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
No comments:
Post a Comment