Abandoned Buildings!!
More than 400 under-utilised spots!?!?!?!?
Why are these sites empty?
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Abandoned Central Statistical Office(CSO) because of there was no maintenance or revitalization |
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Large Area of Abandoned Building just along Independence Square as a result of its deplorable and dilapidated conditions. |
The buildings are situated in a part of town which contains both the governmental headquarters, heavy commercial infrastructure and lots of traditional brick buildings typical for Port of Spain. These unused sites are divided into three categories; undeveloped lots, inactive public spaces and abandoned buildings.
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Empty lots used as a dumping ground for garbage, are everywhere in the capital city, from Woodbrook in the west to Charlotte Street in the east. |
Most of the larger undeveloped lots in Port of Spain already under planning, and the smaller ones often have neighbouring conflicts concerning entrances and windows and ownership. From looking at other projects in the city, it can be said that it is in reality hard to argue for building and planning projects financially because of the high standards and building costs in these complicated sites.
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Larger undeveloped space under construction |
One could see from just visiting the inactive public spaces that they had various problems with a general decay, traffic problems and social issues, but the main reasons it seemed was that they had no strong economic interest. A lot of upgrading happens by governance, private-public partnership and often private owners initiates their immediate surroundings for upgrading by lobbying and sponsoring. There was not any plans for local meeting places for the inhabitants in this area either although it is an ideal area for a revitalized building.
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Another inactive or unused building space along a typical major road. Ideal for commercial or governmental use. |
Abandoned buildings often take part in conflicts between the city’s conservation authorities and private owners, and there is an opinion that these buildings are a case of speculation; letting them decay so that they have to be torn down. The situation showed a more complex view. Often the buildings had an owner that wanted them to be restored, but the regulations in both building criteria for business and restorations criteria were very high. Together with very slow handling of the applications made the buildings stand empty year after year.
What really makes a place active and vital?
It is not necessary that upgrading and better the visual standards in itself will change a place to the better. The task is to identify how the planning authorities could support a more lively and used city by other methods than the existing types of regulations and plans. There is an emphasis on communication and indirect planning. Planners can organize their public spaces in a catalog, with information on how to rent and where to apply. Leasing land for temporary use and widening the limit for what is required for a permit to build. The public could also try to come up with ideas via crowd sourcing and an competition for designers to respond to suggestions.
Generally, it is therefore clear that traditional planning cannot respond and take up these phenomenons which makes the city a vital one since these may be outdated, especially not the leftover spaces which no one with power to do something has an interest in. By changing some of the rules, and using a highly communicative strategy I believe that you can create opportunities for people to respond to.
This topic can be related back to the article, "The Future of Public Spaces: Beyond Invented Streets and Reinvented Places." by Tridib Banerjee in the Journal of the American Planning Association, page 9. He explained that the future designs and plans for public space must be based on an understanding of the causes and consequences of trends and the changing nature of public life. He also argues that the line between public and private spaces blurs very easily and that three major trends, namely, privatization, globalization and the communications revolution will continue to shape the future demand and supply of public space and this is exactly the case for the City of Port of Spain.
The empty or unused spaces in the City could also be revitalized as in the case of New Orleans, 1973-1993. Refer to the journal article,"Revitalizing the Central Business District in the Face of Decline: The Case of New Orleans" by Jane S. Brooks and Alma H. Young in the 1993 in the journal article The Town Planning Review 64(3), 251-271.
References
Banerjee, Tridib. 2001. "The Future of Public Spaces: Beyond Invented Streets and Reinvented Places." Journal of the American Planning Association; Winter (67)1, 9.
Brooks, Jane S. and Alma H. Young. 1993. "Revitalizing the Central Business District in the Face of Decline: The Case of New Orleans". The Town Planning Review 64(3), 251-271.
Dickson, Dixie-Ann. 2012. "Broken Port-of-Spain." Guardian Media Limited. Accessed April 9, 2014. http://guardian.co.tt/business-guardian/2012-06-13/broken-port-spain
The issue of public buildings being left to become dilapidated and unused is indeed a problem in the CBD. However, walking through the bustling streets where commercial activity is abundant makes it difficult to notice sometimes. Immediately recognizable to me are the homeless people and the sprawl of vending activities on the road causing further congestion. I agree with you suggestion that the CBD can be revitalized and perhaps this space can be used to accommodate homeless people and house vending areas.
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