Globalization trickling into Caribbean Urban Space

Globalization is loosely defined as the breaking down of barriers, allowing free trade and access to markets. Is globalization trickling into Caribbean Urban spaces and becoming a part of our culture and the way we as a Caribbean people interact with our space? The photo below should explain it all.

What stood out to me in this little space is that although it was highly “globalized” there still stood an icon of Trinidad and Tobago at the center of it all. This goes to show that although we are becoming more developed, urbanized and homogenized with the Global North; we still manage to hold on the elements of our culture. 

Independence Square Port of Spain.

What is becoming more apparent is that the more urban Trinidad and Tobago gets and by extension the Caribbean, the more we see a fast food type culture coming to the forefront. This can also be seen in the Global North in cities such as New York and Toronto. Edward Relph 1981 also criticized these types of landscapes. He believed that modern landscapes, denies feelings, ignores ethics and minimizes responsibility to individuals for the environment in which they live. He states that these landscapes are defined by fast-food and suburban landscapes which have been developed for convenience and comfort (Relph 1981). In Trinidad and Tobago this is definitely applicable as the proliferating fast food industry is one that is evolving to be attractive and convenient to customers. These fast food chains usually produce food of consistent quality and standard at reasonable prices. This is indeed becoming a central trait of Trinidadian culture hence the reason why this favored fast food chain is located in the heart of the capital of the city.

In addition to the fast food outlet portrayed in the picture, other foreign fast food outlets found in Port of Spain are Pizza Hut, Wendy’s, Burger King, Subway and Mc Donald’s all of which are foreign Transnational Corporations. In this regard it can be said that Globalization is in fact allowing foreign corporations to trickle into our urban spaces. These corporations are equipped with the necessary financial resources and vision to influence our urban architecture and space by the way they design their establishments which mimics those found in other regions of the world.

Links

Top 10 Richest Fast Food Restaurants of the World

Reference

Relph, Edward. 1981. Rational Landscapes and Humanistic Geography. London: Rowman and Littlefield.