Reflective Analysis

 It's too soon to say goodbye :'( ...  Firstly i would like to thank everyone who commented and critiqued on my blog or at LEAST visited my page.  When i was given this assignment , there were so many options that i didn't know which one to choose but then i said to myself, " why not have it all ?" . I chose my theme of being an 'URBAN TRAVELER' because i love adventure; to travel and explore. I also love to discover and look at things in a different prospective. In my opinion looking and comparing past to present is a great tool as it gives understanding on how things developed and what factors might have caused a change . My blogs are usually short and sweet as they may say in length but not in quality !
In my recent blogs i have discussed many main topics that are related to the city. They are :

• Simplicity In The City
• The Forgotten
• Globalization
• Mobility And Transport In The City
• Homelessness In The City
• Gentrification In The City
• Buildings And Architecture
• Cultural Urban Change
• History of Port-of-Spain
• Welcome! << Jist of Port of Spain

 There are alot of blogs from my classmates that shared similar topics with completely different view points that i can relate to .Firstly  UrbanLifestyle by Morissa Rodney completely captured my attention. Her blog is astounding as her pictures are taken from different view points of the city and topics were on broad definition similar to mine.  I also admired Her Experience in the city that caught raw pictures of daily activities within the CBD. Our topics are similar as we share Mobility in the city, buildings and architecture , homelessness and many others . Some of our thoughts were the same as we pointed out that public transportation is a major source of transport in the CBD and much needs to be done to help the homeless people in our city.

Another comparator that can be linked to my blog is that of my classmate Urban Sprawls by Neisha Smith. Her blog is so creative and targets issues at a primary and secondary scale. She not only views and explores broad topics but choose to look at the forgotten things that many usually surpass.  Neisha also tackled similar topics such a mobility and also interlinked her opinions with that of researched information. We both reflected on the reality of Port of Spain compared to what people imagine and also noted that much needs to be done in the Eastern areas of Port Of Spain.

Here are the link to my classmates' blogs:
 http://urbanlifestyle1992.blogspot.com/
http://urbansprawl1.blogspot.com/2013/03/urban-sprawl-and-gentrification.html


And to end of this post here is a song that reflects my blog ...The Traveler's Song

 
Thank you all ! I Hope you enjoyed my blog and can relate to my experiences and see them in my viewpoint. It has been a fun journey traveling with you !

- Urban Traveler

Simplicity In The City

Look at these wonderful pictures! One may say that the city life is complex and enduring but these raw pictures captured says it all.

Central Market

Local Produce

Front of Central Market

The central market located in Port of Spain is where local farmers sell their produce to the public. It is a place where culture and people intertwine. It represents our life and how diverse our culture is. The people here are humble and simple .The market is very large and continues to be forgotten by many as they sought to buy from 'high class' supermarkets such a price smart and HiLo

Having A Wonderful Time

 

Making business out of local fruits. Mr. Tony has been at the side of the savannah for years selling his coconuts from an old van. Since then he gained lots of local customers and eventually gathered enough money to afford this dandy cart! 

Our Cultural project

Project managers have been  working on making the city more culturally active and displaying our culture where everyone can see. This is taken on Wrightson Road where children from local schools were chosen to paint murals pertaining to our cultural heritage and history of Trinidad and Tobago .

The Forgotten

THE FORGOTTEN 

Building made out of galvanize

Dwelling situated on hill at the side of road

House on wooden stilts

Opposite of the famous Lady Young lookout

House on stilts..Wonderful reception though lol

A humble small vege shed

Starving Dog :(

Old modelled trucks 

These pictures were taken in the Morvant and Laventille areas of East Port of Spain. While the CBD is being highly developed and many are living the 'rich ' lifestyle in apartment buildings and condos, these are some of the people who live here .. This is a look into their surroundings and living conditions. I was truly amazed to see the second picture where this house was situated right on the cliff at the side of the road! Sometimes people may not be as fortunate as others and have to live this type of  life . My heart truly goes out to the people that endure and make these sacrifices on a daily basis. I cannot imagine myself living a life in this area ...it is not bad don't get me wrong but when i was driving , the amount of litter was scattered made some areas smell bad! Most of the houses i witnessed on the hill of the Lady Young was mostly board and on stilts. 

It just goes to show that although the city may be the place to be and work which is seen as positive , there is also a negative ! the forgotten! the shove under the carpet! The government needs to organize a clean up of the environment and gentrify these places. There are alot of negativeness in these places broadcasted by newspapers and social media where the environment and lifestyle has led to forms of crime , male marginalization and youth gang membership.

Globalization

           Oh yes i dared to go there !

Globalization is a topic that has been talked about for years. It can be defined by wikipedia as the process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture. It describes the interplay across cultures of social forces such as religion, politics, and economics and can also erode and universalize the characteristics of a local group. Advances in transportation and telecommunications infrastructure, including the rise of the Internet, are major factors in globalization, generating further interdependence of economic and cultural activities.

Instead of listing non related factors of globalization upon cities i am clearly going to state what effect it has on the city of Port of Spain. Do you think globalization has a positive or negative effect on Port Of Spain?

POSITIVE:

- New forms of technological advancements

- New forms of architecture and building design

- Use of Internet/ Computer for daily services and work related activities

- New forms of culture eg. Westernized clothing, music , dance, food seen in Port of Spain.

- Foreign products imported 

- Foreign investment companies

- Westernized restaurants and fast food outlets 

-Creation of employment for locals 

- Good Competition against foreign 

- New markets 

-Foreign Trade ( the port ) 

NEGATIVE:

-Loss of jobs replaced by machines

- Loss of culture ( CULTURAL ERASURE)  replaced  by fast food outlets and traditional dress being replaced , religious ceremonies are cut short and many listen to westernized music rather than religious or cultural.

- Decreased employment 

- Resources taken up by foreign companies 

- Issue of pollution and environmental sustainability 

- Local markets being left out 

- Local street vendors are despised as people want brand name items

- Farmers markets are also neglected as many prefer to buy from prestigious overpriced supermarkets 

                                                           Street Vendors Left Out

REVIEW SITES :

 http://guardian.co.tt/columnist/2011/06/05/tt-invented-globalisation

Mobility And Transport In The City

PTSC Bus Transport Head Office

Taxi Service also Walkway

Mobile Police Patrol

Taxi Stands 

Mobility is the way people get from one place to another through walking , driving, etc. using cars , buses bicycles, ferries, airplanes etc. In the city it is the way in which people commute . Mobility shapes a city as size and form reflects the type of transport that is needed.  It also influences structure of cities such as pathways , walkways , streets , trains etc. In the urban city areas today, many are trying to use carpooling with friends , families or co workers as an effective strategy to combat carbon monoxide pollution. Urban cities have resulted in  using buses, street trains and trams or street cars as the main ways in traveling . Due to this high rise multi-storey car parks are being built.

In  Port of Spain there are taxi stands that carry you to various destinations such as Chaguanas, Arima etc.  PTSC Buses are also for the public and most importantly senior and handicapped people to move around comfortably. 

The Bus Route is another way in which people travel. It takes them through the North East areas and back such as Curepe, St Agustine , Laventille etc. 

There is also an intricate network of roads that allow cars to enter and move freely

 Pavements and walkways created to get to destinations faster during work breaks 

References:

Hall, Tim., and Heather Barrett. Urban Geography. New York. 2012

REVIEW SITES:
 http://guardian.co.tt/letters/2012-10-23/decentralisation-good-pos
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/_It_can_ease_traffic_woes_-114764374.html

Homelessness In The City

                                            ( Picture Authorized To Be Taken..I Gave Him $5  )

Homelessness to me is a major deal. While people walk or run past them or sometimes totally ignore them when asking for a donation i simply give them whatever i may carry with me e.g Food or money.  While people make fun of them, i  to put myself in their shoes and try to understand their situation. We freak out when our parents don't cook for us , or when water and electricity have been temporarily disconnected BUT LOOK AT THEM ! They have nothing !
Oscar Lewis stated that there is a culture of poverty that some just cannot find their way through life and happens at an individual , family and community level. Others are known for being 'mentally off '. Whichever way they are , some of them are being described as littering the city with their bodies, vandalizing buildings and making citizens feel uncomfortable.

Cities especially Port of Spain is known for having vagrants sleeping and residing in public areas such as  parks eg. Independence Square or cemeteries . Some have been taken to homeless shelters and returned to the streets on their own or others run from the police as they are caught with illegal drugs . Its a downhill road! Others have been video taped in the local youtube community for dancing or singing for money and the most popular beating on people.

Mayor Lee Singh together with the government have proposed a plan to get them off the streets and house them in a facility where they will be rehabilitated and set out in to the world with the right care and attention.This is the positive news we were waiting for ! 

When many think of cities, homeless people spoil the thought or view.

Review Sites :
http://guardian.co.tt/news/2011/09/12/business-usual-homeless-port-spain
http://www.tv6tnt.com/sevenpm-news/HOMELESS-IN-PORT-OF-SPAIN-184148671.html


NEW PLAN TO ADDRESS THE CITY DWELLERS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_SefH4bJ6E

Gentrification In The City

Gentrification is the process whereby old buildings are given a 'face lift' or remodeled or renovated . The first picture above was taken to show the clear evidence of gentrification talking place as the front and side of the buildings are clearly differently structured.  Presently gentrification is also taking place in the red house where it  is being renovated to suit the development of the city.

As the city progresses some buildings are left behind or some as it ages , looks odd compared to the new ones. Boards are turned into concrete, stained glass turned into clear viewing masterpieces, its a makeover!
Gentrification is a good thing .. Its fresh and modern and some also conserve the local architectural
design of the city and buildings.

NEGATIVITY: As buildings become gentrified, urban gentrification often involves population migration as poor residents of a neighborhood are displaced. Sometimes homeless people are also displaced as they seek abandoned or unoccupied buildings to call home. When these are removed, they are forced to sleep in public parks and take shelter in the worst of places ..Some are also forced out of the city in Trinidad forming Gang activity and crimes :(

View at 6:00 Min In The Video Where Gentrification Is Discussed

Reviews : http://www.islandmix.com/backchat/f6/spinoff-gentrification-could-work-east-port-spain-trinidad-250966/ 

Buildings And Architecture

                                  HIGH RISE OR LOW SETTING?

                         

Let Me Break It Down :

Buildings reflect development . In the early days, buildings were influenced by historical, political and religious factors. This gave way to an amazing architectural design that can identify a city with just looking at the buildings. Example Paris ! ( Fun fact : did you know that high rise buildings cannot be built in the city of Paris because it will spoil the skyline view )
Developing countries are striving to become more modernized and many are ditching the one storey to build high rise buildings because of inadequate land space. To attract foreign businesses and investments and also move forward, cities are adopting the urban trend of tall glass buildings.
Due to this,  culture and our architecture are being covered up and replaced .

 This can be seen in the city of Port -of-Spain however, there are few architectural homes still existing within the city and some are even up for sale by Tucker Real Estate. Some are even turned into business places, where people are choosing to keep our architectural history such as clubs eg. Coco lounge.
New Buildings are also being built with  the architectural design .. Glad to see were not lost in the wind !

Modern high rise buildings offer governmental services such as the Office of the Prime Minister and  Investment firms  etc. The modern high rise building that is considered to be the main attraction of the city is of course THE HYATT! Although it is modern and occupied a lot of land area, they chose to build a waterfront park where the public can visit and relax. Way to go!

In the light of that information although, changes are inevitable and one cannot stand in the way of technological advancement in the modern world . However, i think that cities should keep some individuality and cultural heritage when moving forward to show a semblance of where we once came from and how we have developed.

                      HIGH RISE BUILDINGS 

                                Architectural Design

REVIEW SITE :

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/letters/Shameful_maintenance_legacy_-200355001.html
 http://www.trinidadexpress.com/commentaries/Our_built_heritage-193716321.html?m=y&smobile=y

Cultural Urban Change

Cities today are rapidly developing and changing into independent cores of business activities. Many physical changes to urban landscapes have sought to emphasize or enhance their cultural values.
Some have also been gentrified or remodeled to emphasize marketable aspects of their histories either to paying customers or the urban citizenry more generally.

Culture has also seen to be a driving force in the economy of a city. There has been a rise in the entrepreneurial sector of the economy where creative industries are being created signifying knowledge, intelligence and cultural production to the economies of urban spaces.

In the city of Port Of Spain, significant urban change has taken place in the last 30 years. Here are some of the major cultural developments :

1.  Historical and cultural buildings such as the magnificent seven; Killarney, Whitehall, Archbishop's House, Roomor, Mille Fleurs, Hayes Court, and Queen's Royal College has been renovated and marketed as places many must visit in Trinidad and Tobago.

2. The Queen's Park Savannah in the last 30 years has been the number one  green space that hosts cultural events important to the city and country such as cricket tournaments , cultural festivities , religious events and concerts etc.

3. The development of NAPA ( National Academy of Performing Arts ) which is the permanent home for the development of talent in performing arts and plays a huge role in development as it teaches and qualifies artistes of tomorrow. It also hosts local plays and events in the newly emergent cultural sector such as local award shows .

4. The development of a night life in the city in areas such as Arapita Avenue where many locals and tourists feel at home and a sense of cultural identity as they party as 'one'.  There are also many ethnic 'liming' spots for example La Habana where local Hispanics visit to feel as sense of place and identity ! 

5. The city of Port Of Spain is culturally diverse where citizens of every creed and race can indeed find an equal place ! During Sunday afternoons there are many people enjoying themselves in the parks playing cricket or having a sports day or maybe just chillin !

                         PICTURES CAPTURING SOME OF THE BUILDINGS OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN AND ALSO NAPA! 

 

 

REVIEW SITES:  http://www.trinidadexpress.com/letters/Shameful_maintenance_legacy_-200355001.html

History of Port-of-Spain

                           WE TRAVEL BACK IN TIME >>>> 

                         

                                          Image courtesy flickr.com

Port of Spain in its early days was called a ‘Harbour of Spain’, Puerto d’España. And it was not until the mid-18th century that Puerto d’España became the capital of Trinidad. By 1757  Governor Don Pedro de la Moneda moved to the village of Puerto d’España, which consisted of two streets, Calle de Infante (Duncan) and Calle Principe (Nelson), which consisted of  little wooden houses and mud-huts,  mostly Spanish-Amerindian mixed people and three shops.

 In 1783  Puerto d’España grew quickly into a proper little town of 3000 inhabitants. The few mud huts gave way to more than 600 houses. What is now Marine Square was then the waterfront. A mole and a wooden quay ran along what is today South Quay. Fort St. Andres, today opposite City Gate, was offshore, and when the tide came in, it splashed the walls of the old Roman Catholic church, which stood then a little east of its present site.

 Trade and commerce started to flourish, and the first steps towards town planning were made: the Rio Santa Ana (Dry River) was channeled into its present bed, and the Charlotte street was included, with the town stretching as far north as the Duke Street. Governor Chacon had the streets covered with burnt areas with an open drain running in the middle.

Reportedly, the new settlers brought with them gaiety and festivity. Dance halls and night clubs sprung up all over the town, and every year before Lent the French held Carnival celebrations.

This atmosphere was to change visibly after the British had conquered the island in 1797.  At that time, the capital was very overcrowded with approximately 10,000 inhabitants.Sir Thomas Picton decided to have a land reclamation scheme implemented, which would turn the tidal mud flats into habitable lots. Starting in 1803, land fill was carted with mules from the Laventille hills, and over the next two decades all the land south of Marine Square was reclaimed from the Gulf.

When Sir Ralph Woodford took up office as Governor in 1813, he undertook to give Port-of-Spain a newer and more modern face. Gravel covered the streets, sidewalks were constructed. Coconut oil lamps lent a warm glow to the streets at night. In order to protect the fine and expensive new streets, a law was passed in 1824 that forbid the keeping of pigs in town.  Streetsigns were put up. As early as 1814, a proclamation against littering was made - up to then, Port-of-Spainers had endulged in the medieval practice of throwing kitchen waste and other more unmentionable things out of their windows. .

 In 1819,  317 acres, was cleared for the the Savannah. In 1845 the name was officially changed to ‘The Queen’s Park".

 The Governor also bought more lands from the Peschier estate at St. Anns, which was subsequently turned into the site for the new Government House and the Botanic Gardens. In 1828, the Savannah was for the first time used for horse-racing. Woodford contracted the botanist David Lockhart to design the Botanic gardens, and Lockhart introduced many trees from the tropical Far East into Trinidad, the most famous being the majestic samaan.

 Under Woodford’s aegis and personal attention the first primary school for boys was opened in Port-of-Spain in April 1823, another one for girls followed three years later. The main goal was doubtlessly to establish a firmer foothold for the English language, which was still rarely understood or spoken by subjects of the British Crown in Trinidad. The highest academic achievement of the boys school was, after its first year, that 10 of the 252 pupils were able to do square roots in arithmetic!

 Port-of-Spain also got new churches under Woodford. The new Roman Catholic Cathedral was begun in 1816 and completed in 1832, and the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity was consecrated in 1823. Hannover Methodist followed in 1826, and Greyfriars in 1837. All Saints Church, the oldest building on the Savannah, was completed in 1846.

source -http://caribbeanhistoryarchives.blogspot.com/2011/08/port-of-spains-early-city-life.html

One can see that history and culture interrelates when looking at the City of Port Of Spain. This second blog post was created to help you understand how the city was created , its morphological structure and early days of strategic planning.  It also helps to pave the way to also understand the changing ways of the city and its diverse population and morphological structure .In Urban development there are changes to the social geographies of a city and the impacts  that the changes have for the cultural landscape of these areas.

                                 PRESENT DAY

                   

All these historical, cultural and political impacts have left a footprint upon the development of the city.  While traveling i have recognized how much Port of Spain has changed within the past 15 years. According to Kevin Lynch, a professor of urban studies, there are 5 elements that makes up a city and they are; landmarks, pathways (eg. streets , walkways etc ) , Edges (boundaries) , Nodes (enter points) , Districts (sections of the city) and Port of Spain has it all !
From boarded buildings and gravel tracks this city has become known for modern high rise buildings, culturally rich and littered with hotels .

Welcome!

                              WELCOME TO MY BLOG 

                    Introducing the city of Port of Spain & Its General Elements

                                   

                                                           

This is my beautiful country of Trinidad and Tobago. The picture above is an image of our city of Port of Spain taken from afar. It is the considered to be our major Central Business District which is also located in close proximity to one of our major source of income , OUR PORT !  . This is signified by the numerous boats in the background.
Trinidad and Tobago is considered to be a third world country. ( I don't like using this term) Due to its location in the Caribbean, it is known for having a multicultural society stemming from the long tumultuous colonial past. While walking through Port of Spain one can see our cultural heritage in full display and has become increasingly important in the shaping of cities.
As we are developing as all cities do , the city is influenced by architecture, political and historical influence and the geographical landscape.

Look at those tall buildings in the distance ... It may not be much , however, it is a great indicator of development , you know ? those glass buildings !
It can be said that the city fits not only one but three theories of development such as the Multiple Nuclei and Hoyt's Sector Model and Burgess Concentric Zone Model we can see that land uses are sectioned off such as high residential areas are in places such as Cascade and Middlle/Lower income housing are areas such as Laventille, Beetham etc.  There are alot of green spaces such as the Queen's Park Savannah & the Oval and most importantly the Botanical Gardens ..How cool is that ! A garden within the city ! 




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