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| House along Old Tim street St. Augustine |
Does this picture seem familiar? Can you see the material the house is made of? You would most likely think no one lives here right ? This dwelling serves as a home for a family of 5 and represents very common architecture of the urban poor. They simply create structures from whatever materials are readily available/ accessible to them yet trying to mimic typical housing of the general public.
Around the world a wide variety of materials have been, and are still, used for building, including stone, clay, wood, skins, grass, leaves, sand and water (Hall and Barrett 2012). Here we see the entire structure made out of weathered galvanized roofing material. Do you think the occupants of this home wants/ prefers this type of structure? the answer is no. For the urban poor architecture can take various forms simply coming out of the need for shelter.
Just as a sky scrapper is a symbolic part of an urban space which can represent wealth and innovation, huts or built up dwellings of the urban poor also reflect symbolism, which may be that of poverty and hardship.
This is a really good pic. It actually looks like a chicken coup or some habitat for rearing animals, not fit for human survival.
ReplyDeleteYou're right at first glimpse you won't think anyone lives there . Its sad to know that in this post modern society we tend to forget that people still do live in this way.
ReplyDeleteThis picture is of immense significance due to the fact it highlights the level of poverty in urban centre. It made me think about the carrying capacity of the city and the strain on the resources of the city. I can see the materials used, seems to be discarded materials. The pictures that i took showed old and new houses , but they did not have a dilapidated look. they are all well maintained. Tammy's picture shows the problems of slum dwellings, the need for better urban planning and the welfare of the citizenry.
ReplyDeleteI can relate this picture to the problems associated with growing urbanisation and the social effects.
What is sad and disturbing is that nothing much is being done to help people in these situations. All the houses along this street are fairly new/ well structured so passersby can easily identify this structure ..it singles it out in other words. Directly behind this structure is a 2 story abandoned house, however it is occupied by drug pushers so I was very reluctant to snap the picture out of fear. I would have really liked to highlight it though.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this; I think I am going to use your blog in my reflective analysis.
ReplyDeleteI just love this- "Just as a sky scrapper is a symbolic part of an urban space which can represent wealth and innovation, huts or built up dwellings of the urban poor also reflect symbolism, which may be that of poverty and hardship."
Can I borrow it :D
ofcourse you can :)
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