Urban Politics

URBAN POLITICS

Urban politics may be thought in different ways, and it varies through time and space. In Urban societies, towns and cities are the place of politics (Byrne 2001 in Hall and Barrett 2012).

Urban politics appear to be about the FORMAL URBAN POLITICAL ARENA such as the City Hall (As shown in the following Picture), the local authority and local elections.

City Hall - San Fernando
Place of Urban Politics

The formal political arena can be seen as a capitalist system. The city is a key site of this capital switching of free markets and ongoing involvement of the state with the capitalist system. Another way in which the formal political arena is constituted, in which it achieves the task of handling capitalism's instability, is through a set of practices, and hence the developments of local organizations. Six key functions of these local authorities according to Hall and Barrett (2012) includes:

• Providing public services
• Acting as an agent of central government .
• Formulating policies and plans for local development
• Representing the locality in dealings
• Resolving conflicts between competing local interests.
• Regulating private-sector activities

In my opinion, these functions are evident in the City of San Fernando. The local government functions when it comes to providing public services such as education, water and sewage services as can be seen in the following pictures. 

WASA Service Station at the Base of San Fernando Hill

Presentation College-Educational Service

Included in these services is the police service and Justice systems and the San Fernando General Hospital, even the water taxi service.

Things however that needs improving in San Fernando, includes, efficient Car park facilities, drainage improvements, placing of police posts in squatter sites just to name a few.

References

Hall, Tim, and Heather Barrett. 2012. “The informal economy in Cities – alternative economic spaces.” Urban geography. London: Routledge.

UN Habitat, 2012. Trinidad and Tobago: San Fernando Urban Profile.