Woodbrook

Woodbrook is considered to be middle to upper-middle class residential area situated west of Port-of-Spain’s CBD. The Port-of-Spain City Corporation classifies this area as an urban neighbourhood. As one exits the CBD heading west along Park Street, the historic, colonial architecture of houses and businesses is a telling sign that you have entered Woodbrook. The traditional architecture of these buildings has been maintained since the houses were built in the early 1900s. Woodbrook was a large sugarcane estate owned by the Siegert family and then sold to the Town Board in 1911 where land was leased thereafter to be developed into a residential area.

Something that has captivated me since I first visited Woodbrook is that businesses, bars and restaurants which are continuously growing in that neighbourhood have maintained the colonial architecture of the buildings as seen below. A resident has confirmed that bars and restaurants along the famous commercial strip, Ariapita Avenue has only taken place within the last decade. This is a sign of gentrification occurring because businesses are being established in the midst of this residential area which raises the value of the properties even higher than it is already worth. According to Hall and Barrett (2012, 145) certain businesses that occupy conserved buildings can outperform more ordinary modern schemes in terms of rental income. Old buildings and historic urban quarters are revitalized in order to attract new business investment or to encourage urban tourism and leisure pursuits. This is the case with Ariapita Avenue since the recent establishment of upscale restaurants, casinos and bars have made it into a ‘mini Las Vegas Strip’ and possibly the most popular nightlife area in Port-of-Spain. 

Stir Fry King Chinese Restaurant (left) and Melange Restaurant (right) on Ariapita Avenue




Coco Lounge Bar on Ariapita Avenue

 

Issues associated with gentrification however, such as displacement and exclusion of residents from the area have not yet surfaced. Perhaps property tax has not been an issue because residents have not been paying any taxes since the political parties changed government office. Even prior to this, property taxes were very low because the tax was based on the original evaluation of the land, which was a significantly lower value than now. Therefore, residents are not affected by the increasing number of businesses occupying colonial houses in this area.

 

 

Reference List:

• Hall, Tim, and Heather Barrett. 2012. Urban Geography. New York: Routledge.
• Port-of-Spain City Corporation. Final Draft Development Plan: A Strategic Planning Framework For Metropolitan Port-of-Spain. Volume 2 Implementation Plan, Port-of-Spain.