“It takes a place to create a community and a community to create a place."Fred Kent
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| Palmiste Park San Fernando http://www.panoramio.com/user/931354/tags/Caribbean?photo_page=7 |
Successful and Needed?-Harris Promenade
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| Harris Promenade San Fernando http://www.meppublishers.com/content/index.php/ harris-promenade-san-fernando/#axzz3VeJ6aGpA |
According to the Project for Public Spaces, a "great public space is one where celebrations are held, social and economic exchanges take place, old friends run into each other and cultures mix. The four key principles of a successful public space is COMFORT AND IMAGE-
"this is key to whether a place will be used. Perceptions about safety and cleanliness the context of adjacent buildings, and a place's character or charm are often foremost in people's minds"
USES AND ACTIVITIES- "Activities that occur in a place, friendly social interactions, free public concerts, community art shows, and more, are its basic building blocks: they are the reasons why people come in the first place and why they return. Activities also make a place special or unique, which, in turn, may help generate community pride."
SOCIABILITY -This is a difficult but unmistakable quality for a place to achieve. When people see friends, meet and greet their neighbors, and feel comfortable interacting with strangers, they tend to feel a stronger sense of place or attachment to their community—and to the place that fosters these types of social activities.
ACCESSIBILITY- "To be successful,the space needs to be easy to get to. The best are always easily accessible by foot: Surrounding streets are narrow; crosswalks are well marked; lights are timed for pedestrians, not vehicles; traffic moves slowly; and transit stops are located nearby. A square surrounded by lanes of fast-moving traffic will be cut off from pedestrians and deprived of its most essential element: people." (Project for Public Spaces)
By this definition, the Harris Promenade is successful. The promenade lies in an important "historical zone" surrounded by important buildings such as the Supreme Court, City Hall, the Our Lady of Perpetual Help RC Church and the Police Station. The Promenade is the center of religion, culture and civic expression in San Fernando as many of this activities .held there. It is the meeting point of youth activities, the venue for public meetings (including political) and Annual Carnival and other festivals (example City Week).
It represents what is needed in the bustling city and gives many reasons for people to relax and explore the area. It has shaded areas on one side, a walk through history represented by statue of important figures and part of the last train to run through Trinidad, Below, are a few pictures giving the general feel of the promenade and a video of the youth activity on the promenade (skip to 00:37)
"this is key to whether a place will be used. Perceptions about safety and cleanliness the context of adjacent buildings, and a place's character or charm are often foremost in people's minds"
USES AND ACTIVITIES- "Activities that occur in a place, friendly social interactions, free public concerts, community art shows, and more, are its basic building blocks: they are the reasons why people come in the first place and why they return. Activities also make a place special or unique, which, in turn, may help generate community pride."
SOCIABILITY -This is a difficult but unmistakable quality for a place to achieve. When people see friends, meet and greet their neighbors, and feel comfortable interacting with strangers, they tend to feel a stronger sense of place or attachment to their community—and to the place that fosters these types of social activities.
ACCESSIBILITY- "To be successful,the space needs to be easy to get to. The best are always easily accessible by foot: Surrounding streets are narrow; crosswalks are well marked; lights are timed for pedestrians, not vehicles; traffic moves slowly; and transit stops are located nearby. A square surrounded by lanes of fast-moving traffic will be cut off from pedestrians and deprived of its most essential element: people." (Project for Public Spaces)
By this definition, the Harris Promenade is successful. The promenade lies in an important "historical zone" surrounded by important buildings such as the Supreme Court, City Hall, the Our Lady of Perpetual Help RC Church and the Police Station. The Promenade is the center of religion, culture and civic expression in San Fernando as many of this activities .held there. It is the meeting point of youth activities, the venue for public meetings (including political) and Annual Carnival and other festivals (example City Week).
It represents what is needed in the bustling city and gives many reasons for people to relax and explore the area. It has shaded areas on one side, a walk through history represented by statue of important figures and part of the last train to run through Trinidad, Below, are a few pictures giving the general feel of the promenade and a video of the youth activity on the promenade (skip to 00:37)
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| Image showing Marcus Garvey- A Pan Afrikan National Hero Part of the last train engine the Shaded area on the Promenade http://www.meppublishers.com/content/index.php/harris-promenade-san-fernando/#axzz3VeJ6aGpA |
VIdeo showing activities on Harris Promenade.
Shrinking?
According to Bannerjee
(2001) urban spaces are shrinking due to fundamental shifts in the way public
life and spaces are viewed. Public space is usually associated with parks and
recreational grounds that are in the public realm and are free and accessible
to all. He argues that this shrinking occurs not only because of fundamental
changes, but also its low maintenance of these areas which causes the general
public to shun and stay away from it, especially because of the presence of
"undesirable people" (homeless, pan handlers and drug addicts).
In the city of San Fernando, there is no shortage open public spaces, however more than a few are usually very scantily occupied or completely vacated. In the case of the Harris Promenade, because of the fact that “undesirable people” (the homeless) freely
occupy this space, it reduces the amount of people using this space, but it does not completely deter the public from using this space especially during "special" activities. On a typical day, very few people actually go into the promenade to sit and enjoy the space, the major of the people using this space are those just passing through.
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| The photo on the left shows regular people siting and enjoying the space, the one on the left shows homeless people sitting and enjoying the space
Photo taken by Rachel Cadogan on -
04-02-15
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Replaced?
He also mentioned
privatization as a main reason for the decline of public realm. These privatized public spaces are described
as the corporate plazas and open spaces, shopping malls, and other such
settings that are increasingly popular destinations for the public. , Unlike the actual public space, there is an unspoken requirement to access these places. "The public is welcomed as
long as they are patrons of shops and restaurants, office workers, or clients of
businesses located on the premises. But access to and use of the space is only
a privilege, not a right."
In San Fernando, Places such as Playdium and FunStation is taking over the public realm, especially because parents feel their children would be much safer here than in the real pubic space. As these places becomes fuller, public parks become emptier.
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| Image showing Private "public Space" https://www.facebook.com/funstation/photos/a.10151446587950333.833276.268831995332/10154410887535333/?type=1&theater |
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| Irving Park San Fernando
Photo taken by Rachel Cadogan on -
04-02-15
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Despite the fact that there are parks such as this in nearly every community, and this particular park is in a "safe area" and has up-to-date items and is properly maintained, less and less people are bring their child to this park, opting to go to either the mall or other privately owned public spaces.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bannerjee T (2001).The future of public space: Beyond invented streets and reinvented places. American Planning Association. Journal of the American Planning Association; Winter.
What Makes a Successful
Place? (Project for Public Spaces)
http://www.pps.org/reference/grplacefeat/
Flash Mob Harris
Promenade South Trinidad (YouTube)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFc2zmy2Cig
Facebook logo (Cover
Photos)
https://www.facebook.com/funstation/photos/a.10151446587950333.833276.268831995332/10154410887535333/?type=1&theater
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