My Thoughts, My Reflections, My Ending

HOW IT ALL BEGAN...............

This blog was assigned to me and my course-mates by my Geography lecturer, Dr. Priya Kisoon, as a part of the assessment for one of our Geography core courses, Urban Geography (GEOG 2007) at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad. Dr. Kisoon has truly been an inspiration to me and if it wasn't for her enthusiasm and constant encouragement to myself and my course colleagues to explore the different aspects of the urban world I probably would have never been able to complete this assignment successfully. I can now state that I am a budding Urban Geographer because of this :)

I decided to focus on the influence that culture has on the city of Port of Spain because culture has always been something that fascinates me. I love learning about how culture changes over space and time and when this blog assignment was given I automatically began to think about the various roles that culture plays in the functioning of cities across the globe. Port of Spain is a city bursting with cultural activities, some of which are not as openly visible to the naked eye like Carnival. Hence the reason I decided to look at some aspects of culture that do not stand out but have a great impact on the nature of the city, especially on its landscape and building designs. Not to mention the fact that it was interesting to see how theories of urban geography seemed to explain what was really happening in Port of Spain and why the city is ever changing. 

I will NEVER forget this experience of an assignment simply because of its highly interactive nature. I had to get up and go out into the field (sometimes unwillingly lol) to take ten photographs to explain my ideas, I had to do some research in order to back up my ideas, I had to incorporate videos and songs into my blog posts in order to further explain my ideas and finally I had to view and comment on a few of my course colleague's blogs to find similarities and contradictions between mine and theirs. In doing the latter I was amazed at how creative and intelligent some of my colleagues are and I wished that I had come up with some of their ideas myself (lol) but like all things in university life this was a learning experience and with their help I was able to understand aspects of urban geography even better than before. So thank you guys all so much! :) 

RELATIONSHIPS AND CONTRADICTIONS

The three students who's blogs I decided to reflect on were Shaniece Mitchell, Sevastar Ramlogan and Neisha Smith.

Shaniece's blog is about mobility in the city and it is entitled, "Travelling in, around and out the city of San Fernando". Initially her blog has absolutely nothing to do with my blog. However, on closer inspection I was able to find a unique and interesting link between mobility in the city and culture. Seeing that I did not focus on mobility in any of my entries her blog came in good handy. Firstly, she did not use Port of Spain as the city of focus and this is one of the major reasons I used her work as well. What stood out to me is the fact that she highlighted forms of mobility in San Fernando that the average person nowadays wouldn't even dream of considering such as pirogues and horse back riding. To me those forms of transportation are highly related to culture especially in Trinidad because they play an important role in the livelihoods (in terms of generating income) of several Trinidadians, namely fishermen and policemen. Fishermen need pirogues in order to fish, while policemen often use horses to patrol and maintain order in the city of Port of Spain and San Fernando during large cultural events e.g. carnival, independence day etc. These ideas truly would have added a nice touch to my blog. Here is the link to Shaniece's blog http://mobilityinsanfernando.blogspot.com/

Sevastar's blog fell a bit more in line with my blog's focus and it is entitled "The Arts of Trinidad's Cities" with emphasis being placed on the aesthetic and artistic side of such cities. This is definitely related to culture in cities. In two of my entries I used the Brian Lara Promenade to explain the topics "Cultural Aura" and "How  Urban Places are Valued". What captured my attention in Sevastar's blog was the fact that he also used the Promenade in one of his entries but to explain something totally different. He stated that the promenade was the country's first Business Improvement District (BID). This term was new and interesting to me! He then went on to explain how the Brian Lara Promenade has created an avenue for urban tourism through Carnival and how it is has also aided in the development of the informal sector e.g. food and art and craft vendors. This just goes to show how the development of urban spaces are heavily promoted and commercialized through culture. In my opinion, this could have also strengthened my blog. Here is the link to Sevestar's blog 

http://urbantriniart.blogspot.com/

Neisha's blog, just like Shaniece's, isn't exactly similar to mine. Her theme was "Urban Sprawls in Trinidad". I did not mention urban sprawl in any of my entries and as a result of this I challenged myself to find links between urban sprawl in Port of Spain and culture with the help of Neisha's creative work. I noticed through studying Neisha's entry on Sustainability that most Trinidadians by nature are law breakers (aspect of our culture). They hardly ever pay attention to warning signs posted by our local regional co-operations (e.g. NO DUMPING) due to the fact that there is a serious problem with law enforcement in the country and they know that the chances of them being fined for their actions are slim to none. Thus leading to serious problems with pollution in and around the city, especially in the areas of Eastern Port of Spain where increasing urban sprawl is actually proliferating the issue. Sprawl in Eastern POS is also strongly related to crime (as mentioned by Neisha). Crime is an unfortunate but very real aspect of Trinidad's culture. If it wasn't for those areas of 'cultural other' as I explained in my second blog entry, a huge chunk of the settlements that help make up the urban landscape of POS wouldn't exist. Again, I believe that including these aspects into my blog would have made it even better. Below is the link to Neisha's blog.
http://urbansprawl1.blogspot.com/

MY ENDING
I do hope that you enjoyed learning about the influences that culture has on the city of POS and that you found it to be a very enlightening experience as I have. I would like to leave you with the simple idea that culture is ever dynamic and without it the world's cities just wouldn't be as vibrant and as mysterious as we know them to be. Thank you for reading!

Sincerely yours,
Danielle :)

Experiencing the City : How urban places are valued

"To be human is to live in a world filled with significant places: to be human is to have and to know your place." Edward Relph, 1976.

Doubles Vendors on The Brian Lara Promenade, POS.

Homeless People in Tamarind Square, POS.

As usual I was walking around POS, confused and wondering what photographs to take for this blog entry when something caught my attention. I always knew that there were doubles vendors on the promenade but I never paid attention to how many there were. Believe me, it was a lot more than I thought! Why were there so many doubles vendors on the promenade? Can't they go to other areas in the city to sell instead of concentrating on the promenade? Won't competition increase by having so many other vendors selling the same food? A simple 'yes' can be given as a response to all these questions, yet still they concentrate there. Perhaps those vendors valued the promenade more than other places in the city  to sell their doubles. Maybe it is because the promenade is immediately within city's central business district (CBD) where most consumption activities take place that the vendors feel the need to set up their stalls there. Excited by my ideas, I took a picture of some vendors and proceeded past the promenade looking for more ways that people value places in the city. Not far off I came across Tamarind Square where I noticed some vagrants/ homeless people relaxing and sleeping on the grass. Effortlessly, I realized how much more obvious the way that they valued the square was, in comparison to the vendors where I actually had to 'think' about why they valued the promenade. The homeless people could care less about the consumptive value of Tamarind Square and instead value the place because it serves as a temporary 'home' for them. Its amazing how differently places in the city, namely the CBD, are valued by various people.

One of the most treasured aspects of Trinidad and Tobago's culture is our cuisine. Hence the reason I decided to focus on the way the doubles vendors valued the promenade because doubles is a local favourite. Most vendors know that the chances of them making substantial amounts of money from sales would be high in the CBD. However, this is a matter of concern because such activities commercialize the promenade, thus taking away its authentic purpose which was to serve as a recreational area in celebration of the country's most recognized cricket player, Brian Lara. According to Relph (1976), this is an example of how the modern urban world has become characterized by inauthentic places and superficial relationships between people and place.

Homelessness is definitely an aspect of Trinidad and Tobago's culture due to the fact that the number of homeless people roaming the streets of POS is high. Seeing a vagrant in POS is 'normal' to the average citizen and as a result not much attention is given to the issue. It is interesting to look at how those people value urban place because of this. Their value of place reflects a more emotional relationship between people and place. Tamarind Square acts as a 'home' for several of the city's homeless people, thus their value of that urban place is more centered around feelings of security, safety, identity and belonging. This point was  made clearly by Tim Hall and Heather Barrett (2012, pg 236) : " Everyday life, for the vast majority of people at least, is anchored around places that provide senses of safety, security, identity and belonging. The most obvious of these places are the home and the neighbourhood."

Until next time!
Danielle :)

Where do you feel Included? : Exclusivity in Port of Spain

"Despite the impression that might emerge from the media, contemporary cities tend to be overwhelmingly characterized by tolerance, rather than hostility, between different cultural groups." Tim Hall and Heather Barrett, 2012.

Exclusivity is a subtle but very real issue in the city of Port of Spain. It isn't something that is visible to the naked eye and one must be very observant in order to notice this. Similarly to the quote above, Trinidad is often publicized as being a multicultural nation where every "creed and race finds an equal place". However, I would say that this isn't entirely true due to the fact that people of different races do not openly disrespect each other but rather tolerate each other, especially in major urban spaces such as the city. Reason being because the city is home to several services and amenities that people need and simply cannot avoid solely because persons of different races use them as well. Few words are spoken but the tension is strong, even in public spaces within the city where no one is openly excluded, such as squares and parks, persons from various ethnic groups and economic backgrounds can be seen in pockets separated from each other.

Woodford Square, Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Upon entering Woodford Square one afternoon I spontaneously decided to conduct an informal interview with a random person who was walking through the square. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Do you feel welcome in Woodford Square?

Interviewee: What yuh mean by that?

Me: Well, do you feel as though you shouldn't be here because of your race or the amount of money you have?

Interviewee: NO! Woodford Square is for everybody! It have no fight down ting (discrimination) here! And if anybody try to tell me that I cya come here is me and dem! Cuz look, it have vagrants lying down all over d square, black people and Indian people moving normal normal in here so I doe see no baccanal (trouble).

Me: That's true, I've never noticed any discrimination here either. Is there anything else you would like to say?

Interviewee: Am why you ask me that? You doing some school work or something?

Me: Yes I am actually.

Interviewee: Ok well enjoy the rest of your day eh smally this sun too hot to stand up and old talk.

 I am certain that this will be the response given by most persons who pass through Woodford Square if interviewed similarly. Woodford Square is a public park located almost in the centre of the city. It is surrounded by various shopping facilities, businesses and institutions. As a result of this the square is typically used as a pathway from one street to another or as a place of rest for tired shoppers, workers etc who walk through the city on a daily basis. It also serves as a place of recreation e.g. concerts.

While walking through the square I felt in 'place' because the atmosphere was light and welcoming. For me,  it was mainly because of the green scenery and the fact that I could hear groups of people laughing as they walked by, along with seeing several old men in clusters playing chess. There didn't seem to be any harsh sense of exclusivity taking place among the people. However, I did notice that persons walking through the square were doing so in groups of their own kind (ethnicity), similarly were the men playing chess. This strengthens the point made previously whereby in POS citizens appear to be operating in harmony but in reality are simply tolerating each other in order to maintain peace. This has always been and probably will continue to be a part of Trinidadian culture for many years to come.

One Woodbrook Place, Woodbrook, Port of Spain, Trinidad.

In comparison to Woodford Square, One Woodbrook Place is a housing development that was built up just on the outskirts of POS. This housing development was designed in a manner that incorporated several aspects of the city so that residents wouldn't have to leave their homes in order to access various services and amenities e.g. banks, groceries, stores, cinemas etc. As a result of this, the cost of an apartment/ condo in the development is incredibly high and unaffordable for most. This is a blatant form of exclusivity in the city whereby persons with high economic statuses or the 'elite class' are favoured over the middle and low income classes. In Trinidad, the elite class  is associated with white persons (although incorrect because persons of various ethnic backgrounds belong to this class) while the middle and low income classes are associated with persons of African and Indian decent. Therefore, this becomes a matter of exclusivity not only with respect to economic status but ethnic status as well. 

Although the shopping and service area of One Woodbrook Place is open to the public (public space), persons of the middle and low income classes are rarely seen shopping or using the services there. In fact, when I was walking around the shopping area taking photographs, the security guards were literally following me everywhere I walked! One of the security guards even asked me if I was a resident in a tone that to me indicated that there was no way that I could be a resident so I must be a 'suspect'. That experience made me understand why the space was so empty and eerie (in comparison to Woodford Square) on the inside despite the fact that it looks so magnificent and inviting on the outside. 

Local Culture: An artistic point of view

Painting showing various aspects of Trinidadian culture, Queens Park Savannah POS.

To begin this blog entry I would like to reiterate the point that culture occurs on a range of scales (local, national, regional and global). Generally local culture is understood as being the term used to describe a group of persons/community who reside in a particular geographic area/place/space and share norms and values with eachother in a manner that ensures the preservation of such norms and values. This is done in an attempt to be unique and distinguish themselves from other communities/groups. From the perspective of urban geography and the geography of cities, local culture is culture that was hostorically derived within a 'tightly defined spatial scale' (Hall and Barrett 2012). In other words the local culture of a city is the set of norms and values that originated within the specific geographic area that the city covers over a period of several generations. An example of this, as mentioned by Hall and Barrett (2012), is a dialect (form of language that is specific to a certain group of persons/religion etc) that emerged historically in a particalar community and is dying out as migrants infiltrate the community bringing in new languages.

 

Trinidad has its own distinct set of cultures (local, global, regional etc) that make up its 'own' unique culture. Hence the reason the nation is often described as being culturally diverse. With respect to local culture, POS being the country's capital, is a popular place where aspects of local culture come to life. One of the major mediums through which local culture is expressed in Trinidad and Tobago is art (drawings, paintings etc.) Hence the reason the painting above caught my attention as I was walking past a local museum around the Queens Park Savannah.

The painting is actually larger in terms of length than the photograph reveals, however, within the small section of the painting that I was able to capture, there were several aspects of local culture integrated. The setting of the painting appeared to be downtown POS during the carnival season. This is evident due to the presence of feamle masqueraders in their costumes dancing and traditional carnival characters such as the Midnight Robber. Carnival is considered to be a part of our local culture because it has its roots in the Caribbean, not to mention the fact that most carnival activities take place either on the streets of POS or in various spaces and buildings within the capital. Another aspect of local culture can be seen in the titles of the local newspapers (Newsday, Punch, Express) that various persons in the painting are holding up e.g. "Guns and Amo". These all reflect the social status of the country as well as political issues that are occuring locally. Also included in the painting were important landmark buildings (buildings that identify the city) such as KFC and The Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (RBTT) formaly known as the Royal Bank of Canada.

Based on your knowledge of global culture from my previous blog entry you may be asking yourself how is it that KFC and RBTT being global/ internationally owned businesses are aspects of POS's local culture. Well, in order to understand this, one should know that in all spaces of most cities elements of local and global cultures co-exist, and the key to understanding this is through looking at their interactions in local contexts (Hall and Barrett 2012). Due to the fact that the businesses mentioned have been a part of POS for so long they have been incorporated into Trinidad's wholistic culture and have therefore become accepted as being 'local'. This is a good example of how culture changes through time.


Music BREAK! :)

Here is a photo of Denyse Plummer. She is one of Trinidad's most recognised calypsonians and is most known for her beautiful song "Nah Leaving". I included the link to this song because I believe that it tells the story of Trinidad's local culture which is emanated by the city of POS. Do enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrwcb0HXiwI

Live performance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W05DLMBmv34







To conclude I would like to state that local culture in urban spaces (e.g. cities), can be incorporated into the urban landscape in several ways. To me one of the most effective ways of doing this is through the use of art in the form of paintings, drawings and even graffiti. Whether it be a beautiful mural on a building wall or illlegal graffiti on abandoned buildings, local culture can be discovered anywhere. YOU just have to be observant! ;)


 

Global Culture and Port of Spain

Office building located next to the Hyatt Regency, Downtown POS.

In order to understand the manner in which culture develops one should know that culture exists on a range of scales. In other words, culture occurs on various local, regional, national and global scales in different countries. This is interesting because it allows us to see that there is a complex link between cultural divesity and the spatiality of culture with respect to geographic area (scale) or location (Hall and Barrett 2012).

The photo above depicts what is to me a very important aspect of Port-of-Spain's global culture. This building is an excellent representation of modern architecture that was adopted from the modern/international cities that are continuously in contact with Trinidad, for example England, America and Canada. Given the fact that several of the persons involved in the construction of corporate and commercial buildings in POS are usually from the countries listed previously, it is easy to understand why the urban lanscape of POS is beginning to resemble that of modern cities. Not to mention the fact that upon interaction with such persons Trinidadian locals quickly adopt their behaviours and attitudes toward everyday life and the world of work. This occurs mainly because those global cultures are percieved to be 'first world' and 'highly developed' in comparison to the 'third world' and 'developing' status with which Caribbean countries have been labelled. In the future there will be several more buildings like the one in the photograph in the city of POS as the country continues to strive toward becoming fully developed.

Another important point to consider is the fact that the spaces within and around such buildings will become the breeding grounds for more globally influenced cultural activities and even locally influenced cultural activities. This is evident in and around the office building in the photograph. An example of a significant globally influenced cultural activity that took place within the spaces around the building was the 5th Summit of the Americas in 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad. The Summit of the Americas is a continuing summit that brings together the political leaders of North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean to discuss and find solutions to a variety of issues affecting the western hemisphere. This event had a tremendous impact on the city of POS because the government of Trinidad and Tobago invested unmentionable sums of money into the infrastructural development of the city in preparation for the event e.g. paving of roads, construction of the Hyatt Waterfront etc. The event also paved the way for local cultural activities to take place in the form of displays and performances that brought Trinidadian culture to the global forefront.This shows how much of an impact global culture has on the form and structure of cities, not only with respect to infrastructural developments but also cultural developments on a local scale.

Material Culture

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Downtown POS

Let's get ready to give thanks and praise to the Lord! I am taking you all to church for a few minutes! lol :)

You may be wondering at this point, how on earth does the photograph of the church above relate to the title of this blog entry? Don't worry, I probably would have been confused myself! Before you read any further I need you to think of an answer to the following question. How might the buildings within a city reflect the culture of the people that live there?

Urban landscapes act as mediums through which persons reveal their cultural norms and values to the outside world. One of the most significant aspects of an urban landscape are its buildings. Some cultural groups are more artefactual than others, meaning that their lifestyles are directly reflected through the buildings and artefacts in the cities that they reside. This greatly influences the materiality or the nature of construction of the city, thus making cities with such features very easy to identify.

Port of Spain can be described as a post-colonial city due to the fact that Trinidad was once a British colony. During the colonial period (19th century) the urban landscape of Trinidad consisted of buildings that were strictly of British architecture. The architectural designs of churches during that period was very important due to the fact that the British were Roman Catholic. Hence the reason I took a photo of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception to describe material culture in POS. The cathedral was the first one of its kind on the island and it has been preserved as a symbol of Trinidad's colonial history, not to mention the fact that even today the majority of the Trinidadian population are still Roman Catholics. There are several other buildings in and around POS to date that reflect British architecture/culture e.g. The Red House, The Archbishop's House and The White House. It should also be noted that aspects of British architecture are still used in the construction of houses and other buildings in Trinidad nowadays. This just goes to show that British culture is indeed a part of Trinidadian culture and it is evident in the structural form of buildings in the city of POS.



Manufactured Culture or not?

The National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA), Queen's Park Savannah , POS , Trinidad.

A huge mass of glass and steel glistening in the sun as it set over POS on a Friday afternoon, is what I saw as I approached this magnificent structure. I simply couldn't resist taking a picture of all its splendor. I knew its name, NAPA, but what I didn't know was what it really meant to me and not just me but the people of my country as a whole. I wondered while aimlessly standing on the pavement, hmmm........this is the home of our country's talent, the place where only Trinidad's most recognized cultural kings and queens perform and show off all that our history has to offer! Suddenly, I felt an overwhelming urge to go inside! However, before I could make another step someone startled me by saying, "Look at dat waste of meh tax money! Hmph! All dat money spend just to make we look bigger on d world map! We already have Carnival wa we need NAPA for??". Hearing those words juggled my thoughts. What on earth did he mean by saying that? Do you know?

When thinking about culture in any city it is often quite noticeable that some aspects of culture are manufactured and manipulated by the government of a country to achieve some sort of economic or social developmental profit. In the case of NAPA, most Trinidadians see the building itself as Trinidad's most significant entertainment center with its outstanding architectural design and appearance. Persons involved in major cultural activities, for example, calypso and soca artistes, folk dancers, carnival mas designers etc see NAPA as a place of opportunity to become recognized regionally and internationally. It is because of this I strongly believe that NAPA is an example of how culture can be manufactured. NAPA was constructed in the city of POS not only to promote Trinidadian culture but also as a strategy to ensure 'economic dynamism' (Hall and Barrett 2012). Economic dynamism can be described as the changes that take place in an economic system, especially those reflected in the markets, businesses and the general economy of a country (Business Dictionary 2013).  For those of you who are ignorant, Trinidad's economy is largely based upon the natural oil and gas industry as well as other aspects of international trade. Hence the reason the decision to diversify the country's economy via developing the cultural sector was made. With the creation of a cultural economy, the country's general economy is boosted through local and international persons spending money to visit NAPA to see cultural shows and displays. Carnival already plays a major role in Trinidad's cultural economy by generating enormous profits through tourism, therefore the addition of NAPA to the economy has only made it more lucrative.

Explore the links below for some additional information about The NAPA and how it is intended to enhance the economic, social and urban development of Trinidad and Tobago.

http://www.udecott.com/index.php/cc/cc_project_item/national_academy_for_the_performing_arts_port_of_spain/

http://www.udecott.com/index.php/cc/cc_news_item/napa_setting_the_record_straight_with_facts/