Living Similarily in Varying Geographical Locations

Interested in Upscale Condo Living, One Woodbrook Place offers:  All the “commodities and convinces under the sun” including the sun.

 Amazing gardens, garden patios, excellent views, pool, fitness centre, courtyard, lobby, elevators, secure parking, downstairs shopping, restaurants, accessibility to the city and its nightlife.

No, I’m not advertizing for “One Woodbrook Palace” but my list could go on and on describing this “all inclusive housing arrangement”.  It is quite a contrast to the remaining residential neighborhoods in Woodbrook.  (Humble gingerbread type, one storey, middle income residences). These highrise represent the ultra-modern Woodbrook, a neighborhood of style and class. A one bedroom studio apartment cost approximately $1.6 million TT. The complex is home some of Port-of-Spain’s wealthy elites, professionals and foreigners. Today, developers and occupants alike use the term ‘apartment’, to avoid being stigmatized with the high rise developments of East Port-of-Spain.

What can be attributed to this new chic urban housing culture in Pot-of-Spain?

This trend towards chic urban high rise housing in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad rings a similar tune to the rest of the contemporary world.  Today, with the advent of globalization, many theorists have postulated the local and global are “inextricably bound together in the current phase” a type of “no place space”. [(Featherstone, 2003, p.343) (MUSICINDEVELOPMENT 2011)].  This “current phase” in the arena of housing is dominated and expressed as an extension of Western culture. This ‘global culture’ promotes a specific lifestyle and consumption patterns.  Consumption in this instance relates directly to a type of self expression and “satisfaction” (Baudrillard, 1981).  Globally, this has led to a type of consumption based on the “experience” (Featherstone 2008).  In this case the ability to afford and reside in an elite apartment with other individuals of similar status. Thus, as more and more of Trinidad’s elite and young professionals buy into this trend, we are expected to see an increase in the popularity of these chic high rise apartments. Hence, it can be said that globally numerous individuals are seeking to live similarly in diverse cities in varying geographical locations.

As Featherstone declared:

‘Our experiences and means of orientation necessarily become divorced from the physical locations in which we live’ [(Featherstone, 2003, p. 342) (MUSICINDEVELOPMENT 2011)]

Biblography

Featherstone, Mike. "City Cultures and Post-Modern Lifestyles." In Post-Fordist: Areader, by Ash Amin, 389. John Wiley & Sons, 2008.

MUSICINDEVELOPMENT. Google Scholar. 12 11, 2011. http://musicindevelopment.com/ (accessed 03 11, 2014).