Due to the growing urban population and the rise of several large cities around the country, the Senate convened last year in Penterghast to address the growing concerns of runaway urbanization. The proposals that followed, like many reforms that pass by the Senate, required severe scrutiny by committees. Several proposals, including the creation of a 'Township Program' by the 'Freedom First' coalition, the Justice Party's 'Devolution Initiative', and the 'Fortress' idea of the Citizens' Front were all defeated by a surprising bipartisan initiative by the Trentonians and Solidarists, who penned their own proposal.
The new Ministry, staffed by regional appointees, will determine which townships meets the requirements for federal funding in order to increase their infrastructure and share of land; such things which are required to become a city of the Republic. Cities in the future will require the union of townships, in order to meet the land requirements. Any land taken in wars will still be used to create new townships, and as such will be capable of uniting to form their own cities in the future. Funds given to the townships in order to expand are given strict oversight by the Ministry, and independently create growth plans for the new city and its infrastructure.
There have been concerns given to the extent of the government's control, especially from the 'Freedom First'. They cite several flaws in the plan, namely the control of a city's growth and its planning, and the fact that it may not account for an individual city's needs. Such claims have been rejected by the Trentonians and especially by the leader of the Solidarists, Peter Junken. Junken countered the claims by citing the runaway development in other nations, and claimed that with the Ministry, townships could choose not to follow the growth plans provided and still form cities, but would not receive federal funding.
President Thomar Brooks has been asked for comment on the new course of his party, but has declined. However, judging by the opinions of some in his cabinet and the creation of a new Director position for the ministry, the President will stick in line with his party's new policy.
After centuries of agrarianism and townships, it appears that industrialization and urbanization has come to the people of Falridia. And only time will tell what that means for us as a people, and our future.
