Glass Concrete or Wood

A

Taken in the capital city of Port of Spain located north of Trinidad. This building made of a modern reflective glass material plays an important role in the shaping of its city. Taking a walk around Port of Spain this type of building is quite common with the characteristics of heights taller than 2 storeys and the presence of glass material. Are these factors important in considering an area and/or building as urban?  Imagine placing a building such as the one in the picture above to the area in the picture seen below.....

B

What would such drastic change do to the perception of the area and the overall morphology. Picture B represents a planned housing development area which main function being residential so establishing a building as seen in picture A in such an area would definately change the entire area as investor's confidence will be boosted and others would want a piece of the development pie. therefore a building, how it was built, what it was built with and the purpose of it does in fact affect the morpology of an area and areas that are considered as urban. The theory that can be related to picture A is the central place theory. Walter Christaller a german geographer recognised that  there is an economic relationship between cities and their surrounding region. (American Planning Association 2006). This theory can be related to the two photos as the economic level an area experiences will be reflected in the buildings. In picture A,taken in Port of Spain the building shows the high level of wealth this area has in terms of the services while picture B does not demonstrate as much wealth because of the low level of sevices and opportunites that such an area may offer as seen due to the low quality residential house.

               American Planning Association.2006. John Wiley. USA

Hall T and H Barrett. 2012. Urban Geography. 4th ed. London/New York. Routledge