Mendell City

Mendell City is the capital of Biesel and of Tau Ceti as a whole stretching over forty thousand square kilometers; it houses a total of 32 million people, situated on the south-western coast of the northernmost continent. Due to the low-tax system; many corporations and mega-corporations, such as Nanotrasen and Einstein Engines, have their head offices in the cities business sector. The city itself contains a mix of structures, ranging from kilometer high skyscrapers covering a dozen city blocks to almost serene suburbs, wrapped in the city’s urban sprawl.

Mendell City is the hub of trade throughout the system; trillions of credits flowing through the electronic stock markets in the business sector; whether in private transactions, or on the trade floor itself. It is said that you can buy anything in Mendell city; given enough money and time; however, this is not always true; given that wealth attracts crime, the largest part of the city budget goes towards a very well-armed, organized and trained police force; keeping crime well-below acceptable levels. The training is so in-depth, that several Paramilitary Companies recruit almost exclusively from the police force; giving them a very lucrative reputation.

Though Mendell City is relatively well-developed; it, like many other cities, has it's poorer districts, with significantly higher crime rates than the more affluent areas. Though Mendell City's well funded police force is able to restrict much of the illegal activity to these areas; they are hard-pressed to prevent sporadic outbreaks of gang-related crime in specific areas. Mendell City is divided into fifteen districts, five of which are considered to be slums:

The Equal Rights Union, a very philanthropic faction of Freedom, calls Mendell City home, usually more prone to try and talk change through rather than fight for it, there are still a large enough number who do to make it noticeable.

District 1-4

District 1

• 'Zhèngfǔ District' - The absolute middle of the city, this district holds a small residential area, as well as many city departments as well as City Hall. NanoTrasen Headquarters sits opposite of city hall on Phoenix Street, where the original touchdown on Biesel was made.

District 2

• 'Phoenix Park' - One of the more affluent areas of Mendell, Phoenix Park is a large commercial district, with various retail, department and niche stores, surrounding a massive park reserve in the north-west of the city.

District 3

• 'Xinghua Prefecture' - A small district that makes extremely efficient use of it's space, this district is almost solely populated by large apartment and condominium complexes, there are a few office buildings in between as well.

District 4

• 'Abaster Fields' - A large rural area to the west of the city, largely home to various estate properties and mansions of the affluent. Although there are a few agricultural establishments as well, the district isn't heavily populated, but due to the relative wealth of those living within, it's a fairly influential one. Attractions within District 4 include the Godswood Estate, the Jie Residence, and Iovine Manor.

District 5-9

District 5

• 'Homewood' - A large residential district on the eastern side of the city, with an artificial river built coming in from Severson's Rift. Home to the medium-upper and upper class families, most of these homes are large or fair sized, but not much compared to those in Abaster Fields.

District 6

• 'Imperial Plaza' aka 'Little Adhomai' - A shady district with various dives, bars and restaurants, as well as a high rate of crime. Domestic disturbances and break ins are frequent, as are scrumptious burgers. Although not an outright slum, it is not widely trafficked by those who reside outside of the district. In recent years the district has taken on the moniker "Little Adhomai" after the large number of Tajaran residents who dwell there. This district is the birth place of "Little Tajaran Electro swing", a Biesel based variant of the classic Tajaran Electro swing known for its stronger focus on electronic dance music and Tau Ceti Basic lyrics.

District 7

• 'Vega De Rosa' - Casinos, clubs, bars, all the high-end entertainment that the city's elite love to enjoy. On the outskirts there are some less-established franchises that the middle and lower income residents attend.

District 8

• 'Lekan District' - A mostly industrial center housing the bulk of the utilities that provide drinking water and power to the city with its multiple fusion power plants and water treatment plants. The district also houses massive recycling centers that neatly and efficiently sort through the hundreds of tons of trash generated by the city. This district was named after the City Commissioner Lekan Mugabe who commissioned the development of District 8.

District 9

• 'Flagsdale' - Overpopulated by unemployed vaurcae that have found they have little to no purpose or reason to be here, and are just trying to wait and survive long enough for the remainder of their hive to come to human space. Tensions in this district have risen as numerous riots and violence directed at the new species have boiled up in the recent months, providing a new issue for the City Council to tackle. The district is a designated slum where disease and violence are quarantined by the Mendell City Police Department.

District 10-15

District 10

• 'Republic's Landing' - A large commercial district taking advantage of the multiple civilian shuttleports in the area. It has two amusement parks, ports for orbital cruise ships, and various museums and other tourist attractions, as well as the worlds largest hotel, The Crimson Heights. It has a direct maglev link to District 5.

District 11

• 'Eleven' - The result of urban sprawl and low-income housing, this place is regarded as the worst of the worst in Mendell. Gangs and criminal enterprise rule the abandoned streets, and many of the buildings are derelict structures.

District 12

• 'Xavier District' - District 12 is one of the largest gathering of intellectual properties in human space. This single district has over twenty-five universities, fifteen colleges, thirty high schools, four training centers, and three NanoTrasen research facilities, as well as other corporate research laboratories. Xavier District is officially classed as a residential district, a measure proposed by NanoTrasen's liaison on City Council. Some suspect the lower property taxes in residential zones was perhaps the reason behind this. Formerly known as the Think Tank, this district was renamed in remembrance of Xavier Trasen.

District 13

• 'Bullard Avenue' - Although much larger than the single avenue for which it's moniker is derived, a large portion of the north of Mendell, Bullard is the economic center of Mendell City, home to big banking centers, and other stock market and finance institutions. Although the majority of the district is designated commercial properties, there are some residential complexes to be found here that are typically rented to those who work within the district.

District 14

• 'New Detroit' aka 'The Scrapheap' - An industrial district that houses a large portion of the automated factories. Due to the recent embargo by the Sol Alliance, the district has fallen on hard times as material shortages have reduced industrial output as the City attempts to stimulate growth through subsidizing domestic material production of plasteel through Nanotrasen to replace the other materials. The area has a large IPC community within it which is heavily discriminated against. It is designated as a slum.

District 15

• 'Jie District' - The location of a majority of the city's low-income housing, this slum is located on the outskirts of Mendell City. Before it was turned into subsidized housing, this area of the city was a location where displaced refugees of the First Interstellar War resided. This district was formerly known as the Suo District, named after the Sol Alliance admiral Wen Suo, however, this district was renamed after the Republic Navy admiral Zheng Jie who grew up in this district.

Mendell City attracts vast numbers of tourists, whether for the numerous festivals that the city holds, or for simple sight-seeing; however, after recent heavy riots caused by the far right Apotheosis party; after many high-ranking members were arrested for various criminal charges in 2451; tourism has dropped off in recent years; leading the City council to increase investment in attractions such as festivals, while cracking down on the more extreme political parties