COMMENTARY

Hi folks, so we meet; maybe for the final time. I hope you have enjoyed my blog and also hope that you were able to see the past quite clearer; a bit about your past urban area, its different forms and structures and why they are so. I must  say that I  also hope you  were able to  envision with me the improvements that  can be made in your urban  area and the different  challenges that will be faced.  The journey along this path of the Corridor has been a long one. The many ups and downs I faced with taking out meaningful photos, the research and the firsthand urban experience has taught me so much. The reason I chose to investigate this topic was because the population in Tunapuna is ever growing and it is a place that never sleeps. However, I never thought about it from a geographer’s perspective until I had too.

Now the blog is complete and I reflect on the hardship and laughter of the hot sunny days in Tunapuna. Where was I going to get 10 pictures?  That was my first worry. The most memorable experience was when taking pictures of the homeless. One shouted “You need our permission”. I stopped. It was already taken. One decided to pose for the camera as he did not mind; he said “I am beautiful”. I must agree he was; he was human. And he made me smile. I just wanted to reach out to his needs. Others I took while on the bus, while walking to the market or while jogging along the Bus Route. For me, it was a grand experience.

In this last post I will discuss the relationship of my  theme “URBAN TRANSFORMATION IN TUNAPUNA” Nicole Edgard, Francis Arzu, and Ryan Proverb’s blogs; three of my classmates. We were asked to conduct the same assignment on areas of our individual interest, and it was quite surprising to see what they came up with.

From scanning through Nicole Edgard’s blog, I realize that we had the same topic when it came to observing culture. What we had in common was that we both established that culture was a way of expressing self.  To a great extent, this was done through the use of the steel pan. It was interesting to see how we both talked about culture; the use of the steel pan being used to bridge generation gaps and to transcend history. What was quite different about mine though was the fact that I used the pan yard as a third place; somewhere that one in the urban area goes to free up self.  Nicole adds further light to this in that she said culture is used as a bridge.

Further, in Francis’blog he mentions pollution to be a major problem in Trinidad. My 9^th blog entry also dealt with this urban issue.  Although we looked at two different urban areas, we were able to find common trends responsible for this problem. Rapid population growth was the leading cause; a demand and supply issue. His blog made me see evn further that  urban issues do not  result  from the same set of  circumstances everywhere. For example, in Tunapuna, the garbage was not picked up at times because it was found in areas of informal settlement. In my colleagues blog however, the area he refers to is along a main street in Port of Spain; no form of informal settlement. Could it then be that the pickup time was missed? If so I must say that policies should be put in place to curb such problems. Mere litter on the ground is an eyesore.

Ryan’s blog was very appealing. As an Environmentalist and upcoming Geographer, I concentrated on sustainability. With the talk of climate change in our faces each day, we cannot help but come to the table. His post on sustainability in the urban suggested that green spaces were of benefit to the urban.

The green spaces reduce the urban heat island effect where buildings, asphalt, and concrete absorb solar radiation and then remit it as heat. Reducing air temperature of the city could save the electricity bill use for air conditions.

Plants absorb carbon dioxide which is produced when humans breathe out and exhaust from vehicles, the more tress the more oxygen and clean air.

Green spaces and their inhabitants is a good indicator of overall ecological health of the ecosystem. This is an important measure in judging the ecological sustainability of the community. He claims that Port of Spain is an area with many green spaces and I must agree. For, I honestly believe that suburban dwellings or non-main –city but urban  areas such as Tunapuna have so much room for improvement. I say this because many spaces for greening within suburbia are simply being leap frogged for example parking lots. They are not used to their maximum capacity.

I think my  blog  could have been  improved if a more lenthy  study was done; more information would have been gained. To add, the area of Tunapuna has no  ilk of historical information online,. This limite the extent to which I  was able to  do in-house comparisons of the area’s past,  present and possibly an insight into the future..

Thanks to my colleagues and International viewers, all is appreciated. You may  also check my  colleagues entries using the links below.

Until then,

Jahnell Ryan

Colleagues’ blog links

NICOLE:http://urbanvibe1.blogspot.com/2013/04/culture-incity.html?showComment=1366173782239#c1418940925128634664

FRANCIS: http://francis03arzu.blogspot.com/2013_04_01_archive.html

RYAN:http://urbanguru01.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-importance-of-green-spaces.html?showComment=1366174524181#c7577583649108166840

DEVOLUTION

Tunapuna Administrative Complex and Tunapuna Public Library, Tunapuna



The Ayes have it! In every post, a very common thread has been the authorities and the provisioning of services to the urban area.  All is as a result of urban planning; the present  urban  form that exist, those that  are yet  to  come and those that might  not  become existent but might even be thought of. From my perspective of and being engaged in the study of state and local public finance and urban development in Tunapuna, this post presents a review of the factors that have driven and will continue to drive local governance and the ultimate look, shape, and desirability of its urban area.

Devolution, one of the leading Washington buzzwords these days, is at the heart of the new federalism. Devolution entails passing policy responsibilities from the state level to the local governments. This process may include any combination of grants to communities, reduced grants-in-aid from the government, and increased flexibility for local community in complying with state requirements. The intent of devolution is to enhance the responsiveness and efficiency of the federal system, based on the theory that state and local governments can do a better job of providing services for citizens.

Little progress has been made since 1994 to alter the fragmented structure of South African cities and to create more liveable, functional and sustainable places. Indeed the segmented form of urban development seems to have become further entrenched with recent patterns of settlement growth on the periphery. The paper presents new evidence for the inefficient and inequitable spatial layout of cities and examines some of the main reasons for the lack of substantial change. These include inertia, economic forces and weak spatial management. In the light of this, it proceeds to assess the prospects for current attempts to devolve additional responsibilities to city governments for planning and managing the built environment. It argues that there is potential for more integrated city-level decision-making to bring about a shift in approach, provided municipal leadership and technical capabilities are also reinforced, and national government works in partnership to provide appropriate support.

For example, the Zuma Government of South Africa recalls,”human settlements is not just about building houses. We have to change apartheid spatial patterns and ensure that low income households in rural or urban areas have easy access to economic centres … social amenities and key services.”

The reality is, there is multiplicity of authority and which stronger leans toward the national government. Thus, I am convinced that in such a community as Trinidad, they are not altogether very accountable to the population. Transparency is therefore the major issue. Many who are in authority rule though opaque glasses and those who they claim to represent cannot see them eye to  eye (Wilkinson, 2008).

Tunapuna is a perfect example of where this happens and where improvements can be made through a balance between those who hold the power to make decisions on taxes and subsidies, housing plans; the local and national government. This to me  questions the targeting type that  is usually beneficial but not  necessarily  universal. The Administrative Complex in Tunapuna had a striking effect and in was forcefully helped me to relate it to the Devolution well needed in the area. The complex has 2 floors, the first where common transactions were done and on the second, more substantial. I clearly noticed that the bottom of the building  had  long pillars and I likened it  to  the basic  rules in society, those that the local  governments can  go  about making sure they are in place. However, the top floor had a very low roof and I likened it to the national government. Although the national governments depend on the basic laws of society to be up kept in order to perform a daily function, it is them who take charge of the more prominent issues. Many a times, whatever is negotiated is not even explained to those at the bottom. A top down approach in governing is therefore established.

The authorities fight tooth and nail to resist devolution , the root cause being political  relevance or the lack thereof.

It is only through incremental community and capacity building that the :effective and cost-efficient delivery  services by  focusing on results/ perfromance mangemnt principles;

fiscal responsibility, by building own-resource capacity, operating within budget constraints, and managing own finances; and

accountability to citizens, by reflecting their priorities for services and development projects, involving citizens and civic groups in monitoring and oversight, and increasing public participation in decision making can take fruition. The public library in the photo is already one step towards capacity building. But, the question remains, how will it  take for these objectives to be achieved?

Reference

Wilkinson, P. 2008. “Reframing Urban Passenger Transport as a Strategic Priority for Developmental Local Government”. In Consolidating Developmental Local Government, Edited by: Van Donk, M., Swilling, M., Pieterse, E. and Parnell, S. 203–221. Cape Town: UCT Press.

Zuma, J. 2010. “Address to the special President's Coordinating Council on Human Settlements.” Pretoria, May 18. Accessed February 18, 2013. http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/pebble.asp?relid=294

http://guardian.co.tt/business/2013-03-20/cariled-hails-success-urban-planning-forum

http://www.planning.gov.tt/sites/default/files/content/mediacentre/documents/CUF%202013%20Official%20Programme.pdf



TGIF...E ( THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY...EVERYDAY)

Bangladesh Restaurant, Exodus Pan Yard, Palladium, Tunapuna

 Cities often fall short of people's expectations. Fortunately for Trinidad, and more specifically Tunapuna, I think much  work is being done to provide a third space for its inhabitants.

Fortunately, we can reinvent cities so that they become cities for people. Gehl Architects’ urban research work highlights how we can make cities attractive, healthy, lively, safe, and sustainable again. They have made quite a few places into a community gathering place. Trinidadians love to hang out. They love to party. They love to meet and”old talk”. On a whole, they are a community that is rich in culture and a part of this is their food. Seriously speaking, anywhere food is you must find a “Trini”. Well it is everywhere; left right center, talk about food! I know because I love food too. Never underestimate the potency of food; it can make things happen; especially night life.

The notion of “thirdspace,” a term that is purposely provisional, Soja challenges the modernist either/or logic (Soja, 1996: 5) and contemplates instead the existence of a new place of critical exchange.The pan yard (Trinidad is home to pan music) and the restaurant, are more popular places of informal gatherings to create community than the cinema. The cinema however targets a specifc crowd; the youth. These all help to strike a balance between the private and public life (Pater,1994). Me as a student  for example, my  first place is home on my  hall , my  second , school and third, I guess the Restaurant or the Cinema as  I am  yet  to learn to play  pan like the Trini. This innovative “strategic location,” as Soja puts it, combines and transcends the dialectics of conceived/lived and center/periphery, ultimately allowing for “a radically different way of looking at, interpreting, and acting to change the embracing spatiality of human life”.

Postmodernism has some influence on Geography. The ways of approaching space has changed. "In modernism there are two spaces, the conceived and the perceived space. But Soja puts another dimension to spatiality. Soja visualized the other way (l´autre) (I got to use my  French  here ( smiles)) postmodernists look at being and spatiality. He defines it as lived space, a thirdspace. This space is an imagined space, which consists of actual social and spatial practices, the immediate material world of experience and realization. Lived space overlays physical space, making symbolic use of its objects, and tends to be expressed in systems of nonverbal symbols and signs. The most important contribution of postmodernism to today’s Geography is the way of looking at the other. "

In these third spaces, one is to find common ground in order to hang around with others (Knox, 2004). Often the pan yard an n restaurant for example is open to the general public where all contribute to each other’s happiness. This usually happens  by  recalling  what  took place on the Bus Route or what  transpired on the famous Ian Allen  Show; just talk. This offers social regeneration and all; feels the need to just be; to be free. I honestly feel like ranting on about this but I must end. It only reminds me of the song from last Carnival “We Ready for the Road’. Trinidadians are always ready to hang out.  Friendships formed at these places simply allow for more cultural integration and matched interests. One interesting thing I also found was that couples go out together and even if not, a spouse is allowed to generally go out on his or her own. This even further f fosters the third place type of dwelling. Could that be that it is innate to a Trinidadian (Soja, 1996)

Cities created for people can unite us. This is so as it allows for common ground to be established for people of different ages, cultures, genders and ultimately; becoming even more equitable places.

  Reference

Knox, P. and S. Marston, Places and regions in global context: Human Geography, Pearson Eduction Inc., New Jersey, 2004

Pater, B. de, H. van der Wusten, Het geografische huis. De opbouw van een wetenschap. Coutinho, Muiderberg, 1996

Soja, E., Postmodern Geographies. The Reassertion of Space in Critical Social Theory, Verso, London, 2001

Soja, E., Thirdspace. Journeys to Los Angeles and other real-and-imagined spaced, Blackwell Publishers Inc, Malden, 1996

www.apologetique.org/nl/artikelen/filosofie/pomo/TWM_CVP_Pomo_vaag_begrip.html

www.colorado.edu/English/ENGL2012Klages/pomo.html

www.cwru.edu/affil/GAIR/papers/2002papers/berquist.html

CREATING LIVING SPACES FROM THE UNDERPERFORMING

  Creating living spaces, Tunapuna

 

Hey folks, for the past two blogs, we were made to understand the different challenges and opportunities that a growing urban area like Tunapuna can face. In the face of  climate change, it  being  one of the biggest  issues and topics of the  next  century  I  suppose, it  is only  wise that even if we are famished for a transformed or improved sets of livelihood, we ought to  make them  environmentally  friendly. The question turns out, what do you do with dead eyesore private piece of land? It turns out, all sorts of things!

Over the next 50 years we can be Retrofitting Tunapuna. As some areas in the Tunapuna urban setting have been getting older, I have been able to find all sorts of unintended consequences of these spaces. As seen in the photo above (except for the piece displaying Burger King) quite a few properties go vacant or become underperforming, especially aging ones. From this, a tremendous opportunity is given to retrofit them into more sustainable places. Be it vacant commercial strips, dying farms and malls, aging office parks that are finding that they want to expand.   In order to make a greener society and future, a Jane Jacobs’ approach should be taken. Here, in Trinidad and to a more local scale Tunapuna, people are seeking to live in a lively neighborhood. Although it is Urban, they want convenient shops, restaurants, walking spaces, bike-riding spaces; those that are characteristic of a healthy community.

According to The three basic strategies categorized by Ellen Dunham-Jones were:

• Re-inhabitation with more community-serving uses: There are loads of examples of dead big box stores being turned a very cool eating place. The area where Burger King now operates from in Tunapuna is a perfect one.

Redevelopment: scraping most of those existing buildings Or  infilling in between existing buildings in an office park to create a more walkable places Sedentary lifestyles in urban areas in the past has had dire consequences on the population. For example, Trinidad has been documented most recently as the country with the third highest rate of obesity in the world. The local  government that  runs that oversees the functions of the Tunapuna Municipality, in order to implement these road diets;  more room for more bike lanes and wide sidewalks, City codes and incentives need to require (or encourage) good architectural form and urban design, public spaces, affordable housing options, tree planting, and other community benefits. As any traveler worth their Nikes knows, to walk around a city is to experience its true essence its soul if you will.” This simple quote by MCculloch (2012) says a lot. In addition to the considerable benefits of personal mobility and the freedom it  offers, the car is not  a benign  form of  personal mobility  rather, it  generates a number of negative effects on the  persons and places around it At the city  scale, the main cause of air pollution is the car; it  contributes to up  to  50% of air  pollution in all cities (Hall, 2012). Such an improvement in the Tunapuna area would therefore display even more positive social distinctions in health, environment and economics if such measures are to be put in place.  Like many other developing countries, there is the challenge of realizing these improvements, is the collaborative effort of all parties is needed.

Re-greening: In lots of places, such as parking lots in Tunapuna, there is opportunity for ecological repair

Flooding is a norm during heavy spasms of rain in Trinidad. This is even more pronounced in this area as it is mainly made up clay. Car parks for example this one in the above photo can be much more than a place to park.  Much more permeable exterior surface can be created by building an underground car park and using the above-ground surface to deck upwards to build a playground. This play ground not  only  serves as place for community  building among the youth and the authorities, but it  also  reduce the amount of run-off into the streets In such an area too, [Police Station] a learning or capacity building center can be suitable. I honestly believe that in a society so heavily affected by crime, such an initiative will do the country, at least this area well. It would help to foster a positive influence the minds of the youth in such a way that they become law-loving and abiding citizens.

A challenge however is that the developers around the country need to make this venture profitable. As such, the authorities would need to update their zoning, public works standards, and land development codes to encourage mixed-uses and reduce parking requirements.

Reference

http://www.npr.org/2012/06/15/154805989/why-do-the-suburbs-still-matter

http://books.google.tt/books?id=i6SKP1ss_ckC&pg=PA81&lpg=PA81&dq=transforming+a+car+park+in+the+urban+area&source=bl&ots=e8a-pxmNUR&sig=8BnkIeZzGgDiCfO8ukEzpnIQai0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4pFtUdfGCqm30AH_woHIDw&ved=0CG0Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=transforming%20a%20car%20park%20in%20the%20urban%20area&f=false

Hall and Barrett,2012. Urban Geography. 4^th Edition. London and New York: Routledge Publishing.(pages 282-301 ).

McCulloch, Adam, 2012. “World's Top Walking Cities.” March 2012.http://www.departures.com/articles/worlds-top-walking-cities.Accessed February 8th, 2013