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How creative thinking and bold action are transforming Port of Spain
In the sixth episode of The City Citizen, Joel Martinez, Mayor of Trinidad’s Port of Spain, talks to EY’s Meghan Mills about applying innovative approaches to rejuvenate the city.
With its rich cultural heritage, beautiful surroundings and thriving industries, Port of Spain has a lot to offer residents and tourists alike. But even in idyllic locations like Trinidad and Tobago, capital cities have challenges to address ⏤ including how to transition to a smart, sustainable future.
In this episode, Port of Spain’s Mayor, Joel Martinez, describes how he’s rejuvenating the city by building on its strengths and increasing civic pride. He tells Meghan Mills, EY Strategy and Operations Leader – Government and Public Sector, about some of the innovative ideas the city has implemented. These include becoming a UNESCO Creative City in the field of music, and reclaiming an area that was previously a landfill site.
Key takeaways:
To be progressive, city governments need to use technology as part of an ecosystem that helps citizens live and work better.
“Beautifying” a city by restoring monuments, widening pavements and planting trees will encourage business and build civic pride.
Younger citizens may need some help to become aware ⏤ and proud ⏤ of the city’s cultural or sporting history.
A full text transcript of this podcast is available too.
The City Citizen from EY.
Meghan Mills
Hello and welcome to The City Citizen, the EY podcast examining how cities can transform to be more resilient, sustainable places to live and work.
Mills
I’m your host, Meghan Mills, Strategy and Operations Leader Government and Public Sector for EY. Normally we record these podcasts remotely, but I’m delighted today to be in the gorgeous Port of Spain in person, in Trinidad. Joining me today is Joel Martinez, Mayor of Port of Spain. Hello Joel, and welcome.
Joel Martinez
Hello, how are you?
Mills
I'm great thanks.
Martinez
I’m delighted to be here with you.
Mills
It’s truly beautiful here. It's my first time on the island and the architecture and the culture and the food — so far everything has been just wonderful.
Martinez
Fantastic. So in other words we could actually say, welcome to paradise.
Mills
I should’ve opened with that. So Port of Spain is a leading city in the Caribbean region. It's a shipping hub and an important financial services centre, and the islands of course are well known for tourism. As you said, we’re in paradise. What else is special about Trinidad and Tobago compared with other islands?
Martinez
We are right on the top of South America and at the bottom of the Caribbean. So Trinidad is one of those countries that is blessed with hydrocarbons and also blessed with natural gas to be able to fuel our economy and such — and we are to some extent an industrialized nation.
We are the inventors of the steel orchestra, and that was the only instrument — percussion instrument — that was invented in the 20th century, and it was done right here in Trinidad.
Trinidad is known for calypso and soca, and reggae soca and rap, and so on and so on, and chutney soca, and so there are so many genres of music that are produced in this little happy island. So if I had to indicate what Trinidad is about, I would say it consists of a melting pot of culturally and ethnically diverse citizens, and we are multitalented. We are very good at the arts. We are very good at athletics also, and academia.
Mills
So Joel, I’ve been reading about the ambitious revitalization program for Port of Spain, which was launched at the end of 2020. What are you aspiring to achieve from that program?
Martinez
The City of the Port of Spain involves a number of districts like St James, St Clair, Cocorite, Newtown, Belmont, Sea Lots, Gonzales and so on. So there are a number of areas where different demographics of people live. So every time I went abroad to look at another city, I would be looking at where people have been looking at mountains and these different things and how nice these pictures are — I’m looking at drains, garbage bins and so on you know, how can we get this to work?
We have done a number of things, and I was fortunate to be one of the people that created something called Chinatown. We are the only country in the Caribbean that has a Chinatown. I was able to look at the Cenotaph at the Memorial Park and strip away 65 years of paint so that you can see the yellow Portland stone on the Cenotaph itself, which is the same stone they used for Buckingham Palace. And granite is the stone that is on the steps, but it was industrial grey paint that painted it. And then the statues were painted black, and when you strip away the black, you got bronze. So you are now able to see a monument in its natural state, and it looks so beautiful.
I was able to develop something called the UNESCO City of Music definition for what you call the City of Festivals and what you call the City of Music, and I’m working towards pedestrianizing the Avenue and also the same area where Chinatown is, to pedestrianize that area. I want to beautify the Broadway into a promenade area.
When you plant trees, you see breeze. So I'm going to expand the pavements in some of the areas, and downtown Broadway is one of those where I will plant some trees and put some cobblestones and light up the area, so that in the evening time, it will look a lot more lively.
I think when I do that, I will encourage more cafes. The thing is, at the end of the day, if we try in a particular way with a structured process to get it done, I think it could be magic.
Mills
So through that, it was very interesting, the revitalization program, and it really sounds like putting people at the heart of it. How do you incorporate the thinking of people who are living here today and people who you’re trying to attract here — the citizen voice? How do you infuse that into some of the decisions that you’re making?
Martinez
So UNESCO or United Nations put out something called the 2030/2050 concept of Sustainable Development Goals. Revitalizing or rejuvenating the city could only make it better for us, and it would mean creating an increased patriotism through these aforementioned beautiful projects.
When UNESCO asked me to do something, they said come up with projects that — if you want this designation — show me that you can do something that will be sustainable, that will help music grow. So that’s the first thing I said, well, I'll create a Walk of Fame for talented artists and I'll do it around the National Academy for the Performing Arts. And then around the Red House, which is our Parliament building, you can do the same for former prime ministers and members, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Members of Parliament and people who would carry in legislation and business and that sort of thing.
And then around the Promenade, because they named the Promenade after Brian Lara, one of our local heroes, but if you look around the Promenade, there is a statue of Brian Lara, but there is no name of the Promenade that says Brian Lara. Two or three years from now, people will just call it the Promenade. So the thing about it is, how do you keep the name and help people to think? You have to do things so that the younger generation, who never saw Brian Lara play cricket, will be able to say, “Oh wow.” Let's change the psyche of the person by helping them subliminally.
Mills
While also celebrating the culture and the richness of the heritage you have here in Trinidad and Tobago. Can you talk a little bit about how you’re infusing innovation, different technologies into the revitalization plans?
Martinez
Every country, when they're thinking now of anything they can think about, it's about transition. It’s about, how do I develop a smart city and a green city at the same time? So you have to help people now to feel, okay, I can get my job done better using artificial intelligence, using the opportunity to digitally transform the way that we do things so I don’t have to walk to this department to do this and move this from here, and government can't wait. You must be able to give people more relaxed time in their working life.
Everything that happens around you, which is your whole ecosystem, must hold together. So using technology, to me, at the end of the day, we have to be able to be progressive. Another thing that we need to do that is innovative, I would say, is to move our dump, our landfill, because it’s our landfill, move it from out of the city. Take that same space and increase Port of Spain. Develop the eastern side of Port of Spain, which is badly in need of developing. It is the area that is considered the least economically viable area. But you know what? It has tremendous potential.
Mills
I have no doubt that you will develop that area. It sounds like you’ve talked about being creative, being just brave enough to take a new idea and put it into action for the benefit of the city, which is exciting.
So finally, if someone is listening and thinking about planning a trip to Trinidad and Tobago, Port of Spain, what would you recommend? And I'm taking notes for myself, because I'm going to spend a couple of days here.
Martinez
Trinidad is great with connections. We will tell you everywhere, if you had to do everything that you would like to possibly do here, you might as well live here.
Mills
Okay, well that’s also on my list: move to Trinidad.
Martinez
Well, I'll tell you something: our people. In itself, it’s just wonderful to live among them. We love to go out and enjoy ourselves, so we are happy people. Our foods are very tasty, very sumptuous, very saucy. We are a small nation, we have a lot to offer. We have beautiful beaches. We have river lines, Tobago has an island pool, a coral reef at Englishman’s Bay. And also, bird watching is big in Tobago because we have a rainforest in Tobago — that little island has a rainforest.
We produce pitch for roads, the asphalt roads all around the world, most of that comes from Trinidad because there are very few countries in the world that produce that.
You know, if I had to say come to Trinidad, I would say it’s a beautiful, enjoyable space, and we are building this little nation, doing it in a particular way that gives us that sense of additional pride.
Mills
It’s truly special. I'm very happy to be here. I appreciate your time. Thank you so much for joining me today; it’s been a pleasure having you on this podcast, in person. Do join us again to meet more special guests discussing the future of cities. Also, you can subscribe to this series, so you won’t miss an episode. From me, Meghan Mills, and Joel Martinez, thanks for listening and goodbye.
The City Citizen, back soon.
End of tape.
