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Marino, officially the Marino & Songkhram Metro-State is an independent city state located in the far south, bordering the Sea of Marino. It comprises of the City of Marino, the City of Songkhram and the suburbs surrounding the two.
History of Marino
Founding
Marino was founded as a series of small fishing villages, with the most notable being established as Marinus, etymologically linked to the ocean. The native Marinian and Songkhram people of the area built up numerous settlements surrounding Marinus, which slowly became absorbed in to the area of the village.
Growth into a City
Marino's most significant period of growth was during the gold rush, where hundreds of thousands flocked to the city looking for gold in the hills near Songkhram. Remnants of this industrial past can be found in that area of the city, particurly in terms of rail infrastructure, now for the most part left unused. Marinus was renamed Marino in this age also. Songkhram and Marino were combined in to one town to be known as Marino & Songkhram. Further growth was inhibited by a Victorian era tourist boom brought by the arrival of the railway to the town. The towns population soon surpassed 600,000. The settlement of Marino & Songkhram soon became known as the Cities of Marino & Songkhram.
Decline
In the final years of the Marinian gold rush, the problem of what would happen once the gold ran out arised. 74% of the working population of Marino & Songkhram were employed in the gold industry, and significant digs proved less and less successful on the search for gold. Thus, local politicians and council members banded together to discuss what would come of the city upon the inevitable event of gold running out. However, this was too little, too late, as two nights after the meeting, significant gold-mining company Marigold claimed it would cease mining in Marino. This created a domino effect, with numerous other companies withdrawing from Marino. This lead to the Gold Crisis, wherein the population of the Cities of Marino & Songkhram declined massively, abandoning much of the city. The population hit an all time low of 212,034 at the peak of the crisis. Numerous families were made homeless and 73% of the remaining population lived below the poverty line.
Rebound
Given the terrible situation the city was in, it was very well known that it would take a lot to get out of this situation. However at the 14th Marino & Songkhram Mayoral Elections, the newly founded Liberal Conservatives came in to power, taking away from the previously dominant Conservative Cultural Party. The Liberal Conservatives were and still are widely considered the saviours of Marino & Songkhram, making numerous efforts to rebrand the city as a whole. They began with the renaming of Marino & Songkhram to the Marino Metropolitan Area, and founded numerous boroughs within the City. These included the City Borough of Songkhram, the City Borough of Marino, the Borough of Upita Park and more.
There was a rigorous tourist campaign to get more visitors coming in to the City, and there was a deal struck with GCR to bring direct services from Marton and Spawn City to the City. The state sponsored technology companies and businesses they viewed as having potential to bring profit to the city. This included construction firm Marimi, soft drink company Shuriken and mall development company EtEl. These investments in turn brought more start-ups to the region, searching for investment. Homeless and poverty-stricken individuals fell by 53% during the first two terms of the LibCons. Employment increased tenfold, largely in the hospitality industry, but also in technology.
The government took the decision to join the Novanite Federation in a bid to provide further investment in the city, thus leading to the rename of the Marino Metropolitan Area, to the Province of Marino.
Now
Marino left the Novanite Federation in December 3019.
Nowadays, the country is booming in population and economic growth. The significant pioneer for this is hospitality industry and tourism which still provides for 33.8% of the provinces total income. Investments in properties abroad also bring in profits, with notable examples being the numerous EtEl malls and housing developments in other regions. Technology and retail are rising in terms of economic importance for the city, with start-up tech companies becoming increasingly profitable abroad.
Transport
Marino is linked very loosely with surrounding nations. There is no connecting roads between Marino and the rest of Simcity as of December 3019. Plans have been frequently discussed, but have not yet been put in to action. On the contrary, Marino connects to the GCR rail network with a heavy-rail underground connection at the two Marino termini stations. Furthermore, Marino has one of the most expansive light rail tram systems in all of Simcity. This connects to the far north of the city and as far as New Quantia, as well as much of the rest of the city. Buses also operate, mainly serving the suburbs.