Building Giants

"[City] Growth is inevitable and desirable, but destruction of community character is not. The question is not whether your part of the world is going to change. The question is how."- Edward T. McMahon

The above photograph depicts the Twin Towers on Independence Square, Port of Spain. This is one of the many high-rise buildings in the city as construction of these towering infrastructural buildings is now a frequent occurrence. For those of us who frequently visit the city, this has become such a normal sight that we ignore what these really signify- a lack of space. This lack of space is due to the continuous growth that the city of Port of Spain experiences as the 21^st century unfolds. Undeniably, this incessant urban growth can lead to a host of problems, including excess stress on the nation’s natural resources, particularly its land resource (Dowling, 2013).

To maximize the use of city space efficiently, development must be done in an innovative way. Innovative, yet obvious in my opinion. If you can’t move outwards, wouldn’t you naturally go upwards? According to a lecturer at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, urban planners should “Make use of existing physical infrastructure and stop spreading outward”. Therefore, he argues that the future should promote building the city upwards rather than governments releasing land around the cities for development, as this perpetuates the issue of sprawl (Shiloh, 2011).

Tall buildings became possible in the 19^th century, thanks to American innovators, as they overcame the problems associated with moving persons safely up and down tall buildings via elevators, as well as construction of the proper physical infrastructure (Glaeser, 2011). To many, increased infrastructural height often symbolizes power as well as a means of maximizing space on a limited area of land. As such, powerful cities such as Toronto, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore have embraced the idea of building upwards. And now, other developing countries of the world, including T&T, are embracing the idea, following the domino effect that the developed world orchestrates.  However, local residents in some of these countries express their concerns about historical preservation and environmental protection. For instance, in Montreal and London, tall buildings do not receive social acceptability from its residents (Dennis-Jacob, 2012). Several projects are criticized, and even abandoned due to its inability to encompass the city’s heritage while promoting environmental preservation. So, you may be asking, if locals disagree with the construction of tall buildings, why should we still build them in our cities? The answer is simply because building taller equals building smarter.

References:

Denis-Jacob, Jonathan. 2012. "Growing Upwards: the Tall Buildings Dilemma - Featured Article - Geography Jobs." Geography Jobs International Inc. Last modified January 25, 2012. http://www.geographyjobs.com/articles/growing_upwards_the_tall_buildings_dilemma.html.

Dowling, Stephen. 2013. "BBC - Future - 2050: Building better cities for an overcrowded world." BBC Future. Last modified May 8, 2013. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130507-challenges-for-the-cities-of-2050.

Glaeser, Edward. 2011."How Skyscrapers Can Save the City - Edward Glaeser." The Atlantic. Last modified February 9, 2011. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/03/how-skyscrapers-can-save-the-city/308387/.

Shiloh, Shanee. 2011. "Building upward not outward is the answer." Haaretz Daily Newspaper Ltd. Last modified September 19, 2011. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/real-estate/building-upward-not-outward-is-the-answer-1.385272.