Thursday, 5 February 2015

The City Restaurant

Urbanization is referred to as, simply, making a rural area more industrialized (Gracey, 2011). It is usually a process or indicator of development. One would therefore expect an urban centre like Port-of-Spain to contain many modern, contemporary buildings; unlike the upscale restaurant 'Jenny's on the Boulevard' which resembles the haunted house from AHS ( American Horror Story, a popular thriller TV series). 

Taken by Ariel Mahabirsingh on February 3rd, 2015. 
This particular building was chosen because of the bright , blue colour and the antique finish, which caused this building to stand out among the grey. The presence of a large tree and greenery along the front of the building makes for a natural and inviting picture. This building is a symbol of the constant restoration of olden structures within the city of Port of Spain, which serve as relics of the past among the newer buildings. 

Altered social behavior is a characteristic of urbanization (Gracey, 2011) whereby, previously in a rural area, persons would regularly have meals at home. According to Cheng et al., family and friends eating together is regarded as a form of social bonding.  With the switch to a more service based lifestyle, restaurants have become wildly popular. This restaurant is one of many that are present on this street, Cipriani Boulevard; these are the result of the development of the area.  

With this post we wanted to highlight the presence of vintage architecture among the more contemporary structures within an urban space. Even with urbanization, not every aspect needs to be modern, as observed in the photograph above. 

 The places that will be discussed on this blog are as follows:


References :

Cheng, Shu-Li et al. 'The Changing Practice Of Eating: Evidence From UK Time Diaries, 1975 And 2000'. The British Journal of Sociology 58.1 (2007): 39-61. Web. 5 Feb. 2015.

 Gracey, Michael. 'Child Health Implications Of Worldwide Urbanization'. Reviews on Environmental Health 18.1 (2003): n. pag. Web. 5 Feb. 2015.
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2 comments:

  1. Unknown30 March 2015 at 09:50

    You have some interesting perspectives on the architecture you observed. Also, I agree that there is a significant relationship between the lucrativeness of shopping centres and their proximity to major urban centres. However, the dynamics of this relationship is difficult to ascertain and worth further study since the second major mall in Trinidad; the Trincity Mall, is not as close in proximity to any major urban centre as is the Gulf City Mall but may be deemed just as successful.

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  2. Human Geography30 March 2015 at 18:55

    Make sure you correctly label your photos as your own, eh. You may have to include a map in the first blog that enumerates all of the buildings you've taken photos of, so we can keep track.

    You're also comparing architectural styles e.g. american gothic with french or spanish colonial or modern buildings, which is not an effective comparison!

    I like how you've situated the architecture in its economic stage, but this could be expanded upon for your reader so they have an even deeper sense of the Caribbean context in which you are writing.

    Good start!

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