A Caribbean Grove

Chaguanas also offers a multitude of services for people, the focus here is on the social services offered in the area. These services include a rehabilitation center, cinemas, gyms and several malls. These services, also amplify the sense of livability of the urban area of Chaguanas, as it is mostly top-down which caters to more economic expansion for private or individual profit (van Vliet, 2002). 

Photograph 1, taken by Kristen Goseine with Canon EOS REBEL T3i/EOS 600D. (Date taken: 30/03/15)

There are many malls located in Chaguanas including Centre City Mall, Mid Centre Mall, Centre Pointe Mall and Price Plaza (Photograph 1: Bottom Right). There are also a great many minor plazas and malls located along the Chaguanas Main Road such as Adam's Bazaar and 2001 Plaza where people can go shopping. In addition to these shopping plazas there are many stores scattered throughout Chaguanas. The major malls are indoor malls where shops are large, whereas, minor malls are usually walk-through with a clustered organization of shops. The most popular mall, used mainly for recreation and located on the periphery of the CBD, is Price Plaza where there are many foreign food outlets and restaurants along with a cinema complex. There is a major trend noticed with these commercial centres which is that their design all include banks and some include groceries. Center City acts as a focal point around which many of the major banks exist such as Unit Trust Coorperation, Bank of Baroda, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and Republic Bank. 

Photograph 2, taken by Kristen Goseine with Canon EOS REBEL T3i/EOS 600D. (Date taken: 30/03/15)

With the arrival of Movietowne to Chaguanas, many stopped going to the older cinemas located there, thereby, resulting in their closure. The cinemas which were forced to shut down due to a lack of business are Globe Chaguanas and Jubilee. Movietowne acts as a major factor of gentrification as it provides a higher standard of cinematic experience than there ever was in Chaguanas. It is a high end movie complex consisting of eight theaters and a concession stand with a large variety of foods and snacks, catering to both vegetarian and non-vegetarian persons. This development of Movietowne, in the immediate vicinity of Price Plaza, is indicative of urban retail development. Rotem-Mindali, 2012, examines the growth in variety and scale of unplanned commercial strips on the periphery of American cities. This factor can also be noticed with Price Plaza which has developed along the periphery of Chaguanas' CBD. There is an increase of accessibility in the area due to the development of roads as well as an increase in car ownership, contributing to "strip development."

Other services provided in the CBD are those which can aid in personal betterment such as the Angel Hearts Rehabilitation Centre as well as several gyms including Fitness Centre, Central Athletics Club, Evolution Fitness and Xtreme Fitness Centre. These facilities are all available to the public and some of the gyms even provide 24/7 service to their members. 

Photograph 3, taken by Kristen Goseine with Canon EOS REBEL T3i/EOS 600D. (Date taken: 30/03/15)

Chaguanas also has an active nightlife which includes Club India along with numerous casinos. Club India contributes to the versatility of the services offered in the urban areas of Chaguanas where persons are able to enjoy their night out "in da club." The advent of casinos would quicker attract a mature crowd to avoid the young adult crowd found at clubs.

Photograph 4, taken by Kristen Goseine with Canon EOS REBEL T3i/EOS 600D. (Date taken: 30/03/15)

These aspects of the urban life of Chaguanas could be referred to as a Caribbean-style Grove.

References

Google Maps,. 2015. 'Malls Near Chaguanas'. Accessed April 9. https://www.google.com/maps/search/malls+in+chaguanas/@10.5269955,-61.4096614,13z.

Movietowne.com,. 2015. 'Welcome To MOVIETOWNE'. Accessed April 9. http://movietowne.com.

Rotem-Mindali, Orit. 2012. 'Retail Fragmentation Vs. Urban Livability: Applying Ecological Methods In Urban Geography Research'. Applied Geography 35 (1-2): 292-299. doi:10.1016/j.apgeog.2012.08.003.

The Grove - Los Angles. 2012. Image. http://50.28.63.73/~twentyfo/assets/The_Grove_3_W-1-of-11.jpg.

van Vliet, Willem. 2002. 'Cities In A Globalizing World: From Engines Of Growth To Agents Of Change'. Environ Urban 14 (1): 31-40. doi:10.1630/095624702101286089.