THE Avenue

I remember before we were even old enough to legally drink (don't quote me on that), we were all hanging out on Ariapita Avenue. A long strip of restaurants, bars, clothes shops, beauty salons, basically anything you can think of, the Avenue has got it. On a Friday or a Saturday night, you'd better be out early, because the traffic on the avenue is not easy. Do not even mention trying to get a park. Some spend hours driving around, circling the area waiting for the perfect space close to all the action, but not toooo close because no one wants to get wrecked! From grabbing two doubles on the corner, watching the gyro man customise your gyro, eating at some of the finest restaurants, eating some of the weirdest, uncooked things (sushi), to sitting and eating some Chinese, or even heading to a club. The Avenue has anything you could think of within a spilt second.

Stuart Hall (1995) when speaking the ordinary city said that cultural diversity and intermingling, within the multiplex city of shared spaces, as an important source of social renewal and economic innovation. The hypothesis here is that culturally hybrid cities which actively promote contact between groups are able to explore prospects for economic renewal through radical innovations in ideas and practices resulting from cultural interchange. This describes Trinidad and what the avenue tries to portray perfectly.

It is in the blood of a Trinidadian, the culture is so rich it cannot be denied. A beautiful multi-cultural island that people consider to be a mixing pot. All these cultures, practices, beliefs come together to kill two birds with one stone. The economic side; to provide a good and service to citizens who desire it, while making a living, and the cultural side; to showcase their talent and to let other people experience and enjoy what they have to offer. Along the avenue alone, you would find authentic dishes from Syrian-Lebanese, Arabian, West Indian (doubles), Chinese. All in one area! Where else can you say that you could find something so diverse, so creative, so wonderful! Hall (1995) goes on to say that urban diversity and difference based on genuine sense of belonging and intermingling can be a source of economic creativity. It is honestly such a wonderful thing to be able to experience the world in your own little paradise.

Hall and Barrett (2012) have said that culture seems to be increasingly central to the process of economic change within the city. The cultural and creative industries have come to play ever more significant roles in the economic development of cities recently.

By day, the avenue is a bustling place mainly used for many business transactions; food places, hair salons, banking) but by night, it's that Trinidadian night life that is oh so famous and very difficult to keep up with; hitting 3, 4 bars a night, clubbing, dancing.

Te central and significant fact about the city is that the city functions as the specialised organ of social transmission. it accumulates the heritage of a region, and combines in some measure and kind with the cultural heritage or larger unites, national, racial, religious, human, On one side if the individuality of the city - the sign manual of its region life and record. On the other side are the marks of civilisation, in which each particular city is an constituent element (Mumford 1938)

It's the best of both worlds in so many aspects; experimental, cultural, economic.

Stuart Hall. The Ordinary City. Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers, 1995.

Tim Hall and Heather Barrett, Urban Geography, 4^th ed. (Abingdon: Routledge 2012) 164.

Geddes and Branford. The Culture of Cities. 1938. 

Interesting Article:

Ariapita Avenue: A Tourist Resort.