Urban Slum: A part of
urban architecture and design?
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| 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.
