I live in south Trinidad, in Gulf View, in Soogrim Street. This whole area of Gulf View was a planned, well thought–out development. The first homeowners in this development bought a piece of land and then went to Town and Country with their building plans to be approved, and, when approved, went ahead with construction of their property.This is how the original owners were made aware of the building codes in the area. And I dare say this is how every housing area in Trinidad was first developed.
Where I live, the houses were actually built by the developer. I believe there are about 80 houses in this particular area. The lots are small and all the homes were built with that in mind. We, the original owners, were all apprised of the building codes when we moved in and were told what we could, and could not do, to the property. The original owners put up fences and put in plants...and lived very harmoniously, until recently.
Quite a few of the original owners have sold their properties. And so we have an influx of new owners. These new owners have purchased a house already built. They know nothing about the building codes and when apprised of them, can be downright nasty.They extend and enlarge their homes with little or no thought to their neighbour's privacy or any existing laws. So what we are seeing now is all the little green spaces being gradually overrun by concrete and roofs.
You have to ask the question, what brought these secondary homeowners to this area? Was it the neat little rows of housing with neat little lawns? Those same lawns which they are all now destroying?
Each housing development has its own unique feel and look. Gulf View was built just over 30 years ago. The houses were all simply built and wonderfully kept. The whole area had a breeziness and an openness about it. And sadly, this look is being stifled by indiscriminate building. Some homeowners are building onto their neighbours' walls; roofs are barely feet apart. Soon, the open, airy feel will be gone and the whole area will look like any other badly configured urban sprawl.
But this problem is not unique to Gulf View. You need only drive through your nearest neighbourhood to see what some people will construct in the name of progress. Our neighbourhoods are getting uglier and uglier. Some people appear to know nothing about aesthetics, and if they do know, they don't care.
This is where our government should step in. There should be someone in the planning division whose main function is to drive through the neighbourhoods and watch for these indiscriminate buildings before they get started.
The most unsettling part about the ugly additions is not the additions themselves, which are bad enough, it's the attitude of the people who put up those additions. They reflect what has become an islandwide epidemic in all spheres–they do as they damned well please, and to hell with authority and rules. It's a sad state of affairs and a reflection of the poor civil and moral skills that pervade today.
Angry,
Gulf View