As one passes the
Beetham Gardens traveling in a westerly direction into Port-of-Spain, the first
residential area encountered is the low income housing area of Port-of-Spain’s
CBD as seen below.
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| Working Class Apartment Buildings |
This area houses the working class neighbourhood and is rarely seen by the
public because many people do not venture into these areas. Hence these
photographs were taken while the vehicle was still in motion because of the
reputation of high crime and violence. This neighbourhood which reflects that
of George and Nelson Street was specifically chosen to highlight because having
walked through the CBD recently, I realized that I never took note of the type
of housing associated with this hub of commercial activities. The location of
this working class residential area is indicative of Ernest Burgess’s
concentric zone model although Port-of-Spain does not have a factory zone. The
CBD similarly, is the center and is surrounded by the working class residential.
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| One of the access routes between the Neighbourhood and the CBD |
The buildings are
visibly compact and it can be seen that some attempt at redevelopment has been
made as seen by the newly applied paint on the buildings below. The architecture
however is classified as vernacular since it is very simple and common
materials are used to portray the culture of the people.
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| Refurbished Housing |
According to Pacione
(2009) the attitude of the government towards these settlements has varied
considerably, ranging from hostility, to suppression, to toleration and
occasional support. While these housing developments were initiatives by the
government to supply housing to the working class areas, we see discontent by
the residents in this video and article.
Reference List
- Pacione, M. 2009. Urban Geography: A Global Perspective. London: Routledge.
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