Urban Geographies, Planning and Development Archives

TWILIGHT, Belmont: Reflections on Marlon James’s Man Up

Posted on August 31, 2025April 7, 2026 by amílcar sanatan

Belmont is a tight-knit urban village in East Port-of-Spain known for its carnival mas-making and prowess in steel pan music. The place is also subjected to policing by security forces in response to insecurity and communal conflicts. For some who cannot claim a job, a “reputable” family name, or an education at a prestigious secondary […]

“Colonisation has a Big Impact on the Way to Organise Our Island”: Interview with Audrey Pastel

Posted on July 18, 2025April 7, 2026 by amílcar sanatan

J’ai rencontré Audrey Pastel (née en 1989) pour la première fois à la conférence du Forum urbain des Caraïbes 2024 en République dominicaine. Nous faisions tous deux partie d’un groupe de jeunes délégués qui se réunissaient fréquemment pour délibérer sur le développement urbain régional, y compris des sujets brûlants tels que le retrait des monuments […]

What Mango Thief and Wine Thief Have in Common: Our Culture, Carnival and Consent

Posted on January 17, 2018April 7, 2026 by amílcar sanatan

First, I am not conflating the theft of a mango with the physical violation of a woman. For reasoning sake, I am offering an example relevant to “our culture” (a term which has been circulating more frequently these days). “Our culture” is fluid, not fixed. Culture is always changing. Sadly, when this phrase is operationalised, […]

Neisha Not Wotless: Public Housing and Poverty

Posted on December 30, 2016April 6, 2026 by amílcar sanatan

Neisha Wattley, a market vendor, sells foods and vegetables with her husband, Chris Rambhal. Before Christmas this year, she lived in a windowless “shack” near a riverbank that neither had running pipe water nor electricity. In 2014, Wattley was in the media and public eye, on a matter related to the home. But, this issue […]

Comments on the Statements of the Honourable Minister of Road

Posted on March 12, 2014March 28, 2026 by amílcar sanatan

“Gi we a Ministry of Road (MOR Road) To build when we mash up on de road (MOR road) Fix up when we movin to de stage (MOR stage) Nobody ca stop we If is lock up, charge or pay money Gi we road, we have authority now to Work, Work, Work, Work” The Minister […]