URBAN SECURITY: ARE THERE DIFFERENCES?

This post is where I highlight something that may be ignored by many people who are common users of the city or rare users… And even if they are noticed, they are noticed in a different light than what I’m about to shine. All the same, I’m sure you never paid attention either. Urban security is the urban aspect and the way it is reflected by the urban building infrastructure that I’m about to speak of in the following. After you read through the blog and pay attention the photos that were presented, you should be able to understand the differences in security as they occur and the way in which they relate to the infrastructural types.

            Security generally refers to that of being free from any danger or threat that the asset may face (Oxford Dictionaries, n.d.). In this case we will talk about person and building security against treats form other people. Throughout time people has always felt the need to keep secure and by extension, keep the places around them and the places that the use, secured (Gates, 2010, p. 3). With that being said, we all have a line of basic defense at our homes or at our work place. Our homes have doors as a simple line of defense against human or non- human treats may harm us at homes. Another line of defense that homes may have included fences or walls depending on the treats that they think they may encounter. At the work place, the same above mentioned security may by present along with others such as guards, surveillance cameras or alarms.

            Within the Caribbean, buildings are heavily secured. Within the Caribbean context of security, many people feel the need to be protected by criminals and other treats that wish to harm them. In the Caribbean, whether the security is against humans or against animals in rural communities, there is still the requirement for security to be inserted into the building infrastructure. By extent, within cites of the Caribbean, there has been an urgent need by building owners, whether residential or commercial, to secure their homes. The rise in crime in these nations has led to the continuous movement by the upper and middle classes in to the suburbs (Mycoo, 2006, p. 131). Despite being affected by the same threats within the urban area, some buildings are secured more than others and the difference goes based on the building infrastructure that is displayed. In Port- of- Spain, many areas are protected in many different ways and this may be due to a series of external influences. The following photos show different urban building infrastructure and types of security they entail.

Photograph taken at the high class suburban area in Port- of- Spain showing the walls as security.

Photograph taken at a middle class suburban area in Port- of- Spain showing its fencing as security.

Photograph of a mobile form of informal infrastructure (Port- of- Spain) with no security.

            From the above photographs, we can see that the suburban areas have a first line of protection being either fences or walls. The upper class suburban building of the city of Port- of Spin are taller and thicker for a treat to get past than those within the middle class- suburban area. Hoses in this area belong to the richest of the Port- of- Spain urban society. As such they have the money to build up high walls and maybe include more security to their infrastructure. Also, this upper class has a sense of fright instilled in them that the poor will try to harm them and their belongings hence the need for the built up walls. Despite the fact that they might face the same traits as others, they feel the need to get the best security and feel the most secured. The middle class workers cannot afford to build high walls so they settle for fencing. Although the high walls may be a plus against treats and danger, they deduce the community like feeling that humans may want to feel and the humanistic feel of being in a community may be deprived (Relph, 1981, p 103).

            Further down the spectrum of urban security is the protection by doors only with the urban buildings in the central business district. These building owners have regular doors and alarms built into their infrastructure. These areas are always busy as it is the center of attraction for the city. With the city always being busy, treats may be deterred from harming the inner city users. Also it is important to note that the door ways are generally small. This is so that it will be difficult for treats to harm the city users or escape easily after harming a building or the users of the buildings.

            Lastly, we should note that there is an absence of security around the informal building infrastructure. As we said in an earlier post, the informal building infrastructure is being rum mainly by the lower class. Many may argue different reasons why there is the lack of security on informal building infrastructure but some include the owner’s economic standing or the mobility of the infrastructure. Firstly, it will be difficult for a temporary building infrastructure to walk around with security as these security measures are often very difficult to move around with daily and some are completely immobile. Secondly, the informal business owners will not have enough money to facilitate security. Although people may think that theses lower class members will not be harmed, it is important to note that they too are harmed. Despite common thinking that lower class residents do harm so they would not harm one another, this notion is not true. Many times, in Port- of- Spain, informal businesses are being rubbed. An article published in Trinidad about these lower classes being robbed can be obtained from: http://mobile.guardian.co.tt/crime-and-court/2014-12-09/doubles-vendor-shot-and-robbed

It is important for you to remember that despite the socio- economic standing of the informal vendors, they still face treats by greedy humans who just want to aspire the easiest way of living.

             The building infrastructure represents and accounts for the different types of urban security that is employed to protect the buildings and its owners. The differences among the urban security features around the city are many due to the inequalities that the city poses. With Port- of Spain being a dual city, as mentioned earlier, there is a greater unevenness that arises and can be seen. It is important to pay attention to how some city users are inconvenienced and others are privileged. Despite the fact that the people may face the same treat by predators, only some are protected and others are not. Next time you walk outside, pay attention to the uneven urban security that you may see or even pay attention to the relationship between the security and factors such as class, money, power or vulnerability.

References

Felmine, K. (2014). Doubles vendor shot and robbed. Retrieved April 9, 2015, from http://mobile.guardian.co.tt/crime-and-court/2014-12-09/doubles-vendor-shot-and-robbed.

Gates, R. M. (2010). Helping others defend themselves [Electronic Version]. Foreign Affairs, 89, 2-6.

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.

Oxford Dictionaries. (n.d.). Security. Retrieved April 9, 2015, from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/security.

Relph, E. (1981). The Character of Modern Landscapes. Rational landscapes and humanistic geography (p. 63- 105). London: Crown Helen.