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THE STORM over a plan to astroturf the Nelson Mandela Park; Tuesday’s intense flash flooding in northwest Trinidad and downtown Port of Spain; the continued anxiety over unbridled hillside developments – all suggest one thing.
Local and national authorities need to pay more attention to grassroots planning and environmental issues, instead of wasting time entertaining seemingly random, million-dollar business proposals.
Whether or not the Prime Minister intended to disrespect Port of Spain mayor Joel Martinez, his scathing remarks, and the consequent abrupt termination of the Mandela Park proposal, showed just what is wrong with the way we are handling the development of our urban spaces.
It is no secret Dr Rowley has taken a keen interest in urban renewal of the capital city.
What is unclear, however, is where exactly this proposal came from (it has been implied that it was unsolicited) and who developed it (it has been linked to a developer, but exact authorship details have not been forthcoming).
Nonetheless, the impression we are left with is of planning being done not according to some master plan, but in a fly-by-night manner, in which anyone who has an idea can get a city corporation to engage in extensive consultations on their behalf.
All of this is in sharp contrast to the careful rhetoric of updates regularly issued by the Ministry of Planning, which only a few days ago announced Cabinet had deliberated on and approved a new Updated Hierarchy of Settlements Relating to Building Heights and other Development Standards for districts in the city.
While there has been outcry over a theoretical plan to remove the grass (in a park which is already blotched by concrete structures and facilities at the north end), not much has been done in relation to the aggressive and dangerous deforestation that continues on our hillsides.
While our measures to regulate such developments appear to be getting less and less effective, the dangers posed by climate change are ramping up.
Tuesday’s flooding in and around the capital was linked to no special atmospheric event. It was ordinary rainfall for this time of year.
This follows a worrisome pattern being seen all over the world. Already for the year, there have been unprecedented and deadly floods in Germany, Belgium and China, as well as wildfires in Canada and Greece. These events have shocked climate scientists with their scale and intensity.
That this country has escaped disasters on such a scale is not thanks to good planning but partly a matter of geographic location combined with good luck – so far.
Instead of wasting time, our authorities need to ensure planning regulations are enforced; existing infrastructure is being properly maintained; emergency-response systems are being improved; industrial pollution is being tackled; and our development goals are aligned with the global climate agenda.
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