Saturday 21 March 2015

F
urther exploring our capital, Port of Spain, it was a clear observation that traffic is a major concern for the city. In some areas, traffic is at a standstill as commuters try to weave their way in all directions through the narrow street. The scene is quite chaotic and disorganized as some commuters may openly express their annoyances however these are not the problems being considered. The capital of a country provides all services needed for the population and as a result, vast numbers of vehicles flock to Port of Spain on a daily basis to carry out their activities.
The extent of cars coming in to Port of Spain, as mentioned before has resulted in large traffic pile ups. Consequently a chain reaction occurs, where vehicles in standstill jams spew pollutants into the surrounding atmosphere.  These pollutants cause a number of other problems, ranging from health infections in humans such as bronchitis to other critical illnesses. Furthermore when these gases combine with rain water, Carbonic acid is formed. This is a dilute acid that can act on buildings by eroding it and can damage vegetation.
Additionally, another phenomena originating from urban areas is the urban heat island. The urban heat island is the variation of temperature in metropolitan areas: the city area is significantly warmer than its surroundings and this could be characteristic of the high number of automobile presence. For this particular happening, one online source discovered that in Trinidad, urbanization has little effect on defining the temperature changes. However this urban heat island exists in many other city areas of the world (New York City being the most suitable). Air pollution was positively identified as existent and continuous in Port of Spain.

Traffic pile up into the capital, Port of Spain.







No comments:

Post a Comment