Republic City



Republic City is the capital city of the United Republic of Nations as well as one of the largest and most modern cities in the world, with a population of millions. Located on the shores of Yue Bay, it is built upon what was once the territory of a Fire Nation colony and was founded by Fire Lord Zuko and Avatar Aang after the conclusion of the Hundred Year War as a haven for immigrants from all across the four nations. Being a modern urban center, Republic City boasts significant high-rise development as well as the widespread use of automobiles, motorcycles, and airships.

Republic City is home to a variety of iconic landmarks. These include a monumental statue of Avatar Aang in Yue Bay, a spacious city park, many suspension bridges, and skyscrapers. The police force utilizes metalbending for civil law enforcement. Pro-bending is the city's most popular form of sporting.

Republic City faced high levels of crime and civil unrest and during the time of Avatar Korra, several major events which occurred in the city, such as the Anti-bending Revolution led by the Equalists, the assault of the Dark Avatar, which created an enclave of Spirit Wilds within the city, and the invasion by the Earth Empire, which devastated the area of the Spirit Wilds and the surrounding cityscape, though also resulted in the creation of a spirit portal within the ruined remains of the downtown district.

History


In the aftermath of the Hundred Year War, Team Avatar, led by Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko, came to an agreement with Earth King Kuei on the establishment of the Harmony Restoration Movement, which would return the Fire Nation colonies to the jurisdiction of the Earth Kingdom. One of the procedures of this action was the relocation of Fire Nation citizens from the foreign settlements they had created over the past century. This order of removal had negative demographic consequences not considered by any of the parties to the agreement. A year into the operation of the movement, Zuko withdrew his support after being accused of being a traitor by his own people, precipitating a confrontation with his friend, Avatar Aang.

After a narrow avoidance of war, Aang and Zuko eventually resolved this impasse by not removing the Fire Nation colonies, but regulating the balance of power by creating a fifth nation separate from the original four. This new nation would be a society open to anyone from the four nations to reside in and be governed by a council with representatives from each of the four nations. They named this unique sovereignty the United Republic of Nations and established Republic City as its capital, situating it in a valley in the northwestern Earth Kingdom.

With the resources of all four nations, Republic City rapidly developed into a metropolis within a few decades. Despite being a city directly established for political considerations rather than an evolution of an original settlement, its population and sophistication increased beyond reasonable expectations, causing the number of vagabonds around Republic City to grow.

Despite its prosperity, the city often faced internal strife. Around 128 AG, the crime boss Yakone used the outlawed ability of bloodbending to terrorize the city, but was eventually tried by the United Republic Council and dealt with by Avatar Aang after his attempted escape from punishment.

170 AG


By 170 AG, Republic City began to experience demographic and political problems as a direct consequence of its nature as a large city. Organized crime became rampant and the Anti-bending Revolution commenced as a result of growing inequality between benders and nonbenders.[8] During the revolution, Amon and the Equalists threatened the city and its benders, eventually using a fleet of airships to bomb the city in an attempt to gain control. Following the abduction of all Council members and the destruction of the United Forces' First Division during the resulting battle, the Equalist forces assumed control of Republic City. However, due to Team Avatar's continued effort in the war, the Equalist forces were soon crushed and Amon's true identity as a bender was revealed. These events eradicated the morale of the revolution's combatants, resulting in a ceasefire and eventually ending the Equalist rule in Republic City.

In the aftermath of the revolution, it was determined that the former parliamentary political system was flawed due to the failure of the Council in representing the interests of the majority. The government underwent a major reform, in which the United Republic Council was dissolved and an elected president was placed at the head of the Republic City government.

However, in light of the Equalists' defeat, the bending triads resumed their usual criminal activities, forcing the Republic City Police Department to deal with them once more.

171 AG


As the Water Tribe Civil War ignited, news of it reached Republic City and tensions grew between the Northern and Southern residents of the city. The Southerners held a peace march outside their cultural center, supported by Avatar Korra, while the event was being deplored by Northerners supporting Chief Unalaq. The same night, the Agni Kai Triad bombed the cultural center, though many, including the Avatar, assumed the Northerners to be responsible.

On the night of Harmonic Convergence, the city came under attack by the Dark Avatar, a fusion of Unalaq and Vaatu. The United Forces attempted to drive him off, but their attacks proved ineffective, and they were quickly defeated by a massive display of waterbending. Unalaq proceeded to destroy the city, toppling Aang's statue before infesting the metropolis with vegetation. Republic City was spared destruction when an astral projection of Avatar Korra intervened and managed to purify and destroy the Dark Avatar.

As a result of Korra leaving the spirit portals opened, Spirit Wilds began to overtake the city, thoroughly disrupting city life by forcing many people out of their homes, tampering with the public water service, and blocking several streets. For two weeks, Korra attempted to remove the vines from the buildings and streets though discovered that, when agitated, they simply regenerated quicker and stronger than before. Eventually, she concluded that the spirits and vines should stay in their place. However, this was not to the liking of President Raiko, who, fed up with the destruction that followed in the wake of the Avatar, ordered her to leave the city. A few weeks later, Raiko welcomed the Avatar, debilitated by injury after facing the insurrection of the Red Lotus, back to the city.

171-173 AG


Feeling threatened by Kuvira's Earth Empire, President Raiko fortified the borders of the United Republic and ordered his troops to guard the rail lines into Republic City. He also agreed with Wu to start evacuating the city, entrusting the royal with coordinating the effort together with the police force. Considering it was a voluntary evacuation, it was initially going slow, with only eighteen families responding to the request. However, when Raiko made the evacuation mandatory due to Kuvira's imminent attack on the city, the citizens flocked to Central City Station and other transportation hubs to leave the metropolis. Although Mako initially created a panic by confusing the people with his evacuation instructions out of the manual, Prince Wu managed to calm everyone down and coordinate the exodus in an organized manner with Pema's help.

A week later, Kuvira and her army arrived at the city that was now largely deserted. When President Raiko ordered her to retreat, Kuvira demonstrated the power of her spirit energy cannon by destroying the United Forces' battleships, which prompted the president to surrender the city to her rule. However, before Raiko could officially turn over Republic City, Team Avatar intervened and kidnapped Baatar Jr., who was on his way to present Raiko with the Earth Empire's terms. Kuvira later blew up a Future Industries factory in an attempt to take out Korra, before marching her army into the city. Much of the city was devastated during Team Avatar and their allies' final battle against Kuvira.

When Kuvira attempted to use her discarded cannon in a last-ditch attempt to kill Korra, the weapon began absorbing energy from the surrounding spirit vines, the influx of energy causing it to spin out of control. As the energy beam threatened to kill Kuvira, Korra deflected it with her energybending. The resulting reaction created an explosion, however, that devastated the surrounding area and created a new spirit portal. When Korra and Kuvira emerged from the portal, the latter ordered her forces to stand down and surrendered to face justice for her crimes, restoring Republic City's autonomy. In the aftermath of the battle, Raiko and Tenzin agreed to expand Republic City rather than reconstruct the downtown area.

The major infrastructural damage caused by Kuvira's failed invasion, as well as having to relocate the government and recruiting additional police officers to deal with the growing unrest in the city, quickly depleted the city's funds. Keum Enterprises bought the land surrounding the spirit portal and intended to turn the area, as well as the Spirit World itself, into an amusement park, which intensified the already tumultuous balance between the humans and the spirits.

In the City
In contrast to the other major cities of the world, Republic City is a true metropolitan urban center. The city has developed the architectural and technological sophistication to construct taller buildings, resulting in significant high-rise development. Stylistically, the city generally incorporates traditional ornamentation with far more advanced structural techniques, such as the design of City Hall and the Pro-bending Arena. Despite this, there are still landmarks built entirely in a traditional style, such as Air Temple Island. Beneath the city there is an extensive tunnel network. The metropolitan area is divided into many boroughs.

Downtown


The bustling center of the city, downtown is reminiscent of all the different elemental bending traditions in both its architecture and its population. In downtown Republic City, tall, well-crafted buildings line the cobblestone streets, and a railroad track sits elevated above the roadway, offering transportation to those wishing to explore the city. This sector is representative of a cultural melting pot of shops and stands featuring goods from all three nations. It is the political, economic, and cultural center of Republic City, protected by a massive police presence operating from their headquarters and airships. Despite this security, downtown suffers from organized crime as much as the remainder of Republic City. The Triple Threat Triad, the largest bending triad of the whole city, claims the downtown area is their turf and runs protection rackets throughout it. However, the downtown area sustained severe damage during Kuvira's failed invasion in 174 AG, and Raiko and Tenzin agreed to expand Republic City rather than reconstruct the downtown area. As such, the government was forced to relocate elsewhere in the city, and the homeless residents had to take refuge in a tent camp on the outskirts of the city. The different triads also lost their turf with the destruction of downtown, causing them to scatter. Tokuga, the new leader of the Triple Threads, took advantage of the chaos and attempted to reunite all the triads under his rule, which intensified the conflict between the triad members that refused to fall in line.

Avatar Korra Park


Located in the city's central peninsula, Avatar Korra Park, formerly known as Republic City Park, is landscaped with small hills, deciduous trees shading impeccably kept grass, and fine stone arch bridges. Due to the poverty of a large number of Republic City citizens, the city park has also become a place popular with vagabonds such as Gommu, whom Korra met soon after her initial arrival in the city. Fishing in the ponds here is strictly prohibited by the park officials, who patrol it to ensure that all civilians bide by this rule.

City Hall


City Hall is a center for governance in Republic City, and secondarily a venue for public press conferences and gatherings, which are held at the large square before its front entrance. It is here that Avatar Korra made her first official appearance to the city's inhabitants. While the building has an entrance typical of traditional architecture from the Earth Kingdom or Fire Nation, certain distinctive features, including the large dome and four spires at the corners, are derived from a new style developed after the Hundred Year War. After the destruction of downtown, the government had to be relocated elsewhere in the city.

Police Headquarters


The police headquarters, often referred to simply as "Headquarters", is the base of operations for the metalbending police, and also where apprehended criminals are booked and jailed. The architecture of the police headquarters is comparable to that of standard Earth Kingdom buildings, with both the exterior and the interior being largely geometrical in design. Headquarters is overseen by Chief Lin Beifong. On the Headquarters' facade stands a statue of Toph Beifong. After the destruction of downtown, the police relocated to a less ornate building elsewhere in the city.

Port
Republic City's port hosts a significant amount of international commercial traffic, and serves as the terminal for a cargo steamship line to the Southern Water Tribe. Automobiles are brought to the port and loaded onto the ships, on which they are taken regions across the world. The area has road access as well as a railroad line. Several wooden piers extend into Yue Bay, some of which have structures constructed above them. One of these buildings exhibits Earth Kingdom architectural features, having brown sides, a green roof, and a dome. In addition to foreign steamers, the port also serves as a terminal for the Air Temple Island ferry. A suspension bridge is built above the area.

Yue Bay
Aang Memorial Island



Located in Yue Bay, Air Temple Island is the home of Tenzin and his family, some of the most important figures in Republic City. The temple was originally built by Avatar Aang himself. Comprised of several unique facilities, including a tall tower with boasting traditional architecture, several smaller dormitories with blue roofs, and an open training area, Air Temple Island is also the residence of the Air Acolytes, who serve to carry on the customs of the now-extinct Air Nomad civilization.

Pro-Bending Arena
 ====Pro-bending is the most popular sport in Republic City, and o fficial pro-bending matches are held in the city's Pro-bending Arena. As a testament to the sport's popularity, this building has a golden appearance and is lit at night, making it a prominent city landmark. The arena is spacious enough to hold the pro-bending ring on which the contestants compete, a large pool of water far below the ring, and seating for the great number of spectators that attend each game. The arena is one of Republic City's most renowned cultural marvels, and people from all over the world come to visit and watch the world's greatest benders compete.==== After the Pro-bending Tournament was completed, the Equalists attacked this arena, leaving the roof and the pro-bending ring heavily damaged. Following the attack, in which the championship team was stripped of their bending by Amon, the arena was closed indefinitely. However, within the six months following the end of the Equalists' revolution, the arena was re-opened, allowing pro-bending matches to resume.

Central City Station


Central City Station is the city's main hub of transportation, though in recent years, it has hosted less ridership due to the advent of the Satomobile. Nonetheless, it remains a busy commercial center, which is symbolized by the monumental statue of Fire Lord Zuko at its front entrance. By 174 AG, with the backing of Future Industries, the station had been renovated to include a new rail-line system allowing for travel to the neighboring Earth Kingdom.

Spirit Wilds


Following Avatar Korra's decision to keep the spirit portals open in the aftermath of the Unalaq Crisis during Harmonic Convergence in 171 AG, the Spirit Wilds partially reemerged over the city. The proliferation of spirit vines brought destruction to large parts of the city, prompting many citizens to evacuate from boroughs which became virtually uninhabitable. This vegetation became home to spirits that migrated to the physical world. At first, the citizens struggled to cope with these changes, but they eventually learned to coexist; roads were built around the vines and the spirits eventually became a tourist attraction. After Kuvira's attack on Republic City, the explosion of her spirit energy cannon resulted in a slight expansion of the spirit wilds in the downtown area and the creation of a new spirit portal.

Cabbage Corp.


Cabbage Corp is a leading automobile manufacturer. One of its most popular models is the Cabbage Car, a cheaper and more compact alternative to vehicles produced by Future Industries, the company's main rival. Cabbage Corp's current owner is Lau Gan-Lan. The company is also the airship supplier for the Earth Kingdom Air Force.

Future Industries


Future Industries is a manufacturing company founded by Hiroshi Sato and led by his daughter, Asami. Using state-of-the-art technology and the assembly line, the factory is able to produce over a hundred luxury Satomobiles on a daily basis. Although the automotive industry is where the company primarily does its business, it has the resources to also manufacture weapons and airplanes. Despite high demand, Future Industries' only known competitor is Cabbage Corp.