'Zombies' of the Urban City

This photo was taken at early hours in the morning around 2am in the city of Port of Spain. The photo isn’t as clear as one would like it to be as it was taken inside a moving vehicle. The picture clearly shows that the city never sleeps as persons are seen chatting behind stalls. One would imagine, why would a vendor be out selling goods at this time of day? Where would he get customers? Is it worth the risk selling at this hour? On seeing this there are many questions that would pop up. However this is a very common site in urban areas such as Arima and Tunapuna among others. This is the culture and way of life of many city dwellers who ‘hustle’ for a living. According to Mumford (1938) “The city is recognized as a ‘powerhouse’ influencing all aspects of the culture and lifestyle of society”. Majority of the time these vendors sleep where they work or in nearby areas in order to accommodate themselves. Vendors set up their stalls on the pavements of streets such as in the picture and as a result deny pedestrians a save passage along the walkway. As a result of vending on the sidewalks the area becomes littered and dirty with debris and unwanted goods. This leads to problems such as flash flooding, a problem in which P.O.S. is all too familiar with. From the picture only a small area of the sidewalk is seen, however if one has ever visited areas such as Charlotte street in P.O.S. one would be amazed at the amount of stalls that occupy the outer parts of the street as well as the sidewalk. Pedestrians are forced to walk in the middle of the street and as a result they deny cars the right away. As seen in the link below urban cities never sleep as vendors are always on the hustle and as a result they set up their stalls on the sidewalks and on the streets with no consideration for commuters. The link gives an idea into the life of Charlotte Street.

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

References:

Mumford, L. "The Culture of Cities." Published in 1938 by Harcourt, Brace and company (1938)

Hall, Tim, and Heather L. Barrett. Urban Geography. Hoboken: Taylor & Francis, 2011.

Ealing Council Homepage. "Flooding - Water pollution - Ealing Council." Accessed April 11, 2014. http://www.ealing.gov.uk/info/200228/pollution/594/water_pollution/3.

A 'Rare' Visual or The Future of Urban Areas in Trinidad

This is a photograph of the outside of the Tunapuna Market along the Eastern Main road. As one can clearly see, in front of the market the area is extremely clean and debris free. Clean up gangs such as the Unemployment Relief Programme (URP) and the Tunapuna-Piarco Regional Corporation are responsible for the maintenance of these public spaces. This is an unusual site as the area is normally always dirty and unkempt. One of the reasons for its cleanliness was because the picture was taken on an afternoon during a weekday. On weekends in particular the area becomes extremely untidy, yet thousands of shoppers still pass in and out of the market, whilst others chose to buy their market produce at groceries due to the shopping conditions. This is the typical lifestyle of urban commuters. Although commuters may be displeased with the state or condition of the area on weekends, their opinions are not voiced. Having the area clean is commendable, but the key to success is ensuring and maintaining a high level of sanitation whilst shoppers are in the market area. The main reason for the markets deplorable condition on weekends is because vendors focus on maximising profits and dispose of their garbage at their feet until the day ends. When majority of vendors practice this, the market becomes littered with spoilt produce leading to an unbearable stench. Markets therefore lead to both land and air pollution. Land pollution is a major cause of flooding, and from experience I can say that the Tunapuna area is frequently affected by flooding when rain falls. According to the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) garbage that is improperly disposed enters our drainage systems and clogs the drains preventing the flow of water and as a result causes the water to back up and cause flooding. As a result of this I believe that there should be policies implemented to ensure a clean and high quality shopping area that would not only lead to health safety but prevent events like flooding. An urban city with this level of quality would not only be successful economically but socio-culturally as well.

References:

Ealing Council Homepage. "Flooding - Water pollution - Ealing Council." Accessed April 11, 2014. http://www.ealing.gov.uk/info/200228/pollution/594/water_pollution/3.

Welcome to Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management - ODPM | Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management - ODPM. "Flooding | Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management - ODPM." Accessed April 11, 2014. http://www.odpm.gov.tt/node/16.

The 'Hidden' Urban Drainage

According to Hall and Barrett (2011) urban cities are major contributors to global environmental problems such as pollution, resource depletion and land intake. From my observations of urban cities such as Port of Spain, Arima and Tunapuna it is clearly evident that these cities are responsible for the many global environmental problems as mentioned by Hall and Barrett. The above picture was taken on a side street in an area in Tunapuna which is a major urban city in Trinidad. The photo shows somewhat of a dysfunctional drainage system. The water in this drain is stagnant and polluted with biochemical agents as well as debris. As this drain is very unkempt, this can be a health hazard as the scents coming from it are very unpleasant. Mosquito borne diseases are also possible as the conditions are ideal for their survival.

These are serious urban problems and according to Niemczynowicz (1994) these are problems faced by both developed and developing countries. He outlined that action must be taken in order to prevent pollution formation at the source during all human activities. This would be a more successful plan instead of implementing policies such as clean up acts. In Trinidad and Tobago there are several clean-up crews such as Unemployment Relief Programme (URP) and Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP). However in recent times CEPEP gangs have been the main source for the maintenance and upkeep of cities and communities. In my opinion CEPEP is extremely important to our society, however their resources as well as some of the workers mind-set are limited and as a result of this they lack the efficiency needed to be successful.

Upon monitoring the photo closely one can observe that some of the grass has been cut dried out, however it is left there and it falls into the drain causing the drain to clog up and lead to future flooding. At the top left hand side of the photo the grass is extremely tall and growing within the drain, this shows ignorance on the part of the persons responsible for maintaining the area. The link below shows how important good drainage is to a city. The maintenance and frequent cleaning of waterways are necessary as it can lead to economic as well as social problems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Apmp90rpJw

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.

Port of Spain: An urban city

I recently went on an Urban Geography field trip to Port-of-Spain (P.O.S.) and it was quite interesting. The first area I visited was the Central Business District (CBD) in P.O.S. which was Independence Square/Brian Lara Promenade/ Charlotte-Henry-Frederick/ Woodford Square. The police presence and convenience of shopping was quite commendable, however the landscape (trees) needed better protection. There was also a lack of facilities for street vendors leading to the congestion of the streets. Due to this there was the presence of garbage on the streets and this is a problem that seems to be getting worse. Facilities such as street crossings and bathrooms needs to be improved in the CBD for shoppers as this is an area of concern.
Belmont was another area in P.O.S. that was visited. This is an area rich in both culture and heritage which needs to be preserved. The fact that Belmont is close in proximity to the CBD is an interesting fact as many people who work in the CBD reside in this community. More protection should be given to the rich and diverse background of the community making it a site for cultural tourism. One particular problem is the severity of floods that the community faces. Due to the poor drainage system whenever rain falls the roadways, as well as person's homes become flooded, and this is one area that needs immediate improvement.



The above is a photo taken in Port of Spain showing an area within the central business district. The photo shows a multi-story car park that is owned by the Hyatt Regency Hotel and is available for their customers. The car park is extremely large and due to the limited space available in urban cities the car park could be only built to go up in order to maximize the efficiency of the land. This type of car park is common to urban cities worldwide due to a growing urban population. Urban economics is the main goal in cities instead of urban development according to Rees (1992). This CBD of the city does not "sleep" as there is a continuous 'hustle and bustle'. In the CBD there is a high inflow and outflow of persons on a regular basis as P.O.S. is seen as the place where everything is available.




Photo 1 of a building in Belmont.



Photo 2 of a building in Belmont.



Photo 3 of a building in Belmont.

This was a photo of the Trinidad Theatre Workshop in Belmont where we visited on our urban fieldtrip to P.O.S. This photo along with photos 1 and 2 showed the common type of infrastructure that was present in Belmont. Majority of the buildings in the area had a traditional look which owners tried to upkeep in order to ensure that the culture of the area is maintained. One particular problem that i observed in the Belmont community was the width of streets. The streets were extremely narrow and some were even unable to allow the passage of two vehicles side by side at the same time. There was also a lack of public facilities present such as bathrooms and garbage cans. One person was also observed urinating on the street walls due to the lack of public facilities.

Littering: a form of pollution and its effects in Tunapuna

The above shows a picture of a famous clothes store in Trinidad and Tobago known as Rattans Freezone. This branch of the store is located in Tunapuna along the Eastern Main-road, an area in which I'm most familiar with as I live close-by. From the above picture, one would assume that all the boxes on the pavement are garbage, however on examining the area closely I observed that some of these boxes contained some of the stores goods. Nonetheless, as other persons assumed it was garbage, they threw their rubbish alongside it, as well as in the drains as seen in the photo. The unsold goods within the boxes are disposed of it incorrectly , as they are left on the roadside waiting to be collected by the garbage collectors who are sometimes unpredictable. The goods although they are extremely inferior and lack quality could have been donated to a children's home or persons in need.
According  to Quaas and Lange (2004) there are many consequences of urban environmental problems. One such problem is the improper disposal of waste products by stores such as Rattans Freezone, which lead to environmental pollution in the form of littering.
Littering is one form of pollution that has plagued this urban settlement. The constant littering of the area also leads to the severe flooding of Tunapuna, whenever an intense rainfall event occurs. Pollution in urban areas in Trinidad and Tobago is very common, however there are many policies and litter laws that have been implemented. As seen in the photo one can assume that the urban lifestyle leads to pollution in the form of littering that is difficult for law makers to control and limit. Pollution can have quite significant negative impacts that can affect us both directly and indirectly. As seen in the link below persons dispose of garbage the wrong way due to lack of knowledge, ignorance or poverty. When this happens we are the ones facing the consequences of pollution although we may not be affected directly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNa93py7Lz0