Port Of Spain

These two photos displays the tall buildings that can be seen in the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, Port of Spain. The presence of such tall buildings does in fact influence the morphology of the city as its affect the form and structure a city takes. these buildings make up the city  and influences the other buildings that can be found within the area. The first picture gives a view from far how commuters coming into the city and residents of nearby see the tall buildings as they enter into the area. The second photo is a closer look on such buildings. The theory that these pictures can relate to is the Ullman and Harris multiple nuclei model. This model states that many nuclei develop in a country because of certain advantageous conditions for Port of Spain this condition may have been the presence of a port that was used historically to transport sugar to  countries under the time of slavery. This port may have created the development of settlements as a result and as time pass incouraged investors and the development of the overall area. The media found to support these picture is a song by Pitbull and Christina Aguilera, 'Feel this moment'. Quoting from the lyrics of one of Pitbull's line includes, "Reporting live from the tallest buildings in Tokyo". I personally thought this was quite a reflective line because it simply helps to showcase the status that tall buildings represent. How would 'Reporting live from the smallest building in Tokyo sound...' So I've made my point. The bigger the building, the higher the status and perceived wealth it carries.Therefore places that contain tall buildings also reflect the level of wealth and economic value pertained within. In Trinidad our buildings are not as tall as those in Tokyo but tall enough to be recognised by its citizen as urban and to differentiate the how wealthy an area is from one place to another. According to Kodmany and Ali 2013, cities are affected by geography, climate, economy and local culture that makes them unique.To further emphazise on the wealth that tall buildings signify, a six year Abigail Khan  (niece of my husband) was quite curious on what i was writing. I briefly eplained and then asked her what she thought was a city and if she believes it is different from where she lives (Couva). She confidently replies stating that a city has big buildings and where she lives doesnt have any. She went on further to explain that the twin towers in Port of Spain is a big building but the ones in America can touch the sky  So this goes to show the perception that tall building has on young people and therefore the overall image that such tall buildings can have on the morphology of an urban area. Below is a picture she drew of Port of Spain and what she thinks is a city.

Al -Kodmany Keir and Mir M Ali. 2013.The future of the city: Tall buildings and urban design. WIT Press.Great Britain