Urban Poverty and Cities of Aspiration

“Not only our future economic soundness but the very soundness of our democratic institutions depends on the determination of our government to give employment to idle men” — Franklin D. Roosevelt

In poverty assessment of Trinidad and Tobago by The World Bank, it is stated that the severity of poverty is worse in urban than in rural areas. In urban areas the economic pressures of the poor coupled with high youth unemployment, has contributed to growing problems of crime and drug use. As crime and violence continue to increase, they will have detrimental effects on the economy and society as a whole.

The urban profile of San Fernando by United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), reports, "The existing infrastructure is outdated and inefficient for the type and extent of modernization in San Fernando, as well as its capacity demands. Power lines and cables are strung on utility poles above the streets, water leaks from existing pipes, and distribution is a challenge. Coupled with the increase in the intensity of use of buildings and the increased consumption of the population, there is strain on the available resources."

The urban poor are constricted in pockets throughout the city, mainly in marginal areas and in some areas adjacent to government housing schemes. In such pockets, the housing stock does not reflect well on the city in terms of aesthetics as in the images of San Fernando pictured above and below.

With no published crime prevention strategy for San Fernando, nor any specially established water rates for the urban poor in the city it is evident that the political will to address the wide number of problems facing the urban poor is also in desperate need of improvement.

"It seems to me that not having some type of aspirational component to your city’s attractiveness ultimately puts a ceiling on what it can achieve." - Aaron M. Renn.

Despite the fact that San Fernando enjoys a high level of literacy and is home to some of the most prestigious schools in the country, it is certainly not a city of 'aspirational attraction' for the majority of Trinidad's population. No, that is definitely Port-of-Spain. With a skyline that induces a feeling of empowerment and superiority it is no wonder that anyone who can dream of it (blissfully ignorant of the traffic conditions of course and of the actual hardship of life within the capital), aim for a life in the big city. Whether it be for lifestyle reasons, or simply because of the reputation of the capital.

Image taken from http://www.flickr.com/photos/socatrinidad/2708707259/

But the city is, and needs to have, so much more than simply an "aspirational component" despite what some governing bodies seem to think. New and unnecessary skyscrapers are too often springing up on the Port-of-Spain waterfront, and what is being done about Beetham or Sea Lots? Well they may just get more walls. Silly politicians. Covering something up doesn't mean it will go away.

Cities provide opportunities for many, particularly the poor who are attracted by greater job prospects, the availability of services, and for some simply an escape from constraints in rural villages. Yet city life can also present conditions of overcrowded living, congestion, unemployment, lack of social and community networks, stark inequalities, and crippling social problems such as crime and violence.

Image taken from www.scribd.com/doc/19552480/Port-of-Spain-Case-Study

Some of those who migrate will benefit from the opportunities in urban areas, while those with low skill levels, may be left behind and struggle to cope with the day to day challenges of city life. Many of the problems of urban poverty are rooted in resource and capacity constraints, inadequate Government policies, and a lack of planning for urban growth and management.

“Want of money and the distress of a thief can never be alleged as the cause of his thieving, for many honest people endure greater hardships with fortitude. We must therefore seek the cause elsewhere than in want of money, for that is the miser’s passion, not the thief’s” — William Blake

We need to be asking the question of what exactly we are doing to benefit the people without college degrees beyond assuring them that if we attract more people with college degrees everything will be looking up for them. 

Class-based resentments threaten civic cohesion and such bitterness must be prevented as each social class is interwoven into a single urban environment. Growth projections are high for cities in developing countries and the challenges of urban poverty and of city management will only worsen if it is not addressed more aggressively.

Inner-City Life and Stereotypes

“Neighborhoods built up all at once change little physically over the years as a rule...[Residents] regret that the neighborhood has changed. Yet the fact is, physically it has changed remarkably little. People's feelings about it, rather, have changed. The neighborhood shows a strange inability to update itself, enliven itself, repair itself, or to be sought after, out of choice, by a new generation. It is dead. Actually it was dead from birth, but nobody noticed this much until the corpse began to smell.” ― Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities.

Driving through the city of San Fernando a late Sunday afternoon, I was privy to a much quieted scene of deserted pavements and traffic-free streets. As I observed what had once been my daily stomping ground near the primary school I attended, the nostalgia set in for the good, care-free times of childhood innocence and ignorance. I was taken aback at  the forsaken state of the buildings as if neglected since I last set eyes on these surroundings some 10 years ago.

But perhaps my vision is tainted by experiences outside the city, and a knowledge of everything else that is beautiful that I have encountered in recent endeavors, making what was then an exciting, liberating area, now one of hopelessness and unease.

Image taken from http://media-cache-ec3.pinterest.com/192x/38/5b/6b/385b6bd9af420d6035251e4f2456cf3f.jpg

Corrupted by idealized notions of order planted into development schemes of the suburbs I now inhabit, it is only natural that the dissimilar feels unnatural.

However, it was this image (below) of children and adults playing cricket in the street between apartment buildings in a disreputable area which had me questioning the real source of my apprehension toward the neighborhood. Such socialization and friendship among the members of this community is something to be admired as few neighborhoods are able to boast of such interaction.

Hall and Barrett (2012) mention that a lack of social cohesion within communities are a major source of social and cultural problems in urban areas. Then, if that sort of issue is ruled out from affecting this neighborhood, why the stereotypical conception?

Urban models have the tendency to suggest that some areas are 'better' than others, e.g. that all housing in inner city areas is low class/low-income and that only the elderly and single-parent families live here in a zone lacking open space, whereas wealthy families only reside in the 'tree-lined' suburbs or gated communities.

Image taken from http://www.glogster.com/lovbug34/stop-stereotypes-reblog-this-glog-if-you-support-me-/g-6lpgc34qj68310st7g144qp

It is easy to accept stereotypes without realizing we are doing so, and seeing a situation for ourselves may lead us to question our original picture. 

The Retailing Revolution

"Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping." - Bo Derek.

With shopping outlets now located almost everywhere, the question is, where can one not go shopping? Do you seek to satisfy your needs or your wants? Are you going to the mall or the 'High Street'? What about that boutique near your house, with the showcase that never fails to catch your attention?

Today, the average consumer is driven by wants. Lets be honest. Once we have broken free of the binding chains that are necessity and still manage an excess in the almighty dollar, we seek the delight which comes from that gorgeous pair of shoes, or a perfect dress, an interesting new book, the latest technological software or gadget or even to sate the most recent craving of our favorite comfort food.

Hall and Barret (2012) state, "Increasingly shopping is carried out not merely as a necessity but as a social activity and cultural pursuit, linked to identity production" which I am sure many can attest to.

Usually a core activity in cities, there now exists an overabundance of spaces of consumption.
The 'High Streets' of Trinidad are notably the places to go for bargains. However, discomfort, claustrophobic distress and parking limitations are factors of discouragement to some and those who can afford the prices elsewhere certainly do so.

An increasing number of shopping outlets are located in the edge of towns and cities (as shown above, the Auzonville Shopping Mall in a small urban district), usually taking advantage of economies of scale, lower rents and a more planned environment. 
Furthermore there is even the ever-increasing popularity of internet shopping offering greater convenience, wider resource base and an endless assortment of merchandise to consumers.

Edward Bernays often referred to as the “father of public relations," was the nephew of Sigmund Freud, the legendary founder of psychoanalysis. Combining his uncle’s work on the unconscious, primal mind with Wilfred Trotter’s theories of crowd psychology, he came up with PR techniques that manipulated public opinion through subconscious channels. In one of his many schemes, he organized fashion shows in department stores and paid celebrities to repeat the new and essential message, you bought things not just for need but to express your inner sense of your self to others. Particularly, featuring Mrs. Stillman, 1920s Celebrity Aviator:

"There's a psychology of dress, have you ever thought about it? How it can express your character? You all have interesting characters but some of them are all hidden. I wonder why you all want to dress always the same, with the same hats and the same coats. I'm sure all of you are interesting and have wonderful things about you, but looking at you in the street you all look so much the same. And that's why I'm talking to you about the psychology of dress. Try and express yourselves better in your dress. Bring out certain things that you think are hidden. I wonder if you've thought about this angle of your personality."

While Goss (1999) and Blomley (1996) describe retail spaces as sites of cultural reproduction, media critic Mark Crispin Miller, Professor of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University, takes a contrasting vantage point on consumerism:

“Once a culture becomes entirely advertising friendly, it ceases to be a culture at all.”

Where do you go to 'leisure shop'? Do you believe your subconscious is manipulated into constantly wanting? Do you support Miller's views on the loss of identity as a result of the 'consumer culture'?

Links:

Review of Century of the Self - A review of the documentary series by Adam Curtis about Edward Bernays and his public relations techniques.

YouTube - Century of the Self (parts 1-4) - The entire documentary.

References:

• Blomley, N.K. 1996. '"I'd like to dress her all over": masculinity, power and retail capital.' In Wrigley, N and Lowe, M.S. eds Retailing Consumption and Capital: Towards the New Retail Geography. Harlow: Addison -Wesley Longman.

• Goss, J. 1993. 'Once-upon-a-time in a commodity world: an unofficial guide to the mall of America'. Annals of the Association of American Geographers. 89: 45-75

• Hall, Tim and Heather Barrett. 2012. Urban Geography. 4th ed. London and New York, Routledge Publishing. 87-90

First image taken from Confessions of a Shopaholic 2009 Film and last image captured from Century of the Self documentary.

Chaguanas Urban Form: A Transformation

“Nature shrinks as capital grows. The growth of the market cannot solve the very crisis it creates.” -Vandana Shiva, Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis

Every morning on my commute to school, the journey from south to north Trinidad reveals a plethora of scenes from rural to urban landscapes by which the lives of so many people are connected. As I have only now began my exploration into the miscellany of the urban world, many of the usual images now appear in a different light.

This picture is focused eastward along Chaguanas Main Road where all its commercial developments can be seen in the distance, and its perpendicular orientation to the Uriah Butler Highway overpass. The particular element which never fails to catch my attention is the row of struggling plants at the center of the scene. The fact that all that exists of the natural scenery in this area has long been destroyed and replaced is certainly disheartening, although I hardly even know what was considered its former glory.

Situated in central Trinidad, Chaguanas was once considered prime agricultural land where sugar cane and cocoa flourished. With the development and construction of the Railway in 1880, which provided convenience for transporting agricultural produce, as well as passengers, it transformed Chaguanas, making it the most important market town in the area. Its main urban land use began its metamorphosis from agriculture to transportation. By the late 1940s and in the 1950s, although Chaguanas was still surrounded by cane fields, a modern system of roadways enhanced it still as a hub of communication. 


The beauty and abundance that was once synonymous with the area ceased to be its life-blood and Chaguanas today remains a key village known instead as a burgeoning retail centre with large shopping stores, such as Pricesmart and Food Basket, the largest and most popular outdoor flea market in Trinidad, and the north-south Uriah Butler/Solomon Hochoy Highway running through it.

Early urban growth is associated with the development of human control of the environment through the domestication of animals, crop production and irrigation (Hall and Barrett, 2012). What served as the core of the earliest villages, agriculture is now not only on the periphery, but entirely overlooked as the primary source of sustenance. The time has long passed where tending for nature came alongside tending for oneself. 

The cities we know and are a part of today are constantly being altered by redevelopment and the addition of new urban forms associated with new economic and socio-cultural impulses. 

Second image taken from http://www.squidoo.com/a_potted_history_of_the_world_-_the_birth_of_civilization

Other sources of information:

• http://www.trinbagopan.com/Townsandvillages/Chaguanas.html
• http://www.bestoftrinidad.com/communities/chaguanas.html

An Introduction

“One has not only an ability to perceive the world but an ability to alter one's perception of it; more simply, one can change things by the manner in which one looks at them.” - Tom Robbins

The majority of the world’s population resides in cities. Their complexity and diversity render efforts to fix their meaning discrepant. In an effort to understand the intricacy of the urban world, I wish to explore in this blog the many facets of the inner lives of cities and seek to discover the wider contexts to which they belong. Through contextualizing the experiences captured in images of the urban landscape a foundation is provided to encourage and establish urban perceptions.