Administrative divisions of Kojo

This article aims to give a comprehensive overview over all administrative subdivisions of The Republic of Kojo.

Types of divisions

	admin level	description	number	Territory ID (example)	political autonomy
Kojo	2	Country	1	KO	most
Iki	4	Regions	13	KO-06	none, prefect from central government, Hibus and Surs coordinate
Sur	6	Cities > 100.000 inh.	XXX	KO-06-17	local elections for mayor and city council
Hibu	6	Districts	XXX	KO-06-17	local elections for Hibu-mayor and Hibu-council
Dengshō	8	Boroughs, intermediate subdivision of some large Surs	XXX	KO-06-17-2	local elections for borough mayor and boards in very large cities
Pang (urban)	9	Neighbourhood in a Sur	XXX	KO-06-17-262	none
Pang (free)	9	Large municipality in a Hibu	XXX	KO-06-17-262	shares least amount of duties with Hibu
Pang (rural)	9	Small municipality in a Hibu	XXX	KO-06-17-262	shares some duties with Hibu
Pang (dependent)	9	Very small municipality in Hibu	XXX	KO-06-17-262	administrative work taken over by a larger Pang in the same Hibu
Jūwaéi	10	Basic unit in surveying or elections	XXX	NA	none

Iki

The 13 regions of Kojo are called Ikis. Ikis are used to subdivide the national government's services such as police, regional planning or conservatism into more effective local units. However Ikis themselves don't hold any sovereign power, there are no regional elections and a prefect is appointed by the national government, just as other nationally allocated administrative personnel and funds. At the same time, the Surs and Hibus coordinate their work on the Iki-level, for example by voluntarily delegating some of their functions to regional institutions commonly controlled by the municipalities, or by advancing their interest to the national government with a unified voice. Ikis form an important link between the national government on one side and local cities and district on the other side. On the Iki level, the two meet and need to strike a balance in areas of (narrowly defined) shared competencies.

The "city state" Rō is both an Iki and a Sur at the same time. The -iki suffix is spelled with a lower case "i".

Sur and Hibu

Sur translates to "city". Every municipality that is larger than 100,000 inhabitants for 3 consecutive years can be granted this status, and every single city in Kojo has taken this opportunity. The remaining areas of an Iki are organised in Hibus ("district"). While a Sur is just one single city, a Hibu integrates all other settlements from tiny villages to towns of up to 99,999 inhabitants. In a Sur, citizens elect a city council as well as a mayor. The Sur is responsible for all matters that municipalities are entrusted with under the Kojolese constitution. On the other hand, in rural areas citizens elect both a local council and mayor for their municipality (Pang), as well as a Hibu-council and Hibu-chief. Depending on the capability of the municipality, some duties are performed and controlled on the Hibu-level, and the others are dealt with in the local communities. Generally, Surs and Hibus (and in the latter case to some degree the constituent municipalities) are the only administrative subdivisions in Kojo with a constitutionally granted degree of sovereignty and local elections.

Both Surs and Hibus are divided into Pangs, however these subdivisions are alike only by name, and not by form or function. The -sur and the -hibu suffix are spelled with a lower case.

Dengshō

Dengshōs (roughly equivalent to "borough") are used to divide some particularly large Surs. They are therefore an optional intermediate level between Sur and Pangs. Their role varies:

In Pyingshum and Finkyáse, the Dengshōs serve as "cities inside the cities", with their own locally elected borough-boards, which in turn elect a borough-mayor, and an independent budget. They have some competencies in the area of road construction, amenities, ordinances, building permits etc. In other cities with Dengshōs, such borough-boards are purely advisory bodies nominated by the city council based on the local election results of the last municipal election, or do not exist at all. There are two further exceptions to this: in Jaka, the term Dengshō also refers to subdivisions of the Sur, however they are not completely congruent with the city's Pangs and their sole responsibility is water management, having evolved from earlier water boards. In the Wenzū regiopolis, the former muncipalities that form the Wenzū-Sulchaekai (Wenzū cities' community) effectively act like Dengshōs in Pyingshum and Finkyáse, with the Sulchaekai acting like a Sur, however titularly the constituting municipalities (some Surs, some Pangs) remain autonomous.

The -Dengshō suffix is spelled with a upper case "D".

Pang

The word Pang describes a number of different types of territories:

Urban Pangs are neighbourhoods of Surs. They don't have local elections or hold any sovereignty, but are frequently used to allocate city services, for local identification or as the lowest subdivision for political parties, other clubs etc.
Free Pangs ("towns") are municipalities inside of a Hibu which are large enough to take on every duty that does not imperatively need to be dealt with on Hibu-level. For example, public transportation by law has to be organised by the Hibus (and in fact in most regions the Hibus in turn even delegate that to a shared regional service), while the construction and maintenance of otherwise Hibu-level roads can and has to be taken on by Free Pangs. Like all other Pangs that are part of a hibu, even if it might contain more than one continuous area of settlement, it acts as one municipality with different settlements being regarded as "neighbourhoods". Its citizens elect a town council and a mayor.
Rural Pangs ("villages") are the most common type of municipality in Kojo. These usually are villages or small towns that are responsible for most municipal functions, however some (such as secondary schooling) are delegated to the Hibu-level. Like Free Pangs, they have local elections for a town council and a mayor.
Dependent Pangs are on the other side of the spectrum: they are usually so sparsely populated that they voluntarily delegate all their administrative functions to another, larger Pang nearby. They only elect a mayor who acts as a spokesperson of the Pang's interest. They are free to redeem their duties from the entrusted Pang, but then need to come up with the respective financial means to fund that independent administration.

The -Pang suffix is spelled with an upper case "P".

Jūwaéi

A "Jūwaéi" either encompasses a small city quarter or block in an urban Pang, or a neighbourhood or small settlement in a free, dependent or rural Pang. Jūwaéis are the smallest contiguous units for forming electoral districts or other official boundaries. They also pose as the smallest statistical unit in official publicised data and are the basis for land surveying.

Jūwaéis are identified by a unique number in each municipality. In small villages, this could mean a plot of land is identified as "Jūwaéi 164" with parcels being subdivided by adding additional numbers after a dash. In larger municipalities or after territorial reforms, numbering systems can be more complex. Jūwaéis are not mapped or mentioned in the listing below.

Addresses

Name (, c.o. etc.)
Street, Number (, add. info)
Municipality (Sur or free/rural/dependent Pang), 4 digit postal code
KOJO

GMNHI

The GMNHI ("Gōzo ko Myingsamolno so Naelnimyue so Harefan nijúinde Índae"; "Index of the Ministry of Labour and Social Issues about Neighbourhoods") is an index on a numeric scale from 0.0 to 10.0. It is most frequently used to compare the socio-economic status of neighbourhoods or similar territorial subdivisions in Kojo. It was developed by the Kojolese Ministry of Labour and Social Issues and is calculated by the Agency for Statistics for every Pang and most Jūwaéis in the country based on municipal data records.

It takes into account:

accumulated wealth per adult, qualified by age
level of education, qualified by age
income per working-age adult
relative property and rent prices

Because the indicator does not take into account the variance of these figures inside an area, it should be used for sufficiently small areas that are more or less homogenous. For example, a neighbourhood consisting of one very affluent and one struggling half would appear to have a mediocre score overall, which could lead to a mischaracterisation of the area. The score is intended to enable planners and policy-makers to better address local needs. It is not suitable for macro-economical analysis or comparisons of cities or regions among each other. The GMNHI is generally seen as a good indicator with regards to the "feel" of a neighbourhood and is therefore commonly used on real estate websites and alike.

Score	Verbal description	Example pictures
10.0	Pockets of urban fabric that are functionally inaccessible to anyone but the top .1%. Internationally renown, prestigious addresses which in themselves are a cliche and serve a role of social distinction. Exclusively inhabited by multi-millionairs - and to some extend their personal staff living in the cupboard under the stairs.
9.0	Bourgeois villa quarter or luxury developments. Nearly exclusively inhabited by business owners or very high-earning professionals. Addresses here render most politicians un-electable.
8.0	Very desirable residential areas dominated by high-earning academics or urban heritage neighbourhoods frequented by wealthy tourists in their 60's who want to experience the "buzz of the city".
7.0	Well-off suburbs or sought-after, well connected urban neighbourhoods. Dominated by academic, knowledge-based workers with only small pockets of average earners. People living here think they are middle-class.
6.0	Dominated by the upper and middle middle-class providing skilled labour from academic and non-academic background. Wet dream of every old-school, uptight petit-bourgeois.
5.0	Average middle-class neighbourhood with a mix of income groups such as tradesmen, teachers, mechanics, students or accountants. Could be used as a setting for a 1980's FSA sitcom.
4.0	Dominated by lower and middle middle-class working in the service economy or other qualified jobs. Affordable, but not edgy enough to attract alternative art-galleries.
3.0	Mostly inhabited by people from the lower working class in low or non-qualified jobs, who are economically self-sustained yet unstable. Inhabitants cannot wait to be gentrified by incoming hipsters.
2.0	Neighbourhoods dominated by the working poor, with a considerable share of welfare-recipients. People from 7.0 think they would be robbed here.
1.0	Areas with severe socio-economic deficits, often times inducing a vicious cycle of social immobility for its inhabitants. In mass-media, such neighbourhoods' names are used synonymously with social problems. Growing up here can be used as a proof of "I worked my way from bottom to top" later in life - by the few who actually did make it. People from 7.0 would actually be robbed here.
0.0	Derelict ghettos with inhabitants lacking self-generated income, basics skills such as reading and writing and any type of social capital. Barely applicable to regular settlements in the developed world.