Saturday, 12 April 2014

Issues of The Urban City



Globally an increasing number of persons are being forced to move to cities in search of better job opportunities and better living conditions. This process is occurring worldwide but at faster rates in developing countries such as Latin America and the Caribbean. This process is known as urbanization and leads to urban economic growth but neglects the issue of urban development. My blog focused on urbanization and the effects of pollution. It highlighted various pollution types that cities face, the causes and the solutions.

The blog found at http://urbantransporthubbs.wordpress.com/ targeted urban transport hubs in Trinidad. Transport hubs are extremely important across the globe, without transport systems the world wouldn’t be as is. Transportation links the entire globe and as a result of this the author of this blog, Ronnen linked the main transport hubs in Trinidad together. He showed pictures and described the challenges as well as the benefits of the transport system in Trinidad. He mentioned that the main transport hubs were City Gate (P.O.S.), San Juan, Curepe, Chaguanas, Arima and San Fernando. The main location to obtain transport was Port of Spain as one could obtain transport to all the other cities from this area. At each of the main hubs there were terminals available in which one could wait on transport, however all of the terminals were not that appealing. He outlined which hubs were more important and which urban cities were associated with the more important hubs. Some of the urban cities never “sleep” and as a result transport was always readily available at these locations. To relate Ronnen’s blog to mines is quite simple as he focused on transport as to mines on pollution. Each vehicle that is used for transport releases emissions into the atmosphere that can be very toxic and due to the rapid increase of vehicles on the road climate change is also expected to increase as a result of air pollution by vehicles. A solution to limiting the amount of vehicles entering the city could be the use of PTSC buses which have increased in efficiency over the years, however they are not as reliable as needed to be to support an urban city like P.O.S. Policies would need to implement and investments made in order for this vision to become a success.

The second blog that I reviewed was http://urbancommercialism.blogspot.com/ and I found it to be quite interesting and extremely appealing at the same time. She targeted many ideas under the theory of commercialism and therefore her blog kept flowing and wasn’t repetitive. Each post looked at something new and the headings and pictures were well done as they kept grasping my attention. She made a post on visual pollution which related to my blog as my topic was on pollution in urban areas. In my blog I didn’t target visual pollution as it is a form of advertising and doesn’t degrade the environment to the extent that land, water and air pollution does. Her blog can also relate to mines in the sense that she explains commercialism is everywhere and increasing, therefore there would be byproducts and increases in waste as a result. The more a population grows, the more resources they need which means the more waste is available, however the problem would be how to dispose of the increased waste efficiently.

The third blog that I reviewed was http://urbancongestion.blogspot.com/ which was done by Rachael. Urban congestion along with urbanization and pollution were areas that were targeted by many of the other bloggers. These two blogs although they have their differences are quite similar and target the same problems of urban areas. She outlined that urban congestion was a major issue that affected the city. When urban congestion occurs this leads overcrowding causing the city to exceed its carrying capacity, thus leading to many urban problems such as pollution which can lead to severe flooding: an issue in which P.O.S. is all too familiar with. Many of her posts along with many other persons who targeted this topic all mentioned how this congestion can lead to different forms of pollution. As mentioned before the urban population is growing at an increased rate for developing countries such as Trinidad and unless measures are taken to reduce the effects of urban growth, there will be many repercussions that might be unbearable for developing cities.


In closing all urban topics are related as they all lead to each other in some way or another and can lead to the ‘domino effect’ as outlined by Rachael. As a result of this each blog can be educational in its sense, but can never be completed unless all issues on urban cities are connected. Therefore when focusing on one problem of urban cities we are able to see relationships between different topics, thus showing the complex and diverse nature of urban cities.




Friday, 11 April 2014

Poor Drainage: A common site

















                                photo 1 


                                 photo 2























                     photo 3

All of the above photos show a depiction different drainage systems in urban cities in Trinidad. The first photo was taken in an area in Tunapuna. This picture showed the lack of proper infrastructure to cope with an intense rainfall event. The drain contains a limited amount of water that is stagnant as well as a green substance. The green substance was a chemical improperly disposed of into the drain by someone. This chemical may have gotten their as a result of runoff by an industry. As the chemical is unknown it may be hazardous to human and animal health.
The second photo was taken on the bus route at UWI St Augustine. The photograph showed a drain containing concrete and stones that were broken off of the culvert as well as other debris that made its way into the drain. This drain has been at this deplorable condition for quite a long while as I first noticed it upon entering UWI and currently I’m in 2nd year. This showed that no one was responsible for monitoring and maintaining the drainage systems in Trinidad.
The final picture displayed an image of a man-made river or a drain in Belmont during the dry season. As can be seen the river is not maintained and cleared to prevent flooding. The river contained several patches of grass as well as numerous debris which probably arrived as a result of surface runoff into the river. Upon questioning a resident of the area I was told that when an intense rainfall event occurs the river is unable to hold all the water and flooding occurs as a result.
As seen in all the photos, the drainage system is very inefficient and needs to be upgraded and cleaned regularly as flooding is one of the impacts of polluted drains. The links below show how serious flooding can affect the urban city of Port of Spain. Due to the poor drainage systems and the problem of pollution in P.O.S. a short intense rainfall event leads to the severe flooding of the city.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-gwej1v8Io


References:

Hall, Tim, and Heather L. Barrett. Urban geography. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon:Routledge,2011.

Niemczynowicz, Janusz. "New aspects of urban drainage and pollution reduction towards sustainability." water science and technology vol30 (1994): http://www.iwaponline.com/wst/03005/wst030050269.htm.

ScienceDirect.com | Search through over 11 million science, health, medical journal full text articles and books. "Analysis and modeling of flooding in urban drainage systems." Accessed April 12, 2014. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022169404003749.


Sonzogni,  William C. G. Chesters , D. R. Coote , D. N. Jeffs , J. C. Konrad , R. C. Ostry , J. B. Robinson. "Pollution from land runoff." environmental science and technology 14 (1980): doi:10.1016/0921-8009(91)90007-2.

In Ah Flash: Urban Muscle

























These photos were taken during the day time at Ariapita Avenue on carnival Tuesday amidst the celebrations. This area was where the celebrations weren’t as intense as no music bands and trucks passed here with frequency. Nonetheless evidence of littering and pollution is quite clear as in the first photo debris is scattered across the road whilst in the second photo attempts were made to heap up the garbage in one spot. Due to my high level of enthusiasm and excitement I was unable to take photos deep within the celebrations, however it is evident that carnival celebrations lead to the pollution of the city. Over the years there have been many policies and strategies implemented to reduce and clean up Port of Spain immediately after celebrations come to a halt. At certain locations within the city such as by the Queens Park savannah efforts were made to deploy CEPEP workers to clean and maintain a certain quality during carnival celebrations. I must say that they did an extremely good job this year as one is accustom to high levels of scattered garbage.






As I was going home during the early hours (2am) of Ash Wednesday I couldn’t help but notice how efficient and successful the clean-up crews were.Garbage trucks as well as countless CEPEP workers were observed cleaning up the city. They worked quite diligently and were successful as P.O.S. was clean before the start of the work day on Ash Wednesday. This showed how urban cities are improving not only economically but are also improving efficiency. The strategies implemented showed how the environment and nature were valued. 

According to Ash Amin and Stephen Graham (1997) Cities are being misused as people are confused as to the purpose of it and what it can achieve”. This thought seems to be somewhat true as people mainly use the city for economic purposes neglecting other aspects such as socio-cultural factors. Carnival celebrations nowadays seem to have lost most of its traditional values, with the main goals being making money and having a good time. The link below shows how diligent and efficient urban cities can be when it comes to cleaning up after massive events. CEPEP gangs and URP workers are hired to work during and after events, to ensure a high quality atmosphere and the rapid clean up of garbage.

References:
Amin, Ash and Stephen Graham . "The Ordinary City." Progress in Human Geography 22 (1997): doi:10.1177/030913257700100119.

Personal Injury Lawyer, Medical Malpractice Attorney, Finz & Finz, P.C., New York, NY. "Effects of Land Pollution, Environmental Pollution - Finz & Finz, New York, NY." Accessed April 12, 2014. http://finzfirm.com/Toxic-Exposure/Environmental-Pollution.shtml.

Noise Pollution is 'Vybzzzzzz'




Noise pollution is a common phenomenon to urban cities. Cities are probably where the term noise pollution was borne (only an assumption) as modern cities are never at rest. There is always work, shopping, business and social events among others going on within cities.

 Noise pollution is the disturbing or excessive noise that may harm the activity or balance of human or animal life. The source of most outdoor noise worldwide is mainly caused by machines and transportation systems, motor vehicles, aircraft, and trains. Noise pollution can be harmful to both humans and wildlife as there is a limit to what our ear drums can bear. When it comes to noise coming from any machine besides a music truck or stereo we tend to complain, however when music is being played for some reason we can cope with the most noise as this is our culture and the way in which we live an enjoy ourselves. “Noise interferes in complex task performance, modifies social behaviour and causes annoyance” (Stephen A Stansfeld and Mark P Matheson 2014).


The photos were taken on Ariapita Avenue in Port of Spain on Carnival Tuesday, one of the most cultural and entertaining days in Trinidad. As seen in the photos the population comes out in quite large numbers to enjoy the festivities. The carnival season is a long one that usually has several parties per week in which a lot of noise pollution occurs. Besides the carnival season parties are thrown all year round. Construction is also a main contributor of noise as seen in the photo 5. This form of noise pollution is quite unbearable along with noise pollution from transport systems. On observing the above photos closely one can see a music truck that was ‘blasting’ music which attracted many persons.







The above two photos were also taken on Ariapita Avenue on carnival Tuesday. The photos showed the large amount of persons that come out to partake in carnival events and as a result Port of Spain is overcrowded on both carnival Monday and Tuesday. Due to the large amount of persons in the city, as one can see in the photos it is expected that a lot of pollution would occur. Air, noise and land pollution would have plagued the city at high levels for these couple of days. The first link below shows a cartoon depiction of the different kinds of noise pollution that we face daily. Some of these noise pollution can be harmful to our health whilst others can be just irritating. The second link shows the carnival experience and culture of Trinidad and Tobago. The video shows how amazing the experience is as well as the many types of pollution that occur as a result of carnival. 





References:
Stansfeld,  Stephen A and Mark P. Matheson. "Noise pollution: non-auditory effects on health." british medical bulletin 68 (2014): doi:10.1016/0003-3472(59)90051-X.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). "Urban Air Pollution." Last modified 2002. http://www.unep.org/urban_environment/issues/urban_air.asp.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. "Noise pollution." Accessed April 11, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noise_pollution.

Pollution A Joke : Maybe !


This photo was taken in the Belmont community in the city of Port of Spain. The photo shows the traditional style of the houses in the community, although most of them are no longer homes and are used business purposes. The main objective of the photo however was to shoe the high level of ignorance among persons living in the community. A green notice sign is seen in the photo and it clearly states that littering is prohibited and anyone caught littering would face a fine. However this sign seems more like a joke to persons, as bags of garbage are seen at the foot of the sign, as if it was a sign saying litter here please. This sought of behaviour is extremely unacceptable as a society because with an attitude like that we won’t be going anywhere but down. This ignorance is not an unusual as there have been many areas where I have witnessed acts like this. Due to urban growth there have been significant increases in the amount of commuters and urban dwellers resulting in the increase in the production of goods and services to meet the demand. However every city has a maximum carrying capacity and once this is reached there would be negative impacts such as overcrowding leading to pollution and crime. The more persons there are in the city, the more waste and by-products that will be released and if this isn’t managed and disposed properly it can lead to contaminated water sources, clogged waterways and poor air quality. According to the United Nations Environment Programme- UNEP (2001) lack of proper disposal systems is a major cause of environmental pollution which lead to flooding events. The link below is quite appealing as it grabs one attention showing the different types of pollution. It tries to touch us emotionally and help us to see the importance of protecting our environment.




References:

LoveToKnow. “Types of Pollution.” Accessed April 10, 2014. http://greenliving.loveto know.com/Types_of_Pollution.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). "Environmental Pollution and Impacts on Public Health." United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Last modified 2001. http://www.unep.org/urban_environment/pdfs/dandorawastedump-reportsummary.pd

'Meh Car Come To Take Ah Sweat'





















This picture is quite interesting to me, not because of the two water boys that are at the forefront, but because of the large number of vehicles that are parked on the field. This photo was taken at the Eddie Hart savannah in Tacarigua, a very popular savannah where football tournaments are played and where I started playing of course. Due to the football events that occur at the savannah, a large number of persons are attracted on a regular basis thus having a serious effect on the environment as seen above. As observed closely the grass is quite patchy in the area behind the footballers; however this isn’t due to the fact that the savannah is overused for football but because persons carelessly drive their cars through the savannah and park. One would ask why you would do this, when there is a road to drive around the savannah an there is a nice big car park that doesn’t seem to get filled. ‘Oh well,’ when the savannah becomes totally degraded we’ll just abandon it and use another. But how long can we do this? Can’t we use our savannahs and our environment at a sustainable and conservative rate? I would hope so, but due to our ‘trini’ mentality and ‘doh care’ ways I guess not. Urbanization is the cause of one such problem as cities are overcrowded and people seek other areas for recreation. Public spaces are therefore at risk of degradation unless we learn to appreciate and protect our environment. Another point to note that is emphasized throughout the blog, is that overcrowding leads to many problems such exploitation of resources and both land and air pollution that would result from the large amount of persons and vehicles that are present at the savannah. It was also observed that the savannah lacked garbage bags and trash cans. This was an important point to note as there were several persons selling food and drinks; therefore the garbage would find its way to all corners of the savannah. The link below seeks to explain the term 'public space' as it is an important phenomenon to society.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBtrtl8Q3AQ

References:
Hall and Barrett, (2011) Urban Geography London: Routledge

Lunch Time Cruise




This is a photo taken whilst walking along the Ariapita Avenue in Port of Spain. It shows one of the many streets in which commuters use in order get around P.O.S. As seen in the photograph the street is used for parking during the slower traffic hours of the day. The roadway is fairly clear as traffic is light due to the hour of the day. However during rush hours such as 7am -9am and 3pm to 6pm this street along with many others in Port of Spain is a ‘mess’ as commuters are either trying to leave or enter  P.O.S. . The traffic build-up is sometimes unbelievable (bumper to bumper) and lasts for quite a long period of time. When this occurs the amount of pollutants that are released into the atmosphere via the vehicle’s exhaust system is extremely high. Over the years and at increasing rates urban air pollution has become a serious problem in both Latin America and the Caribbean. One particular reason for this is the rapid growth of the urban population. Increases in population would lead to increases in vehicles used and energy utilization which would then lead to increases in atmospheric gases such as nitrogen oxides, carbon and methane. Furthermore when air pollution increases, greater consequences such as global warming and climate change are the ending results. Besides climate change air pollution can have immediate effects on one’s health and as a result of this air quality standards established in some countries. As seen in the link below avoiding traffic in Port of Spain is almost inevitable. Due to the lack of traffic policies and proper implementation traffic becomes out of control. In future I believe that proper planning measures should be taken to prevent or decrease traffic in urban cities as worldwide it is a serious problem. 





References:
Google Books. "Achieving Sustainable Urban Form - Katie Williams." Accessed April 11, 2014. http://books.google.tt/books?hl=en&lr=&id=cO_BWyZx8P4C&oi=fnd&pg=PA46&dq=trinidad+urban+pollution&ots=mSrqKxw7B-&sig=bFUl8-uo4pvSuPqWFr6bVnDOq20&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false.
Hall and Barrett, (2011) Urban Geography London: Routledge