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| Port of Spain sidewalk- photo by Esther Davis |
When someone looks at this picture what do you think is the first thing that stands out? Most likely it would be the high rise urban architecture in the background or the long stretched road. But what about the side walk in the picture or the tree in the background that shows a small piece of nature incorporated in a city based on urban development and concrete structures. Do present day urban developmental planners plan for the preservation of human space? Or is the development of the world centered around cars.
Cars and other forms of transport have made life more convenient the average person. According to urban designer Zachary Shahan,"The car has somehow become inseparably linked to the concept of freedom." People are able to access places longer distances away, in shorter periods of time with the use of this technology. But with the growth of cities and growth of the population of cities the number of cars increases. More persons own cars privately because of the convenience it offers. This increase in the number of cars within an urban area however leads to the need for more space for these vehicles. Urban planners and architects in turn design and build more large highway systems and parking structures to facilitate of these cars.
The Human Scale 2013, directed by Andreas Mol Dalsgaard is a documentary about architects and urban planners where they discuss ways to increase human interaction. In this documentary it is mentioned that "cities have been planned for cars not people." An example of this is in the article Land for Vehicles or people by Todd Litman. In the article the author mentions that in the USA "in automobile dependent communities with road and parking supply sufficient to keep traffic congestion to the level typical in U.S cities, plus parking spaces at most destinations, a city must devote between 2000 and 4000 square feet of land to roads and off-street parking per automobile.With this large amount of space required to accommodate cars and this space requirements increasing with the increasing number of cars what can be said for the space within smaller countries like Trinidad. Small side walks and little to no places in urban areas where people can spend time socializing and enjoying recreation are results of this.
"What is the future of our public space?" The shortage and inequity in the distribution of urban open space are symptomatic of larger transformations of public space" Banerjee (2001). Upon visiting the city of Port of Spain and walking to the Water taxi terminal I realized that there was very little open public space for people to walk. While crossing the highway I had to stand on a small concrete block in order to be safely away from the moving traffic on either side while I waited to get to the other side of the road. Along the stretch to the terminal I found my self walking around obstacles such as lamp posts and street signs.Looking at the picture you can clearly see the inequality in the distribution of space being depicted. The design of the road infrastructure within the capital city consist of four lanes for vehicles driving in one direction. While the sidewalk is only designed for about two people to walk comfortably side by side at the same time. Obstacles such as bus stops, fire hydrants and a number of others are placed on the sidewalks by private companies taking away from what little public space we have access to. What about people suffering from disabilities or injuries that have taken away there ability to walk, where is the public space to facilitate for these persons located? If urban developers do not start taking into consideration the value of human space, human spaces in urban areas will be lost. Cities need to be developed around human needs first since it is we that inhabit these cities.
"All architectural are human values, else not valuable at all," Frank Lloyd Wright.
The Human Scale 2013, directed by Andreas Mol Dalsgaard is a documentary about architects and urban planners where they discuss ways to increase human interaction. In this documentary it is mentioned that "cities have been planned for cars not people." An example of this is in the article Land for Vehicles or people by Todd Litman. In the article the author mentions that in the USA "in automobile dependent communities with road and parking supply sufficient to keep traffic congestion to the level typical in U.S cities, plus parking spaces at most destinations, a city must devote between 2000 and 4000 square feet of land to roads and off-street parking per automobile.With this large amount of space required to accommodate cars and this space requirements increasing with the increasing number of cars what can be said for the space within smaller countries like Trinidad. Small side walks and little to no places in urban areas where people can spend time socializing and enjoying recreation are results of this.
"What is the future of our public space?" The shortage and inequity in the distribution of urban open space are symptomatic of larger transformations of public space" Banerjee (2001). Upon visiting the city of Port of Spain and walking to the Water taxi terminal I realized that there was very little open public space for people to walk. While crossing the highway I had to stand on a small concrete block in order to be safely away from the moving traffic on either side while I waited to get to the other side of the road. Along the stretch to the terminal I found my self walking around obstacles such as lamp posts and street signs.Looking at the picture you can clearly see the inequality in the distribution of space being depicted. The design of the road infrastructure within the capital city consist of four lanes for vehicles driving in one direction. While the sidewalk is only designed for about two people to walk comfortably side by side at the same time. Obstacles such as bus stops, fire hydrants and a number of others are placed on the sidewalks by private companies taking away from what little public space we have access to. What about people suffering from disabilities or injuries that have taken away there ability to walk, where is the public space to facilitate for these persons located? If urban developers do not start taking into consideration the value of human space, human spaces in urban areas will be lost. Cities need to be developed around human needs first since it is we that inhabit these cities.
"All architectural are human values, else not valuable at all," Frank Lloyd Wright.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CARS VS HUMAN SPACE CHECK OUT
http://www.planetizen.com/node/72454/land-vehicles-or-people
OR
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/cities-for-people-or-cars/
Reference:
Banerjee, T. (2001). The Future of Public Space "Beyond Invented Streets and Reinvented Places" Journal of American Planning Association, 67(1), 9.
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