Brian Lara Promenade- Port of Spain
The CBD of Port of Spain is the main commercial centre and it is located at the heart of the city. When touring this area in the city, there are a variety of sectors ranging from the street vendors to our own skyways (malls) where there are the social interactions of many. While walking through the CBD, what can be observed is the business of the people who speedily walk through the promenade or streets on their way to work as well as the down-town traffic which is most evident by many vehicles. Firstly seen on the Brian Lara Promenade were the mixing of people socially interacting. It acts as a meeting place for the young and even the old. Cultures here are mixing and as a result this area should be better protected or even patrolled to ensure that its area is not degraded. Therefore to maintain this area more waste disposals should be placed as well as public facilities should be invested in. Crossing these busy streets and walking in the highly dense business district is several streets that are occupied by many street vendors. These streets are so congested that the entrance to other stores or buildings become obscured. For example Charlottte street operates as a market as the roads on both sides are encroached by these vendors. As these areas a busy on a daily basis improvement to be done should be the increase of more patrols due to the mass movement in on out of these densely occupied streets. Also what should be implemented is the proper disposal of waste as street vendors usually discard of their spoilt vegetables in the drains which can clog them and lead to future flooding during the wet seasons. Even though the CBD has its negativities, its serves its purpose by providing a diverse commercial zone that is surrounded by many tall buildings. Further into the city to Woodford park, this area was well maintained and serves its purpose for relaxing and social interactions. However in order to make these areas such as the promenade and this park more operational, the level of homelessness witnessed in these areas should be reduced.
Placecheck: Belmont
Belmont
Situated on the outskirts of Port of Spain is the first suburban area known as Belmont. This settlement came about as a result of the first set of free slaves in Trinidad. Development in Belmont even though it is an old suburban area, it shows no indication of or ever having urban planning. This is suggested by the close proximity of houses to each other as well as the streets which are narrowly spaced throughout. This was due to the transport routes being developed after housing. Due to this, this area has created a close knitted relationship with the residents. Everyone come together as one and it is evident in the culture shared. Even on the streets the busy hustle experienced in the CBD is not experienced here as people are more relaxed and interact on personal levels in my own observation. Even though not all of Belmont interacts in this ways because there is crime and violence prevalent in this area, it cannot be said that it is a Belmont problem due to the stigma attached that "Belmont is bad". Crime occurs all over Trinidad. Also there is the heavy flooding which occurs during the wet season when the East dry River overflows. This is usually encouraged due to the heavy pollution by residents. Besides these negatives, Belmont has the luxury of being closely located to the CBD in comparison to other areas that are further away from this commercial zone. Furthermore, Belmont is home to the cultural origins of mas and pan. Even though modernization has occurred, Belmont still holds on to its own community culture. To improve the Belmont community, improvement should be made into creating parks to facilitate in sports to lower crimes of the idle youths and also improve the quality of communication within this environment.
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