Urban Revolution of Port of Spain

An urban landscape in Port of Spain by Nicola Mathura and Dianne Mahabir

The term ‘Urban Revolution’ was introduced in the 1930s by the Director of the Institute of Archaeology, Vere Gordon Childe. The theory states that pre-industrial societies existed in a hierarchy of three evolutionary stages which were: savagery, barbarism and civilization. Barbarism was recognized as a higher stage than savagery as it was initiated with the Neolithic Age of archaeologists. He coined the term revolution to denote the progressive change in the economy and social organisations as a result of population increase. Contemporary terms recognize urban revolution as a process by which peasant or subsistence farming in rural villages are morphed into large, complex, high-rise infrastructure and urban societies.

In his paper he presents the city as a resultant symbol of revolution which led to the evolution of society that started a new economic journey.

A livelihood in the city is the basis for the final stage in Childe’s theory: civilization. A stage that succeeded Barbarism. Therefore Childe states “Wherever cities have been built, villages of preliterate farmers existed previously.

Here we focus on the revolution of our capital city, Port of Spain. Such a space has been transformed from the open green spaces and early civilizations and settlements into large buildings focusing on mainly economic activities. The photo below in a panoramic view denotes a holistic view of how rapid urbanization has revolutionized and subsequently evolved the land space in Trinidad’s capital. The Hyatt Regency Hotel is captured to signify how land has transformed from early farming and settlements to tourist attraction and accommodation space with one aim of maximizing profits to benefit the economy. 

       In the sixteenth and seventh century, our capital city was inhabited by Ameridian Colonizations followed by the Spanish Colonization who dwelled in mud plastered houses "ajoupas". According to Childe there was a transition from the phenomena of barbarism to civilization.

   Port of Spain formerly known as Puerto de Espana ( Harbour of Spain) gradually developed into a small town of 3000 inhabitants who occupied mud huts of more than 600 houses. By 1813,  Sir Ralph Woodford became governor of this area and embarked on developing the streets and green spaces. There were advancements in infrastructure and implementation of educational institutions, religious buildings such as the Roman Catholic Cathedrals.
Currently Port of Spain is known as an urban area afflicted by various issues such as crime, pollution, traffic congestion and inadequate space for housing development. The Central Business District now incorporates modern high rise buildings as shown in the image above (Hyatt Regency and the Nicholas Towers) as well as other buildings such as the Red House, Hall of Justice and the Treasury Building.

References: 
Childe, V., Gordon. (1950). The Urban Revolution. Liverpool Press. 

Hyatt Regency. (2016). Retrieved on April 2, 2016, from http://trinidad.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html