Night City

The visionary architect Richard Night saw the writing on the wall as The Collapse approached in the 1990s. He imaged a city that would draw on the best of the world's cultures and stay strong even if the rest of the world kept being dragged into various rivalries and conflicts. With this in mind, he convinced several large corporations to invest in such a haven and picked Coronado Bay at the center of the Californian coast as the location.  

History

The founding corporations were Arasaka, EBM, and Petrochem — all channeled through Night International. Asukaga & Finch later joined the founding members for the partnership.   Richard Night's ideals when constructing what was then known as Coronado City made him several enemies. Most notably, he refused to bow to the Mafia in any way. This is likely what led to his assassination. Those in charge reacted in shock and renamed the project Night City in his memory. However, it wasn't long before the mob took control of the city in every practical way between 2005 and 2009.   Eventually, the corporations who had invested in Night City had enough. In what's known as the Mob War (2009-2011), they ruthlessly hunted down and got rid of all members of organized crime they could get their hands on. Any illegal activity on behalf of the corporations were covered up, partially because the citizens had also had enough. Thus, corporate security acted as police, judge, jury, and executioners with impunity. Life under corporate rule was cleaner and healthier, but often oppressive.   The state of the city changed again with the outbreak of the Fourth Corporate War in 2021. Because of their early investment, Arasaka had made Night City their primary headquarters in North America and that made the city a focal point during the war. The culmination of which was the Night City Holocaust. In August of 2023, a small nuclear device detonated halfway down the old Arasaka Tower in Night City's center. It killed thousands and made the downtown area uninhabitable for decades. USA president Elizabeth Kress blamed Arasaka, claiming that they intentionally attacked a city on US soil. As a result, the corporation was banned and forced to leave the country.   Later accounts have exposed the possibility that the bomb was planted by a team working for Militech on President Kress's orders. It didn't help that Kress offered no help in rebuilding Night City or providing aid in place but only pointed out that the citizens were welcome to move to states more loyal to the federal government. Over the next several decades, this led to the city population becoming increasingly wary of the United States and nostalgic for Arasaka.   Night City eventually started to rebuild in the early 2030s. The large number of homeless from the bomb needed housing. The Watson Development was created to provide new opportunities. Westbrook was extended north and the most wealthy made homes to the east. Mega-buildings were constructed to house even more people as new hopefuls moved to the city.   Soil replacement and sanitation eventually paid off and Night City Center and the new Heywood became habitable in the 2050s. This continued into an economic boom as Night City became a center for international trade in the 2060s. Pacifica was reimagined as a luxury resort for wealthy tourists. An influx of immigrants from Haiti became cheap labor to build this new and improved district.   Then Rosalind Myers was elected President of The New United States of America with the clear agenda of bringing all Free States, including North California and it's free trade Night City, back under federal control. The Unification War of 2069-2070 brought MIlitech forces literally to Night City's doorstep. The half-constructed Pacifica was to be the staging area to invade.   Night City's mayor, Lucious Rhyne had a plan. He had made a deal with Arasaka and the corporation parked a battlecruiser in Del Coronado Bay. President Myers knew that triggering another conflict on par with the Fourth Corporate War would be devastating and was forced to the negotiating table. The Arvin Accords shaped peace in a way intended for everyone to save face more than anything else. There is a section in the treaty that carves out a role for Night City specifically. It's grated several freedoms and acts almost as its own city state.   Because of the deal Rhyne made, Arasaka returned to Night City in a big way. A new and grand Arasaka Tower was built. After tanking real estate prices in the northern parts of the city, the corporation bought up most of that harbor and built the Arasaka Waterfront. It is now arguably much more in power than it was even back in the corporate rule era of the 2010s. This has also, slowly, shifted public opinion away from the megacorp and, by extension, mayor Rhyne.  

Demographics

Night City's very international ambitions have attracted a wide range of ethnicities. There has always been a significant Chinese minority which is currently concentrated in the southern parts of Watson. There is an even larger Japanese community, especially because of the history with Arasaka. This group is especially prevalent in Japan Town in northern Westbrook, but there are also a significant number south of there and in the City Center. Other Asian ethnicities are present in these areas and throughout the rest of the city. As a result, a lot of culture in the city takes on an Asian style and public communication is often given in English, Chinese, and Japanese.   The inner city, especially what's now Heywood, has a large latino presence. In many cases, they come from labor used to rebuild the city in the 2030s though 2050s. After Haiti was struck by several disasters in the early 2060s and its population became refugees, many sought Night City as they dreamed of a better future. They took on the jobs needed to build Pacifica into the jewel it was intended to be. Once the Unification War ended any plans for the district and left it a war zone, the Haitians there have become disillusioned of the city's desire to care for them.   The rest of Night City has many pockets of various ethnic communities. There are Russians, South American, Africans... There are so many opportunities for prejudice that many forget to rely on simple things like skin color.  

Government

The mayor's office is in charge of all administrative functions for the city. Which also means it gets the blame for all of the things that aren't working. Most of the power over Night City is in the hands of the megacorps who operate there. The city council includes representatives for all these large corporations as well as, theoretically, democratically elected officials. The corporations don't vote on policies, but they have every opportunity to influence those who do. This is one reason none of them pay any corporate tax, for example.   There are only a few people in politics who publically speak out against this system. The most prominent one is one Jefferson Peralez who, uniquely, is self-funded.