Welcome to the unique and exclusive blog that exposes the episodes of urban sprawl occuring on the exquisite island of Trinidad. Minute as well as substantial issues would be discussed with relation to the subject matter, location and evolution of this geographic phenomenon.This blog would furthermore seek to find out why they occur and link past literatures correlated to the nature of the sprawl.
Urban
geographers employed perceptive mapping techniques to examine a host of issues,
including migration, consumer behaviour, residential mobility, residential preferences,
perceived neighbourhood areas and images of the city (Pacione 2005, 35).
The
behavioural approach sought to overcome the shortcomings of spatial analysis,
by highlighting the role of reasoning and decision-making processes in
mediating the relationship between the urban environment and people’s spatial
behaviour in which these images are created by.
Though
images influence one’s perception of a place, experiences bestows one with the
knowledge and understanding of cities.
Each image may give a different story to the viewer and each experience varies according
to the person.
A
radical change in urban imagery? This refers to our images of the city and how these affect our behaviour and
lifestyle in the postmodern city.
Hence I would be using
a traditional concept of the Pro- and Anti-Urban Framework but putting a
post-modern twist to it.
Laventille
Chaotic or Civilised? Laventille maybe notoriously know for crime and violence however for the
persons living within this sprawl, it is a places of solid community networks
and social strongholds.
So I ask again, chaotic or civilised?
Carapo
Alienating or Romantic?
These single family households are common to sprawls however is it a form of
isolation or is this the post-modern way of recreating a bonding family unit
where basic necessities must be shared in order to survive.
So I ask again, alienating or romantic?
Caroni
Dangerous or Exciting? Often due to the lack of fiscal input to the economy sprawling area are subject
to poor services and degraded infrastructure, however coming home from a
stressful day at school and having to ‘walk the plank’ to get inside your yard
can be quite electrifying or even thrilling don’t you think?
So I ask again, dangerous or exciting?
Carapo
Sprawling or Diverse?
Many persons seek refuge on the periphery of CBD due to the ease of access to
resources and the belief of a better standard of living. These areas can be of heterogeneous
diversity where unique behaviours, such as hanging one’s clothes out on a line,
create new dimensions and visual interest to these zones.
So I ask again, sprawling or diverse?
Arima
Polluting or Liberating?
Pollution is consider as contamination of the land or natural environment thereby
reducing aesthetic value however isn’t the act of getting rid of waste a form
of freedom, emancipating oneself from reminders of the past and moving forward
by obtaining new items?
So I ask again, pollution or liberation?
Malabar
Fragmentation or
Cultural?
Graffiti is somewhat consider a way of self-expression. This artistic aspect
reminds by-passers of the close community cliques that belong to these
neighbourhoods that maybe formed due to social similarity.
So I ask again, fragmentation or cultural?
These examples
highlight the way in which the managing of urban imagery can shift with the context
within which representations are examined (Hall and Barrett 2012, 219).
Often one's knowledge
of the world is influenced by how it is represented by the media, films and
conversations.
Thus it can be assumed
that people's interpretations of cities are mostly subjective and though images
are often inundated with ambiguity. This post seeks to evoke many stimulating
and provocative perceptions of sprawls located outside of these cities and
relate them to behaviour to determine if these images can be classed as pro or
anti-urban.
Go through each one again, evaluate the pictures.
What do you really think?
Do the pro- and or anti-urban categories match the images?
References
Hall, T. and H.
Barrett. 2012. Urban Geography. 4th ed. London/ New York: Routledge.
Pacione, Michael. 2005.
Urban geography: A Global Perspective. 2nd ed. London: Routledge.
Driving through Lavantille and Beetham very quickly, I saw a familiar face; it was one of my schoolmate's sisters on her way home from work. I called her name and then came out the car to greet her, as I did this she proceeded to ask me what I was doing here. It was then I decided to interview her and ask her about the community she called home. Her raw emotions and frank answers truly made this unscripted interview worth-while, so much so that I decided to create a poem on the entire account with personal and academic reflections included.
This is more
of a personal approach of what I have gathered from an interview of a Beetham
woman on 10th March 2013.
It is an atypical view point from a person actually living in a sprawl and it
highlights antithetical concepts of sprawl between urban philosophers and
residence.
The poem is
segregated into five different aspects for easier interpretation of the main
elements relating to sprawls and urban geography.
Buju Banton - Untold Stories 2009
HISTORICAL – “Disliked from the Beginning” Sprawl: influencing this contemporary world in every
aspect, indirectly or directly,
It
affects our everyday life, where we live and how we commute daily.
Since
the 19th century it is fast engulfing many developed and selected developing
countries,
And
with so many literatures regarding sprawl, this phenomena is truly written in
antiquity1.
Some
may run away from the urban to live in a more elite or a more rural society,
Depending
on preferences and who that person might be.
But
with countless expansions of urban spaces at of the cities,
It
is almost inevitable for encroachment2of the urban to not follow me
Historically and more so in the environs of today,
The
urban is seen as more superior than the rural in every way.
Like
with most things, exploitation is inescapable when too much is occurring, Sprawls,
persisting in two forms; ‘around the rims of the CBD3’ and ‘within
the suburban areas’ - it seems to be never ceasing. The
first characterised by informal patterns of land use, lacking proper infrastructure, public facilities and basic services4, The
other by residential zones for the upper income groups and high-valued
commercial complexes4
SOCIO-ECONOMIC – “Money Does Matter”
Alluring
for me, I live close to my work with easy access to transport into P.O.S or in ‘town'5,
To
fulfil my dreams of economic advancement but I am constrained by my poor excuse
of a financial income.
However,
there are areas where the hierarchy of the elites rule structural zones of
anti-anarchy,
But
who would want to live in these monotonous modified prisons called ‘gated
communities’?
They
are just forms of fortress architecture, exacerbating feelings of fragmentation
andexclusion6,
Andboring defensive constructions made in response to deviant activities within the
conurbation6.
Mostly heard of in books, but, does my financial
status actually bond me legally to the place where I reside?
Do
I feel a sense of place, like Doreen Massey (1994)7explained,
because I am just like my neighbour and her child?
Searching
for better opportunities and a space to rest a weary head, But
unfortunately I had to witness my son and my neighbour’s husband shot dead.
Gang
violence, guns and crimes - they are all over the country plaguing this ‘land of oil and
music, this magnificent island’we once loved,
Yet
the media chooses to emphasise only on one ethnic race because the poor man is not considered to be a part
of this island explained above.
CULTURAL – “Misunderstood by Other Social Classes”
Excessive
reviews from foreign and alien eyes looking in, Confusion,
misperception, perplexity, and uncertainty - of course you would not
understand! Go write about the area where you live.
Then you compile
what you think you know, into your texts about our community and all the
affiliations of negativity,
For our
children to use in school, I say, ‘Get rid of these negative connotations in
the dustbins of history!’
Now it is my
turn, to explain to the wider populace the area and the community in which we
reside,
So that our
cultures and attitudes are misunderstood and questioned no more and we can stop
being victimised.
Prophet Benjamin - Usual Suspect 2008
Foolish concepts enhance the masses to createhierarchical societal categories and promote social
stratification,
I mean, our social
classes are so segregated; it’s like the citizens of Norway8and
Zimbabwe9inhabiting the same island.
‘Favelas worlds’ they
call us, no remorse, and their words so sharp they cut like a knife,
While we try to live
harmoniously with synchronised footsteps that strut to the rhythmic beat of
life.
Imagine being
considered as negative externalities of improper structural and land-use
decisions,
No more, I am fed up of
these people looking down on our artistic environs.
POLITICAL – “Do governments care about the
society or the dollar?”
United
we control our street, our sidewalks and our cities.
So why should we
be intimidated or pressured by the
oppressor or these managerial bullies.
Our
life does not march to the ticking clock of urban encroachment and possible
gentrification,
‘Hell
No!” I will stand and fight for my place, fight for my space like Dr. Wayne
Kublalsingh in the Point Fortin Highway envision.
They
are constantly opening Pandora’s Box to a society of more hatred and depression
due to displacements,
But
no, blame gentrification on us because of our culture, speech, outfits and hairstyles. We are the
‘usual suspects’ for most of the infringements. http://www.writespirit.net/inspirational-talks/political/martin-luther-king-talks/
Clearing of land in Lavantille, P.O.S.
Lawfully under the Ministry of Housing, the HDC10wants to implement New Urbanism11,
The
capitalist also wants to relocate me so that he can build a new area of strictly commercialism12 So
where do I go, where would I live, I cannot even fathom why the government
would support this, It
is literally the forced displacement of their citizens to create this new
time-space fabric13. It
seems like apparently urban sprawl involving the poor resembles pollution of
the land,
But
the reality is that it occurs because authorities pay little attention to our
degraded services and ignores the poor man.
ENVIRONMENTAL – “How long can this lifestyle last?”
Logically thinking,
pattern of such sprawls are identified by visual interpretation methods,
So can’t the relative authorities use
their comparative knowledge to reduce the vast killing of my brothers?
Is negativity written in the character coding
of this cities’ system?
Is pollution, crime and overexploitation
made to flow in arteries and veins of this location?
Yes, typically developing countries are
faced with unprecedented population growths that threaten vast natural
resources.
But I believe with proper implementation
of ‘bottom-up planning’14, it would definitely silence the negative
voices.
Picture of a degraded house in Beetham
Youths growing up here every day, elders living here until
placed in the cemetery,
With conditions so bad,
imagine the scent of our community’s drains would definitely kill a mine
canary.
So many persons
searching for the same goal of financial success,
Causing overpopulation
and causing the land on which we live to succumb to stress.
Yet I would not migrate
nor be forced to move from where I live for another place in the world,
“I born and grow up
here, I love my safety net of a community, who de hell them telling to go!”
"NAH LEAVING, IS HERE THEY CONCEIVE ME, IS HERE AH GO DEAD!!"
Denise Plummer - Nah Leaving 2001
Shamefullywalking on 10th Street, Beetham
Gardens to my house every evening after work,
That’s what they may
think, but my head is held high, my shoulders back, impressing the eyes that
may often lurk.
But, where did the negative
perceptions originate from in the first place, are we even considered superior to
dirt?
Who is teaching our
teachers, or leading or leaders to think we are of no self-worth?
Is this LIFE? Am I subjected
to live in an area mocked by discrimination and always represented by an undesirable
tone?
Call it what you what,
this is my community, my society, this is my home…
Footnotes:
1 – Antiquity – older times, in the past
2– Encroachment – is something that infringes
and has the ability to influence whatever it encounters.
3 – CBD- Central Business District –
Contains the major shops and offices; it is the centre for commerce and
entertainment and the focus for transport route.
5– Town – Also known as Port-of-Spain/ a
Trinidadian jargon for the capital of the country.
8– Norway – The most developed country in
the world 2009 – till.
9– Zimbabwe – One of the least developed
countries in the world.
10 – HDC – The Trinidad and Tobago Housing
Development Corporation (HDC) is an Agency of the Ministry of Housing, Land and
Marine Affairs and was created by Act No. 24 of 2005.
11 – New Urbanism – New Urbanism also
promotes a return to the traditional town planning and is a reaction to the
sprawling of cities.
12– Commercialism – the application of manufacturing
and consumption towards personal usage and free enterprise geared toward
generating profit.
14 – Bottom up planning – Planning down mostly by
the persons ofa community rather than strictly
governmental personel.
References
Dear, Michael and
Steven Flusty. 1998. “Postmodern Urbanism” Vol. 88, No. 1. USA & UK -(13)
Johnson, Amanda. (Resident of Beetham Gardens, Beethams). 2013. Interviewed by author. March 10. Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
Hall, T. and H.
Barrett. 2012. Urban Geography. 4th ed. London/ New York: Routledge. -(6 & 14)
Massey, Doreen. 1994.
Global sense of place: From Space, Place and Gender. Minneapolis: University of
Minnesota Press.(7)
"Ministry of
Housing and The Environment." Ministry of Housing and The Environment.Accessed March 24, 2013. http://www.mphe.gov.tt/about-us-hdc.html.(10)
UN Habitat. 2010
"State of the World's Cities 2010/2011; Bridiging the Urban Divide."
UN Habitat.Accessed March 14, 2013. www.unhabitat.org/documents/SOWC10/R4.pdf.(4)
Waugh, David. 1995.
Geography: An Integrated Approach. 2nd ed. London:Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd.(3)
With
the continuous rise of urbanisation and with the rate of urban sprawl, it would
make the average person believe that the equilibrium and the ecological
existence in these multiple urban cities is not possible and that it
contradicts that very essences of sustainability. Yet, persons live there every
day, raising families and commuting to and from these areas, so how awful are
they and how can the effects of urban sprawl be diminished?
Degraded house located in the prominent sprawl occuring in Caroni, but why is this person living here? Why did this person or family choose to build in this area or allow their house to degrade in such manner? Is this a controlled environement were the owners planned to live here to gain social benefits, did they move to escape the 'problems of the city'? Is this intentional or unintentional? Artefactual genius or manufactured catastrophe?
From
the literatures related to urbanisation, the urban writer and activist, Jane
Jacobs (1916-2006), confidently and often boldly gave her viewpoints on which
greatly promoted traditional inner city neighbourhoods and no overcrowding
(Hall and Barrett 2004, 141). Jacobs approached urban cities as living creatures and
bionetworks. She proposed that over time, buildings, streets and neighbourhoods
operate as dynamic organisms, fluctuating in response to how people interact
with them. She explained how each element of a city, including sidewalks,
parks, neighbourhoods, government and economy functioned together synergistically,
in the same manner as a natural ecosystem.
She
was not on-board with strict and structured urbanisation and urban sprawl
stating, “The hell with art and scale models”. Jacobs believed cities worked
because they were self-organised by their citizens (Horwell 2006). These
ideas have been influential in the development of ‘new urbanism’ and approach
to planning that is opposed to the growth patterns of cities exemplified by
urban sprawl and restrictive residential enclaves (Hall and Barrett 2004, 141). But,
don’t the sidewalk, buildings, streets and people function as an ecosystem as
well? However, I believe it was not the idea of urban sprawl she was against;
it was the concept and cultural make up. Urban sprawl often has a top-down
approach, promotes homogeneity, lack mix use development and entailed inorganic
societies.
So how can one change
the general arrangement of life in these urban centres that often spreads to the
suburban areas and then under-develop area thus creating the phenomenon of
sprawl? http://www.glogster.com/ichigolove9/glog-urban-sprawl/
With
urban sprawl being so prevalent in many under-developed areas in Trinidad,
would there even be a possibility of balance? Is there freedom to move around,
can persons sustain their health, access proper educational institutions and
have the same human rights as someone who resides in Millennium Park, Trincity
or West Moorings, Trinidad? Do these persons have a place where they can
disclose and apply their intellectual and creative potential to help benefit
the country economically?
From
an outsider ‘s view, they would like to believe such things as equality and
human rights, while actually living in Trinidad and observing many levels of
corruption, it conflicts the suspected view of equal opportunity and
egalitarianism for every creed and race. Persons living in the suburbs of the
capital city of Trinidad often would not have a chance or get the time of day
from persons in a higher class, just because of where they reside.
Fig
1) Pyramid showing some examples of the hierarchy of areas within Trinidad
So what is the most sensible way to
disperse people over the area? How do governmentstry to
rearrange their living spaces that would improve standard of living and not
inflect a wound of discrimination that has been punctured time and time again
cause a prolong healing period.
One
can assume that a suitable projection of a settlement would help decrease the
effect of sprawl. These 2-D plans would show a potential layout of the life
styles of these inhabitants. It would directly reflect the ideas and priorities
of the given society; its woes and behavioural logic, the nature of their needs
and the general management of all its flaws and irregularities. However, when these cities are created how
does culture retention remain? The diversity of these inorganic areas is
superficial and culture degradation would begin to occur in spite of the
appropriateness of the planning. Is that a bad thing for areas such as Laventille
or Maloney where the loss of a sense of identity would be eminent? This feature
of the planning process is fairly similar in most places, making cultural
degradation inevitable and possible reconstruction of the values of these areas
can help improve the overall depending on the bottom-up or top-down approach
employed.
References
Hall, T. and H.
Barrett. 2012. Urban Geography. 4th ed. London/ New York: Routledge.
Horwell, Veronica. 2006.
"Jane Jacobs: Urban philosopher and activist with an intimate interest in
how things work". The Guardian, UK. Accessed March 8th 2013. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2006/apr/28/communities.guardianobituaries
To study urban geography is to study the living environments of more than half the population of the planet. The diverse nature of urban environments is illustrated at the macro scale by the fact that, as many Western cities evolve towards a post-industrial, postmodern future, most Third World cities are striving to attain the characteristics of a modern industrial city (Pacione 2001, 849). However these are not the easiest steps for a developing region to take and often along the way, the transparency of these operations become quite opaque. We can also further delineate that urban geography is the study of the system of cities + the study of the city as a system = the study of cities as systems within a system of cities (Hall and Barrett 2012).
The three major systems that would be looked at include: Transportation, Gentrification and Corruption. The three would be examined and furthermore show how they can be considered an integral part of urban development.
Picture taken in Princess Town, located east of San Fernando, west of Rio Claro and North of Moruga. The creation of inner roads allow for more access and thus development. This area my then become degraded ot attractive to the public sector and be at risk of gentrification. Now with all the increasinf profits to be gain corruption mey become a reality.
Transportation... Historically,
villages were the dominant types of settlement and most cities grow out of
villages, especially in pre-industrial cities which was focused around cultural
establishes such as churches. Because the spatial organisation of a village
does have any limits to growth it later became the basis for substantive
territory expansion. As a result what use to be easily accessible like major
institutions, are being forced further away from these areas. To cover the new
distances new road were built taking spaces from environmental surroundings and
other under-developed areas.
With
a road system sprawl can be encouraged or discourage and this depends on the
effectiveness and efficiency of these networks. This is not a global north or
global south issue either because there can be efficient transportation routes
in the global south as well. For instance Sao Paulo in South-eastern Brazil is
geographically located in the global south but they have excellent mass transit
that inter-connect with other transit types to get people around much quicker from
both rural and urban area, thus decreasing congestion and sprawls. As compared
to Trinidad, there are mass transit systems; however the efficiency may not be
as good as compared to Sao Paulo. The major system is operates on the Priority
Bus Route however to get to the bus route a reliance on a car is often the
case. With the lack of mass transit interconnecting these areas sprawls outside
of CBD’s such as POS and San Fernando becoming a living organism, growing and
growing with each person’s thought of better opportunities, settlement patterns
and ease of access to transport.
Gentrification??? Change is more likely
to take the form of in situ improvements by occupants, and perhaps more of the
upgrading and resale of shelter that already occurs where the private sector
sees an opportunity to profit from this form of ‘gentrification’ (Pacione
2001, 653).
This video basically
sums up what gentrification is as it relation to ethnic communities and shows
how the residents of these ‘slum neighbourhoods’ were often the victims of clearance
and urban renewal programmes.
It has is a sarcastic twist,
and it is very entertaining.
How to Gentrify your Neighbourhood - 2011
Many cities began to experience the
gentrification of select central and inner-city neighbourhoods during the
1950s, most notably London and New York. Today gentrification is a feature of
the urban geography of the majority of larger cities in the advanced capitalist
world (Pacione 2005, 288).
Corruption!!! Some
degree of corruption (e.g. favours for friends in council-house allocation or
planning permission) is inevitable, and at an individual level does not have a
great impact on public policy. Many Third World (soft states) governments exercise
weak control over the activities of public administration.The corruption inherent in soft states reinforces
patterns of inequality, since the mass of the population have little leverage
in dealing with the elite and its representatives who control resources,
whether it be managers in private firms or government officials. In many Third
World countries, corruption is an accepted part of everyday life, manifested in
nepotism in obtaining career positions, commission for providing government
contracts, premiums to cover breaches of planning regulations, or additional
administrative payments to speed up the bureaucratic process, or to obtain services.
A principal factor underlying the widespread practice of corruption in many
Third World cities is the generally low level of public-sector salaries, which
provokes employees to augment their official incomes with illegal salary
supplements.
When
corruption occurs within the higher classes of society it is most felt within
the working class. With the increasing of transportation routes, it may way to
the possibility of urban development and urban sprawl, with sprawl there is
often gentrification or urban renewal projects, with then with them amount of
money invested in these now renewed areas are targets for white collar crime.
Now these activities maybe more common in developing countries or more brought
to the forefront in third world nations but they occur in every region. However
it is difficult to assess the extent in which corruption is a major force in
shaping politics and these are the persons responsible for the progression of
cities thus transport, gentrification and corruption can be consider as a cycle
of urban development, displacement and organised crime, all having a major
impact on the creating of sprawls.
When
would this come to an end? These third aspects deals with planning, and without
proper planning, especially from a bottom-up approach these issues may become exacerbated.
