Sunday, 9 February 2014

1) Image of Port of Spain, the capital city of Trinidad.
This image depicts some of the administrative and financial buildings located in Port of Spain. It also shows two major entrances into the city. The road on the left is the Priority Bus Route which is used primarily by maxi- taxis, buses and special security vehicles. The road on the right of the image is the Eastern Main Road, which is used by citizens to enter into the city. If one looks closely, one can also see the Northern Range of Trinidad which says a lot about the topography of Caribbean Islands.
           Urbanization in the Caribbean has no doubt taken a different form when compared to cities in other developed countries of the world. This is mainly due to the history and topography of the Caribbean, where most of the cities were built in low lying coastal zones during colonialism. The urban form also varies within the Caribbean. In Trinidad and Tobago, which is the main point of focus, there is a population of approximately 1.3 million persons. The twin island state is rich in cultural diversity as well as natural resources. This has led the country to develop differently as opposed to its other regional neighbours.
             When people think about the Caribbean generally, an image of sun, sea and sand comes to mind. However, what most people do not realize is that the Caribbean also has urban centres which plays an important role in the administrative, financial and political affairs of each country. In Trinidad and Tobago for example, the capital of Port of Spain (as seen in the image), is home for many government ministries, Parliament, Justice Halls, transport hubs, schools, hospitals, entertainment and historical artifacts. This just goes to show how dynamic the city is.
             Throughout the course of this blog, images would be posted to highlight the similarities of Trinidad and Tobago's urban spaces, when compared to developed cities of the world. In addition, any differences would be highlighted to show how unique Caribbean urbanization is in terms of culture and form as opposed to other cities.