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 9th
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
Coolio. Thanks for this contribution J. Well done.
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