Belmont, established by formerly enslaved Africans after emancipation in 1838, (Discover Trinidad and Tobago 2013), is considered to be one of Trinidad and Tobago's oldest suburb. This community is famous for its rich culture and heritage as it is well known for its creativity as it relates to Carnival. Belmont is a fairly large community with an equally fairly large population since many of the freed slaves constructed their homes here. The streets are quite narrow, numerous and short which contribute to the social and economic life of a neighbourhood (Urban Space Gallery 2011). The Trinidad Theatre Workshop is also based in this community. One of the residents gave an insight on her experience of living in Belmont. It was evident that the community needed wider roads, more facilities for young persons and greater security. Also, improved drainage would result in less serious flooding in the area. It was also indicated that the area, being situated near the capital city made daily activities a lot easier to be completed. Belmont is home to a variety of buildings of different ages ranging from the colonial type look to the more modern look. There is also an orphanage in the area as well as numerous schools, several churches along with various small businesses which provides the fullness of everyday urban existence and allows streets to thrive, (Urban Space Gallery 2011).
The photo above represents the typical look of housing within Belmont. The houses back then looked similar because after emancipation, there was a limited supply of resources like architecture, services and technology which caused all houses to be built with a lack of planning and order, yet ironically, the houses looked similar and so added a sense of order.
In my opinion, this photo allows for a reminder of culture and heritage. It allows me to remember where the community once stood (colonialism) since the houses also looks a bit colonial in architecture. Also, since the houses are closely built to each other, it perhaps add sense of unity among the residents. "Propinquity leads to visual contact between neighbors and is likely to produce face-to-face social contact. This is only true if the distance between neighbors is small enough to encourage one or the other to transform visual contact into a social one." And thus, community life is encouraged.
Reference:
Fried. M., & Peggy Gleicher. 1976. Some Sources of Residential Satisfaction in an Urban Slum.
Urban Space Gallery. 2011. "Jane Jacobs: Urban Ideas." Urban Space Gallery, Accessed April 08.
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