GREEN IS GOOD AND SO TOO IS UNIFORMITY

Apr 29, 2009 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Georgetown is a dying city. There is little at this stage which can be done to restore it to its former health and glory, as one of the loveliest little wooden cities in the world.
Under the PNC, Georgetown went into terminal decay. Almost all aspects of the city were neglected so much so that it almost brought tears to the eyes of a regional journalist who upon seeing it in the early eighties was saddened by the decay that had stepped in.
I recall in the said eighties, the American Ambassador used to live on Lamaha Street. Opposite was the old railway embankment. At that time, there were lovely vegetable beds on the banks of the old railway line. Itinerant farmers used to plough up the land and plant these fresh vegetables on beds which were quite beautiful to behold.
Then a few of the farmers began to lose their crops to thieves. And so they began to erect small shacks to protect their produce. This gave the embankment an unsightly appearance and the authorities quickly moved in to demolish those shacks.
There was a big hue and a cry, including allegations of selectiveness – since squatters further west were not touched. In the end the authorities justified their demolition while the government acquired a reputation as being uncaring.
The squatters came back again and this time they stayed for years, creating a most unsightly embankment. The government has now managed to clear the embankment and what a wonderful and refreshing sight it presents.
Georgetown was known as the garden city because of the many gardens that it had. It had gardens and it had large stretches of greenery. There were many canals for drainage and the banks of these canals were kept clean, thus enhancing the green effect. The wards had natural divisions and this one knew when one was leaving one area and entering another.
The clearing of the railway embankment has beautified the city because it has removed the clutter of shacks which defaced the northern section. That area we are told will be used to run high voltage cables but I hope that grass would be allowed to grow on the ground and it will be kept as a strip of green so as to enhance the look of Georgetown.
One of the greatest tragedies that is being committed in Guyana is for every single conceivable piece of greenery within residential or commercial areas to be taken over by squatters. This is at the heart of the destruction of the city and one of the main reasons why the city is stagnating.
We need to keep green areas for beautification and this is why this column had so strenuously objected to the government advertising some land for sale in Turkeyen.
Most of the buildings of Georgetown were made of wood and this gave the city a special and unique character. The wood had both its advantages and disadvantages.
Wooden buildings gave the city a special appearance but it also increased catastrophic destruction as happened so often when there were massive fires within the commercial centre that consumed entire blocks. The appearance soon began to change with more and more persons opting for concrete, which while more expensive, required less maintenance and was more lasting. And so there began the disorganized development of the city with the contrasts of different designs of buildings exaggerating the lack of symmetry within the city.
There are many persons who feel that building codes should not be established to limit the design of buildings since this denies homeowners the right to have the sort of design and size that they can afford and desire.
It was a fatal error that was made by the authorities in not legislating the design of buildings for each area or ward of the city. All great cities are distinguished not just by their lovely and often towering structures but equally by the homogenous design of buildings. We abandoned that model to our own peril.
Persons passing along the East Bank Public Road would notice two very picturesque schemes. The first was constructed on the eastern side of Herstelling, I think by the Regency Grouping. And the second, I think by Dreamworks Grouping, at Little Diamond. Both schemes catch the eye because of one single feature. There is uniformity in construction.
There is a lesson there for the authorities of the city. What is needed especially for residential areas is for uniformity in the building code.
When it comes to the commercial district, greater diversity can be encouraged since these buildings tend to be larger and more imposing and thus their differentiation adds to the curiosity and appeal.

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GREEN IS GOOD AND SO TOO IS UNIFORMITY

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