11th
Blog
"A
city rounded by neglect"
Taken
by our colleague: The Land Rent Model of Alonso, Muth, et.al, “assumed that the
dynamic of the zones of the city were invasion, succession, and segregation in
that the population gradually filtered outward from the central business
district and the level and status of assimilates also progressed”. The
picture portrays one of the lower class areas of Port of Spain. The authors
question how a community in close proximity to the urban space can be in such a
state of despair. From a different perspective, in urban centers, there is a
fight for sustainable livelihood. People situate themselves closer to the city
in hope of gaining achievements within the realm of the resources that the city
has to offer.
When
living close to the city it perpetuates luxury to the human mind, especially if
that human is less fortunate, the idea will increase. This as a result promotes
crime resulting in obtaining luxury items and engages in criminal activities. A
stigma of an unsafe environment is given to people performing this crime as
well as the community. As a result, the area tends to be neglected by the
government. This connects to Architecture and Caribbean Urban
Spaces. This can be related to our third blog entitled "LOVE"
where crime is perpetuated by the mentality of criminals to gain luxury items illegally.
The quote taken by our colleague “assumed that the dynamic of the zones of the
city were invasion, succession, and segregation in that the population
gradually filtered outward from the central business district and the level and
status of assimilates also progressed" indicated that there are people
moving towards the periphery of the Central Business District. Additionally,
Burgess 1925 showed that land value increases towards the CBD, therefore people
will move towards this area for economic development. The Central Business
District (CBD) is the main area of economic activity. People living on the
outer zones would gravitate to the central business district and this would
depict pull factor resources that the city provides. This in addition to
our colleague can justify the presence of the residence of Sealots and
environs.
“Architecture
through time”
Taken
by our colleague: Looking at these fretwork houses, a sense of admiration
for its intricate designs and collaboration of architectural styles are felt. A
connection to the past arises with a sense of nostalgia by the older folks.
However, these houses are still standing connections to the colonial past.
"The
imperial power still has an unspoken control over the city’s organization and
development through the presence of these buildings”. Our colleague talks about
the unspoken power the colonial presence has on the Caribbean spaces. This is
now perpetuated into a neo-colonial aspect where western and also European
elites invites themselves or is invited to impede their idea of development
into the Caribbean space. This is related to our ninth blog entitle "Identity
of Port of Spain through Architectural Design”. Architecture in Caribbean
Spaces blog here relates to our colleague by illustrating the colonial power
that still perpetuates in the Caribbean through architecture. The colonial
mentality that the West Indian people allow relates to neoliberalism and the
influence of imperial powers. The design of the ginger bread house is seen
throughout the Caribbean islands as it is prominent in Dominica as displayed in
Blog two of Architecture and Caribbean Urban Spaces.
“Public
Space or Wasteful Space”
‘What
makes a successful Public Space Part One?’
Taken
from our Colleague: "Successful public spaces are those which are easily
accessible to and from other areas. Entrances to these places should be clearly
visible both close up and at a distance. Visibility instills a sense of safety
and safety invites people in. A good idea will be to ensure that walls do not
block the view of entrances and exits. Fifty percent of the space should be
open to the sidewalk (American Planning Association 2015), as this makes
commuting to and from the place easier. Also, there should not be a limit to
people who want to use public spaces. Therefore, accessibility for disabled
persons should be provided".
Our
colleague speaks about the gated park as a representation of safety. However,
it can also be looked at from a different perspective. As expounded on blog
entitle "LOVE" of Architecture and Caribbean Spaces, the community
invites outsiders into their local space and expresses that they are a
community of love through graphics on the wall despite the excess amount of
criminal activities occurring in the area. When the message of ‘love' is placed
in the center and the outskirts of the crime area, there will be a sense of
welcome from the the community to the outside population.
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