 |
| 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
Hall
and Barrett,2012. Urban Geography. 4th 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
I think this is a very nice idea -- underperforming spaces -- any citation for that term?
ReplyDelete