Nassau - NP - The Bahamas: The City of New Providence

The City of New Providence
by Simon


Nassau is often used as a shortcut or synecdoche for New Providence. There is a logic and history behind this: For most of its history the majority of its residents lived in the City of Nassau and its immediate environs. Understandably, they more easily identified with the town in which they lived rather than the expanse beyond the actual and imagined town-limits.

We call residents of Nassau, Nassuvians. Yet, unlike Abaconians, Cat Islanders and Inaguans, what is the demonym for those of us who live at New Providence?

During the 20th century the population of Nassau climbed significantly through a combination of high birth rates among Bahamians and an influx of immigrants from Haiti who also tended to have high birth rates. The influx of Family Islanders also boosted the capital island’s numbers.

Beginning around the middle of the last century, the mutual forces of majority rule and black economic empowerment ignited an urban expansion. With considerable rapidity, the majority of the island’s population shifted beyond Nassau.

Urbanization has engendered many benefits as well as significant challenges for New Providence. These varied challenges include ongoing infrastructural needs in the areas of housing, ground transportation networks, public services and facilities, and reliable utilities, among others.

There are also a complex of sociological challenges including increased crime and violence, social alienation by some and the changing nature of social networks such as neighbourhoods. The environmental and health challenges related to urbanization are also significant.

What we are continuing to get our hands and collective imagination around are a broad variety of interrelated challenges cum master questions. The questions have been provoked by the transition from the City of Nassau to the City of New Providence, a geographical reality and an idea that is coming of age. To face the challenges of urban development, design and renewal, we have to think and plan in terms of an extended city.

URBAN ADVENTURE

A fitting metaphor for this transition is those motorists on New Providence’s roads who drive at a pace more appropriate to some of our more leisurely Family Islands. We can extend the metaphor to those who recklessly go way beyond the speed limit.

Our task is to get the speed and tempo of New Providence right, maintaining much of an island flavour and the capital island’s historic identity while embracing necessary change. In this urban adventure we might borrow a question from I.M. Pei, one of the masters of modern architecture: “Can we make the past serve the present?”

The journey from Carmichael to Saunder’s Beach may now take as little as 15 minutes courtesy of the new road corridor connecting north to south. Many residents from the eastern end of the island commute daily to jobs on the western end and vice versa.

This road network is one of many networks, which, over several decades resulted in New Providence developing into a highly integrated city. This integration will continue to intensify. It will do so in ways not immediately expected.

Even as more of their grandparents and parents retire to the Family Islands, a younger generation of Bahamians, excited about city living, will imagine, design and build the City of New Providence.

Their enthusiasm will extend to Nassau, Over-the-Hill and areas such as Chippingham and the Fort Hill. They will be joined by Bahamians returning home, who, after living abroad, often in cities, may find city living in Nassau more to their taste.

All of these city enthusiasts will not only play and recreate in downtown Nassau’s hotspots, restaurants and other entertainment venues. They will also begin to live in apartments, condos and cooperatives in historic Nassau and its environs.

Imagine, a group of young Bahamian professionals investing in a cooperative housing development somewhere in historic Nassau and its environs. Of course, this gentrification will be driven by more than a passion for city living. It will also be driven by economics, by supply and demand.

As prices continue to climb for suburban property and the amount of that land decreases, younger Bahamians will look to available land in unexpected areas. This will carry over to long-term investments, with younger Bahamians buying real estate in currently lower income areas of New Providence. Over time a number of these areas will be redeveloped.


COMMUNITY GARDENS

As we only have so much land at New Providence, we will have to think creatively about how it is developed over time. Critical to that development is the use of urban design to respond to two long-term challenges: crime and urban poverty.

Of course, these challenges will require a myriad of responses from economic empowerment to education. But, the way we refashion and redesign New Providence will make an enormous difference.

Take for example the idea of community gardens. Not only do they provide open green spaces, they also have the potential to renew community life while providing young people opportunities for positive alternative activities.

What if, for example, the government made available to a community association part of the large track of land east of Market Street where City Market once had a store?

The idea would be to use the allocated space as a community garden, where residents from Grant’s Town and Bain Town might grow vegetables and other produce for their own consumption and possibly for sale. Students form C.R. Walker may also be granted some space for that school’s agricultural programme.

Similarly, space for community gardens throughout New Providence may have various beneficial effects. So might land set aside for the development of community centres. These centres would host a variety of functions, including space for the development of local government councils and community development associations.

OPEN SPACES

The centres may also host a broad variety of activities related to the arts, youth development, health and well-being, after-school homework and mentoring programmes and parenting classes, among others.

Of course, all of the aforementioned would have to be properly conceptualized and managed. But if we are interested in genuine urban development and community renewal the way we build will help to determine what we build in terms of community life and a shared future.

Our multifaceted approach to crime and violence will have to include preventing such crime, including through various social programmes and alternative sentencing avenues. These programmes need space in our urban landscape, both imaginative and physical.

Despite the number of gated communities we have built, crime has not abated, and we all remain at risk even in some of the supposedly securer areas of New Providence. In that light, in addition to our protective fortresses, we may consider also using open spaces and community gathering places as crime prevention measures.

The contours of the new City of New Providence are emerging. It will include a blend of historic Nassau and the concept of town centres built during a previous administration of Prime Minister Ingraham. It will also include the unprecedented infrastructural investment undertaken by the current Ingraham administration.

As importantly, it will include the reimagining of New Providence by its residents inclusive of various community-based groups, artists and businesses, all working to fashion at New Providence a city with an outstanding quality of life. If we work hard at it, that quality of life will make New Providence one of the more liveable, coolest, funkiest, and safest cities in the Caribbean.

bahamapundit

Bahamas Blog International

Bahamas 2010 Census: The Bahamas' population has increased by 16.48 percent over the past decade

POPULATION GROWS 16%
By NIKIA DEVEAUX
Guardian Staff Reporter
nikia@nasguard.com


The population of The Bahamas has increased by 16.48 percent over the past decade compared to 19 percent growth during the 1990 to 2000 period, according to preliminary results coming out of the 2010 Census.

Statistics show that the country's population went from 303,611 in 2000 to 353,658 in 2010.

Director of Statistics Kelsie Dorsett revealed yesterday that growth declines in the main population centers-New Providence and Grand Bahama-played a significant role on the slowing of the country's population growth rate.

New Providence saw an increase of roughly 28 percent during the period of 1990 to 2000, but recorded only an 18 percent increase over the last decade.

The island's population currently stands at 248,948 compared to the previous decade's population of 210,832.

Grand Bahama dropped from a 15 percent increase in the previous census period to a 10 percent increase between 2000-2010.

"Even though these two islands still account for a substantial percentage of the population, the growth on these islands has slowed significantly,"Dorsett said.

According to the statistics director, the greatest population decline was found on Cat Island, which recorded a nine percent decrease.

San Salvador saw a major change in its population, going from over a 100 percent increase in the 1990s to a four percent decline over the past ten years.

The director said she believes that significant turnaround is due to the closing of the Club Med resort on that island.

"During the decade of 1990 to 2000 Club Med was up and running, hence all the auxillary services like car rentals, restaurants, etc., and it opened opportunities for people to have businesses and attracted people there. But with the closing, that meant that many people were no longer employed and they sought work elsewhere,"Dorsett said.

Exuma's population has more than doubled in the past decade.

The island's population grew from 3,571 in 2000 to 7,314 in 2010.

Dorsett attributes this population boom to the opening of the new Emerald Bay Sandals resort, among other developments on the island.

She said the trends in Exuma and San Salvador clearly demonstrate the role that economic development plays in population growth.

Acklins and Abaco also saw noteable increases in their populations.

According to Dorsette, statisticians worked painstakingly to ensure the accuracy of the numbers; however, the numbers are still subject to change because of several factors.

The numbers were tallied by hand, and do not yet include necessary adjustments.

"We as statisticians have adjustments to make, because unfortunately there are people out there who do not cooperate, and there are people who may have been away for the entire exercise,"she explained.

"The second and hopefully final round[of counting]will be done electronically when we have actually processed all of the data."

Dorsett said statisticians are currently in the process of coding the data, and no additional details will be available until the entire process is done.

Once the extensive and arduous coding process is done, the director said, information on population by age group, occupation, industry, religion, country of birth, country of citizenship, etc., will be made available.

The director said that the department's goal is to have all the information available within a year at the earliest.

"We will be very far ahead of previous years if we can get it all done within a year. We have set high goals for ourselves and we are hoping that within a year's time we will have all this done,"said Dorsett.

10/20/2010

thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International