De Hogan, Gravenhurst

City of De Hogan (Traditional Chinese: 皓根市; Korean: 화이트 루트; Dutch: Gemeente van de Hogan) (2010 population 116,827), or simply as The Hogan, is the second largest city in Gravenhurst. Formerly the capital of the Dutch colony s'Gravenhage, the Dutch had returned the city and the colony to the Second Kingdom in 1822, at which point, the territory formed a part of Gravenhurst Region. The same year, it was incorporated as a city. The city was renamed to "De Hogan" from its former name "Vandehogan" in January 2016.

The city is the heart of the De Hogan Metropolitan Area, located about 180 km (112 mi) northwest of the Gravenhurst Region's capital Archemedes. Including its suburb, the area is home to about 120,000 people, more than 13% of the region's population. The residents of the city can be referred to as Vandehoganers. Contrasting to the city of Archemedes, the city is also the economic capital of the region, though not in the commercial sector. The city is known for the industrial (especially manufacturing and high-tech) activity in the area.

De Hogan has been the hub of the Dutch colony of s'Gravenhage in the 17th century. This had left a significant Dutch influence to the city, and a large population who remains to speak the language in the city. In addition, Vandehogan has one of the highest percentage and concentration of Korean population in the entire Nicholasland.

Pre-Historic: Mau Shen Village (18th Century BCE - 1597)
City of Vandehogan was first settled by a group of nomadic hunters in the 12th century BCE. Some historic record shows that the city was first settled around the year 1364 BCE, though it is not verified. What was believed to be the origin of Vandehogan is Mau Shen Village, whom the chief claims to have been established since the 18th century BCE.

The civilization began to build up when the nomadic hunters begin to settle in the area, and most importantly, establish trade with the nearby Jiefang Cheng (formerly Concord City), which is less than 200 km away.

Dutch Administration: Capital of s'Gravenhage (1598 - 1822)
In 1598, the Dutch explorers (Hogan et al.) have found their way up the rivers and streams, and began setting up a trading post on the southeastern shores of Source Lake, in hopes of trading with the Chinese city (now JieFangCheng) across from the lake. In the beginning, the Dutch had paid taxes and customs to the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas government. However, with The Western Division heating up, the Dutch had stopped paying taxes in 1602, and declared the area to become a Dutch colony on July 10, 1603.

The Dutch had named the colony s'Gravenhage, which is named after the Dutch explorer Hogan who first settled in the area. Immediately, the Dutch had created a city just 14 km due southwest of Source Lake. The city is named Gemeente van der Hogan, a name which is kept until today.

Only small parts of the city that was built in the colonial era was kept in the old parts of the city, where there remains to be old European style buildings and Dutch place names.

In the 16th century, there had been various battles between the neighbouring French colony, La Pacifique Concorde, causing some damages to the structures in the colony.

In 1820, in the midst of the Anti-Foreign Devil Rebellion and the rise of the Second Kingdom, the colony was under severe bomb fire, causing large extents of damage and loss of population. The Dutch had defended their colony before losing the Battle of Mayos. The Dutch had to cede back the territory to the Second Kingdom on January 4, 1822, ending 218 years of rule.

The Second Kingdom: See Yuen (1822 - 1945)
The Second Kingdom was a period of instability, especially for residents in the former Dutch colony. Under the Second Kingdom's rule, the government performed a series of actions in attempts to remove Dutch's influence in the area.

The former city-state was renamed as See Yuen County (Traditional Chinese: 思源縣), with Vandehogan city proper renamed See Yuen City (Traditional Chinese: 思源市).

This included displacing the city's population in settlements faraway (such as in the Northwest Territories), tearing down many colonial-era buildings, renaming locales with Chinese names, and removing Dutch from the curriculum. Under this arrangement, the population of See Yuen quickly declined.

The glimpse of rebirth for the former Dutch colony came when the World Wars began. As the Kingdom is engaged in the world wars, See Yuen was chosen to be the site to manufacture many war supplies, such as muskets, guns, bullets, and high technology war products such as submarines. The nearby Source Lake is often a testing location for such war products. Even after Japanese occupation of the territory in 1931, the productions continued. Jobs were plentiful and this allowed the city's economics to bloom again.

National Transitional Council (1945 - 1993)
As the World Wars are over, the sovereignty of the kingdom is handed to the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas National Transitional Council. Under the administration of the council, See Yuen was renamed to its pseudo-Dutch name "Vandehogan". Its Dutch name Gemeente van de Hogan was also kept. Some had suspected that the misspelling was due to a typo on the typewriter.

Vandehogan continued to emerge as a manufacturing centre, moving away from producing war products. The city focused on producing day-to-day products made with plastic, and also high tech industries beginning in the late 1980s, when computer chips also play a big role in Vandehogan's manufacturing industry. With the need of a large labour force, coinciding with the baby boom, the city's population was on the rise, from barely 25,000 in 1945 to 114,600 in 1993 prior to the handover to the Third Kingdom. A large part of this growth is owing to the influx of Korean immigrants, who were suffering from the Japanese colonization and the Korean War back in their homeland. The stability of manufacturing jobs, especially with the production of war supplies, attracted them to move into the city.

Decline in Population (1993 - present)
After the handover, the city continued to grow with its enlarging manufacturing industries. The city was designated as the capitol of the Vandehogan Census Metropolitan Area beginning in 1993, under the administration of the Regional Municipality of Gravenhurst. With the creation of the capitol in 1993, the government of Gravenhurst Region also decided to amalgamate its bedroom community, the Town of Mayos into the city. In 2004, to simplify the administrative structure of the metropolitan area, the neighbouring Town of Dineen - Clark also amalgamated into the city.

The city reached its very peak in terms of population in 2005, when the city's population was at 130,000. However, due to economic recession in the manufacturing sector, the city suffered greatly with the loss of jobs. As a result, many residents left the city and moved elsewhere. The regional government attempted to fix this problem by connecting McAssure Line, and other means of transportation to the city. These strategies seemed to work minimally, but at least slowed down the rate of decline. In Summer 2009, the city reported an all-time low of 99,000. However, a rise in population is expected with the development of Parkette Grove Village, and the new Jeremiah Industrial Park.

In 2015, the city council has debated over the topic of reinstating the official Dutch name of the city "De Hogan" (or The Hogan), since the name "Vandehogan" is actually an error adapted from the former Dutch name of the city. The council has passed the motion on 7 September 2015. The City of Vandehogan will be changed to the City of The Hogan (Dutch: Gemeente van de Hogan), and the Traditional Chinese name will be changed to 皓根, effective 1 January 2016. Along with the motion, many districts will reinstate their respective Dutch names as well.

Geography
The city is about 370 squared kilometers in size, bounded north by the Gravenhurst Region - Concord County Border, east by the Sandy Point Townline, south by Guelph Line, west by Dineen - Clark Townline. Most of the population is concentrated on the north-central part of the city. To give travelers a better idea where the city is located, one can say that the city is about a 3-hour drive from the City of Archemedes via Highway 4.

Topography
The city has a general rolling hills across the city. It is part of the Vandehogan Highlands geological formation. The Vandehogan River flows through the city's suburban communities, as well as the city centre area. The river travels north-south from the Concord County - Gravenhurst Region border, through the community of Korean Town.

Climate
The city has a humid continental climate, classified as Dfb under the Köppen climate classification, with very cold winters and warm summers. Winters are often snowy and remains below freezing for much of the time from late-December to mid-March, though thaws sometimes occur. Summers are mild, with occasional instances of heat waves, where maximum temperatures can exceed 30°C (86°F).

Cityscape
The city is made with several distinct communities. This is mainly caused by the historical reasons, when the city was broken up into parts. The major communities are as follows, Dineen - Clark, Parkette Grove Village, Tersion, Vandehogan City Centre (Dutch: De Hogan Centraal), Chinatown Vandehogan, Korean Town, Karnig, Jones, Mayos, and Ardagh. Each of these communities have distinct style of architecture, and therefore, visitors can easily recognize the different communities.

Commercial Disricts
The Central Business District (CBD) of the city is centred around the intersection at Tersion Line and Vandehogan Avenue. The district consists of many office buildings, many of which are headquarters of the company.

Industrial Developments
As aforementioned in the article, Vandehogan is renowned for its manufacturing industry. The entire northeast quadrant of the city is reserved for manufacturing sector developments.

Public Spaces
Parkland is plenty in Vandehogan, especially towards the northern end of the city. The most renowned parks include Tersion Park, and Robert Nature Reserve. There is also the Vandehogan Greenbelt, stretching north to south through the city. Over 60% of the annexed former town of Dineen-Clark has now been assigned as a city park, making it one of the largest city park in the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas.

Media
The Vandehogan Post (The Post) is the leading local newspaper circulating in the city. The Post has been circulating since 1880, making it one of the oldest newspaper in the region.

Roads
Vandehogan is served by two expressways, one being Highway 2006, which is a number designation prior to the Vandehogan State merging with the Gravenhurst Region. The expressway is a five-laned expressway, connecting Lethbridge to Vandehogan in the west, and connecting with the neighbouring Pickering County and Concord County to the east. The expressway is proposed to become a 500-series highway, and to be renumbered as 503.

Vandehogan is also connected to Lisi via Highway 510 (Peace River Expressway), which travels along the Peace River Valley in the suburbia of Vandehogan.

Other than expressways making links with Vandehogan, historically, Highway 4 also act as a major artery connecting Vandehogan with Lethbridge and townships along the way, and a major thoroughfare through Downtown Vandehogan. However, thru-traffic are now using Highway 2006 as opposed to Highway 4 for a much rapid route. Highway 4 remains to be signed throughout the city, and travels through the city centre, connecting with the Township of Sandy Point to the east.

Highway 9, otherwise known as the Bobhenizer Parkway or The Vandehogan Ringway (TVR), is an at-grade highway providing a residential-to-industrial link and a city by-pass roadway for Vandehogan. Highway 9 has a short stub of roadway that has been upgraded to a full four-laned expressway near Vandehogan International Airport.

Vandehogan features a grid-like city road network, just like other cities in Gravenhurst Region.

Public Transit
The city's public transit hub is located in Vandehogan Terminal, the second busiest public transit terminal in the entire region. The terminal houses rapid transit routes that connects to major parts of the city, local routes that connects to each community, and intercity routes to other major cities across the region. The terminal is used by the three public transit operators for the city.

Gravenhurst Regional Transit (GRT) operates many routes across the city, some making connections with neighbouring cities, such as Gravenhurst Regional Transit route 76 'Lethbridge - Vandehogan Link'. GRT also operate in-town transit services, including a community bus route 500 to serve the elderly population.

GO Transit also operates two train lines, the  McAssure Line  and the Haldimond Line, serving three GO Train Stations in the city, Meadows Valley (previously Dineen-Clark), Vandehogan, and Jones. There are plans of extending the McAssure Line  towards Concord City and Fuling City to the north. This involves in discussing terms with the neighbouring Concord County, and such the extension is expected to be opened in 2016 to 2017.

The  Haldimond Line  is also expanding to the serve the eastern portion of the city.

Unique from other cities in the region, the City of Vandehogan is served by a third public transit operator, Viva Bus Rapid Transit. Viva currently runs three bus rapid transit lines in the city. Viva Blue  and Viva Pink  operates for 18 hours a day at a frequency of 5 to 10 minutes, and  Viva Green  provides a rapid industrial shuttle, and operates during rush hours only at a frequency of 15 to 18 minutes. In particular, Viva Blue  and Viva Pink  operate on its own rapidway, independent from traffic to ensure rapid movement of the vehicles.

Air
Under the Airfield Regional Initiative (ARI), Vandehogan International Airport (VIA) was approved in 2006, with constructions beginning in mid-2007, finishing in early 2009, followed by the opening in September 2009. VIA currently provides flights to many international destinations, providing an effective alternative to Archemedes the Great International Airport (AGIA), which is 4 hours away from Vandehogan, and 2 hours away from Lisi.

VIA also provides domestic flights to other airfields in Gravenhurst Region.