Roads- the Wires of a City

“Urban form can be understood at different levels of resolution. Commonly, four are recognized, corresponding to the building/lot, the street/block, the city and the region.” – Moudon, A.V (1994)

Since the dawn of man, urban morphology has been a theme in human history. Since the urban revolution in 4th millennium B.C. Mesopotamia, cities form the largest artifacts ever produced by humans and their most dominant socio-spatial entity. Despite its archaic origin, urbanism survived all subsequent socio-cultural changes: It was the most dominant cultural, social and political spatial entity for the Sumerian, Acadians, Hittites, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Persians, Chinese, Moslems and Middle-Ages Europeans (J. Amos 1996). In this urban wire, we explore the nature and morphology of cities. Like a circuit, made up of wires; string-like pieces or filaments of relatively rigid or flexible metals, used chiefly for structural support, the patterns of its component parts and the process of its development must be examined to fully understand the spatial structure and character of a city. According to (J. Amos 1996) Portugali, cities should be seen in terms of networks, stretching in time and space.

Construction in urban centers is an integral part of its development; it includes both buildings and roads. The construction of roads involves the removal of geographic obstacles and the use of new construction materials that are far more improved and durable (Goel 2013 ). There are a six steps to the construction of roads, firstly preparation of sub-grade, then the preparation of sub-base and base, as well as the preparation of wearing course and shoulders then finally opening up to traffic.

The digging up of the sub soil provides the sub-grade which is then compacted by rollers weighing eight tones by sprinkling water one night before (civilblog.org 2015). On this compacted sub-grade, boulders, broken stones or burnt bricks are spread in layers of 15cm thickness and then compacted once more to form the sub-base. Specified materials are then spread on the sub-base and proper grade, thickness and cross sections are maintained. The wearing course could be laid down in either one or two layers, however each layer must not exceed 10cm. Shoulders are then created by filling the earth to the specified cross slope and then compacting it. After drying the road is open to traffic. Roads are constructed in city centers for ease of access to and from it and are essential for the daily operations of citizens.

The area under construction shown in the pictures was taken on the corner of Charlotte Street and Independence Square which is the southern part of the Central Business District of the city of Port of Spain. It was taken on February 2nd at around 12:30pm. The workers seen belong to the Port of Spain City Corporation and are reconstructing the pavement for pedestrian use.  Due to the rise in the price of oil in the early 1970s, Trinidad and Tobago was provided with the capital to finance development. Much of the development programme that was launched involved construction work.

References:

civilblog.org. june 20, 2015. http://civilblog.org/2015/06/20/6-basic-steps-comprising-wbm-road-construction-procedure/ (accessed february 29, 2016).

Goel, Tarun. Bright Hub Engineering . May 2013 . http://www.brighthubengineering.com/structural-engineering/59665-road-construction-history-and-procedure/ (accessed February 2016).

J. Amos, L.S Brune and J.Portugali. "Notions concerning the nature of world urbanization, in Perspectives on Urbanization." Progress in Planning, 1996: 145-162.