Housing in Urban areas

 “I think people need housing. And there's empty buildings; I think people should live in there. If you want to call them squatters, trespassers, hey, I call Wall Street thieves!”

Al Lewis

            Housing is seen as one of the most important aspects of urban living. According to Hall and Barrett, affordability is basically the proportion of household income spent on obtaining housing. In Port-of-Spain, affordability varies depending on the location of the house. The more gated and protected the housing settlements, the greater the affordability of a house. Because of this factor, Hall and Barrett continued to echo the importance of state housing. Areas where affordability is very low, most states provide housing for those located in squatting areas. The picture below shows apartments built within Port-of-Spain in order to help relieve homelessness within the capital city. Even though these apartments are of good gesture by governments as well as the private sector, they are not always of good quality. Is this where you would want to live? There are bars located on the windows and doors as well as many persons sharing one room.

An Apartment building in Downtown Port-of-Spain.

 Hall and Barrett continued stating that the effects of state housing led to the development of large informal housing sectors such as Laventille, East Port-of-Spain and Belmont. There are tall apartment buildings such as the diagram below where many low-income persons are housed.

 

An Apartment building in East Port-of-Spain.

     In a blog post entitled; “Trinidad: a nation of Villains and Heroes, Victims and their Tormentors...” Hannah discusses the effects of violence and crime within an urban environment.  Many people believe that most urban criminals originate from these poor housing facilities. The need for social and personal space, affects persons differently thereby encouraging a breeding ground for illegal activity. This can also be an effect of mixing different cultures and histories together in an already small and ineffective area. To every idea there is an opposite…..

    On the other hand, governments can also encourage gentrification of a specified urban area. This will be further discussed in the next blog.

Hospitals just another service

As I continue with my examples, I shall give a short story. A couple of months ago, I had my first experience with the Port-of-Spain General hospital. My sister was not feeling well and so we rushed her to the emergency room. On arrival, the security at the hospital proceeded to tell us to have a seat, take a number and we would be called shortly. I stared in shock as my mother began to panic, not sure if her daughter was having a heart attack and being told to wait on a number. Around one in the morning, we arrived at the hospital at 9:00 pm, we carried my sister home. Needless to say, half an hour later, we rushed her to St. James Medical Hospital still in pain. The response there was completely different. She was immediately attended to and left promptly two hours later.

St. James Medical

St. James Medical

The pictures on the left are showing the St. James medical hospital. Unfortunately I could not acquire a picture of the Port-of-Spain general hospital as I was told no pictures could be taken. (I was told this by the security guard). The structure of the St. James medical hospital as well as materials seems to contrast heavily with those materials used in the Port-of-Spain general hospital. The presence of security is also more prominent in St. James. They are located at the entrance to the compound unlike Port-of-Spain general where the guard booth is empty very often. Overall the service offered as well as atmosphere of St. James medical seems to be of a greater quality than Port-of-Spain general.

Why is it that both of these hospitals reacted in contradictory manners? Both are public hospitals. Both had a similar number of emergency patients. The answers to these are believed to be found in the location of these hospitals. Port-of-Spain general is located in the heart of the capital city whereas St. James medical is located on the outskirts of St. James, near to St. Clair and Woodbrook. It again portrays the distribution of wealth as it seems the wealthier the area you live the better quality the services will be. This is an important aspect of urban communities and is noted commonly throughout many of the popular urban areas. Low-class housing areas usually suffer with less quality services than those with high-class housing. This is one of the aspects of urban inequalities.

Other Areas

      I decided to compare Tamarind square to parks located a little e further west. So I headed into St. Clair. The pictures below are taken form King George V Park in St. James.

Pic #1 King George V Park

      This picture gives a different perspective than Tamarind Square. Even though the grass is dry due to the lack of rainfall, there is little to no garbage littering the ground as well as there are warning signs in order to protect the park from unwanted activity.

Pic #2 King George V Park

Pic# 3 Jackson Square

                   In the other picture, it shows Jackson Square that is located within St. Clair, itself. This park is completely clean. As the picture shows there is no garbage, homeless persons….and I believe if it is possible, there would be no leaves either. The grass is always mowed and looks neat. When I showed these pictures to one of my friends, her response was “Das rich people area, so they does keep it looking so.” Unfortunately this common way of thinking is wrong. Both these two parks and Tamarind Square are maintained under the Port-of-Spain Regional cooperation. 

        In order words, it can be speculated that more money is being spent in certain areas rather than others. In the last blog, I mentioned the topic of capital switching. It is possible to say that due to the increase in more ‘luxurious’ housing in the St. Clair, more focus is provided to that area. There is a greater need for well-manicured lawns and parks and no pollution anywhere. In a way this aspect of thinking can be profitable. 

     It encourages the movement of wealthier persons into the area. It is close to the capital city and thereby this influx into the area can also encourage investment. This can be one cause of the gap between these three parks.

In the next four blogs I will continue to give examples of this difference. Please stay tuned………

A New Perspective.

      When I began this blog, I was narrow minded in my analysis of the capital city. After doing research for my lab, I learnt that my idea of Port-of-Spain was actually smaller than the designated size of the Port-of-Spain.  This was when I realised that my analysis was based solely on East Port-of-Spain, mainly Laventille. Even though this is an interesting community, it is also not the only area of Port-of-Spain that is affected by wealth distribution. The following map shows the entire area of Port-of-Spain including areas such as Woodbrook, St, James and so on. This map was taken from an online web source.

The city of Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago

         Since I discovered this fact, I decided to do some comparisons thereby expanding my area of analysis. These comparisons help to explain the extent to which distributed wealth is seen in the capital city.

         Port-of-Spain has many parks located in and around the city centre. These green spaces are preserved in an attempt to beautify as well as provide a balance between the hustle and bustle of everyday life and commercial activity with an area of relaxation. Unfortunately this is not what is seen daily.

Tamarind Square, Port-of-Spain.

Tamarind Square, Port-of-Spain. 

          The picture both on the left and below is of Tamarind Square which is located on the Eastern side of the Cathedral on Independence Square, Port-of-Spain. As you can see, even though the bushes may be neatly trimmed, this green space is usually littered with garbage and homeless people. Therefore it is rarely clean and so many people do not visit this area. According to Tim Hall and Heather Barrett, urban planning is normal as a way of controlling urban sprawl and other urban issues. Many planners such as Ebenezer Howard and Jane Jacobs included green spaces during their planning period as they saw it as an important part of urban development. It also helped in creating an area in which persons would want to live. Therefore green spaces are essential in an urban environment.

       Tamarind Square, however, does not influence persons to move into the area. The lack of interest in this park could be due to a shift in economic interest from this area to another that boasts more investment. Hall and Barrett introduce this concept through David Harvey. Harvey believed that ‘capital switching’ occurred where capital is moved from one sector in an urban area to another. Thereby leaving abandoned environments and spaces as capital is moved to more profitable opportunities.  This can be seen as the main reason for the dilapidation of Tamarind Square. The question now is where does this capital go? Where is a more profitable place of investment?

The Houses of Laventille......a sense of space....

       Within geography, especially urban geography, a sense a place and space is vital in describing any particular area. A specific area can  provide a sense of comfort and security. Every person usually, when building or buying their own home, wants a home where there is privacy and sense of a safety. They don't usually want a home where they can see directly into their neighbour's house or vice verse. The picture below       shows an area in Laventille where the houses are built with very little space near to one another. Many of the house surrounding the capital city are built this way.

The Houses of Laventille.

      I don’t believe that these houses were built so close to one another by choice but due to the lack of space within the urban area. Urban spaces are known for having a variety of uses one being low cost housing. Many of the houses in the picture above started off as low cost housing and were gradually developed by their owners. Urban models such as Burgess’ model, Ullman and Harris and Hoyt’s sector model each include an area designated specifically for low cost housing. Houses that are built closely together due to lack of space and need to be close to the city centre.

       Even though this aspect or urban planning may be seen as a “problem” because of the lack of space between houses, it can also be seen as a way to create a much more intimate community. The lack of space can be seen as encouraging a family among members of the area. A community in which everyone knows everyone and even your neighbour is as close to you as a brother. In this perspective, a closer community can lead to a reduction in urban problems such as crime. This goes to show that not all urban problems may be considered “fully” urban problems without weighing both sides….

The Other Side...

           "In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of."  Confucius

The above quote describes what many countries experience on a daily basis. Both statements can be used to describe Trinidad and Tobago. It can be both poorly and well governed. Currently the government is moving towards a more entrepreneurial form of governance. The below picture portrays the wealthier aspect of the Port-of-Spain area. It shows the skyscrapers of the west side of Port-of-Spain.This is in complete contrast to the picture i last posted of the houses in Laventille, the east of Port-of-Spain.

The Skyscrapers of Port-of-Spain.

       In contrast to the picture shown in the previous post, there is a difference in the building structures, materials as well as design. There is a distinct contrast between the two. This is clearly portrayed the effects of an entrepreneurial government. Here is a building that was built to encourage investment and tourism in order to increase the foreign exchange within the country. But at what costs? Even though creating investments and jobs are priority, what happens to the remainder of the country who are in need of better roads and service facilities? 

      The buildings shown in the above picture seem to be buildings of power. Structures that dominate the skyline and show the power of these buildings. The architecture and design of a building demonstrates the effect that building structure has on the urban environment. Compared to buildings to the east of Port-of-Spain, these structures   portray the country's wealth and beauty.

If such buildings can be built on one side of an area and not on the other side then what can we say for that country?

Til next time, Chantel

Urban Politics and the Community...

This picture shows the roof of a house in Laventille.

    I took this picture while touring the streets of Laventille for the first time with my boyfriend. It was hard at first due to the stigma that Laventille has attached to it's name, but after the first corner I began to realize it was just like any other community. Full of life. People liming, children playing... During the day it seemed nothing like the place portrayed in the media and through the politics of this country. I was shocked when I first saw this house. It was hard for me to grasp how someone could not have used nails in their roof but rather have stones to keep it attached to the ceiling. Why would someone choose to cover their house in rocks? It did not make sense. 
     After a while it occurred to me that there could be multiple reasons as to why this was so. Maybe the ceiling was too weak, or maybe it was a last resort. Why was it that a building so close to the capital city, looked so dilapidated.
    Tim Hall and Heather Barrett put forward the question, "Is urban political power located mainly in the hands of the elite or is it distributed among a wider constellation of groups?" This picture showed an example of what many would describe as political power being located within the hands of the elite. Port-of-Spain's governance can been seen as moving further towards a form of entrepreneurialism. According to Tim Hall and Heather Barrett, entrepreneurialism entails the process by which urban governments become more concerned with 'inviting' investments and creating jobs as well as increasing economic growth. While there is a decrease in the local government as the provider of social welfare and other services. This form of governance can lead to the a reduction in funding for housing and social development and an increase in the building of skyscrapers. It can thereby be assumed that the house shown can be a result of lack of funding for social welfare and therefore many people suffer as a result. 
    Why is it that that resources can be allocated to one sector in a city and not to another? Is this new form of governance good for the citizens of the urban city or would it create greater inequalities?

Think about it....
 Chantel