How much more can the Hills take?
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| The Northern Range Trinidad (Taken from the Highway)
As the needs of the city keep on
growing due to increasing amounts and varied uses the boundaries are
continuously being pushed back. The city of POS is surrounded by natural
landforms on both sides; there is the Northern Range on one side and the ocean
on another. The Northern Range is basically on the outskirts of the city and so
from the invent of the city very low income houses were near to or on these
hills. This assumption related to lower income houses on the outskirts can be
related to Burgess’ model of the industrial city. In his model, Burgess stated
that early migrants to the city would seek cheap accommodation, which just so
happened to be housing just outside the CBD (which in this case is POS). (Barrett
and Hall 2012, pg 40)
So the fact that people now reside
on these hills can be due to historical factors. However, in the past the
number of houses on these hills has been small and has recently gone on a
rampant increase. It seems to be rather obvious that the reason people reside
here is because of the ease of accessibility it offers to the city and also
because other areas close to the city is already occupied or beyond their
budget. So yes it is important that people have homes but when is the point where
it just becomes too much for that fragile environment to handle?
The Northern Range is a complex
ecosystem that is bounded on the north by the coastal strip, on the south by a
main road (Eastern Main Road) and on the north by POS. This range contributes
freshwater for Trinidad, controls flooding, is said to be a buffer for natural
disasters (hurricanes) also it provides recreation, a form of ecotourism, other
economic benefits (agriculture, timber) and most importantly it is the home of
thousands of different species of flora and fauna. (Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment 2005) It can be seen that the Northern Range is indispensable when
it comes to the future of Trinidad and Tobago. This ecosystem is very fragile
and can easily be disturbed so when trees are removed for homes to be built it
obviously affects various species. Also, the noise and different environmental
conditions brought along by the fact that humans now reside there also affects
and changes the natural environment which in turn may lead to some destruction.
Again I will ask, how much is too much?
Currently the Northern slope has
had an increase in urbanization for luxury homes hence, causing degradation of
this ecosystem. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago put some legislation in
place to slow down some degradation. The legislation states that construction
of houses above 300 feet on the hillsides is now prohibited to regulate
hillside development and protect the Northern Range. (Taitt R 2012) This will decrease the possibility of future
damage but what about the damage already done? Who will fix that for future
generations?
Consider these questions:
 Will
there be any Northern Range for the future generations to enjoy like we do
today? Will
there be any Northern Range to provide income and protection that it provides
us with today?
What can u do to conserve this ecosystem?
Hall and Barrett. 2012. Urban Geography. Routledge
Publishing. London and New York (page 40).
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005. People
and the Northern Range Trinidad. http://www.unep.org/maweb/en/SGA.Trinidad.aspx
Taitt, Ria. 2012. Government Move Against
Hillside Houses. Trinidad Express Newspapers.
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