Field trip to Port-of-Spain & Belmont

On our walk about to Port of Spain and Belmont, both the city and suburban area were speculated and place checks were done on the two locations. Using this method, everyone was able to have their own opinions on the place check areas and look at both positive and negative aspects of the areas.

Place Check: CBD of Port of Spain

The Central Business District (CBD) of Port-of- Spain is definitely the heart of the city where all the action takes place and most businesses are concentrated. When walking around in the CBD area, a lot of good aspects of the city were seen. There were the presence of many food places, clothing stores and the Brian Lara Promenade which provided benches and a place to relax. However, lot of issues were also noted such as problems of pollution, homelessness, the negligence of buildings and disparities in the city was a major concern. 

The Brian Lara Promenade was one of the good aspects of the city as it provided a sense of community as there were available benches, tables with chequered boards, music and vendors in and outside of the promenade. The atmosphere was quite cooler than on the streets and the trees provided a more relaxing environment. What I also liked about the city was the vast availability of food places especially the local restaurants and this was seen alongside the streets of P.O.S where a wide variety of local cuisine was sold.

The image below shows the Brian Lara Promenade and a man walking his bird in the midst of the hustle and bustle. This gives the idea that people still come out in the city for leisure purposes despite the busy atmosphere and uses this area for leisurely purposes. 

The image below shows a comparison of buildings in the CBD and outside of the CBD Area.

One of the major issues seen in POS is the disparities within the city in terms neglected parts of the town and areas that are given too much emphasis by the governments. These two photos are juxtapositioned side by side to each other to show a comparison between two parts of the city that lies approximately no more than 1km of each other. Image 1 shows the waterfront area and its high rise buildings that cater for the elite and wealthy in the city. Image 2 was taken in the Central Business District (CBD) of POS where the building looks dilapidated and run down and this clearly shows that development is only focused on exclusive areas of the city where business and diplomatic operations are put on the fore front.

Pollution was also a major eye sore in the city as many streets and drains were filled with garbage. In addition, homelessness was rampant with many vagrants lying on the streets making it uncomfortable for pedestrians and shoppers to walk on the streets.

In the CBD of P.O.S, the recreational areas and activities are a great benefit to the people of the city as they can relax on the benches in the Promenade while taking a shopping break or even just to sit and enjoy the atmosphere. This is a commodity to the city and should be maintained whereas the problems of pollution and homelessness in the city need to be dealt with as these issues can be a turnoff for businesses and shoppers coming in to the city. Therefore, the city co-operation can do more to alleviate this issues of garbage on the streets and social services can help to get the homeless persons off the roads and pavements. 

  


Place Check: Belmont

Belmont, the suburbs of POS is filled with history and many significant village landmarks. We were fortunate to tour the area visiting these places that are currently being preserved. What I really liked about Belmont was the historical aspect as it is originally known as Freetown, the first emancipation village in Trinidad. Therefore, the area was full of heritage and culture that was brought down from the African Slaves. A taste of Belmont’s culture was gathered from the visits to the Trinidad Theatre Workshop, the Ken Morris Mas Camp and the Rada Community.

The image below shows the Trinidad Theatre Workshop located in Belmont.

During the walk about in Belmont, the area seemed very old fashioned with narrow roads and houses built close to each other. In comparison to the city of P.O.S not much development in relation to infrastructure was seen. This community has grown since the Emancipation of slaves and so a lot of culture is still embedded within the area. However, villagers argued that the culture is being slowly erased as Glendon Morris, from the Ken Morris Mas Camp pointed out when we visited the camp. A lot of his work is now being lost in today’s Carnival as the camp specialises in copper work and traditional costumes which is now being replaced by the other ‘modern’ concepts. 

Cultural Erasure was the major issue in Belmont in addition to the poor infrastructure such as the dilapidated houses and small roads. Urban planning needs to be put into place for this Suburban area as there are also emerging businesses in the area and the people of Belmont needs to feel like they have not been left behind in terms of development in their neighbourhood. 

Carnival in the City!

Carnival is definitely one of the main attractions of Trinidad and Tobago generating a great amount of revenue for the country’s tourism industry. This event took place on the 3^rd and 4^th March of this year and is celebrated nationwide with the main action occurring in the City of Port of Spain (P.O.S). However, this photo shows carnival in the City of San Fernando, the 2^nd largest city in Trinidad and Tobago. (As unfortunately I was unable to attend carnival in P.O.S)

 Nevertheless, Carnival in both cities are celebrated with the same concept of the usual masqueraders revelling the streets while party goers and spectators are enjoying the show. Trinidad and Tobago is a multicultural/ cosmopolitan society where there is the mixture of people of many races and ethnicities. On this occasion everyone gathers and partake in this cultural event that takes place on a large scale in the major cities.

Through the years, culture has played a major part in the economy of the city as it has become 'increasingly central to economic change in the city.' Therefore culture is being used to generate revenue and a prime example of this is Carnival (Hall 2012).

This has been a major contribution to urban tourism in the city as it attracts people from around the globe as they come to experience one of the ‘greatest shows on earth’. Thus, in the city of P.O.S, a certain standard of development is required as there is a great influx of international tourists. Therefore, Carnival has played a major role in some of the infrastructure in the city as prime hotels such as Capital Plaza and Hyatt Regency were built to accommodate these tourists as well as business tourists in the city and this will be looked at further in depth in another entry. 

Here is a link for a better insight of Modern day Carnival in P.O.S

 References

Hall,T. 2012. Urban Geography 4th Edition. New York: Routledge.

The Queen's Park Savannah! - Recreation in the City

The Queen’s Park Savannah is another great attraction of the city as it hosts many activities such as recreational sports, military events and carnival festivities. In addition, it helps to promote the informal sector of the city where vendors make a living around the park area. The photo above captures the essence of the park as a man is seen exercising making use of the public space available to him. There are also many cars parked around the savannah and this indicates that the area is indeed a busy one and the savannah area breaks the monotony of the busy city life as it offers a green and leisurely environment.

 This area together with the botanical gardens can be seen as the urban green space of the city promoting eco-tourism in the mitts of the hustle and bustle of the urban area (Hall 2012). The savannah is also known as being the largest roundabout in the world with a circumference of 3.5km and is Port-of- Spain’s largest public space, a very important component in an urban area. The benches seen in the photo conveys the public space that is openly accessible to citizens as it they were placed there to facilitate recreational purposes. These urban green spaces can be seen in many major cities around the world as open public spaces where a lot of social interactions occur and so is a major component to a city.

According to Banerjee 2001, historically, these parks were originally placed in the urban city to serve the upper elite as ‘pleasure grounds’ in the early 19^th century as they resided around the city. As the savannah is located opposite the Magnificent 7, this statement was seen to be somewhat true as only the elites and wealthy persons lived around the savannah area. However, presently in the city this space can be used by everyone as there is no particular restriction to the area and anyone from any social status can enjoy the space. 

References

Banerjee, Tridib. 2001. “The future of public space: Beyond invented streets and reinvented places.”

        Journal of the American Planning Association (67): 9-24

Hall,T. 2012. Urban Geography 4th Edition. New York: Routledge.

The Magnificent 7!

A collage of all the Magnificent 7 buildings was made to show all 7 structures combined as a tourist attraction. I chose to include these Majestic Buildings located along the Queen’s Park Savannah because it represents the era of the Capital City during the late 1800’s to early 1900’s when Trinidad and Tobago was under political control of the English. This gives reason as to why the architecture of these buildings are of European design. This unique and vintage style of these landmarks serves as an attraction to many as it is reflective to the country’s rich history and also these were some of the first buildings to still be standing to this present day. Furthermore, these buildings reflect the city planning that was used by the Europeans as cities in newly colonized land followed the strategic city planning of the colonizers (Hall 2012). The functions of these buildings ranged from being the homes of the elite and religious leaders to schooling the children of the wealthy.

A Glimpse into the History of these Landmarks!

The first grid is a photo of Hayes court, which was named after Bishop Thomas Hayes and built in 1910 to house the Anglican Bishops of Trinidad and Tobago. The second, The Queens Royal College was constructed in 1902 and designed by architect Daniel M. Hahn in a German renaissance style (citizensforconservationtt.org). This was the first boys’ college to be built in Trinidad and only the upper class persons could have afforded to send their children for an education.

The 3^rd grid, the deteriorated Mille Fleurs which was once the most “gracious and architecturally refined structures of the magnificent seven” according to (citizensforconservationtt.org) was also built in 1902. This home was built for the elite scholar Dr. Enrique Prada and his wife in a French style. The 4^th grid, the Archbishop’s palace was also built around the same time in 1903 and designed by an Irish architect.

The buildings in the 5^th, 6^th and 7^th grids were homes of the elite. The 5^th grid, White hall which remains to be one of the most well-known of the seven buildings was built in 1904 by cocoa planter Joseph Leon Agostini. The 6^th, the Ambard’s house was constructed in 1904 by a French architect with materials originating from Scotland, France and Italy.

The last and final grid is the Killarny or Stollmeyer’s Castle also built in 1904 by Charles Fourier Stollmeyer was designed in a Scottish Baronial style as a mini replica of a wing of Balmoral Castle which was Queen’s Elizabeth summer home (macocaribbean.com). This was the home of Mr. and Mrs. Stollmeyer as well as other elites after they left the house.

 Why is it so important to Tourism in Port of Spain?

These milestone structures serve as a major component of urban tourism in Port of Spain and is an attraction to both locals and foreigners as it displays Urban Heritage. According to (Hall 2012) these buildings are conserved so that their ‘artistic, architectural or historical qualities can illuminate the achievements of society’. This was the case for the religious and state owned buildings which are currently being retained as many showed European architecture in the 20^th century with its Spanish, German and French designs seen in buildings such as the beautiful Ambard’s House with its intricate patterns and workmanship.

Despite the fact that Mile Fleurs (3^rd grid) is presently being renovated and may not be as attractive as the others, its current renovations shows the current process of the restoration of these historic urban structures and the importance of their existence in the Capital city of Port-of- Spain as a lot of investment are now being put towards these buildings and preserving its beauty.

 For a deeper insight into the History and functions of these buildings you can visit:

http://citizensforconservationtt.org/main/index.php/builtherit/magnificent-seven

References

Citizens for conservation Trinidad and Tobago. 2010.

       “Magnifcent seven.” Accessed February 26, 2014.

         http://citizensforconservationtt.org/main/index.php/builtherit/magnificent-seven

Hall,T. 2012. Urban Geography 4th Edition. New york: Routledge.

Maco Caribbean.

      “Trinidad Activities”. Accessed February 15, 2014

        http://www.macocaribbean.com/trinidad/activities/port-of-spains-magnificent-seven-six-five/