The comments in response to last week’s news item, “City Facelift to Begin Later This Year” were in agreement that something needs to be done, but questioned, what should be done and how it should be done. The only thing we know for certain is that the answer to the problem will not be found in a computer-generated preview of Great George Street.
Noisy, dirty, smelly, sweltering, congested, nowhere to safely walk and nowhere to park!
These are the impressions that Roseau imparts in the minds of residents and visitors. The grandiose title of the city – which under British rule may have been earned by virtue of its diocesan cathedral – is misleading. In reality, Roseau is a market town, the layout of which has not significantly changed since the 19th century. Its streets and narrow lanes were laid out for horse and handcarts, not motorcars.
If fever had not ravaged Portsmouth in earlier times, Roseau would not have become the capital of Dominica. Valid reasons can now be made for the capital to revert to Portsmouth, but until that day arrives, we need to radically rethink Roseau.
Over the last fifty years, Roseau has degenerated into being a blot on the landscape and without a visionary all-embracing master plan, no amount of piecemeal enhancement will halt the decline.
May I suggest, that before the US$41 Million loan from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia burns a hole in our pockets, we should bear in mind that the key operative clause in the brief for the UK’s most ambitious regeneration project reads: VISION LED, NOT FUNDING FED!
The vision for Roseau cannot be conceived on an architect’s drawing board in Barbados or at an office desk in Dubai. Vernacular comes from within, not from without. A town plan that may be fitting for elsewhere in the world, is not necessarily fitting for Dominica.
To restructure a town, and yet preserve what remains of its identity, is an art form in itself. Coincidentally, the man who wrote the definitive book on the subject began his working life as a town planner in the Caribbean. The book, The Concise Townscape by Gordon Cullen, should be required reading by all involved in this initiative.
Out of all the historic town regeneration projects that I have been involved with, Roseau presents the greatest challenge. The elements of Roseau’s townscape are confused and conflicting. I cannot accept Discover Dominica’s vision of “a quaint town that has a picturesque array of 18th-century French architecture”. That image might have been true when I first knew the town fifty years ago, but not now. A glance at the satellite image of Roseau illustrates what we are up against.
Widening the streets will not solve Roseau’s traffic problem, but making the town pedestrian-friendly could. The town has the advantage of being located on flat land; there are no steep hills to climb and it only takes five minutes to walk from one end of town to the other. In terms of shade, the narrower the streets the better. Without the hazard of broken pavements and open drains, walking would be a pleasure. Shops and restaurants would benefit by being able to open up their frontage, as is done in many countries with a favourable climate.
With a radical rearrangement of what goes where, ample provision for parking can be created around the perimeter of the town centre. Large cities overcome their parking problems by “park and ride” initiatives, whereas our small scale offers the better alternative of “park and walk”. Through-traffic should not pass through the town centre, nor should it pass along the Bay Front or by way of the Botanic Gardens. There is an alternative route staring us in the face, but no one has tumbled into it.
We urgently need an up-to-date comprehensive development plan. Such a plan would protect buildings of historical worth, encourage regeneration, and guard against the piecemeal development that is blighting the townscape. In 2005 Baptiste & Associates Ltd., a local company, produced a 383-page development plan. But a lot has happened since the plan was first drafted.
In remaking the old town, we need to solicit the understanding of the public at large and engage them in the planning process. We need to facilitate dialogue and open up the creative processes, so as to bring together contributors from a diverse spectrum of backgrounds. This cannot be done solely by way of architects’ drawings and artists’ impressions. For the aforementioned UK regeneration project, I initiated town walkabouts, held countless community meetings, made interactive models, took thousands of photographs and hours of video footage. In effect, we took the town to pieces and put it back together scores of times, before we found the best solution, and before anything was set in concrete.
Specialization hampers creative solutions. Innovation requires diverse experience and knowledge. It is achieved by questioning everything that has gone before and at the same time, utilizing what has gone before. It can sometimes be achieved by putting two diverse thoughts together. On the UK regeneration initiative, the solution to a major traffic problem came, not from the town planner with a Master’s Degree, but from a housewife standing next to me in the queue at the Post Office.
One of the benefits of creating a new town out of the old could be the revival of skills. Technicalities alone will not produce a townscape that is pleasing to the eye and fit for its purpose. And a college degree will not necessarily solve the problem. Up to a hundred years ago, it was the master craftsman who determined good design and from his workbench beauty and function unselfconsciously equated. An adherence to those skills, together with a respect for the vernacular, will guard against the town becoming a Disney Theme Park.
Unless a far-reaching and innovative development plan is formulated and implemented, Roseau will sink further into urban decay. And remember, the identity of places reflects the identity of ourselves.
Roseau is a small town on a small island. It is not a second Dubai.
Great article Burnett. And imagine Dominica has qualified Urban Planners living on island, other than Burnett, who were never engaged in this great Roseau project. But like the DCFH, plans suitable for some other country will be superimposed and expected to work perfectly. Now they have to find money to change/fix issues in DCFH that could have been afforded if they had worked smart and engaged the persons who were actually using the hospital at the very start of discussions. Seems like we enjoy working hard and spending twice. At what point will we learn from our mistakes.
I wasn’t expecting so many people to take issue with this when I looked at the comments. I appreciated this article and would like to add on to what’s already been said:
We have an aging population. We also have a significant population of those that are physically disabled. Improvements to the city must centre these vulnerable demographics first and foremost if we want to consider the future. A pedestrian-centred city with well-maintained and sizeable sidewalks that can be used by wheelchair users and other pedestrians could give Roseau a unique air shared with no other country while benefiting our people, especially our most vulnerable. We don’t even need to consider general walkability in restructuring roads. Roseau is already insanely walkable in a way that many other cities would envy.
And yet even with small architectural projects that local people, especially our youth, attempt to launch (see Kateri Pemberton’s well thought out videos on Facebook), nobody listens.
Very well written Roger Burnett..
It is not difficult to do what needs to be done if one has the finance. however like you say it is not finance first. there has to be first the desire and will. that then influences the internal vision which originates from the heart..
So much is said about education. its 2024 and yet still there is no library..
We do have to understand the nature of the time and how the time reflects the character of the leaders
Have a good day..
wow. that’s a lot of waffling without saying anything, other than putting forward a CV.
Had I have wanted to put forward a CV, I would have made reference to the books I’ve written on the subject of townscapes.
As is typical with Burnett’s writings…a lot of rambling without much substance..
Roger, exactly how do you figure end to other end of Roseau is a five minute walk? Please enlighten us.
Up until a fews months ago, I regularly walked from Astaphans to Fresh Market in five minutes. If I could do it at 80, surely others could do the same.
It’s not that I’ve stopped walking, but that I’ve given up on driving from Antrim to town.
Is Roseau going to be the Caribbean first green city .climate resistant with no cars.Think this thing through. social mode disability city
I wonder if those responsible will even read this piece. Quite apart from what i said last week, another problen in Roseau exists for those who travel South, on days when there is only ONE tourist ship in port. It takes an inordinate length of time for vehicles to move from point A to point B. Parking is a huge problem, but noone seem to care. Roseau is very easily flooded. With less than moderate showers,we have clogged drains and debris on the streets. The delapidated buildings are still largely an eyesore. Even littering is a huge problem. Still cant understand why an adult would eat his food bought from a restaurant, and just throw the container anywhere, same thing with his/her beer bottle etc..
We have a LAZY, careless, don’t care government, and i’m not sure that what they propose will solve the city’s problems.
Reading this piece has not enlightened me. But I can tell you that one solution could be to build floating streets that bypass the city. If you can find the money.
Absolutely agree. Need to get cars and buses out, people in, plant trees, and save what few decent historic buildings remain.
Roseau needs to become pedestrian only to function properly. I hope the big egos can let common sense prevail. you can not be the first climate resilience country and have the city air polluted by cars .make it a green city .I bet they didn’t think of that.No cars in the city between 9am and 5pm .people can walk and make it a social mode disability city accessible to all that includes new legislation so all shops must have disabled access. you want me to lead on the project.
Every time I hear Melissa and her husband use the word “aesthetics” when discussing this project, it makes me wonder if they’re taking about remodeling their Morne Daniel mansion.
It’s mind boggling how clueless these two people are. Especially in regard to this potentially transformative project.
And would they be still in office that long again to undertake such projects? Skeritt must be feeling quite comfortable with this plan. “Oh! They really want us to remain in office for another 24 years! So let’s start pretend to be in the first phase in developing Roseau.” I’ve said this for the empting time – Your very good and brilliant ideas are thrown in the waste basket but you keep wasting your energy. One time electoral reform push is hot the it’s cold. The CBI is hot then it’s cold. Then the missing billions is hot then it’s cold. Agriculture issues get hot then very cold. Unemployment issues get warm then gets very cold. The corruption is catch a fire 🔥 then it’s watered down. It’s just a waste of time in the way we keep trying to achieve change in Dominica. Some times I simply laugh at what’s going on. And frankly, I don’t understand it. To me personally, it’s a Joke. Just keep quiet people, and continue to suck on salt until it dissolve. Mean while show how smart you are.
Roger……..Nether Skerrit nor Melissa will understand a word that you said. She is a vain woman who is married to an egomaniac. Neither of them will heed a word of advice from anyone, lest they appear to know too little.
Well said Zandoli! Roosevelt and his high maintenance wife have become so vainglorious and self-conceited that listening to the people who got the there is beneath them.
No one has a monopoly on good ideas. Two brains are better than one. If you want to succeed, you should surround yourself with people who are more intelligent than you and listen to their views and opinions.
You are richly rewarded with wisdom for listening to different viewpoints.
well written article stating how many people feel about “Town”. Basically get in and get out as fast as possible.
if you dangle enough money at someone, they become an expert overnight. DDA is no exception.
Sadly the response by Zandoli is also very well written and true too.
You mean, you read this commentary and all you got from it was “Melissa” and “Skerrit?”
Are you this shallow? Is this the level of your cognitive ability?