Retailing

Vendors and large scale markets catered more for retailing. The variety in items could be seen at the side of the road and bargains as well as friendships were easily made while "shopping". In the markets there was competition amongst vendors on the price of their retailed goods and who had better deals to attract more customers.

High Street San Fernando: 09/04/2013

As times change and demand increases air conditioned malls are now built for easy access to all  items together with comfort. This is changing ht urban landscape as taller and more elaborate building are being built.

The Theory

Historically urban retail organisations has been recognised as "unplanned" shopping areas at neighborhood shopping areas and the core of settlements. Recently research is being done on how the structure of urban retailing has used structural perspectives that looks at connecting social organisation of retailing and changing corporate with a spatial expression termed " the new geography of retailing" (Wrigley and Lowe 2002).

Changes in urban retail

Changing consumer attitudes and expectations. This is where there is preference for more convenience and comfort where shopping. Also there is more female employment and increased car ownership which has changed the shopping experience. For supply, increase in the market share of large multiple retailers and distributors which is a disadvantage to independent shops (Wrigley and Lowe 2002).

Increased technology has changed the shopping experience. Now the internet can be used for e-shopping and so traditional city centre shopping as declined (Weltevreden and Van Rietbergen 2007). There is also the growth of planned out-of-town suburban shopping areas and retail parks that have contributed to a decline in downtown shopping opportunities (Wrigley and Lowe 2002).

The Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4HTpduDiDQ

The References

Weltevreden J.W.J. and Van Rietbergen T. (2007). E-shopping versus city centre shopping : the role of perceived city center attractiveness. 98: 68-85.

Wrigley N. and Lowe M. (2002). Reading retail: A geographical perspective on retailing and consumption spaces. London: Arnold.

Commerce in the city

Banks are the key producer services for transaction of money. It literally represents the wealth of people within the city and those that are living on the outskirts. It reminds me of the aspirations of the people and the hopes that can be full filled by whatever they can save.

High street Sn Fernando: 09/04/2013

The Theory

The advent of service economy looks at a activities that take place within cities. A main area of growth has also been the producer sector that provides services to businesses such as accountancy and advertising and for people the insurance and banking. The scale of the service sector growth is slower to the Global South because of the size of the service sector and larger informal service sector. This informal sector can provide the same functions of the formal sector and so is utilised.

Banks being producer services have become the key focus of a new and dynamic economic quarters that have changed the central areas and wider economies of these cities (Sassen 2002). This type of service have a privileged position in the urban economies because of their ability to generate substantial profits in comparison to the relative investment of time and money.

Although these producer services provide lucrative opportunities, its only for the few highly qualified professionals. Therefore the jobs that are remaining tend to be low paying or low skilled jobs. This polarisation of opportunity according to (Short 1989) can negatively affect the locally oriented services by displacing them.

The Video

                                                        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zal-ToCjLQM

The References

Sassen S. (2002). The global city: New York, London, Tokyo. Princeton NJ. Princeton University Press.

Short J.R. (1989). Yuppies, yuffies and the new urban order. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers N.S. 14: 173-188.

Transportation in the city

It can be quite a frustrating task as a commuter to endure the ritualistic problem of traffic and not just any traffic, but the stand still type. Within the urban areas this has been a mandatory occurance especially at peak hours. That is between 7:00am to 8:00 am, 12:00 pm and 3:00 pm to 4:00pm.

The Wharf San Fernando: 09/04/2013

Mobility in the city is much more convenient by foot . The majority of  commuters use  public transport to get into and out of the city. It is a relief that a system was put in place which was the use of large buses to get into and out of the city which reduces the traffic problem to some extent. 

The Theory

(Jarvis et al. 2001) states that mobility is the ability to move around the city and is a necessity. it is part of the complex dimension of everyday life. The emphasis is place more on the Global North having private car ownership. This can cause social, economic and environmental issues. Therefore transport itself does not just shape the city but can impact on an ecological standpoint, societal and cultural standpoint as well. For example the social impact can be road traffic causing death and injury among the urban population (Short and Pinet- Peralta 2010).

Substitution for using cars

• Linking Trips : Make one trip to complete various tasks.
• 
  
• Time Switching: Travel can be done in off- peak hours when there is less congestion to  reduce travel time.
• 
  
• Mode switching: Using alternative modes of transport instead of just a car.
• 
  
• Destination switching: Create more local destinations than distant ones.
• 
  
• Technology: Replace physical travel by electronic communication.

 Looking at mobility more critically (Sheller and Urry 2006) talks about urban life depending on various :urban platforms for example petrol station, roads and car parks. They exist because of mobility in the city. This movement is part of the social and cultural life of the urban spaces and the various structures that sustain this mobility. 

The Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0Qi98CTjW0

References:

Javis H., Pratt A.C. and Cheng-Chong P. (2001). The secret life of cities: The social reproduction of everyday life. Harlow: Prentice Hall.

Sheller M. and Urry J. (2006). The new mobilities paradigm.Environment and planning A

Short J.R. and Pinet -Peralta L.M. (2010). No accident: traffic and pedestrians in the modern city. Mobilities. 5 (1): 41-59.

Pollution in the city

The city is a place known for its clean streets, the structure being perfect for its function and having modern infrastructure. The reality of this "cookie cutter" image that is portrayed to the world by cities might just be imagination.

High Street San Fernando: 09/04/2013

The city as seen in the picture above is actually  a polluted area where bins are filled to capacity and commuters toss their waste on the pavement and edge of roads. Also spending a day in San Fernando, during peak midday traffic the exhaust fumes were clearly noticeable which showed the air pollution problem as well. Is the city aesthetics all that its made out to be?

THEORY

According to (Blowers and Pain 1999) cities consume three-quarters of the world's resources and create the most waste and pollution in the world. Therefore cities are major contributors to the global environmental problems. Right now, urban  dwellers in  the Global South is increasing and this will affect the demand on the environment by these dwellers. 

In comparison the Global North (Haughton and Hunter 1994) usually produce twice as much waste per day than the Global South. Now it is seen that these cities do not get resources locally anymore but from around the world. This being said the pollution that is generated is now being felt globally. This is echoed when (Haughton and Hunter 1994) says

" Cities are the centre for the creation and redistribution of major environmental externalities"

Then you have to look the issue of sustainability in cities and if the environmental capacity is reaches then that can compromise development. For example a non-renewable resource can become depleted and can affect development on a local and global scale. (Mohan 1999) argues that these limits and capacities of the environment are dependent on if one adopts a precautionary or robust stance. 

There is also an arguement  on sustainability that is put forward by Brundtland World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) which states

"development that meets the needs of the present without comprising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs.''

Therefore the city can be seen as a key building block for creating a sustainable world. The cities have affected the environmental development and if not looked at seriously will in turn affect the urban development. So it can be seen that in the future that this sustainability and how it can interlink cities and the environment will be a highlight of urban geography soon to come.

The Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvtJPs8IDgU

Love this video!

The References

Blowers A. and Pain R. (1999). "The sustainable city", in Pile S., Brook C. and Mooney G. Unruly  cities? Order/disorder, London: Routledge/ Open University.

Haughton G. and Hunter C. (1994). Sustainable cities. London: Regional Studies Association.

Mohan J. (1999). A United kingdom? Economic, social and political geographies. London: Arnold.

The Ghostly Landscapes

In the city of San Fernando new buildings are being erected due to demand by consumers for more. Malls, banks and structures for commerce are now reigning in the new urban feel and is advertising the developments of the future. Then there is the everyday spaces that were in full use just a few years ago but now are ghostly, overgrown by creepers and show what once was. 

Down town San Fernando: 09/04/2013

This type of landscape form an integral part of the "urban experience". It gives commuters a feeling of the past which as seen in the picture, which is now covered by a "make shift" future one that is emerging and using the old to create the new.

The Theory

According to (Hubbard 2006) different groups of people tent to experience the urban in various ways. People get attached to certain urban landscapes such as the one they see everyday, roles that sense and body play in our perceptions and rhythms of the public place.

Now the human experience in the city brings about a field of study called humanistic geography. It is more concerned with the value that people give places and landscapes within societies and culture. (Meinig 1979) talks about finding a richness and value in even the most mundane landscapes. This is also seen when (Meinig 1979):

"....Such common workaday landscape has very little to do with the skilled work of landscape architects, but it has a great deal to say about the United States as a country and Americans as a people."

There is a lot of history behind mundane landscapes. For example in East London the landscape of the past show the ghosts of the working class (Edensor 2008) where there are gaps of present day landscapes where it was once vibrant.  This is also seen in the Trinidad express newspaper which talks about the Wharf in San Fernando and the colourful history of the abandoned old jetty 

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Colourful_history_of_Sando_wharf-198714771.html

The Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfdyLtjgFL8

Know you guys are surely gonna enjoy this....so nostalgic.

References

Edensor T.(2008). Mundane hauntings: commuting through the phantasmagoric working-class spaces of Manchester England. Cultural Geographies 15(3): 313-33.

Hubbard P. (2006). City. Abingdon: Routledge.

Meinig D.W.(1979). The interpretations of ordinary landscapes : Geographical essays. New York: Oxford University Press.

Street life

                           The Street Life

Down town San Fernando: 09/04/2013

San Fernando is well known for its busy sidewalks, great bargains and a healthy commerce sector. There is a real urban feel to this area and patrons know exactly what this city has to offer and they understand its culture. There is another story to this city. One that is often seen but not acknowledge. The side walks are not only used by vendors for a living or patrons but by street dwellers. Those that make the side walks their home and everyday people take for granted. These street dwellers also are a part of the culture of the urban and they are mirrors of the shortcomings of the urban. Most times commuters will ignore the sight and say that its because of mental illness they are on the street but then some are there because of domestic issues at home or being homeless. Whatever the reason they are alone and survive on their own means and it is seen that in cities around the world these street dwellers are becoming a part of the urban culture.

The Theory 

Currently on the streets of cities such as San Franciso, there is the same problem of homelessness as seen in San Fernando Trinidad.  According to (Daly 2008; Pacione 2009) Homelessness is a problem in the Global South and rising in the Global North. Alot of the figures for this issue usually do not reflect the real number of displaced people. Most of the cases are unseen where they stay at an unsecure locations. 

The casues of homelessness are numerous and most likely result in a combination of personal and structural factors as seen by ((Daly 2008; Pacione 2009) . These include those that are unemployed, substance abusers, runaway youths and street children (Gottdiener and Budd 2005). Attempts can be made to help these people as seen in the Newsday article   http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,128337.html where Trevor Braithwaite is the manager for 11 year of Shamrock which is a center for homeless people in San Fernando. Although he has this facility he says 

“You know how many battered women call us,” Braithwaite said, but there is nowhere, nothing, nothing. It is a real problem. There is a woman who sleeps in a bus shelter on Chancery Lane at nights.”

Therefore the facility is there but it is not equipt to facilitate the amount of homeless that is asking for help. There is now research being done that could at least reduce the problem where the homeless population and their problems should be viewed through their eyes because only they would know what they need (Daly 2008; DeVerteuil et al. 2009).  San Francisco for example has seen a rise in homelessness but now "kinder' and "gentler" policies instead of punitive ones are being used.They emphasized that the homeless population is diverse due to gender and ethnicity also by using methods such as participant observations , life histories and tracing homeless people's experiences in and geographies of the city then a solution can be found. 

The Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cWl61pa_Ek  

The References

Daly G. (2008). Housing and homelessness, in Hall T., Hubbard P.and Short J.R. The sage companion to the city, London: 267-281

DeVerteuil G., Lee W. and Wolch J. (2009). New spaces for the local welfare state? The case of general relief in Los Angeles Country. Social and cultural geography,3 (3): 229-246

Pacione M. (2009). Urban Geography: A global perspective. London: Routledge.