Historical Architecture Designs in the Urban city

This image captures one of the historical structures that has survived the "Golden Ages" in Port-of-Spain, taken on Carlos St, Ariapita Avenue, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Photo taken by: Trevette Ramlakhan

Jane Jacobs pointed out long ago in her famous book, "The Death and Life of Great American Cities", the density and diversity of urban populations generate serendipity, unexpected encounters and "new combinations" that lead to innovation. It is heartbreaking to know that some of these houses are not being renovated and is easily becoming culturally erased. Why haven't we not given appreciation for our history, and landmarks? It is unfortunate that someday, these gems may be gone forever due to our lack of being able to create an equilibrium that would generate innovation between these historical structures and our modern day designs.

This image shows the sustainable engineering that requires little to no consumption of energy. In our world today, one of the main problems scientist are trying to solve, are ways to reduce energy consumption. It is estimated that over 50% of the world's population now lives in urban areas that will rise to 70% by 2050. This is a tremendous change which will have an impact both on the millions of people that move and on the cities that they move into. Such a change provides planners and developers with a challenge.

 Urban sustainability is the idea that a city can be organised without excessive reliance on the surrounding countryside and being able to power itself with renewable sources of energy. The aim is to create the smallest possible ecological footprint and to produce the lowest quantity of pollution possible. With this in mind, ideas can merge together, leading to innovation combining both historical and modern designs to create a hybrid design between the two. This would lower the use of energy and create a more sustainable environment.

References

Jacobs, J., The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Random House, 1961.

Noel, Vernelle. "The Thinking insomniac,", Architecture Sketch, The Strategic Planning for Metropolitan Port-of-Spain. April 11, 2011. Web Accessed April 6, 2016.https://thinkinginsomniac.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/architecture-sketch-houses-in-gonzales-port-of-spain-trinidad/