The area St. Clair, is nestled carefully into the city of Port of Spain. It is flanked to the north by St. Anns, the east by Newtown, south by Woodbrook and finally to the west by St. James. It is a small residential area which also has a combination of business areas. These business areas being the different consulate embassies of several countries; England, Japan and Germany just to name a few, including a doctors office, a members facility club and a club.
The people who live in the vicinity make use of the public recreational grounds which are placed in the area. There are two sides to St. Clair, one being the residential area and the mixed area consisting of commercial and residential buildings.
what do we like?
St. Clair is a small quiet area consisting of two sides: the residential and the residential commercial mix.
residential and residential/commercial:
the sense of community, where people were present on the weekend making full use of the parks, play areas and savannahs provided by the government. The housing was planned as could be seen from the map above with how the area is laid out. The streets were short and connective also wide catering for large vehicles. Within the residential area there was a constant patrol of police officers whose station was also not too far away. At the bus stop bench there was modifications on the seat to prevent vagrants from sleeping on them.
what needs protecting?
residential and residential/ commercial:
Historical architecture is becoming dilapidated and needs to be refurbished.
what would we like more of?
A residential presence outside on the streets because the streets were very lonely. The only area in which people were congregated was in the recreational grounds or parks. Fire hydrants.
What don't we like?
Lack of public benches. There were no pavements for pedestrians. Restrictions to parking, available areas were closed off or blocked.
What needs changing now?
More parking for people and benches.
What is getting worse?
What needs to be improved?
Facilities for young people, more benches in public areas, pavements, parking facilities.
BELMONT
What do we like?
The togetherness of the community, it's rich history.
What needs protecting?
The youth and reputation of the area from the spill over of violence from Laventille. The different ethnic groups (Rada etc.)
What would we like more of?
Public space. The only area of entertainment is in the savannah.
What don't we like?
The small roads and pavements, stigma that has latched onto the community.
What needs changing now?
The stigma attached to the area.
What is getting worse?
Traffic congestion caused from traffic in the Port of Spain vacinity.
What needs to be improved?
There needs to be more public space and facilities for young people.
Assessing good "neighbourhoods"
What makes a successful residential neighbourhood?
That is a questionable question. Well from what was seen from the research and the area that I live in the answer could be from my perspective a neighbourhood who values community. Where there is lots of public space available and recreational areas available for the residents to use and mingle with each other. There are enough commercial buildings littered in between which is walking distances from their houses. Not so much that it becomes overbearing but just enough that it satisfies peoples needs. Then begs a next question, when is enough, enough? For now that is beside the point. Other pointers could be good schools close to the community and there is a sense of security and safety.
