DUAL CITY: ...WITHIN ONE CITY?

The dual city is a term risen due to the rise of increasing social division within the city and the apparent emergence of an urban ‘underclass’ who have been separated from the formal economy (Hall, 2006, p. 142). The underclass society will entail the low waged and unwaged citizens whereas the ‘upper class’ will be the people with wealth and power. The ideal dual city may be the result of increasing social polarization and the need for people to separate themselves. This idea also agrees with Burgess’ concentric model where the lower class adapts and lives around the central business district. (More about Burgess’ model can be obtained at http://www.lewishistoricalsociety.com/wiki/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=16). This dual idea is present in Port- of- Spain and is identifiable through the urban infrastructure. 

In east Port- of Spain, just on the outskirts of the centres of finance or the main business district, lies a collection of underclass building infrastructure. Due to the history of Trinidad and colonialism poorer people has always settled on the eastern end along the centre of business. Lands were hilly and cheaper to obtain by the freed slaves (East Port of Spain Development Company Limited, n.d.). East Port- of- Spain is home to a lot of dilapidated government built housing development and unmanaged and unkempt private housing. Businesses along the east are small business with little money to make a statement. Dissatisfied of the building at east Port- of- Spain, are the residents (Simon, 2010). Housing and business building infrastructure in east Port- of- Spain is represented in the following string of photos. 

Photograph of East Duke Street, Port- of- Spain showing housing and small business infrastructure.

Photograph of abandoned building infrastructure on Henry Street, east Port- of- Spain.

Photograph of more building infrastructure on Henry Street, east Port- of- Spain.

Photograph showing more building infrastructure located east Port- of- Spain.

West Port- of- Spain, throughout time has managed to house the richer upper- class residential people who hose more power and more powerful businesses. Government businesses are located in this side of the city. Powerhouses such as the Waterfront and One Woodbrook Place (not photographed) represented in photos below are located along the western side of Port- of- Span. The building infrastructure present in west Port- of- Spain demonstrates the wealth that the west has and the way the buildings are built represent the power the west holds. Power is deemed and shines through the buildings as they extend skyward with high walls and rich infrastructural designs that demand respect. Different housing infrastructure is also represented in the following.

Photo of Hyatt Regency Hotel Trinidad and Tobago and the Waterfront Buildings, west Port- of- Spain.

Photograph of Wrightson Road, west Port- of Spain.

Photograph of the Eric Williams Financial Complex, west Port- of- Spain.

Photograph showing Edward Street building infrastructure, west Port- of- Spain.

In the context of the dual city and the above mentioned information, it is almost as though two different worlds and building infrastructure is present within this small city. On one side of the city there is a distinct rich class who has power and on the other side, a low class containing people with no power and money. The city houses to two completely different classes with different social standings, hence the term social polarization. As above mentioned, the social polarization and the constant need for people of different social classes to distinguish themselves from the other, more so the upper social class, continuously develops and the ‘dual city’ (Hamnett, 1994). The city will continuously differ significantly. In Port- of- Spain there will continuously have social polarization without an intervention by the forces that are required to run the country.

Social polarization is present throughout the Caribbean region. A great other example of the dual city is Sao Paulo, Brazil where there is a great divide among the wealthy, high social standers and the poor, lower class individuals. (More information about Sao Paulo as a dual city can be obtained from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzBxhDUM1dE). It is important t to pay attention to the history of colonialism in the Caribbean and their influence for the need for class segregation. The Caribbean is home to a diverse set of people with many differences and this is represented greatly through their building infrastructure. Social fragmentation has always been a part of the Caribbean's history but it is increasing with temporal changes (Mycoo, 2006, p. 133).

References

East Port of Spain Development Company Limited. (n.d.). About east Port of Spain. Retrieved March 25, 2015, from http://eposdctt.com/default.asp?id=54.

Hall, A. (2006). Unequal Cities. Urban Geography (p. 129- 151). New York: Routledge.

Hamnett, C. (1994). Social polarisation in global cities: Theory and evidence [Electronic version]. Urban Studies, 31, 401- 424.

Lewishistoricalsociety. (2010). Concentric zone model. Retrieved March 25, 2015, from http://www.lewishistoricalsociety.com/wiki/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=16.

Mycoo, M. (2006). The retreat of the upper and middle classes to gated communities n post structural adjustment era: the case of Trinidad [Electronic Version]. Environment and Planning, 38, 131- 148.

Simon, A. (2010). HDC apartment resident: Please repair the roof. Retrieved March 26, 2015, from http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/HDC_apartment_resident__Please_repair_the_roof.html.