Roseau, the capital of Dominica, as seen from outer space.
The comments in response to a recent news item, “City Facelift to Begin Later This Year” were in agreement that something needs to be done, but they questioned, what should be done and how it should be done. The only thing we know for certain is that the answer to the problem will not be found in a computer-generated preview of Great George Street shown below.
More to real life is the sketch I made of the same street, and from the same vantage point, thirty-five years ago.
Townscapes are my passion, both planning them and sketching them, and my commentary to the news item reads as follows.
Noisy, dirty, smelly, sweltering, congested, nowhere to safely walk and nowhere to park!
These are the impressions that Roseau imparts in the minds of residents and visitors. The grandiose title of city – which under British rule may have been earned by virtue of its diocesan cathedral – is misleading. In reality, Roseau is a market town, the layout of which has not significantly changed since the 19th century. Its streets and narrow lanes were laid out for horse and handcarts, not motorcars. If fever had not ravaged Portsmouth in earlier times, Roseau would not have become the capital of Dominica. Valid reasons can now be made for the capital to revert back to Portsmouth, but until that day arrives, we need to radically rethink Roseau.
Over the last fifty years, Roseau has degenerated into being a blot on the landscape and without a visionary all-embracing master plan, no amount of piecemeal enhancement will halt the decline.
May I suggest, that before the US$41 Million loan from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia burns a hole in our pockets, we should bear in mind that the key operative clause in the brief for the UK’s most ambitious regeneration projects reads: VISION LED, NOT FUNDING FED!
The vision for Roseau cannot be conceived on an architect’s drawing board in Barbados or at an office desk in Dubai. Vernacular comes from within, not from without. A town plan that may be fitting for elsewhere in the world, is not necessarily fitting for Dominica.
To restructure a town, and yet preserve what remains of its identity, is an art form in itself. Coincidentally, the man who wrote the definitive book on the subject began his working life as a town planner in the Caribbean. The book, The Concise Townscape by Gordon Cullen, should be required reading by all involved in this initiative.
Out of all the historic town regeneration projects that I have been involved with, Roseau presents the greatest challenge. The elements of Roseau’s townscape are confused and conflicting. I cannot accept Discover Dominica’s vision of “a quaint town that has a picturesque array of 18th-century French architecture”. That image might have been true when I first knew the town fifty years ago, but not now. A glance at the satellite image of Roseau illustrates what we are up against.
Widening the streets will not solve Roseau’s traffic problem, but making the town pedestrian friendly could. The town has the advantage of being located on flat land; there are no steep hills to climb and it only takes five minutes to walk from one end of town to the other. In terms of shade, the narrower the streets the better. Without the hazard of broken pavements and open drains, walking would be a pleasure. Shops and restaurants would benefit by being able to open up their frontage, as is done in many countries with a favourable climate.
With a radical rearrangement of what goes where, ample provision for parking can be created around the perimeter of the town centre. Large cities overcome their parking problems by “park and ride” initiatives, whereas our small scale offers the better alternative of “park and walk”. Through traffic should not pass through the town centre, nor should it pass along the Bay Front or by way of the Botanic Gardens. There is an alternative route staring us in the face, but no one has tumbled to it.
We urgently need an up-to-date comprehensive development plan. Such a plan would protect buildings of historical worth, encourage regeneration and guard against the piecemeal development that is blighting the townscape. In 2005 Baptiste & Associates Ltd., a local company, produced a 383-page development plan. But a lot has happened since the plan was first drafted.
In remaking the old town, we need to solicit the understanding of the public at large and engage them in the planning process. We need to facilitate dialogue and to open up the creative processes, so as to bring together contributors from a diverse spectrum of backgrounds. This cannot be done solely by way of architect’s drawings and artist’s impressions. For the aforementioned UK regeneration project I initiated town walkabouts, held countless community meetings, made interactive models, took thousands of photographs and hours of video footage.
Specialization hampers creative solutions. Innovation requires diverse experience and knowledge. It is achieved by questioning everything that has gone before and at the same time, utilizing what has gone before. It can sometimes be achieved by putting two diverse thoughts together. On the UK regeneration initiative, the solution to a major traffic problem came, not from the town planner with a Master’s Degree, but from a housewife standing next to me in the queue at the Post Office.
One of the benefits of creating a new town out of the old, could be the revival of skills. Technicalities alone will not produce a townscape that is pleasing to the eye and fit for its purpose. And a college degree will not necessarily solve the problem. Up to a hundred years ago, it was the master craftsman that determined good design and from his workbench beauty and function unselfconsciously equated. An adherence to those skills, together with a respect for the vernacular, will guard against the town becoming a Disney Theme Park.
Unless a far reaching and innovative development plan is formulated and implemented, Roseau will sink further into urban decay. And remember, the identity of places reflects the identity of ourselves. Roseau is a small town on a small island. It is not a second Dubai.
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