Editing Apia (section)

==Administration==
[[File:WS-apia-regierg.jpg|alt=|thumb|Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi government building.]]
Apia is part of the [[Tuamasaga]] [[Districts of Samoa|political district]] and of [[Electoral Constituencies of Samoa|election district]] Vaimauga 1,2,3,4 and Faleata 1,2, and 3. There is no city administration for Apia, as it consists of some 45 individual, independent traditional and freehold villages. Apia proper is just a small village between the mouths of the [[Vaisigano River|Vaisigano]] (east) and [[Mulivai River|Mulivai]] (west) rivers, and is framed by Matautu and Vaiala traditional villages. Together with several freehold villages (no traditional village council), these 45 villages constitute "[[Downtown]] Apia".

The ''Planning and Urban Management Act 2004''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.paclii.org/ws/legis/consol_act_2019/pauma2004250/ |title=Planning and Urban Management Act 2004  |publisher=PACLII |date=21 January 2004 |access-date=26 September 2021}}</ref> was passed by parliament to better plan for the urban growth of Samoa's built-up areas, with particular reference to the future urban management of Apia. The city's historical haphazard growth from village to colonial trading post to the major financial and business centre of the country has resulted in major infrastructural problems in the city. Problems of flooding are commonplace in the wet season, given the low flood-prone valley that the city is built on. In the inner-city village of Sogi, there are major shoreline pollution and effluent issues given that the village is situated on swamplands. The disparate village administrations of the Apia Urban Area has resulted in a lack of a unified and codified legislative approach to [[sewage]] disposal. The significant increase in vehicle ownership has resulted in traffic congestion in the inner city streets and the need for major projects in road-widening and traffic management. The PUMA legislation sets up the Planning Urban Management Authority to manage better the unique planning issues facing Apia's urban growth.