscivian academia, no such presumption is made.
 
*'''Trans-Kiravian languages'''
**Kironic branch: [[Kiravic Coscivian]], Dir, Kinnír, Kirkir, Kelkar, Korlan, Striburyan, Xarbasurian
**Ixtoric branch: [[High Coscivian]], Sʑvoʎatellic†, Maritime Coscivian,
**Tholian branch: [[North Coscivian]], Kilikas-Valēkas Coscivian,
**Foxtro-Viskiyan branch: Ĥeiran A, Ĥeiran B, Phrydhian Coscivian, Suderavian Coscivian
**Heronic branch: Engrian, Iforian, Insdean, Ƕairan
*'''Itaho-Atrassic languages:''' West Coast Marine Coscivian, Qihuxian Coscivian, Xorsyakavi, Kayaki, Pungōvak
*'''Kapushitic languages:''' South Coscivian, Serradan, Thygiastran†, Fever Swamp Coscivian
*'''Northeastern languages:''' Taństan Coscivian
*'''Elutic languages:''' Ossiryan, Déurian, Ellyrian
*'''Intheric languages:''' Cyptovi, Issantak, Surrian, Qódavan, Rifpito, Xufur-Xafre-Gaur
*'''Rulo-Swadeshi languages:''' Draili, Skithanawite
 
*'''Unclassified:''' [[Kiʞik language]] (confirmed isolate), Hozsyar (possibly {{wp|Spurious languages|spurious}})
 
Kiravian Gaelic, a [[Levanto-Sarpic]] language, is the only non-indigenous language with a prolonged historical presence in Great Kirav. Other non-indigenous languages are spoken by communities of modern immigrant origin.
 
==Cultural Regions==
===Northern Fringe===
[[File:North Coast-North Isles.gif|thumb|Approximate extent of the Northern Fringe.]]
Also known as the '''North Coast''' and the '''Hockey Belt''', the '''Northern Fringe''' extends along the [[Coscivian Sea]] coast of Great Kirav from [[Mariava]] (where it overlaps with Zone B) to [[Devahoma]], and is generally held to extend roughly 2-4 countyships inland along this span, depending on longitude, before merging into the Mid-Continental region. The climate of the North Coast is cold and harsh, classified as cool continental or subarctic in some places and subpolar oceanic in others, particularly islands like Tharvia. The ecologically hemiboreal belt stretching across northern Great Kirav is roughly coëxtensive with the cultural transition zone between the North Coast and Mid-Continental areas.
 
The long-established Coscivian inhabitants of the Northern Fringe are known as [[Ethnic groups in Kiravia#Arnórian Coscivians|Arnórian Coscivians]]. Arnórian Coscivians remain the majority or plurality group in most countyships on the Northern Fringe, and residents of other ethnic backgrounds have come to adopt much of Arnórian culture and even partially assimilate into an Arnórian identity.
 
The traditional language of the region is North Coast Coscivian, also called Arnórian Coscivian. North Coast Coscivian remains the majority language in rural and periurban areas, though Kiravic Coscivian has become the main spoken language in most cities in the region.
 
Cuisine: Potato, fish, oats
Alcohol: Spruce ales, heather ales, whiskey, akvavít, gin
 
As the climate of the North Coast is not suitable for the cultivation of hops, residents have traditionally flavoured their beer using a variety of other botanicals, most prominently spruce or pine buds and heather. These techniques persisted even after the establishment of reliable trading networks made hops from the southern East Highlands available to North Coast settlements, and the region's spruce and heather ales continue to be produced in the style of the early pioneers.
 
===Upper Kirav===
The northernmost region of inland Kirav, bounded by the Lake Belt to the south, Eastern Highlands to the east, and Western Highlands to the West, is known as Upper Kirav. The boundary between Upper Kirav and the Northern Fringe is not precisely defined, and in many non-cultural contexts the Northern Fringe is included in Upper Kirav.
 
This region has a mainly hemiboreal to mesoboreal climate, and its dominant form of vegetation is {{wp|boreal forest}}.
 
===Northeast===
The smallest cultural region, encompassing [[Fariva]] and [[Harma]] (with the exception of [[Åstor Island]]), and extending into southeastern [[Serikorda]], the Northeast has its roots in the early Coscivian settlements that took root around Fariva Bay. This region was settled heavily by [[Taństem Coscivians]], who remain the majority in Harma and rural parts of Fariva and southeast Serikorda, and continue to dominate the region politically and culturally.
 
Taństan Coscivian is the traditional and most widely-spoken native language in Andera, although Kiravic has become the main language of interethnic communication in the [[Bérasar]] metropolitan area.
 
Cuisine: Potato, dairy/cream/related products, lots of boilage, seafood
Alcohol: Elderberry ale..., cider, whiskey, gin
 
===Mid-Oceanic Kirav===
The Mid-Oceanic cultural region extends from southwest [[Serikorda]] and Middle Kaviska through Róvidrea and Lower Kaviska, [[Niyaska]], [[Etivéra]], and [[Váuadra]], down to the northern fringes of [[Hanoram]] in the south. It is bounded by the Eastern Highlands to the west and the sea to the East; corresponding to the core territory controlled by the [[United Provinces]] during the Viceregal Period. It encompasses the Valēka Metropolitan Area (Kiravia's largest), as well as the Eriadun Metropolitan Area and numerous smaller cities. The Mid-Oceanic is the cradle of the [[Kiravic Coscivian|Kiravic Coscivian language]], and dialects of Kiravic are the main language throughout this region, though there are substantial communities speaking other Coscivian vernacular languages and Celtic languages.
 
Investor-farmer class
 
Alcohol: Porters and stouts
 
===Mid-Continental Kirav===
The Mid-Continental region stretches across most of northern inland Kirav, bordering the Eastern Highlands to its east and the Northern Fringe to its north, and blending into the Northwestern region and vaguely-defined Central Kirav at its western and southern edges.
 
Mid-Continental Kirav was settled by pioneers hailing primarily from the Mid-Oceanic region during the Ētrebiktor, as well as Great Crossing era Coscivian immigrants of various ethnicities.
 
Midlands
 
Various dialects of Kiravic Coscivian are the predominant language throughout Mid-Continental Kirav.
 
Alcohol: Red ales, pale ales, whole bunch of others
 
===Farravonia===
Farravonia encompasses the three states that were once departments of Farravonian League: [[Cascada]], [[Ilfenóra]], and [[Metrea]], [[Argévia]] and the southern half of [[Venèra]].
 
The most spoken languages in Greater Farravonia are the West Coast Marine Coscivian dialect continuüm, which is spoken by communities near the ocean and in the Coastal Ranges, and Serradan Coscivian, which is spoken in the areas between the Coast Ranges and the Western Highlands. Kiravic Coscivian is the main language of daily life in most large urban areas, though use of the two regional languages remains robust in many smaller cities and large towns.
 
===Zone F - West-by-Northwest===
WNW Great Kirav is bounded roughly by the Swadesh River in the east - where it blends into Mid-Continental Kirav, the Miradèt Desert in the South, and the Western Highlands in the west. It is divisible into three subregions: The Far Northwest, Insular Northwest, and the Premontane West.
 
Significant cities in WNW Kirav include Kilgariv, Peśara, Tetraliþa, and Togistàra.
 
===South Kirav===
[[File:SouthKirav.png|thumb|Federal [[Kiravian federalism#Themes|theme]] of South Kirav in green, broader "cultural South" in lime]]
South Kirav is one of the most distinctive cultural and geographic regions of Great Kirav, with a very strong regional identity and well-defined culture. Due to its more level terrain and warmer climate (thermotemperate to lower mesotemperate), South Kirav has long been the country's breadbasket. South Kiravian society is agrarian and traditional, and has been described as "pre-modern" or even "quasi-feudal" in many respects.
 
Due to a number of factors, most prominently flatter topography and the deterring and levelling effects of its systems of land tenure and labour relations, there has historically been relatively little migration into South Kirav. Ethno-linguistically the South is much more homogeneous than other regions of Great Kirav, and its resident ethno-linguistic groups tend to have quite ancient roots in the areas they currently inhabit and strong connexions to their land. Nonetheless, there are lower-order ''tuva'' and subgroups within the areal South Kiravian peoples, often associated with particular regions, occupational roles in the traditional agrarian economy, distant ethnic origins, or religious/sectarian affiliations.
[[File:2011-08-17 13-27-13 Serbia Šašinci.jpg|thumb|Agricultural landscape of the Issyrian floodplain]]
South Kiravian cuisine is often regarded as superior to cooking styles from other parts of the island continent, even by many residents of said other regions, due to its greater diversity of ingredients and richer flavours. Coscivian-Caphirian cuisine is derived primarily from South Kiravian cuisine.
 
In addition to fieldball (or "Kiravian-rules football"), which is shared with he rest of the Federacy and is wildly popular in the South (especially at the collegiate, minor-league, and semi-pro levels, as most major professional teams are located in Northern, Eastern, and Western cities), South Kiravians have taken up Urcean sports such as {{wp|baseball}} and {{wp|basketball}}. However, South Kirav is most notable for its interest in a variety of "country sports", many of which have pre-modern, feudal/aristocratic, agricultural, and rural/folk associations. These include archery and other hunting-related sports, horsemanship, {{wp|jousting}} and other combat sports, {{wp|cheese roll|cheese-rolling}}, and {{wp|cornhole}}. The South has a much stronger bench in such sports than other parts of the Federacy, and athletes representing Kiravia in international competitions for these sports are usually either Southerners or Southern-trained.
 
Many Hekuvian Coscivians, especially those descended from earlier waves of Coscivian migration to [[Caphiria]], trace their ancestral roots to South Kirav. In recognition of this, Hekuvian Coscivians often refer to themselves as ''Déśkéx Kiravikuya'' ("Southern-er Kiravians"), the comparative form of ''Déśkix Kiravikuya'' ("Southern Kiravians"). Hekuvian Coscivian writers have often noted similarities between the highly stratified, class-conscious, and aristocratic characteristics of South Kiravian society and that of Caphiravian society.
 
===Baylands===
[[File:Baylands.gif|thumb|The Baylands]]
The '''Baylands''' (''Montahomara'') or '''Míhanska Bay region''' comprises the non-highland areas of [[Hanoram]] and [[Ventarya]], as well as northern and eastern [[Trinatria]].  Historically, the [[District of Coīnvra]] also had a Míhanska Bay culture, but mass migration to the Federal capital has left Kartika with a unique blend of cultural influences, among which Mid-Oceanic, Mid-Continental, and Farravonian mores overshadow those of the Mínhanska Bay.
 
[[Kalvertan Coscivian]] is the regional ''lingua franca'' of the Baylands. Originating as the vernacular of the Kalvertans, the traditional inhabitants of the Bay Islands, Kalvertan was spread throughout the region as a trade language during the XXth century [[Coscivian calendar|CC]] due to the extensive mercantile and nautical activities of its original people, eventually displacing the Vexin Coscivian of the manorial elite castes as the region's most widely spoken tongue.
 
The brewing and distilling culture of the Bay States has largely converged with that of the Mid-Oceanic and Mid-Continental regions, though Míhanska Bay remains known for its {{wp|session ales}} and {{wp|Saison|saisons}} derived from the styles of traditional {{wp|farmhouse ales}} brewed in the region's rural households for many centuries.
 
The largest cities in the Baylands are [[Primóra]], [[Kartika]], [[Cities of Kiravia#Telmar|Telmar]], and [[Cities of Kiravia#Deneva|Deneva]].
 
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===Eastern Highlands===
[[File:Dobri dol.jpg|thumb|idj]]
[[File:Bad kleinkirchheim.jpg|thumb|idk]]
The Eastern Highlands (Kiravic: ''Érþaixtihoma'') cultural region encompasses the Aterandic Mountains, their foothills, and some adjacent lowland areas.
 
Settled by groups of Coscivians (especially Ĥeiran Coscivians), Gaels, and Prythons who intermarried extensively with the local aboriginal population...
<!--** The tiny highland sects are partially rooted in different local Urom deities that were subsequently Christianised ** -->
 
During the later colonial period and the viceregal period, the Eastern Highlands - even those parts formally within the borders of established Cosco-Kiravian states or Gaelic kingdoms - remained largely outside the control of any lowland government. Instead, political order was provided by a complex and often overlapping assortment of chiefdoms, clan- and tribe-based polities, self-governing direct-democratic villages, and small mountaineer republics. This long history of self-reliance and independence from central authorities has engendered a lasting libertarian political streak in the region's culture.
 
The Eastern Highlands also have a strong penchant for religious independence. Excepting the [[Insular Apostolic Church]], which is the largest individual denomination in most East Highland areas, the major Christian churches dominant in other parts of Great Kirav (e.g. Roman Catholic, Coscivian Orthodox) are markedly less influential in the Highlands. Instead, the Highlands are home to a number of more congregational and connexional denominations, such as the Discipular Church and the Mountain Quakers in [[Íarthakelva]] state, informal {{wp|house church movement|house churches}} and "clearing churches" without any organisational structure, and a large number of heterodox sects, many of which are considered outright heretical by mainstream churches. Some of the more notable heterodox denominations include the [[Kiravian Sectarians|Catholic-Apostolic Church of the Father, Christ, and Melchizadek]] (''Kaþolix-Áspaldix Æglasta Þíarnastursk us Xrístul us Melxisadesk'') and the [[Kiravian Sectarians|Triclavian Orthodox Church of Ateranda]]. It is believed that some of the more exotic quasi-Christian sects found in the highlands arose from the syncretism of Christianity with Urom belief systems and the Christianisation of Urom deities.
 
===Western Highlands===
[[File:Blejsko jezero.jpg|thumb|Verdoran Valley, Slamjamistan]]
[[File:Balfour hut aug 2005.jpg|thumb|Kōslōn, [[Verastia Territory|Verastia]]. Population: 4]]
 
Alcohol: Lagers
 
===South-Central Kirav===
Also known as 'Deep Inland Kirav', South-Central Kirav is a vaguely defined region that stretches from the southwestern foothills of the Aterandic Mountains to the Miradèt Desert along its east-west axis, extending from southern Kannur and Avidrona in the north to the northernmost peripheries of Andrēdan, Issyria, Valtéra, and Korlēdan in the south. It blends into and overlaps heavily with South Kirav, Mid-Continental Kirav, and the Premontane West, so much that Kiravians do not consider South-Central Kirav a true cultural region in its own right, and it is often omitted from books and papers on this topic. Yet residents of the region insist that
 
South-Central Kirav has a large Urom population, as well as many Coscivians with substantial Urom ancestry. Some of the largest Urom tribes, including the X, Y, and Z, are native to the area, and Urom influence on the culture of the region at large is conspicuous.
 
South-Central Kirav is a stronghold of adherence to the [[Kiravian Sectarians#Examples|Discipular Church]], a medium-seized {{wp|apostolic succession|apostolic}} Christian denomination with a Reconstructionist orientation and {{wp|connexionalist}} polity that seeks to emulate what it believes are the authentic ethos and practices of the early Church. Although the movement originated in Ateranda, it spread most successfully in South-Central Kirav, and proponents of South-Central as a distinct region often point to the distribution patterns of Discipular congregations in their efforts to define the region's extent. The Discipular Church is not, however, the majority or even plurality faith in the region. Coscivian Orthodoxy is the main Christian denomination, and in addition to the Discipular Church a number of other [[Kiravian Sectarians|Sectarian churches]] are also present. There are markedly fewer Roman Catholics and Insular Apostolics in South-Central than in other regions of the country. Followers of Coscivian religions, particularly Sarostivism, are a significant minority, and there is considerable syncretism between Coscivian Orthodoxy, Coscivian religions, and diverse folk traditions in the area.
 
Landlocked, thinly populated, and endowed with comparatively few natural resources, South-Central Kirav is economically underdeveloped. Lack of transport and communications infrastructure has been a major impediment to development. According to a Ykrān State University study, only 42% of rural households in four South-Central states and territories had access to the internet in 21204, with nearly all using {{wp|dialup}} connexions. The region's economy is primarily agricultural.
 
===Border Cities===
*'''Bérasar''' - Far Northeast and Mid-Oceanic
*'''Escarda''' - Mid-Continental and North Coast
*'''Primóra<sup>?</sup>''' - Mid-Oceanic and Míhanska Bay
*'''[City in Arkvera]''' - Mid-Continental and Eastern Highlands.
*'''Sarukon'''' - South Kirav and Western Highlands
 
[[Category:KRV]]
[[Category:Kiravian Federacy]]


[[Category: Urcea]]
[[Category: Culture of Urcea]]
[[Category:IXWB]]
[[Category:IXWB]]
[[Category: 2022 Award winning pages]]

Revision as of 11:25, 13 July 2023

Housing in Urcea is a vital sector in the Urcean economy, with housing development and adjacent activity comprising approximately a tenth of all economic activity as of 2020. Urceans have strong social views on housing and housing strongly relates to Urcea's view of itself and its relationship with both private property and Catholic social teaching. Since the mid-20th century, disurbanist approaches have been popular in Urcea. Much of Urcea's housing stock was constructed in the form of low density suburban single family homes following the Second Great War, although since the 1980s the priority has shifted to even lower-density exurban development due to both environmental and social concerns.

In Urcea, housing policy issues are typically regulated by the Agency for Housing Development outside of cities and the Agency for Urban Development within cities. The Agency for Urban Development also works closely with the Agency for Royal Public Housing and Royal Dormitory Aid to identify and develop new public housing opportunities.

History and overview

Enclosure

Enclosure, the process by which land held in common is transferred to private ownership (especially within the context of the Feudal system) took place from approximately the end of the Saint's War in 1401 to the beginning of the Caroline Wars in 1740, during which time the vast majority of land held in common was enclosed for ownership. While much of the land was enclosed on behalf of local magnates, a great portion of it - especially following the weakening of the nobility during the Great Confessional War - was enclosed into relatively small parcels on behalf of the urban privilegiata. Unlike many other countries, however, anti-enclosure sentiments gained many successes in the period of the 17th century and onward. Balancing the various social classes became an increasing concern to the Apostolic King and His Governments in the wake of the social upheavel of the Great Confessional War and subsequent Gassavelian uprising. Accordingly, considerable amounts of common land began to be preserved beginning in 1620 onward, though these sentiments slowed rather than halted the process of enclosure. By 1740, further enclosure was prohibited by law, but conflicting and inconsistent land title deeds for enclosed lands existed, inaugurating more than two hundred years of legal disputes until land surveyance and commune reform efforts succeeded in in the 1950s.

Attitudes

Suburban rise and fall

Passage of the Family Living Act

Public housing

Public housing in Urcea is generally overseen by the Agency for Royal Public Housing and Royal Dormitory Aid or by provincial and local governments. Since the 1960s, the Agency has had specific policies for public housing, preferring to maintain single or multi-family rent controlled units within the same neighborhood within cities rather than tower blocks. The general prohibition on tower blocks came about largely as both an ideological one as well as problems encountered in constructing them in the Urceopolis borough of Campori following the Second Great War. The Agency is responsible for the general property maintenance of these facilities in conjunction with the occupants in the case of single family houses. Several "legacy" tower blocks public housing projects exist as well, especially in and around Urceopolis.

Private housing

Most Urceans live in a single family home or low-unit multi-family home according to surveys conducted over the course of the 2010s. Urcean society places a high value on home ownership, and private housing enjoys pride of place among types of housing in Urcea. As part of these efforts, the Agency for Royal Public Housing and Royal Dormitory Aid provides subsidies to lower income families as part of the Royal Dormitory Aid program in order to encourage ownership.

Urban

Single family

Multi family and apartments

Suburban

Suburban development was the primary form of housing development during the 20th century in Urcea and comprises a large plurality of the nation's housing stock. From the end of the Second Great War to the end of the century, government policy, economic factors, and social attitudes drove the creation of Urcea's suburbs. By the end of the century, suburban sprawl comprised most of the Valley, with relatively close together single family homes extending out from Urceopolis especially. Suburban development in other areas of the country also occurred but to a less sprawling extent given the population and relative population density of the Archduchy of Urceopolis and its surrounding provinces. Many social commentators by the 1980s had begun to grow concerned regarding suburban sprawl due to environmental concerns (including both waste and pollution) as well as social concerns, as many perceived a kind of isolation and alienation from the extended family and estate kinship groups on which Urcean society was traditionally organized. Suburban development began to wane during this time in favor of exurban development, which developed both due to public policy pressures and market forces interested in different models; this shift had the practical effect of causing massive disruption in Urcea's construction industry. The Family Living Act of 2003 essentially prohibited the construction of new, "core suburbs" and subsequent legislation has created large preservation areas around Urcea and particularly within the Valley. The preservation areas, which not only preserve existing natural areas but also has properties and homes default to the government for demolition in the event of no property heir or in the event of foreclosure, has had the unintended effect of decreasing the Kingdom's housing stock according to many policy analysts and non-governmental organizations.

Exurban

Exurban development has comprised the large part of Urcean real estate development since the mid-1980s reflecting increased distances from urban centers as well as changing social views.

In 2003, the Concilium Daoni led by Michael Witte enacted the Family Living Act (FLA), which establishes several rules governing the construction of multiple structures on a property by real estate developers intending to sell the land, known as subdivisions. Among other provisions, the FLA requires that contractors must first offer a condensed area within a development (intended to describe cul de sacs and other insular portions) to bidding by extended family groups before individually selling each house. In effect, this law has had the effect of making many portions of neighborhoods or even entire housing developments being comprised of related individuals. Since a considerable portion of Urcea's single-family housing stock has been constructed since 2003, the policy has had a large impact on Urcean housing and social relations, with many policy analysts calling the project a "major success" in restoring the proximity of extended families. Critics have said that the FLA has had the effect of artificially raising the price of homes and home ownership while suppressing housing stock and discouraging development.

Urban town and country

Marchts, a small town in Hardinán, exemplifies urban town and country design mostly utilizing older structures instead of new builds.

The primary design philosophy of exurban development in Urcea revolves around the notion of creating "urban town and country" (UTC), a design which has grown in frequency and popularity since the end of the 20th century. Though they existed prior to 2003, the Family Living Act of 2003 introduced significant economic incentives for the design and construction of this style of development. Urban town and country design creates areas of moderate density housing, typically one to two blocks of 5-over-1s (or earlier mixed use structures) surrounding a village green, town square, or roundabout park, surrounded by consistent low density housing with secluded cul de sacs and streets with large plots for homes separated by greenspaces and trees. This design is intended to allow individuals who can not own a home - either due to being short term transients to an area, lack of income, or some other reason - to live in rental units in and around the "central square" while simultaneously providing retail spaces - usually small businesses - in the central area. The "downtown area" is usually made up of several small retail outlets with restaurants in freestanding areas with parking, and this area is usually serviced by a rail-fed warehouse located on the periphery of town. Besides residential areas, churches schools, and libraries, and one to two large parking structures (depending on the size of the area) are intended to be constructed directly adjacent to the central square area for easy access to services by local residents. Since 2018 and 2019, most new UTCs are required to provide electric charging stations both in homes and in the public spaces, and many companies exist to transition existing UTC areas to electric compatibility on a large scale.

Most UTCs have only one or two major roads leading to the town square area, with small limited access urban neighborhood roads radiating outwards. The larger roads are typically multiple lanes in order to allow for commercial traffic to efficiently enter and exit the community. The major roads in UTCs typically lead to other UTCs or to highway access, while most of them also have a degree of access to park and rides and mass transit options. These transit options were enhanced with direct government subsidies to local public transit corporations with the Connectivity Act of 2012.

Proprietor communes

Throughout Urcea, small parts of land which escaped enclosure exist. Efforts were made during the 19th and 20th century to create a stable legal framework for these entities to survive, and accordingly the distinction of a "proprietor commune" or PC exists within law. The creation of PCs was the result of massive land surveyance efforts conducted in the immediate wake of the Second Great War in the 1940s and 50s, as individuals living on ancestral communal land objected to encroaching real estate developers; the Government of Urcea issued a large number of charters for these lands in 1954. PCs are governed by the Alternative Housing Law. PCs are lands in which the title is held by a corporation consisting of all of the residents within it, and accordingly all lands under a corporate charter are owned in common. PCs can only be dissolved with a supermajority of members voting in favor. Most charters individually lay out the terms on which individuals and families can build structures within the commune, but most provide for an enforceable prohibition on trespassing, ensuring a kind of private property for homeowners. Charters also give the communes wide latitude to establish standards for structures within the PC while not totally exempting them from local and provincial zoning laws. In effect, PCs function in a similar manner to home owners associations and collect fees. Banks are prohibited by law from discriminating against PCs and mortgages for individual homes are often assumed by the entire commune, who then levy the costs on the individual home resident.