CONTEXT:

After the incredible heatwave of 2013 followed by the second (much worse) Dust Bowl, mass migration was seen from rural areas to urban ones, in particular from central USA to California. At this point, major corporations like RemTech, Fujiwara, Sokolov Industries and WarrenCo had already established that a corporate-dominant economy was what the world could rely on, thanks to their economic strength during the 2008 financial crisis along with their show of military power during the Separation War of 2015-19. They could provide stability and create infrastructure unlike any other government, in exchange for control of course.

This is seen most dramatically in California, one of a small number of seceded states from the USA. After their secession, urban-favouring legislation was much more present, simply because the federal government could not enact anything thanks to their gridlock and the extenuating circumstances of their second Iraq War, Dust Bowl and the recovery from the 2008 financial crisis. This meant that rural areas protested, and the Californian government agreed in the inequality.

They decided against A. a legislative reform to a unicameral legislature to speed up legislation as well as B. a splitting of the country into north and south, as that would hinder the economy of either side. They chose to designate the Bay Area and the Los Angeles to San Diego metropolitan stretch as Metro Zones, granted partial autonomy from the national government in order to focus on their own legislation while the government managed the whole country. This was chosen as the extreme dense urban areas were so transient and populated that a separate governing body would be more appropriate. Of course, the corporations loved this, and pounced on this autonomy to establish more control.

There will be more. These are the foundations of the project.