New Cascade is the capital city of Jaladri. Located on the island of Reitoru. Home of First Landing, Reitoru Skyport, The Jaladri Science Group, and more. Being the oldest city, it has the most lived-in feeling, but most would call this a positive attribute.

With a population of around 723,000 people, it's not a massive city like you may find on Earth, but it is the most populous. Port Worden takes the crown for feeling the most like a gritty, expensive Earth City, while New Cascade has a reputation for being intricate, clean, and full of flora and fauna. One of the early aspects of city building on-world was retaining a close link with nature. Most large structures are green buildings, incorporating native plants, trees, habitats, and micro climates.

Like all cities on Jaladri, New Cascade is broken into districts. To the east, along the coast, is The Research District, home to the Jaladri Science Group. Most notably The Department of Marine Sciences, who manage The Lake Green Project, Jaladri's national treasure. Northcoast District is in its obvious location, mostly residential and known as a bedroom community. It's not without its intrigue, though. The main arts district of the planet resides here, as well as most of the Green Structures that supply non-invasive fresh fruit, vegetables and medicine for New Cascade. Tantalus District is in the West, heading into the rain forested mountains. At the base of the mountains is most of Jaladri's industrial printing services including food, building material, and electronics. These were all built over a natural canyon filled with a hyper dense lava rock substrate that naturally filters already processed, non-toxic print runoff. The entire area is monitored multiple times a day to keep pollution in check.

In the south there is The Ceramic District. A historical name, as this is where parts for ship engines and smaller engines were made out of ceramic in the early years after first landing. This area houses the majority of larger buildings and dense city center, "downtown" aesthetics.

Sprawl is something that is avoided on Jaladri, so if you were to refer to suburbs, you would probably be talking about The Northcoast District. The philosophy of building up, and not out, is a tenant of city design. There are also the highest number of City Ships in New Cascade. In the late 1940s, the first wave of pioneers landed in massive craft the size of small towns, completely self-sustaining as to avoid contamination with the planet. These were then repurposed into megabuildings, almost a city within a city. After over 50 years, each one of them looks nothing like the next nearest example, and are probably the only places on the planet where you can feel like you are in a pocket neighborhood on Earth.

While many people utilize the excellent public transportations systems on Jaladri, there are still plenty of reasons to drive. This shared infrastructure is vast, but hidden in many areas. Floating bridges can be found all over Reitoru and Hoshimi. Sometimes stretching to smaller islands as well. Tunnels can be found in any number of places, sometimes as short as a meter, and sometimes as long as tens of kilometers. A type of low-environmental impact drilling was used to minimize the strain on any ecosystems, fault lines, or geological features.

Close to the ocean, all transit tracks are elevated.

Almost everything is electric.

Weather on Jaladri can be very extreme when it shows its harsher side. Reitoru and its surrounding islands enjoy a mix of sub-tropical, temperate, and oceanic weather. Due to the majority of the planet being open ocean, weather moves fast. New Cascade is afforded the occasional respite from more substantial systems coming in from the west due to the mountains, but instead of negating the rain entirely, the system is only weakened. Northern islands shift into a moderate oceanic climate. With the furthest retaining ice and snow covering their volcanic rainforest surfaces.

The southern end of the Northern Rim Archipelago, where Hoshimi lies, is also a moderate oceanic zone. Slightly warmer than the north, but not without its occasional frost.

The majority of Jaladri's landmass is located here. The area is part of the massive crater created billions of years ago when Jaladri was torn into pieces by a massive meteor impact. Most of the crater is now under the ocean; the northwestern part developed a massive volcanic structure over time, with a web of fault lines beneath it. All land that is above the water elsewhere on Jaladri is formed by volcanic activity.

Jaladri has a wide variety of flora and fauna that glow or show light. From bioluminescence to producing chemicals that react together like Earth's Fireflies. Most of the western shores of Reitoru and Ketenio glow for months at a time twice a year when algae collects in the coastal waters.

These are the main food source of many different animals, some who glow themselves. There are freshwater versions as well, and rarely, entire creeks, rivers, streams, and brooks can be seen glowing at night.

With weather having a large effect on daily life, it's also something everybody talks about. A Daily Forecast is broadcast in AV and Audio Only every morning. The theme song has been the same for the last 15 years. It's one of those cozy things you either get used to or grow up with. People tune in while driving, walking, working, and waking up.

Lasting a little over a minute, the Daily Forecast covers daily weather, possible hazards, and the weekly weather theory. Predicting weather more than a couple of days in advance is even more unreliable than on Earth.

3D printing has been standard for Earth Humans since the mid 1950s. What began as petroleum plastic "sculpting" has evolved to everything from food, to basic electronic circuits and logic systems. Replication is now the technical form, but especially on Jaladri, and in space, the old slang "print" is still used. ("print me a cup of coffee, will ya?"). Think of basic printed food like you would any vending machine options. Even with higher quality ingredients and proper maintenance intervals, it will still have a "pretend food" aspect to it. There are higher end devices that can replicate fine dining food and complex processors and rarer elements, but they are incredibly expensive and require a lot of maintenance.

Printing and Replication became the norm on Jaladri via necessity. There are entire groups of hobbyists that make custom rigs that can replicate hyper-complex items. People also collect vintage personal printers.

Most small food items and basic household needs can be printed at home. There are still Corner Supp Markets (like Cozymart, Mark-It Market, and more) for approved Earth Items and locally made goods.

For anything complex, large, or rare material, you visit your local Print and Replication center.

Because humans vary so much in their interests, there are those who prefer to print materials and tools and create things themselves, and then there are others who just want the fast convenience of pre-made.

Another small economy has formed on Jaladri based on people handling creation, logistics, and assembly for the very busy, wealthy, or lazy subset of the population.

All three of Jaladri's cities host a Native Flora Demonstration Garden. With a few more existing in rural areas where rarer flora can be found. Part community park, part museum, and part greenhouse. These are mixed used areas to be enjoyed (and maintained) by everybody.

Maintenance on these Gardens is a labor of love felt by many people. Spending a free day watering plants, trimming, cleaning, and landscaping is a popular way to have a peaceful, idyllic moment and in turn help those around you.

Children, visitors, and new arrivals can come here and learn about the planet they are on. You can try many different fruits and vegetables here as well. They truly are gems of the communities on Jaladri.

Monsoon Landing is the name of a community along the water in The Research District in east New Cascade. Back in the early 60s, this was the city center, pre Expansion Era. This entire area is now a dense, cozy, intricate village of apartments, houses, small community spaces, shops and parks.

There are sculptures scattered throughout the neighborhood designed to interact musically with the ample rain. Hoshimi Ruby and Crescent lanterns also adorn many buildings and walkways creating soft rose gold light invoking Earth's Andon lanterns. Walking around during a downpour is a relaxing, other-worldly experience.

Many of the larger buildings in New Cascade built after 1980 contain Tropical Interiors. A broad term describing self-sustaining garden rooms with micro climates. You may find them in atriums with natural light, or deep underground with either full spectrum illumination or tubular skylights (suntubes) providing the needed light for life.

This is another Jaladri cultural aspect that has formed its following and fanbase. Vast lists of the smallest, largest, shortest and tallest Tropical Interiors can be found on the network. A yearly Best On World Award (BOWA) is given to the favorite new/refab Tropical Interior.

There are multiple magazines and network threads devoted to Tropical Interiors, showcasing art, literature, photo shoots, how-to's and more. Tropical Interiors are an intrinsic part of life in New Cascade, as well as the rest of the world.

When you don't need to spend your money on food, essentials, necessities, or basic shelter, what is money for?

Everything else.

Having a job grants you everything you need to survive. Your credit allotment allows you to buy specialty foods, print premium items, buy approved (and sometimes contraband) Earth Goods, or to upgrade your living situation. Credits act as micro shares of Resource Allocations. Earth and it’s Moon still use currency.

Printing and Replication is used on the corporate level to maximize profits but personal use printers are still a luxury item. Because of the Jaladri Trust Conglomerate (JTC), Earth companies can establish a Firm On-World and export by funding a Cooperative Leadership Fund. The majority of this is used to maintain as much environmental protection as humanly possible while also supplying all needed replication and printing supplies of the planet.

Some of the highest awarding positions are in Dusk Crew services. Dusk Crew is a romantic Jaladri term for the Night Shift. Outside of retail, battery, and print centers, the majority of the jobs on Dusk Crew are STEM and maintenance related.

Because of Jaladri's extensive "night time", there is a robust community and economy associated with it. Reliable and frequent public transportation at night is vital to this, so most lines have evening extension hours running at a slightly reduced frequency from their counterparts during the day.

Outside of very small pockets of cities, there is no difference in safety or comfort at night. In fact, many people stay up late or wake up early to just experience the "other side" of the city.

Nostalgia is a very popular and powerful concept on Jaladri. The culture came from Earth, but over 50 years has developed into it's own microcosm of humanity.

For a long time, everybody living and working there was from Earth. Most of them left without the intention of ever returning.

Even to the most resolute of these pioneers, the melancholy was palpable. This in turn led to the development of a rich and vibrant Jaladri culture.

A culture built together. Everybody on Jaladri is connected a lot more than most. Families extend way beyond bloodlines and nationalities. Contribution is the key to the synergy of Jaladri's cities.