Urban Sprawl... Moving away from the CBD

          As further development takes place in urban cities, the Central Business District (CBD) becomes more and more congested and can be seen in Trinidad, the Caribbean and around the world. As more people reside in urban areas and migrate to the cities coupled with more infrastructural development there is decreasing available space. Rapid population and urban growth has led to urban sprawl.

   
        
           Urban sprawl is defined as the unplanned, uncontrolled growth and outward expansion of urban development to the edges of a city. Urban sprawl is linked to decentralization where residents and some industries prefer a low density living area. This sprawl can be associated with negative connotations of slums and squatters on the city's edges.
          These pictures show of Port-of-Spain and the CBD and the direction of movement away from the CBD to areas of slum/squatter residents, low residential planned housing and high rise/high end living accommodations.
            
Author Richard Peisern explains urban sprawl the article
 Decomposing Urban Sprawl:

• explains how people have a general misconception of what is really meant by urban sprawl and tend to associate urban sprawl with negativity and problems
• due mismanagement and lack of control of urban sprawl due to a lack of knowledge on the concept of urban sprawl
• urban sprawl occurs all over the world (LDC’s & DC’s) and can have positive and negative impacts base on what type of sprawl it is

           Urban sprawl has always occurred in cities due to urbanization. The population density at the CBD would be at its highest with increasing development and growth, then a significant decrease in residential settlement as they move to the outskirts (periphery) of the city. Middle and low class more out as well as the wealthy. Some move as they are unable to afford living int he CBD as the price of land an housing and rent goes up, and other move to live in a more environmentally friendly area which cost more but have the benefit of more security, less noise, air, land pollution, more green space and better housing designs. 
           Though urban sprawl is unplanned, the housing areas are sometimes planned. Gated communities, high rise apartments and condominiums are all planned with income residents in mind and caters to their needs and wants. As many people try to get away from the congestion of the city, there is the need for housing to built sky-wards to reduce the congestion as there isn't enough land available.
           There is also low income housing built on the outskirts of the city, which is more compact and crammed with less amenities and lower living standards as high income residential areas. In some instances many are unable to afford these housing and therefore resort to squatting or slum areas. These areas are usually the poorest with dilapidated houses, all of which are cluttered together.
          Urban sprawl is a result of urban congestion, but urban sprawl can sometimes lead a new type of congestion just in a different location. In the following blogs to come I shall take a look at slum/squatter areas, low income housing and high end living which all result from urban sprawl. 

         The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean: Sustainable Development and Human Settlement Division explore the present condition of Caribbean cities and the proposed and expected future of these cities with the people in mind in the report 
                             Urban Sustainability in Latin America and the Caribbean