Life of a hustler

Life of a hustler
The Formal economy sector is supported by the informal economic sectors. In Trinidada and in many other developing countries high population growth rates and migration from rural to urban areas have increased informal economies. According to Potter and LLoyd 1998, there are 4 types of informal sub-sectors namely; subsistence,capitatlists, criminal and small-scale producers which is the focus of this picture. the picture identifies a civilian on the streets in port of spain partaking in the informal sector by selling cds on the side of the street. the characteristics of the informal sector include: ease if entry, limited to no skills needed, and unregulated market, irregualur hours and pay, and it is small scale. the informal sector benefits a number of people especially poor persons as it provides them with goods and servces at an affordable price.

Business as usual

Business as usual
Banking and service industries have become increasingly important in an number of developing countries. Many command and control functions and headquarters are usually found in the vicinty of cities. This has caused an increase in the expansion of prodcuer service operations. these services have huge impacts on the urban economies of the countries that they represent. they have priveleged positions in the economy of the country as they are able to generate substantial profits in relation to investments of time and money. This industries are able to dominate competition for land, resources and investments and are able to reshape the urban area and increase economies. Characteristics of this formal sector include; difficult entry into the market, fixed hours and pay for employees, corprortate property, formal (taught) skills, protected market and are extremely capital intensive.

Prominent city architecture

Prominent city architecture
The picture below is that of the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Port of Spain. What caught my attention is the similarity in architecture of catholic churches all around the world have, 12 doors representative if the 12 apostles,stained glass windows, and the overall shape of the church. i believe that catholic churches can be identified as landscapes as texts as they contain signifiers that send ideological messages to social, cultural groups and by all means catholic worshippers. The built environment has the capacity to affect the human person deeply -- the way they act, the way he feels, and the way he is. Church architects of past and present understood that the atmosphere created by the church building affects not only how we worship, but also what we believe. If a Catholic church building doesn't reflect Catholic theology and ecclesiology, if the building undermines or dismisses the natural laws of church architecture, the worshiper risks accepting a faith that is foreign to Catholicism

Culture in the city

Culture in the city
Culture can be defined as the way of life of a people and differs with geographical locations, ethnicity, and age to name a few. Culture represents a way by which people can express their identity and lifestyle. The collages of diversity that charcterize urban areas are composed of different cultural groups and practises. In Tunapuna for example, a cultural representation of the lifestyle of the people within the area is that of the steelpan. Steelpan is an integral part of the culture of Trinidad. The presence of a steelpan orchestra within the Tunapuna area shows the importance and value of this phenomena for the people within the area. We should also be cognisant that different differnet persons within the area might value culture (steelpan) differently. This is where cultural "aura" and cultural "other" comes into play, whereby cultural aura represents a culture by which greater value is applied to.

Le Corbusier's Radiant City(Port-of-Spain style)

Le Corbusier's Radiant City(Port-of-Spain style)
Le Corbusier introduced The Radiant City whose purpose was to reduce crowdiness in the city, increase the city's density,improve air circultaion by increasing the number of open spaces available. the way by which was this achieved was to create tall (skysrcaper) buildings, which would hold more for less space. The radiant city tried to organize the city. Aspects of the Radiant City could be seen in Port of Spain where a number of government buildings and hotels are located.
 

Jane Jacobs Urban Vison

Jane Jacobs Urban Vision
In the previous post, I identifed some features of Port of Spain relating to that of The radiant City with respect to the presence of towers or skyscrapers. I would also like to focus on Jane Jacob's Vison of the City as well by which aspects of it can also be seein in Port- of - Spain. Ms. Jacobs introduced four princples for a good city: mixed uses, ( Port-of Spain is used for economical, political and cultural uses to name a few) mixed blocks with differnt age strutcures (in Port of- Spain there is a mixture of old and new buildings, temporary infrasture for informal economical use as well), numerous corners and a dense concentration of people (Port- Of-Spain is always filled with people on a daily, regular basis). Ms. Jacobs believed that the above prinicples are ingredients in encouraging a lively and diversed urban area.

Problems in the city

Problems in the City
Urban problems include derelict land, social/cultural problems, inadequate housing stock, pollution and contaminated land to name a few. Urban problems are multi facted and thus, urban regeneration schemes need to be implemented to reduce these issues. Pictures below show spaces in Tunapuna and Port- of- Spain where regeneration schemes could be implemented.