The 'Concrete Jungle'

Urban District and Concrete Jungle of Port-of-Spain
Photo Courtesy: Navida Bachan

         The aspect of 'concrete' within Port-of-Spain is centralized by the density of buildings compacted into a small space. This CBD is recognized for its structural design to which visitors gaze upon in amazement. The above photo is representative of the congestion caused by increasing construction of buildings, whether it be work-related or for housing compartments. Additionally, vehicular traffic is seemingly increasing as the lives of many are improved with increasing amount of companies being set up within this already busy district. An urban district such as Port-of-Spain consists of a compaction of multiple skyscrapers which reduce their footprint by standing tip-toe, acting as a driving force in stimulating an increase in the city’s population density. Taller buildings means, more people being vertically accounted for. Approximately 193 companies are found within the borders of Port-of-Spain and this in itself can speak of the concentration of standing buildings, some of which include: Powergen, Berger Paints Ltd. etc.

Please visit the following link for more details pertaining to the list of companies situated within the city of Port-of-Spain:

http://www.manta.com/world/North+America/Trinidad+&+Tobago/-/Port-Of-Spain/

        Standing close-by to towering edifices, strong winds generate enough energy to funnel through creating a canyon effect affecting the daily commuter, shopper and pedestrians. The day this picture was taken, I distinctly recall being pushed by the howling winds while walking through Fredrick St. And it was to my amazement that I didn't tumble over. This alone speaks of the strength of the winds that stray through. At the same time, the phenomenon of an urban heat island is present as the entire city is heated up because of the creation of a ‘concrete jungle’ raising night time temperatures from the absorption of daytime heat (Talmor, 2013).

The Skyscrapers of Port-of-Spain
Photo Courtesy: Cherise Ali


The photo on the left displays the dynamics of the city life with regard to the closeness or the congestion of buildings. It shows the most significant difference when compared to the rural and suburban areas within the periphery, which stimulates the resounding phenomenon of the urban heat island. Also, the tall, slender structures facilitate the perfect environment for the passage of the winds that funnel through, known as the canyon effect. 

      

REFERENCES:

Hall, Tim. and Heather Barrett. 2012. Urban Geography 4^th edition. London and New York: Routledge.

Menglin Jin, Robert E. Dickinson, Da Zhang (2005) The Footprint of Urban Areas on Global Climate as Characteriszed by MODIS. Journal of Climate 18:10, 1551-1565 (PDF)

Talmor Meir, et at (2013) Forecasting the New York City Urban Heat Island and Sea Breeze during the Extreme Heat Events. Weather and Forecasting 28:6, 1460-1477 (PDF)