NIMBYISM

Homes and Homelessness, Tunapuna

I am in complete shock to see so many of them here! I walked through the Park and it dawned on me that life has not been a walk in the park for all of us. Many are homeless (top-left photo); for several reasons too. Unemployment; because of lack of sufficient skills, and sometimes, in such a race-focused society as this, because of race.

I took this photo from afar, only to be shouted at " Don't take our Pictures you know, you need permission". Yes!, they do feel, they are still human, they still want to find that sense of place, a place they call home, a place where they feel secured, a shelter, a basic human need.

But, this is a park, remember? Are they even supposed to be here? Who lets this happen when there are kids who have to play in this same area? I must say that it seems this is a CATE society; Citizens Agreeing To Everything type of society (so heavily moved I had to coin my own word)! Not in my backyard! There must be a place for them other than here! Some were possibly a neighbor, that means he did live somewhere before all this.

Research in particular shows that those responsible for urban housing in societies have been making all the wrong rules. It raises many more questions than it answers. The root cause of this type of urban decay is a matter of political relevance. Is this a result of gentrification leading to rent gaps that cannot be met? Smith (1996) Argues about the disparities that exist between the potential rent that could be gained if a city is refurbished (top-right photo) and the actual rent gained from the present housing condition (bottom-centre photo). It was therefore profitable for the authorities who in this case are neither national nor central/local government but the private sector to do such. Private house owners refurbished their houses into privately rented accommodations (in some cases completely demolish and rebuild) in order to suit a middle class type of society. In providing this highly demanded service, it comes with knowing the consumer’s preference. As these consumers are the working folk who seek to find opportunities of closest housing to their jobs, they are willing to pay the dollar.

The mighty dollar wins right? This type of dealing drastically transforms the life of many. The working class meets their need but… those, yes, the “othered” who fens for them? Whose responsibility? It is not easy as simple  good standard housing is not cheap. Urban managers who seek to make a better life for all its citizens will find this a challenge, especially in the global south. Where do they stay in the mean time? Certainly, I would not agree for it to be not in my back yard; a place that I commonly dwell. What I do think should be done is, donations should be made to facilitate urban managers in providing for these people a place that is as comfortable as possible. But the questions remain, how are these homeless provisions sorted, are they all actually going to be helped?

Reference

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ns4qxqIEhs


http://guardian.co.tt/news/2013-01-16/ramadharsingh-tackles-homelessness

Smith, Nigel. The New Urban Frontier:Gentrificationand the Revanchist City .London,1996