Monday 10 February 2014


Urban Slum: A part of urban architecture and design?
The Beetham Gardens, Port-of-Spain Trinidad
The Beetham Gardens, captured in the above photograph is the first scene that invites one into the capital city of Port-of-Spain, Trinidad from an easterly direction. This photograph was taken in motion since this is known to be a very violent area, however, I felt that it was important to highlight because this is a depressed area of the city. This scene reflects dilapidated houses with collapsed roofs, unpainted walls and an extremely degraded, polluted environment. This is referred to as an urban slum. UN-Habitat defines a slum in many different ways but most simply as a heavily populated urban area characterized by sub-standard housing and squalor. It is the most visible indicator of urban poverty in developing countries and generally lacks clean water, electricity, sanitation and other basic amenities.
Is this heavily populated area of sub-standard housing and squalor a part of the urban design and architecture of Port-of-Spain? Majestic structures in this capital such as government buildings, churches, schools, hotels and businesses are built with specific forms that fit into the design of the city to make it functional, attractive and sustainable. Some of these structures are categorized as traditional architecture which refers to architecture as an art and is associated with the design of great buildings. Others fit into vernacular architecture which refers to everyday buildings not designed by professionals (Hall and Barrett 2012, 190). Urban architecture in general, is said to give space a cultural expression (Glassie 2000).
The Beetham Gardens is a space that reflects a culture of poverty, crime, overcrowding, unemployment and poor structural quality. Mumford (1938) believed that in western civilizations, slums were formed due to rapid mechanization in urban areas, which caused an influx of people from rural areas. He believed that because the city did not plan to accommodate such masses, they spilled over into degraded areas and slums. In Trinidad, this urban slum may have been formed due to rapid industrialisation, the decline in the number of persons working in agriculture, an influx of illegal immigrants and insecure land tenure to name a few.
However, regardless of the causes of the urban slum formation in Port-of-Spain, its design certainly cannot be classified as that of stylish, modern or even that of great buildings. Rather, it falls into the category of vernacular architecture because its design is determined by local conditions, and style plays no role in its look. It is built by the people who settle there to provide shelter and satisfy very basic needs since many of them are ‘squatting’ or have no ownership of the land on which they dwell. Slums may be considered the eye sore of a city and certainly are not a part of any urban design but they do contribute to a city’s indigenous (vernacular) architecture and by extension its cultural expression.
 
Reference List
  • Glassie, Henry. 2000. Vernacular Architecture. Indiana: Material Culture.
  • Hall, Tim, and Heather Barrett. 2012. Urban Geography. New York: Routledge.
  • Mumford, Lewis. 1938. The Culture of Cities. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company.

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