Last Lap! Thoughts, Reflection and Conclusions.

Well this is the end of my blog as far as the coursework is concerned; it’s my 11th blog post which shares my thoughts and reflections which discusses the relationship of my core theme to some of my colleagues’ blogs. My photo blog ‘Behind the City Lights’ was intended to showcase the different types of issues faced by the citizens of Trinidad, especially those wo cummute to and from Port of Spain on a Daily basis. My theme encompassed these main topics of the urban:

Post :#10: Trouble for Transport

Post :#9: Poverty

Post :#8: Slumdog Nillionaire

Post :#7:Lost of culture through Globalization

Post :#6: Crime

Post :#5: Pollution

Post :#4: Street Vending

Post :#3: Unused Public Spaces in the heart of Port Of Spain...

Post :#2: Homelessness... :( :A result of Marginalization..

Placecheck

Post :#1: Traffic Congestion and

Why "Behind the City Lights"? in that order.

I must admit to this being possibly the most creative and inspiring Urban Geography (GEOG 2016) assignment. It has truly helped in my understanding of the urban, not only through the research done on my topic but also from all of my classmates’ captivating and insightful blogs which encompassed every and anything to do with the urban. Everyone has a different perception of the city due to its vast diversity and dynamics. It was most fascinating to see the wide variety of themes my peers had as well as the differences and similarities to my blog. My reflection is based on a few of my colleagues’ blogs which were related to mines, in some cases expressing differing or similar perceptions of urban issues faced by the urban population. A lot of my classmates's blog were concerned individually with the issues of the city. 

Anamika's blog on The Congested Urban Life-http://culthecongestedurbanlife.blogspot.com, stood out to me as it was one of the issues I enjoyed blogging about. I think it had a lot relating to my post on Traffic congestion as well as Street Vending, which is in fact a major problem associated with the City of Port of Spain. Her entire blog basically expanded on my first and forth post. Clea's blog based on Urban Pollution  -http://pollutionincities.blogspot.com/, also targeted on the the issues discussed within my blog. Pollution is an issue that leads to several other problems such as the spread of diseases as well as flooding in the wet season and the general decomposition of the urban economy, which leads me to Stephanie's blog -http://urban-economy.blogspot.com/ on  The Urban Economy in Trinidad, based on different aspects of the urban economy which could be heading in a downward spiral if the issues of the City aren't addressed as soon as possible.

I would like to sincerely thank all the people who assisted me with actually taking the photographs, visited, critiqued and commented on my blog. I really hope that you all enjoyed my blog and become more exposed and aware of the issues faced behind the lights of the Capital City of Trinidad and Tobago. Thanks for the opportunity Dr. K and thank you all for reading! :)

Post :#10: Trouble for Transport

During rush hour many commuters who travel to and from the city have to wait hours before they could obtain a car, maxi or public bus to their destination. This photo was taken at City Gate, which is the main point in the city to obtain transport from Port of Spain to other parts of the country. Passengers get very frustrated when they have to wait for transport. 

Government restrictions on the issue of taxi permits, taxis and maxi taxis also contribute to  the long wait for limited drivers since despite the demand for public transport, persons genuinely interested in supplying transport / taxi services to the public are artificially blocked by government regulations. They must go through long processes to obtain the permit or  may even be subjected to tickets and fines. These regulations serve to restrict supply of public transport thereby leading to higher fares for commuters and shortages.

Post :#9: Poverty

POVERTY IS HELL

Powerful and True Lyrics

By Shadow

Poverty is hell and the angels are in Paradise
Driving in their limousine where everything is nice and clean
A poor man living in a teeny-weeny hut
The children hungry, nothing in the pot
He gone by the neighbour to beg for some rice
The neighbour under pressure, "Boy, things ent nice."
He gone in the big shot area to beg
A police put a bullet in his peeny-weeny leg
He gone in the courts and he lost the case
The prosecutor say he have a bandit face.

This Photo was taken In Belmont, the first suburban settlement fringing off the city. These people were the ex- salves who moved up the hills upon emancipation. Urban poverty occurs as a result of all of the issues highlighted earlier in this blog. These include marginalization and industrialization as discussed earlier.

The World Bank's "Voices of the Poor," based on research with over 20,000 poor people in 23 countries, identifies a range of factors which poor people identify as part of poverty. These include:

Abuse by those in power
Dis-empowering institutions
Excluded locations
Gender relationships
Lack of security
Limited capabilities
Physical limitations
Precarious livelihoods
Problems in social relationships
Weak community organizations

Ending poverty: A realistic goal?
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/countingthecost/2014/04/ending-poverty-realistic-goal-2014411113042112788.html

Post :#8: Slumdog Nillionaire

The Slums of Sealots a.k.a. "zinc ghetto"

"Today we not only face the original social disruption. We likewise face the accumulated, physical and social results of that disruption: ravaged landscapes, disorderly urban districts, pockets of disease, patches of blight, mile upon mile of standardized slums, worming into the outlying areas of big cities, and fusing with their ineffectual suburbs."-Mumford, 1938.

These photos below were taken of the very familiar slums at Sealots, along the Beetham Highway in East Port of Spain. The photos were taken while driving as it is known to be a very dangerous area. It is an informal settlement seen on the left hand side while entering into the city of Port of Spain. It appeared to have inadequate housing and squalid, miserable living conditions. It was overcrowded, with many people crammed into very small living spaces.  It was very difficult to capture the dwellings properly, not only because of the fact that I could not risk stopping but the houses were all blocked off by a wall which was constructed by the government to block off the eyesore from foreign dignitaries visiting our country. The wall was also vandalized by the residents of the area as they use the wall to express their options.

Wall blocking off the true Slum

Fortunately I captured these houses which gives an idea of some of the housing types in the area but in reality the majority of houses are in a much worse condition. The entire stretch of houses was such a disheartening, saddening and disenchanting sight. They were all very tiny, wooden or galvanized houses with poorly maintained roofs, made of scraps of rusting old galvanize that were not even secured properly. Some houses are unpainted or painted in several different colours, dirty, run down and piles of rubbish can be seen everywhere. There is no proper sanitation or ventilation in the area for these people living in such deplorable conditions. These houses are inhabited by poor people or those in the lower socio economic class. If one is asked to think about Sealots or Laventille, automatically the idea of high rates of poverty and employment and the breeding center for many social problems such as crime, drug addiction, alcoholism, and despair pop into your head. This is not just an assumption but a fact, as highlighted and reinforced on news every single day. 

Squatter Houses along the Highway heading out of Port of Spain 

All slums are not the same, and some provide better living conditions than others. Likewise, slum dwellers are not a homogeneous population, but a diverse group of people with different interests, means and backgrounds. Slums are also a significant economic force. 

Within these cities, considerable unmet low-cost housing demand exists as a result of the rapid population increases these cities experience. However, the limited and precarious income earing opportunities that exist in these cities mean that many poorer households are unable to obtain a high enough income to afford to access the restricted formal housing opportunities available. Consequently, for many, the only option is the informal or popular housing sector. The attitude of governments and development organizations to the presence of squatter settlements has varied considerably, ranging from hostility, to suppression, to toleration and occasional support (Pacione 2009). Negatively, the continuance of squatter settlements as home to many urban dwellers highlights the chronic economic problems faced by poor urban populations, marginalizing these groups within the city and trapping them in poverty.

This video gives an insight on the depressed like of slum dwellers:

                                                    Do you see anything fi smile bout?

                                   Is Trinidad becoming or has already become like Jamaica? 

Key features of the ‘classic’ socio- economic models of the so-called ‘Third World city’ are the presence of large areas of low status squatter settlement housing or the edges of the city, with higher status enclaves remaining in the core of the city, often now gated residential developments (Pacione 2009). This division stems from the stark socio- economic inequalities in these urban populations, high rates of immigration into these primate urban centres from poorer rural hinterlands and the lack of housing provision in economies that are still relatively poor in global terms, frequently still in dependant relationships with the major post-industrial economies. (Hall and Barrett, 2012).

Fixing Sea Lots and by extension East Port of Spain are describes as broken promises!

You can read more at http://www.trinidadexpress.com/commentaries/Fixing-Sea-Lots-and-East-Port-of-Spain-204602551.html. 

Post :#7:Lost of culture through Globalisation

Everything "Glocal"!!!

Although the "culture" of Trinidad and Tobago is very diverse and reflects the influence of African, Indian, Amerindian, Chinese, British, French and to a lesser extent Spanish and Portuguese, of recent, this "trini" culture as we know it, is slowly fading away due the the increased paste of globalization. Globalization in simple terms is referred to the movement of the world’s nations towards some sort of global village, characterized by advanced technology, and rapidly expanding economic and political interdependence. According to Giles Mohan, in his 2000, journal article, pages 121-133,globalization is an inevitable and technologically determined process where political influence is used to facilitate and intensify this process. It is the powerful discourses of an apparent globalization that help create the conditions in which further globalization can occur. Many may argue that it is through globalization that we got out culture by saying that "Globalization is as old as Colonialism", however, this was the basis on which our culture grew. We did not remain with any specific culture from those days. It grew and emerged further through globalization and now that culture is also being detached from our daily lives. 

One influential reading of the relationship between global markets and consumption practices according to Giles Mohan in "Dislocating Globalisation: Power, Politics and Global Change- pg123" is the 'McDonaldisation Thesis' (Ritzer, 1996a,b). Contrary to the idea that globalisation is uneven, Ritzer suggests that we are moving towards a Weberian state of 'rationality', only it is not the bureaucracy that oversees this process, but institutions fashioned after the fast food chain. Ritzer argues that McDonaldisation is: 'the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as of the rest of the world' (Ritzer, 1996a, p. 1)

Lost of local Cuisine by  Mc Donaldisation in Trinidad through the Urban areas

Subway, Mc Donalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Mc Cafe and Burger King are all representatives of Transnational Co-operations(TNCs). These are Bad! All, or most of the profits are returned to the home country. The collage above displays how Trinidad and Tobago is being bombarded by these companies and one of our important cultural aspects, our local cuisine is being discarded while promoting an unhealthy lifestyle among our population. The local or creole food industry in Trinidad and in the City, in particular, is under intense competition as owners are forced to meet the appearance standards of these TNCs and as a result, the prices of local food are ridiculous, so much so, that even the locals could barely afford and hence, they revert to the cheaper, unhealthy, foreign foods.

According to Giles Mohan in "Dislocating Globalisation: Power, Politics and Global Change- pg124", one of the key mechanisms for linking market ideology with material exchanges is the notion of branding.

As seen in the photo, in addition to the lost of local cuisine, is the lost of culture with respect to local clothing and fashion. Even the local malls are being filled with foreign "brand name" clothing companies such as The London Clothing Company, Kenneth Cole, Guess, Tommy Hilfiger and Puma. 

Imagine even "Our very own cultural festival, Carnival" is being influenced causing it to lose its originality and identity. Foreigners around the world fly in straight to the capital city of Port-of-Spain for carnival, however the various original elements of Carnival, from the steel pan to calypsonians, soca and mas costumes, are now being altered to suit the foreigners' tastes.

Trinidad Carnival Mas, with costumes similar to that of Brazil.

The costumes are following the style of Brazil more and more each year, while the local costume makers are going out of business as they are now being made in other parts of the world, traditional carnival characters are soca music is only heard during the season instead of throughout the year. Eventually Trinidad will have NO CARNIVAL!

Local Mas Camp now almost closing down as
Masqueraders are playing with more Globalized costume designs.

Of particular interest in understanding the spread of global markets is the notion of 'mediascapes'. This refers to the distribution of information and knowledge through mainly electronic media and, crucially, the 'images of the world created by these media' (Appadurai, 1990, p. 299).d. Appadurai writes: 'Global advertising is the key technology for the world- wide dissemination of a plethora of creative, and culturally well-chosen, ideas of consumer agency. These images of agency are increasingly distortions of a world of merchandising so subtle that the consumer is consistently helped to believe that he or she is an actor, where in fact he or she is at best a chooser' (Appadurai, 1990, p. 307) - Giles Mohan in "Dislocating Globalisation: Power, Politics and Global Change- pg124

Sweet Soca is what the whole World need!

Post :#6: Crime

The need for.....Police... presence in the City!

Mobile Police Unit along the street

Police presence on the streets of Port of Spain are indeed necessary as a result of the rampant crime rates that are constantly increasing day after day. The city of Port of Spain and its immediate environs have a significantly higher crime rate than any other part of Trinidad.  These urban sprawls include Belmont, Laventille, Gonzales, East Port of Spain and Sealots. Criminals from these poorer, depressed areas of the district often bring their crimes to the city. These crimes include murders on a daily basis, inter -gang warfare, theft, illegal drug use and other violent crimes. 

Police patrol through the streets to aid in the crime fighting
process! 

Mobile Police Patrol

I believe the reason for the high crime rates afflicted with the city are as a result of the poverty problem in the surrounding areas. The level of socioeconomic inequality that currently exists in East Port of Spain is the reason for the poverty. Socioeconomic inequality in East Port of Spain may be linked to the process of deindustrialization.  Hall and Barrett (2012, 77) described the effects of deindustrialization as one of the reasons for the growth of criminal economies in urban areas. East Port of Spain, in particular,  Laventille is characterized by high rates of  unemployment especially among the youths of society, which is may be a result of the relocation of many manufacturing industries in which many people in the region would have relied on for employment opportunities. As a result, many young people have turned to a life of crime in order to financially support themselves and their growing families. They therefore engage in criminal activities such as selling illegal drugs, prostitution and forming gangs, which may afford them the opportunity of the rich, self sustaining members of West Port of Spain.

Crime doesn't follow poverty, it follows concentrations of poverty-Reuben Greenberg.

Therefore, instead of the youths venturing onto the Streets of Port of Spain to beg, and in time, resort to vagrancy or depending on the State for assistance, they do what pays the bills, however it may risk losing their lives.

"Cities arise out of man's social needs and multiply both modes and their methods of expression. In the city remote forces and influences intermingle with the local: their conflicts are no less significant than their harmonies. And here, through the concentration of the means of intercourse in the market and the meeting place, alternative modes of living present themselves: the deeply rutted ways of the village cease to be coercive and the ancestral goals cease to be all sufficient: strange men and women, strange interests, and stranger gods loosen the traditional ties of blood and neighbourhood."- Lewis Mumford, 1938, page 4.

This article basically tells the story of the population of East Port of Spain. As a result of the needs, they meet in the city, and engage themselves in crime causing all the goals of their ancestors to change as they change their attitudes and actions to suit their needs. They forget about the bonds they had and make their gang leaders, their god.

        

Visible Police Presence on the Streets themselves along

Adam Smith Square.

Crime and the perception of crime continues to hamper the economic and social developments of the city. Police are also needed in the city to regulate other problems such as traffic congestion as a result of breaking street signs and illegal parking along the streets themselves. These Policemen are also there to warn of vagrants as they curse and try to attack the pedestrians. 

Although the increased presence of Police patrols within the city may help to reduce the crime in the city, the issue at hand is actually the poverty problem in the poorer districts of East Port of Spain. These issues must be dealt with firstly to curb the high crime rates of the city.

Residents welcome Police presence 24/7

http://www.newsday.co.tt/crime_and_court/0,188103.html

Must Watch!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOcSHUuylDQ

Post :#5: Pollution

Eyesores of the City!

Land pollution is the degradation of Earth's land surfaces often caused by human activities and their misuse of land resources. This occurs when waste is not disposed properly. It is caused by urban and industrial wastes, exploitation of minerals, and improper use of soil by inadequate agricultural practices but Urbanization and industrialization are the major land pollutants. 

Dirty= Ugly= Diseases= No Investors= No Development! :(

Eyesores of the City or “The living sinners on deadly ground.” ― Toba Beta

As seen in the collage above, land pollution is a very familiar site on almost all the streets of Port of Spain, especially the eastern side, where it is generally filled wastes that was improperly disposed of by the residents and street vendors. The vagrants of the city also contribute to the high amounts of pollution as they dig through the garbage and leave it scattered wherever they are. There are several ramifications of such acts which are detrimental to the city’s sustainability. They may include the possibility of many health diseases arising with respect to such improper disposal of trash. Rats the size of cats are seen scavenging through the garbage. Many infectious and communicable diseases such as cholera and hepatitis along with mandy others are common in cities due to the high concentration of people which make it easier for the diseases to spread. The city is very likely to lose financial profits as tourists and other businesses investors may find it very unappealing to reside or invest within because of the high level of unsanitary conditions since consumers may find the environment unsuitable for engaging in shopping, especially among high-income customers. Hall and Barrett (2012, 309), also stated that the generation of poverty in cities is inextricably associated with the generation of environmental degradation. This is probably the reason why so many garbage adorn the streets on the east of Port of Spain since high levels of poverty is an issue in the area.

On a trip to Belmont, a suburban area fringing from the City of Port of Spain, I also noticed several sites of illegal disposal of garbage even though there were signs warning not to. The images below displays unlawful disposal of garbage contributing to the issue of land pollution. 

Improper Waste disposal in Belmont, one of the suburbs of the City.

In Trinidad and Tobago, and especially in the City, large quantities of wastes are generated each day and are dumped anywhere one feels to. This reflects the issue of over consumption, where the ecological footprint is increasing especially since Trinidad is on the way to becoming a developed country. The carrying capacity of the City has already been reached and raw materials especially from the agricultural areas of Trinidad are being brought in the City to be sold to meet the needs of the City's over "population". This phenomenon was thoroughly discussed by Rees in the 1992 Journal article, "Ecological footprints and appropriated carrying capacity: what urban economics leaves out".

Solving the issue of improper disposal of garbage in Port of Spain would require complete participation from the community residents and local state officials. The community must be educated on the importance of disposing garbage in order to prevent health risks within the city. The local state officials must ensure that such areas are cleaned daily by their respective environmental authority corporations. Also, environmental laws should be enforced within the city at a higher level in order to deter people from committing such insensible acts.

Here are the top 12 dirtiest cities of the world!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgRT351aRM8


References

Rees, William E. "Ecological footprints and appropriated carrying capacity: what urban economics leaves out". Environment and Urbanization, 4(2), 121-130. Accessed April 2, 2014.