CITY LIGHTS AFTER DARK

It can be safely said that our capital Port- of –Spain, is one which never sleeps, in the sense that the night time does not signal the stop of economic, social and cultural activities as people are always partaking in different activities. The question is who are those that actually sleep in the city? The answer to this question is revealed by looking at those who are awake and thus making a differentiation. As seen in the picture, lights can be seen from a distance foreshadowing its activities. City light illuminates from cars, street lights, houses and buildings as darkness can seam unattractive citizens as it creates criminal activities and a lack of safety and security. 

      Port - of – Spain is known for its ‘hustle’ and ‘bustle’ lifestyle as it is regarded as the central business district where the majority of administrative, economic, cultural and social activities are taking place. The photograph captures the beauty of the city before dawn, sparking one’s curiosity as to what is really occurring within the inner city. However it also highlights a congested and busy area despite the façade of the beauty presented by the lights.

    Historically, cities were set up based on the hydraulic theory where those who controlled water exerted power, the theory of religion where religious elites controlled the disposal of surplus and the economic theory based on trade and networking. Throughout the blog, you can see that there are still pockets of those characteristics within the city even at night.

    Moreover, according to (Rojas 1989), a city is one which is usually located close to ports for trading purposes, the population density is high and there is a well-developed transportation system as compared to the rest of the country. Subsequently Port-of-Spain is developed along a port for economic purposes with an extensive transportation system and there is a relatively high population density as compare to the rural area, resulting in traffic congestion and pollution. 

Why focus on the activities done at night within the city?

     It is important to bring to the forefront the activities of the night within the city, as often times it is overlooked regarding the activities of the night due to safety purposes. Since geography is the study of space, place and time, activities done in the night may not be necessarily done during the day, for instance street prostitution. The city is a home for the generation of income via various means, musical and cultural expression, religion, and socialization. These characteristics give rise to factors such as prostitution, vending, night life events, vagrancy, religious practices, traffic congestion, and pollution which can be seen at night. Urban music can also be included in this, for instance, music from our national instrument the steel pan. These factors are of high importance in facilitating what is known as the ‘creative buzz'.