Understanding Caribbean Walkable Urban Heritage BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS
Final Report Submitted To: Organization of American States Department of Sustainable Development 1889 F St., NW, 7th Floor Washington, DC 20006, USA Final Report Submitted By: Caribbean Network for Urban and Land Management (CNULM/blueSpace), University of the West Indies Jeffrey Soule, FAICP (US/ICOMOS) Gregory Scruggs (Columbia University) FINAL REPORT – May 19, 2014
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Contents I. Preface ......................................................................................................................................... 3 1.0 Overview of Project .................................................................................................................. 4 2.0 Overview of Historic Urban Landscapes .................................................................................. 5 3.0 Understanding Caribbean Walkable Urban Heritage in the city of Bridgetown, Barbados ..... 8 3.1. Background and Overview of Bridgetown, Barbados ......................................................... 8 3.2. Bridgetown’s Built Environment Quality for Pedestrians and Cyclists ............................ 11 3.3. Bridgetown’s Management Plan ........................................................................................ 17 3.5. Existing Literature ............................................................................................................. 17 3.4. Current Preservation Policies ............................................................................................. 19 3.5. National Programs to Support Cultural Heritage ............................................................... 22 3.6. Adherence to Sustainable Development Principles ........................................................... 22 3.7. Local Economic Development Existing Practices and Potential ....................................... 22 3.8. Local Cultural Development Existing Practices and Potential .......................................... 22 3.9. Integration into Surrounding Land Uses and Potential for Influencing Development and Settlement Patterns Elsewhere in the City or Country.............................................................. 23 3.10. Best Practice: The Revitalize Bridgetown Initiative / Bridgetown Alive ........................ 23 4.0 Tools and Techniques ............................................................................................................. 27 4.1 Planning Framework and Expertise .................................................................................... 27 4.2 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) ........................................................................................ 27 4.3 Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) ............................................................................. 27 4.4 Guidelines for Historic Preservation Organizations ........................................................... 28 4.5 University Support Programs and Projects ......................................................................... 28 4.6 Local Events and Promotion Techniques to Build Support ................................................ 29 4.7 Training Programs for Skilled Building Craftspeople ........................................................ 29 4.8 Financial Incentives and Disincentives ............................................................................... 30 4.9 Code and Planning Enforcement ........................................................................................ 30 4.10 Public Education Tools and Techniques ........................................................................... 30 4.11. Interviews and Focus Groups........................................................................................... 31 4.12. Public Meetings ............................................................................................................... 31 4.13. Surveys ............................................................................................................................. 31 4.14. Charrettes ......................................................................................................................... 31 4.15. Community Assistance Team .......................................................................................... 32 4.16. Electronic Media .............................................................................................................. 32 CNULM/blueSpace Caribbean Jeffrey Soule and Gregory Scruggs
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4.17. Design Guidelines ............................................................................................................ 32 5.0 Recommendations for Bridgetown, Barbados ........................................................................ 33 5.1. Recommendations to Improve Pedestrian and Bicycle Friendliness ................................. 33 5.2. Recommendation for Demonstration Site: Queen’s Park House ....................................... 33 5.3. Summary Recommendations on Bridgetown for Policymakers ........................................ 34 6.0 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 35 ANNEX I: VALLETTA PRINCIPLES AND HUL GUIDELINES ............................................ 36 ANNEX II. PROJECT TEAM ...................................................................................................... 41
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I. Preface This report is one of the four city reports produced from the project. “Understanding and Improving Walkable Caribbean Urban Heritage: Paramaribo, Bridgetown, St. George’s and East Port-of-Spain.”(See Chapter 1: Overview of Project). It attempts to understand Caribbean Walkable Urban Heritage in the city of Bridgetown, Barbados and comprises of three major chapters: Chapter 1: Overview of the Project, Chapter 2: Overview of Historic Urban Landscapes in the Caribbean, Chapter 3: Caribbean Walkable Urban Heritage in the city of Bridgetown, Barbados, which gives a detailed analysis of Bridgetown’s built environment quality for pedestrians and cyclists as well as the existing planning policies and institutional frameworks for the city, Chapter 4: Tools, Techniques and Chapter 5: Recommendations that can be utilized to improve the country’s position on walkability and heritage conservation, Chapter 6: Bibliography.
For each of the aforementioned cities, a project report following a similar format was produced. It should be noted that though there are some case specific findings and recommendations, many are of general relevance and will be applied to the other city reports.
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1.0 Overview of Project “Understanding and Improving Walkable Caribbean Urban Heritage: Paramaribo, Bridgetown, St. George’s and East Port-of-Spain” is a project executed under an Organization of the American States (OAS) grant by the Caribbean Network for Urban and Land Management (CNULM) in collaboration with partners from the U.S. ICOMOS and the American Planning Association. Lead organization, the Caribbean Network for Urban Land Management (CNULM), a regular research partner of CARICOM, is a uniquely qualified academic center with a regional scope housed at the University of West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago. CNULM’s partners for this project will also bring extensive experience on international urban planning and historic preservation. The four Caribbean cities selected for this project represent a spectrum of legislative and institutional approaches to preserving urban heritage sites that exemplify smart urban design to decrease car use and encourage pedestrian and cycling activity. Collectively, these cities represent a body of knowledge that can strengthen regional efforts to implement best practices for the promotion of pedestrian activity through urban design that encourages historic preservation and economic development of physical and cultural assets. A careful analysis of their existing urban heritage plans, national and local legislative and institutional frameworks, and the pedestrian quality of their built environments will yield readily applicable recommendations to improve Caribbean historic urban areas. The project aims to comparatively analyze built and cultural heritage of four Caribbean cities, for elements of smart urban design that decrease car use and encourage walking and cycling as well as potential to generate local economic development and serve as a model for new urban development. The project also seeks to better understand how existing and potential Caribbean urban UNESCO World Heritage Sites respond to the standards of the Valletta Principles and HUL guidelines in their legislative and institutional frameworks, as well as their practical implementations of such policies. Such an understanding will inform precise policy recommendations to local and national governments, as well as to relevant councils of CARICOM, which maintains a regional urban agenda for the Caribbean.
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2.0 Overview of Historic Urban Landscapes Despite geographic constraints, Caribbean land use patterns do not favor walkability or pedestrian activity. The automobile dominates, even for short distances, and a lack of safe streets and sidewalks as well as insufficient public transportation contributes to the problem. However, the historic urban cores of colonial-era Caribbean cities represent a wealth of potential for the promotion of sustainable communities with smart urban design that encourages walkability over car use. Home to some of the oldest non-indigenous urban settlements in the Americas, they represent a unique blend of European architecture, New World materials, and multicultural influence. Settled long before the advent of the automobile, their built environment foundations are based on walkability and pedestrian access and can serve as development and settlement pattern models. However, rapid urbanization in the Caribbean creates the challenge of preserving the built and cultural urban heritage of sustainable communities with walkable urban design while simultaneously catering to the constantly evolving development needs of Caribbean cities, where energy and climate concerns are increasingly paramount. Many former colonial Caribbean cities have outgrown their initial physical and economic capacity and require planning interventions that will allow for the useful retention of the historic urban fabric, while promoting new opportunities for local economic development. Cities are centers of economic growth and cultural exchange. An understanding of their built and cultural heritage is important in order to catalyze economic development. Traditionally, efforts have largely focused on preserving historic communities, sites, and buildings in order to attract international tourists. While useful, this approach is limited in that issues such as the functionality of historic urban spaces, their accessibility and seamless integration into surrounding land uses, and their role in local cultural development and identity is sometimes overlooked. A more holistic approach to urban regeneration and revitalization is needed in the Caribbean, and existing ideas can be drawn from cities whose urban cores are or aspire to be UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In recognition of this fact, the Bridgetown Heritage Declaration of the Conference of Caribbean National Trusts and Preservation Societies 2014, at the urging of the authors of this report, included the statement: “Noting an urgent need to carefully use our land resources, we commit to promote the value of historical settlement patterns and traditional building techniques in new development and redevelopment.” There are several Caribbean cities that are recognized by the international standard for historic preservation of urban landscapes through designation by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which recognizes works of humanity with outstanding universal value as World Heritage Sites. UNESCO is advised on this matter by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the professional organization for World Heritage Sites and historic preservation generally that has member chapters in individual countries.
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The process by which a city is recognized involves applying to UNESCO for the designation with a qualitative analysis and a conservation management plan to protect the space and its context. Since 1972, this concept has been evolving within UNESCO, from recognizing monuments to collections of monuments to entire World Heritage Sites. This most recent concept uses a comprehensive planning approach to address historic preservation by promoting “The Valletta Principles for the Safeguarding and Management of Historic Cities, Towns and Urban Areas,” which were developed by ICOMOS. In addition, as part of the evolution of thinking about cultural conservation and heritage in urban situations, UNESCO recently published recommendations for the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL), a major statement about planning, regulation, and management of cities in general. According to the World Heritage Center, “The Historic Urban Landscape approach aims at preserving the quality of the human environment and enhancing the productivity of urban spaces. It integrates the goals of urban heritage conservation with the goals of social and economic development.”1 The HUL approach broadens the framework for our global commonwealth of urban heritage, through recognition that tangible and intangible heritage is valued for differing reasons and motivations by residents, tourists, politicians, employers, municipal governments, developers, and the preservation community. UNESCO’s HUL recommendation is that stewardship of urban heritage is a shared integrative undertaking that affirms heritage as a sustainable element of the future and requires planning, regulatory tools, education, and resource commitments. Both the HUL approach and the Valletta Principles make several references to the importance of pedestrian activity. They rightly note: “Most historic towns and urban areas were designed for pedestrians and slow forms of transport. Gradually these places were invaded by the car, causing their degradation. At the same time, quality of life has reduced. Traffic infrastructure (car parks, subway stations, etc) must be planned in ways that will not damage the historic fabric or its environment. A historic town should encourage the creation of transport with a light footprint. It is important to encourage pedestrian circulation. To achieve this, traffic should be drastically limited and parking facilities reduced. At the same time, sustainable, non‐polluting public transport systems need to be introduced, and soft mobility promoted. Roadways should be studied and planned to give priority to pedestrians. Parking facilities should preferably be located outside protected zones and, if possible, outside buffer zones.” The consistent goals of the Valletta Principles thus emphasize the importance of walkability as a core component of preserving urban heritage. To address these and other concerns, the Valletta Principles promote good governance that involves all local stakeholders in the policymaking process for World Heritage Sites. With regards to the particular designation, they explain, “The traditional systems of urban governance should examine all aspects of cultural and social diversity, so as to establish new democratic “A New International Instrument: The Proposed UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL), ICOMOS, 16 Aug 2011, http://www.icomos.org/Preliminary_report_and_first_draft_16_August_EN.DOC. 1
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institutions to suit the new reality.” As such, “Planning in historic urban areas must be a participatory process, involving all stakeholders.”2 This planning, moreover, takes the following form: “A conservation plan must be based on urban planning for the whole town, including analysis of archaeological, historical, architectural, technical, sociological and economical values. It should define a conservation project, and be combined with a management plan and followed by permanent monitoring.”3 Given this specific requirement, when local governments struggle with these requirements and are placed on the “endangered” list, UNESCO provides a technical assistance team to address the specific challenges of the given World Heritage Site. For more details on the HUL recommendations and Valletta Principles, see Annex I.
All citations in this paragraph from “The Valletta Principles for the Safeguarding and Management of Historic Cities, Towns and Uran Areas,” ICOMOS International, Page 10. 3 “The Valletta Principles for the Safeguarding and Management of Historic Cities, Towns and Uran Areas,” ICOMOS International, Page 16. 2
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3.0 Understanding Caribbean Walkable Urban Heritage in the city of Bridgetown, Barbados 3.1. Background and Overview of Bridgetown, Barbados Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison (heretofore, BWHS) was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2011. The heritage area comprises 187 hectares (462 acres) and buffer zone comprises 321 hectares (793 acres). According to UNESCO, “With its serpentine urban lay-out the property testifies to a different approach to colonial town-planning compared to the Spanish and Dutch colonial cities of the region which were built along a grid plan.”4 Metropolitan Bridgetown has a population of 110,000, and Bridgetown is the capital of Barbados, which has a population of 283,000. The country’s 2013 GDP per capita was $25,372, making it one of the wealthiest countries in the Caribbean.5 As an extremely tourism-dependent economy whose visitors are drawn to the beaches rather than urban heritage, Bridgetown represents a unique opportunity to leverage its recent designation as both a tourism draw and a tool for celebrating local heritage and culture. The first English settlers arrived in 1628, taking advantage of the natural harbor at the Careenage, the mouth of the Constitution River. Unlike contemporaneous Spanish colonial cities that obeyed the Law of the Indies with its rigid town planning principles, Bridgetown was not master planned. Instead, the main streets were laid out as needed, such as Broad and High, with a crisscrossing network of secondary roads and alleys spun off as needed. Several private landowners who were given land grants in what is now Bridgetown also contributed to the more organic development of the eventual city’s street pattern, relatively unique to the Caribbean. With the construction of a permanent bridge over the Careenage in 1654, the Town of St. Michael eventually became known as Bridgetown. Its boundaries were fixed by a 1660 law, and not expanded until 1822. During the intervening century and a half, the city bustled as a major seaport for the export of sugar cane, harvested in the interior of the island by African slaves as part of the island’s plantation economy. In 1824, Bridgetown became the seat of the Anglican diocese for Barbados and the Windward Islands, which subsequently elevated St. Michael’s parish church to the status of cathedral. Subsequently, Bridgetown was also elevated from “town” to “city” status. From 1871 to 1885, Bridgetown was the capital not only of Barbados but also all of the British Windward Islands. After that point, Barbados withdrew from the Windward Island colonial union. In the late stage of the colonial era, a committee sought to establish local government in Bridgetown with a mayor, aldermen, and other local officials. This process, initiated in 1925, ultimately resulted in the Local Government Act of 1958, pre-independence. The Royal College of Arms in London prepared a coat of arms for the city in 1960, but the system of local 4
UNESCO World Heritage List: Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1376. “Report for Selected Countries and Subjects,” IMF, http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2013/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2009&ey=2012&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort =country&ds=.&br=1&c=316&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=&pr.x=52 &pr.y=10. 5
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government was abolished in newly independent Barbados in 1967. Although now a historical anomaly, this brief experience with local government is also instructive for some of the city’s current challenges as it does not have an advocate in the form of a mayor, but rather legislators responsible for all of St. Michael’s parish. As the capital of independent Barbados, Bridgetown is home to both historic vernacular buildings – shops and residences, especially mixed-use buildings with ground-level retail and upper-floor residential – as well as monumental architecture befitting its central place in Barbadian society. At the core, along the initial settlement site of the Careenage, are the neoGothic Parliament Buildings of Barbados (1870-1874), built of local coral limestone, and fronting National Heroes Square and Independence Square, two of the most significant public spaces in the country. Two blocks away, the Cathedral Church of St. Michael’s and All Angels (1786) is of a similar style and also made of coral limestone. Other significant religious institutions include the Georgian-style St. Mary’s Church (1827), St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral (1898), and the Nidhe Israel Synagogue (1831), influenced by a London Sephardic synagogue. Approximately 2.2 km (1.3 miles) south along Carlisle Bay from the Bridgetown core, the Garrison consists of colonial administration buildings that now house government ministries, the George Washington House (where the first U.S. president lived during a brief sojourn on the island), the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, and a former parade ground, now known as the Garrison Savannah, which hosts large public events such as Crop Over, the annual festival.
Barbados’ parliament building represents the significant monumental architecture present in the BWHS.
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Source: Management Plan for Historic Bridgetown and Its Garrison, 2011. CNULM/blueSpace Caribbean Jeffrey Soule and Gregory Scruggs
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Top: Bridgetown’s narrow alleys are more easily navigated on foot than by car. Bottom: Historic streetscapes make for attractive walking, although sidewalks could be wider.
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3.2. Bridgetown’s Built Environment Quality for Pedestrians and Cyclists The Medieval layout of Bridgetown is highly conducive to walking, as it resembles an English town center. Major streets that are intersected irregularly by smaller secondary lanes and alleys, as opposed to a grid pattern of uniform street width, actually make navigating by car even more challenging. The presence of sidewalks is generally quite good and limited parking in the center city, other than some major garages, largely gives priority to pedestrians, though crosswalks, traffic signals, and sidewalk width could be improved. Of particular note is pedestrian-only Swan Street, a significant victory for walkers as cars have been entirely prohibited since 2003. Largely intact, attractive streetscapes encourage pedestrian activity throughout the urban core. However, smaller lanes and alleys especially would benefit from better public lighting in order to increase safety at nighttime, when the city is largely devoid of foot traffic. During the daytime, however, Bridgetown is bustling with both Barbadians and visitors – the nearby cruise ship terminal regularly brings in tourists who can explore the capital on foot. For citizens, the bus terminal, located with in the BWHS, provides a permanent, covered structure for travel across the entire island. A short walk from Independence Square, government buildings, shops, and other attractions, the bus terminal discourages driving into the center city by making travel to and from Bridgetown on foot and transit a relatively simple proposition. Street trees and shade from second floor balconies could be improved, as such amenities provide vital relief from the tropical heat under the midday sun. However, efforts have been made on several historic streets to provide street furniture and other amenities. Public spaces, especially Independence Square and the Chamberlain Bridge over the Careenage, are in excellent condition and provide a centerpiece for the Bridgetown experience. Bicycles are conspicuously absent from the Bridgetown urban landscape as a form of transportation. Given the relatively scarce room for cars to begin with, cycling in and around Bridgetown would prove difficult without dedicated bike infrastructure.
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Organization of American States Department of Sustainable Development The Historic Urban Landscape and Sustainable Urban Development in the Caribbean
Above: Proposed redevelopment will reopen the Constitution River, currently channelized.
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Above: Swan Street has a long history as a pedestrian-only thoroughfare, with shaded awnings that support street commerce. Below: The pedestrianization of Swan Street has spurred similar approaches, such as this short street perpendicular to Swan.
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Above: In the historic core, wide sidewalks predominate and favor pedestrians. Below: In the buffer area, especially the narrow connection between Historic Bridgetown and the Garrison, pedestrian amenities suffer with an unpaved sidewalk on one side of the road and none on the other.
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Above: The car-free Chamberlain Bridge provides a safe haven for bicycles. Below: Cycling appears reasonably safe in the historic core of Bridgetown because of low traffic speeds, but urban areas lack bike lanes or other “complete streets” amenities.
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3.3. Bridgetown’s Management Plan All UNESCO World Heritage Sites are required to maintain and update their management plans, the core document that guides the preservation, restoration, development, and administration of the site. BWHS has a strong document, The Management Plan for Historic Bridgetown and Its Garrison, that was developed with extensive by stakeholder consultation by the Barbados World Heritage Committee. The document was published in 2011 and is valid through February 2016, with plans for renewal on a five-year cycle. It states: “The Management Plan is a paradigm shift in the Caribbean from the traditional notions of preserving cultural heritage, which typically focus on built heritage. It includes the preservation of intangible heritage such as oral traditions, ritual, language, dance, music, literature and visual arts.”6 This pioneering visioning is very encouraging, as it acknowledges the strengths of Caribbean historic cities, which combine elements of built heritage, usually the product of the colonial era, with the cultural gifts of the present society. With an impressive array of partners, the Management Plan makes it clear that maintaining the BWHS is a priority for a wide swath of Barbadian society in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. This level of cooperation bodes well for the future of the BWHS. Likewise, the Management Plan’s provision of action plans on topics such as traffic management, tourism management, public awareness, risk management, and heritage and cultural interpretation are important steps to translating the lofty ideals of the Management Plan into a reality for the BWHS. In particular, the plan notes that Barbados Tourism Investment (BTI) will “enhance the public infrastructure and pedestrian environment within tourism districts through development, redevelopment and public initiatives.”7 The Management Plan also refers to the Bridgetown Community Plan, which outlines the Government of Barbados’ commitments, including policy direction for “improving the network of open spaces, the residential and pedestrian environment, and transportation and transit.”8
3.5. Existing Literature Perhaps laying the groundwork for the city’s UNESCO bid, Bridgetown has been the subject of extensive review for its historical architecture, although less so for its urban planning and form. Treasures of Barbados (Papermac: 1990) by Henry Fraser, based on 13 television programs produced by the Barbados National Trust, covers a full architectural history of the country. Several of Bridgetown’s more monumental structures were featured in Edward Crain’s Historic “The Management Plan for Historic Bridgetown and Its Garrison,” February 2011, http://barbadosworldheritage.com/2013-03-15-16-50-27/managing-our-site/85-management-plan-for-historicbridgetown-and-its-garrison. 7 p. 141. 8 pp. 71-72. 6
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Architecture in the Caribbean (University Press of Florida: 1994) while The Barbados Garrison and Its Buildings (Macmillan Caribbean: 1990), by Warren Alleyne and Jill Sheppard, focuses on one pole of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The chattel house, Barbados’ main vernacular form with a few examples in Bridgetown, was given a thorough socio-historical treatment by Stephanie Bergman in Building Freedom: Nineteenth Century Domestic Architecture on Barbados Sugar Plantations (College of William and Mary: 2010). The chattel house was also at the center of polemics about contemporary socio-economic issues in Housing and Housing Policy in Barbados: The Relevance of the Chattel House (University of London: 1992) and LowCost Housing in Barbados: Evolution or Social Revolution? (2001: University of West Indies Press) by Mark R. Watson and Robert B. Potter. The city itself was given a thorough historical assessment by Warren Alleyne in Historic Bridgetown, published by the Barbados National Trust in 1978. The work highlights the Trust’s early and extensive advocacy on behalf of the island’s historic assets. To that extent, the A-Z of Barbados Heritage (MacMillan Caribbean: 2003) includes extensive documentation of the city’s founding and development by Henry Fraser. More academic studies have been published as well, such as Pedro L. V. Welch’s Slave Society in the City: Bridgetown, Barbados 1680-1834 (Ian Randle Publishers: 2003). The book is one of the first studies of the city’s colonial past by a contemporary historian and could serve as a useful guide for further heritage planning efforts. Finally, the effort to achieve UNESCO World Heritage Site status has generated a small but very relevant body of literature. Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison were added to the UNESCO Tentative List in 2005, alongside the Scotland District (a natural heritage site) and The Industrial Heritage of Barbados: The Story of Sugar (a serial cultural heritage site). Like historic cities, the latter is common to several Caribbean countries, and in their article “The Industrial Heritage of Sugar at World Heritage Sites in the Caribbean,” Tara Inniss and Lee Jolliffe situate the Barbadian site in the context of a Cuban site on the UNESCO register and a tentative site in the Dominican Republic. Stressing “the possibilities of heritage tourism” as well as “the significant potential for the economic development and engagement of local communities,” the authors, writing in Sugar Heritage and Tourism in Transition (Channel View: 2012), edited by Jollife, offer lessons relevant to historic cities that seek UNESCO designation. Specifically, they discuss the “psychosocial distancing of Barbadians from their plantation history,” which certainly extends to historic buildings that represent the colonial past. Recognizing that “memorializing only the built heritage of the colonizer does little to convince many Barbadians,” they point out that “emphasis must also be placed on researching and presenting both the tangible and intangible heritage of the descendants of enslaved Africans to ensure the sustainable development and protection of Barbadian cultural heritage.” These comments echo the bold statement of the Management Plan in shifting the paradigm of cultural heritage preservation. Bridgetown ultimately succeeded where The Story of Sugar has not yet, and thus has the opportunity to pioneer some of the approaches that will make other UNESCO sites accurately reflect contemporary Caribbean society and not just a European colonial past. That said, while the existing historical studies and architectural assessments of Bridgetown all buttressed the nomination, as did the preparation of a thorough and detailed management plan, some heritage experts feel that politicking may have led to slightly hasty inscription. Lynn Meskell, writing in the Journal of Field Archaeology in 2012, argues, “Previously, properties like Historic CNULM/blueSpace Caribbean Jeffrey Soule and Gregory Scruggs
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Bridgetown in Barbados or sites in the Mongolian Altai would have been deferred and potentially brought forward the following year after demonstrating compliance. […] At the Paris meeting, however, the merits for inscription were not deemed necessary in advance, but were more often seen as delayed provisions.”9 Nevertheless, the euphoria that followed the announcement in 2011 has steadily picked up steam, especially among local media. In 2012, the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association’s in-room magazine, Ins & Outs of Barbados, published a special edition commemorating the inscription of Historic Bridgetown and Its Garrison. Featuring full-page photo spreads, meticulous historical essays by the Barbados National Trust, and salutes from leading government and private sector figures, the issue highlights the seriousness with which the tourism industry treats the UNESCO inscription as a vehicle to promote heritage tourism. The Barbados Advocate, the country’s paper of record, has also taken a supportive tack. Henry Fraser, past president of the Trust, writes a weekly column in the paper, “Things That Matter,” and regularly addresses the UNESCO World Heritage Site as well as heritage matters more broadly. Separately, the paper regularly covers events and activities in Bridgetown and the Garrison.
3.4. Current Preservation Policies Bridgetown benefits from a long history of legislative and administrative policies that help support the conservation of historic resources. These include:
National Trust Act of 1961 1984 Inventory of National Trust Listed Buildings National Physical Development Plan (amended 2003) Town and Country Planning Act – Cultural Heritage Subsections Cultural Industries Bill
Established by the National Trust Act of 1961, the Barbados National Trust has a mandate to promote “the preservation of places of historic and architectural interest and of ecological importance or natural beauty.” In 1961, the addition of ecological and scenic elements to a preservation act was relatively rare, highlighting Barbados’ history of remaining ahead of the curve on heritage preservation matters, as reflected in its innovative Management Plan. Under the Town and Country Planning Act, the Trust acts in an advisory capacity providing comments on listed buildings of significance and sits on the Planning Advisory Committee as well as the World Heritage Committee. The Trust’s Sentinel Committee also monitors potentially endangered historic buildings, but penalties for demolition even of listed buildings are currently far too low to deter real estate developers and the 1984 Inventory of National Trust Listed Buildings is long overdue for a comprehensive update backed by legislation now that 30 years have passed.
“The rush to inscribe: Reflections on the 35th Session of the World Heritage Committee, UNESCO Paris, 2011,” Lynn Meskell, Journal of Field Archaeology, Volume 27, Issue 2, May 2012, pp. 145-151, http://www.maneyonline.com/doi/full/10.1179/0093469012Z.00000000014. 9
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Three Development Acts are also important because they provide a framework for the holistic development of specific sites and properties: the Pierhead Development Act, the Special Development Area Act, and the Tourism Development Act. These laws provide for incentives and review processes aimed at improving the physical and economic conditions in Barbados and in particular, Bridgetown. They indicate the capacity of the legislature to direct bills at specific issues for the benefit of the BWHS. One important piece of legislation unrelated to historic preservation but that relates to our focus on walkability and public transportation is the Road Traffic Act, which covers the issue of maintaining adequate rights of way for vehicles, bikes, and pedestrians, as well as signage in the right of way. The Traffic Management Action Plan, as prescribed the overall Management Plan for BWHS, should use the Road Traffic Act as a point of departure for prioritizing pedestrian and bicycle access in the historic core. Finally, in addition to the many items contained within the Town and Country Planning Act that encourage cultural heritage preservation, we wish to draw attention to its provisions for regulating signage as a “development” type. In the downtown area as well as corridors leading to the downtown, signage can interfere both with rights of way by their physical placement as well as interfere with scenic views, an item referred to above under the 1961 National Trust Act. While the BWHS is performing admirably well on many fronts, it should pay more attention to the issue of signage, as consistent with existing legislation. Overall, the legal framework in Barbados contains a solid array of statues dealing with the means to both preserve and create places that are sustainable, walkable and integrated with cultural and natural heritage. The main issues for Barbados and Bridgetown going forward are how to ensure the planning and legal framework that is well established is implemented, decisions are transparent and discussed based on these frameworks and the scarce funds available are prioritized in support of the goals of the plan and the legal structure. Newer legislation, like the Cultural Industries Bill, which supports economic development in the culture sector, can also work in tandem with smart urban planning and design as tangible and intangible cultural heritage are mutually reinforcing.
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The Pier Head Development (rendering left, overview below left) represents a significant economic investment in the BWHS for new residential and commercial real estate that will draw residents and visitors into Bridgetown, provided it respects historic design guidelines.
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3.5. National Programs to Support Cultural Heritage The National Cultural Foundation and the Ministry of Culture, Youth, Sport, and Family offer several cultural heritage programs. For more detail see section 3.10. Local Cultural Development Existing Practices and Potential.
3.6. Adherence to Sustainable Development Principles Barbados has a Sustainable Development Policy document that was prepared in 2002 by the National Commission on Sustainable of Development, approved by Cabinet in 2003, and taken to Parliament in 2004. The document formulates a national definition of sustainable development and identifies national principles to pursue that definition; provides a framework for decision making based on said principles; and promotes public awareness and adoption of sustainable development principles on the part of all Barbadians. The document makes specific reference to the importance of using indigenous construction materials and promoting Barbadian vernacular architecture in design, both concepts that support the ideas in this report. In addition to this policy document, Barbados also benefits from goal four of the National Strategic Plan, “building a green economy”; the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan; and the draft Barbados Energy Policy. Outside the policy arena, there is the Barbados Sustainable Finance Group and the Partnership for a Resource-Efficient Green Economy between the Government of Barbados and the UN Environmental Programme. As far as specific areas where Barbados has shown leadership and vision in sustainability, their Coastal Zone Management Unit is best in class in the Caribbean for managing the resources of the coastal zone, both onshore and offshore.
3.7. Local Economic Development Existing Practices and Potential See section 3.12. Best Practice: The Revitalise Bridgetown Initiative / Bridgetown Alive.
3.8. Local Cultural Development Existing Practices and Potential The Crop Over season, which runs from June to August, coincides with the anniversary of Bridgetown’s inscription as a World Heritage Site. The National Cultural Foundation, in partnership with Barbados Tourism Investment, Inc., recently completed its second season of heritage walking tours, which are regularly oversubscribed. The amount of interest bodes well for possible year-round walking tours that could be of interest to the plethora of international tourists, especially cruise ship passengers who disembark at the city’s deep-water port and more often than not are whisked to the interior without visiting Bridgetown proper.
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Heritage walking tours in historic Bridgetown (above) and the weekly changing of the guard in the Garrison (right) simultaneously offer public education while encouraging a pedestrian experience of the city.
3.9. Integration into Surrounding Land Uses and Potential for Influencing Development and Settlement Patterns Elsewhere in the City or Country While historic Bridgetown and its Garrison are dense and walkable, that pattern becomes less and less the case throughout St. Michael’s Parish. Especially along the highly developed south and west coasts, the proliferation of strip-style development has created a kind of suburban sprawl that has created an unsustainable land use pattern through Barbados. Given the island’s history, there are other towns, such as Speightstown and Holetown, that feature dense, walkable layouts akin to Bridgetown, but new development has not followed suit. The Villages at Coverley in Christ Church, for example, has sustainability elements like solar and wind-powered street lights and a water reclamation facility, but nevertheless maintains a suburban layout with no sidewalks and auto dependency. Emerald Park in St. Philip, near the emerging Six Roads Regional Centre, is another example of the new growth in residential development in Barbados that would benefit from the density and mixed-use nature of historic Birdgetown. In short, Barbados continues to build and given its limited amount of land, it is imperative that more traditional settlement patterns be adopted.
3.10. Best Practice: The Revitalize Bridgetown Initiative / Bridgetown Alive The Revitalize Bridgetown Initiative / Bridgetown Alive (TRBI), spearheaded by the Barbados Chamber of Commerce, aligns with the stated goals of the National Physical Development Plan to preserve Bridgetown as the country’s commercial hub. Its notable successes thus far deserve CNULM/blueSpace Caribbean Jeffrey Soule and Gregory Scruggs
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special mention. TRBI seeks to extend business hours out of season, on Sundays, and after dark to promote Bridgetown as an active downtown and promote sustainable, long-term businesses that respect the World Heritage Site. Other goals include physical beautification, more street trees and green space, better circulation patterns, and turning Broad Street into a pedestrian-only thoroughfare like Swan Street is currently. A pilot duty-free day was a large success and the Chamber is pushing to make Bridgetown a full-time duty-free zone. An attempt at a VAT-free day was not approved. 85% of Bridgetown is commercial, almost entirely small businesses, although there are some larger businesses including Cave Shepherd (a department store) and some companies in the banking and insurance sectors. The Chamber has conducted surveys and inventories to arrive at the figure of 1,900 businesses in the city. In addition to expanding business hours, a significant coup for TRBI was convincing the University of the West Indies (UWI) to open an urban campus in the former Sagicor / Barbados Mutual Life Insurance Company building, a significant historic property that has been vacant for several years in downtown Bridgetown. In a May 2014 announcement, Sir Hilary Beckles, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Principal of UWI-Cave Hill, declared, “We are going to be coming into Bridgetown later this year, to help (with the) revitalisation of the City.”10 He cited the potential for 5,000 students who currently head to the suburban Cave Hill campus to instead head to the urban core of historic Bridgetown in the evening hours for classes catering to working professionals. The transformative potential of this new traffic into Bridgetown afterhours is immense. Finally, starting in July 2010, the Chamber partnered with the National Cultural Foundation to organize Bridgetown Alive, which, for example, brought key musical events of the annual Crop Over festival into town (such as Pan in de City), highlighting the potential for the physical heritage site of Bridgetown to serve as a stage for Barbados’ intangible cultural heritage. Although using public space in town involves significant red tape, the Chamber has a track record. For example, in addition to Pan in de City, they have hosted a fashion show for local clothing designers as a platform for entrepreneurs to showcase their work. In another event, the Chamberlain Bridge over the Careenage became a pop-up cocktail lounge. The Chamber also organizes the Friday after work Port Lime, which happens every week for the 10 weeks leading up to Crop Over. All of these events are positive steps to making Bridgetown a viable destination outside of regular business hours, thus driving foot traffic and adding to the general perception that Bridgetown is safe, fun, and an exciting place to visit even outside usual business hours. Overall, TRBI employs many contemporary strategies for urban revitalization that are common in cities in the developed world, such as leveraging anchor institutions (in this case a university), incubating and nurturing small businesses, enhancing placemaking through pedestrian-oriented urban design, activating spaces with pop-ups and other iterative urban interventions, and supporting public-private partnerships. However, TRBI engages all these strategies with a finetuned knowledge of local culture, economics, and social conditions. Thus it is successful in translating global ideas to a local context. Initiatives like TRBI are a Caribbean best practice that could and should be employed by other historic cities that are home to chambers of commerce. “City Campus on the horizon,” May 9 2014, The Barbados Advocate, http://www.barbadosadvocate.com/newsitem.asp?more=local&NewsID=36299. 10
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Left: The owners of a historic site in Bridgetown (the Screw Dock) advertise the city’s UNESCO World Heritage designation. Below: Although in need of restoration, the Screw Dock site has been adapted to support a small business in a waterfront location accessible only on foot.
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Sample Bridgetown Alive events (source for all images: Barbados Chamber of Commerce) Above left: Advertisement for an event designed to promote afterhours activity. Above right: A Saturday daytime fashion show, bringing weekend activity to the city. Below: A pop-up cocktail lounge on Chamberlain Bridge creatively repurposes downtown.
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4.0 Tools and Techniques 4.1 Planning Framework and Expertise Urban planning is the baseline for any successes in managing these historic cities, encouraging their revitalization, and promoting their compact settlement patterns in new developments. While national planning takes place in various capacities, policymakers should be attentive to their largest cities and pursue urban plans as well. In all four cities, adequate resources should be allocated for a comprehensive plan that incorporates sustainability, walkability, and development guidelines. Barbados has a sophisticated planning framework and expertise. The staff available have skills and ability but in our evaluation, there seems to be a need for more staff to accommodate the pressures on development review and ensure the mandates of all the various acts and functions are adequately managed. The Physical Development Plan is a good document although since it was amended in 2003, many aspects of planning and the issues on the island have changed.
4.2 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) A capital improvement plan (CIP) would be a useful tool to link planning objectives with both timing and budgeting. A CIP would also be helpful in engagement of the various stakeholders in the planning and development process by linking public investment to expected outcomes. A return on investment approach to infrastructure is critical to make sure expenditures of public funds are seen as catalysts for the goals of physical, social, and economic sustainability. This requires that in addition to feasibility and adherence with the plan, a project must have a financial analysis to determine what the overall development impact generated will be, so that financial investments by the public are seen as expediting private investment. Without a capital improvement plan, there is no way for the public and other stakeholders to know what the government’s priorities are and what the overall strategy is. Although there are development corporations active in the case of Bridgetown (if not called that explicitly) and special districts existing or proposed in Bridgetown, a CIP would nevertheless help organize infrastructure investment. In addition, successful CIPs require good governance and as long as there is not an open and participatory system of setting physical and financial priorities, there will not be improvement to the overall urban situation.
4.3 Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) Business improvement districts (BIDs) are mechanisms by which local businesses voluntarily tax themselves to provide a higher standard of service, for instance in trash pickup, street maintenance, landscaping, and other public services. By creating a separate entity outside the government to manage the funds, businesses are assuaged that their contributions are only financing direct improvements to their area and will not be used for other public purposes.
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The closest existing practice similar to a BID would the Barbados Chamber of Commerce, which funds its urban revitalization program, The Revitalise Bridgetown Initiative / Bridgetown Alive, through business contributions. The report has designated this program a best practice and it could be strengthened by a BID that would have a physical presence on the streets of Bridgetown – cleaning the streets, orienting visitors, and providing a public safety function in clothing and equipment branded “Bridgetown Alive.”
4.4 Guidelines for Historic Preservation Organizations As a corollary to the importance of urban planning, any revitalization strategy based on heritage must partner with a strong, functioning historic preservation organization, such as a national trust, with a delegated authority to list sites on a register of historic places and ideally have the power to buy and sell properties in order to facilitate the restoration process through strategic investment and bolster their financial stability. This capacity in particular would dramatically improve such organizations’ abilities to translate their advocacy into action. Revenue streams related to the services that such organizations provide would also help strengthen their capacity. For example, setting aside a percentage of the tax on visitor accommodations and services as earmarked for the local national trust or equivalent would provide a steady source of revenue. Given that visitors enjoy heritage sites during their visits, many of which they do not have to pay fees for, especially if they are walking along a street in a historic city as opposed to actually entering a building, such a scheme would promote a virtuous cycle. Belize has recently adopted a tax on cruise ships – a major player in both Barbados and Grenada – with an earmark for the national trust, an idea that should be adopted throughout the Caribbean. The first International Conference of Caribbean National Trusts and Preservation Societies held in 2014 in Bridgetown, where the outcomes of this report were presented in a keynote address, hopefully heralds a new era for such organizations. For the case of Bridgetown, the National Trust Act of 1961 provides for such a framework, but the Barbados National Trust funding and integration into so many plans and policies, especially given the recent UNESCO designation, requires a more robust staff. Currently the annual subvention from the government is BDS$75,000, so the potential funding streams listed above would help significantly. The Trust’s Sentinel Committee, which monitors historic properties under threat, should also be consulted regularly before private developers modify or consider demolishing historic structures. Finally, the official inventory of historic sites has not been updated since the 1980s. The Town and Country Planning Division Office should prioritize this effort.
4.5 University Support Programs and Projects Universities are anchor institutions that can provide many benefits to urban cores. Due to their scale, their impact is much larger than individual businesses in terms of job creation and physical footprint, which allows them to invest strategically and comprehensively in real estate and thus CNULM/blueSpace Caribbean Jeffrey Soule and Gregory Scruggs
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revitalize blocks or neighborhoods. Moreover, students can liven up dead areas and universities are hubs of activity during non-business hours. Given their public service, education, and research mission, universities are great partners for the public sector. All four cities are located near major universities that could and should create a stronger link to the city. There should be a stronger student presence in the historic core of Bridgetown, rather than just at the suburban Cave Hill campus. Hopefully the planned urban campus in the Barbados Mutual Life Assurance Society Building on Broad Street will open soon, which would add to downtown vibrancy and increase interaction with students while providing more commercial revenue for the local businesses and creating demand for bars, restaurants, cafés, etc.
4.6 Local Events and Promotion Techniques to Build Support Half the battle of preservation is public awareness, from events to publications to media coverage. However, use of social media in order to reach a younger audience that may not read books and magazines should be improved. Integrating heritage, sustainability, and planning into the wide array of other organizations’ events and activities could also be expanded to get more awareness of the assets and opportunities for people to participate. Lectures, walking tours, and meetings with key stakeholders are among the items that could be enhanced. A particular strength in these cities is the incorporation of cultural events and festivals into the urban core. Since its UNESCO designation, the promotion of the heritage area of Bridgetown has increased dramatically with a whole month of activities including lectures, walking tours, and events. There are many books on historic Bridgetown and public awareness seems high. This year’s increased Crop Over festival presence in Bridgetown with symbolic events like the delivery of the last cane are further signs of a positive trend. .
4.7 Training Programs for Skilled Building Craftspeople The restoration of historic buildings is a huge and underexploited economic opportunity in all four cities. However, programs must be established to teach these crafts. Many models exist, including successful training programs in Savannah, Georgia at the Savannah Technical College and the Escuelas Talleres of Cuba. Such a program would do much to connect the issue of heritage restoration to broader economic development issues, thus attracting the government’s interest. There are no systematic efforts to train artisans in the skills needed to maintain and reproduce the styles of buildings found in Barbados. Given Barbados’ advanced planning and preservation legal and administrative framework, it could be something the island could develop and export to other Caribbean nations while demonstrating how they can build their own capacity. The Samuel CNULM/blueSpace Caribbean Jeffrey Soule and Gregory Scruggs
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Jackman Prescod Polytechnic, Barbados Community College, and/or existing government vocational training centers could host the program locally. .
4.8 Financial Incentives and Disincentives One of the frequent topics in this city is the lack of funding for historic projects and public works and improvements in general. For walkability and sustainability to be enhanced based on the historic patterns of development, funding should be prioritized to meet those objectives rather than 1950s-style large infrastructure projects, such as the waterfront developments proposed in Paramaribo, Suriname and Port of Spain. Instead, using financial incentives more aggressively to channel private development to more compact and walkable locations that take advantage of the historic resources of these cities is an area that should be further developed. Many examples exist in U.S. cities using property tax incentives and tax credits from the local, state, and federal government for rehabilitation and reuse of historic buildings. Façade improvement grants and property tax overlay districts are other common tools. These new incentives could be amendments to proposed legislation, as in Suriname and Trinidad, or new legislation.
4.9 Code and Planning Enforcement As discussed, planning departments need more and experienced staff along with more eyes and ears on the street to help with code enforcement and planning. Using stronger public participation and partnerships that are suggested in Paramaribo’s and Bridgetown’s management plans could improve the enforcement process. However, the real long-term solution is to engage businesses, property owners, renters and other agencies and organizations in an educational campaign that will demonstrate the value and benefits of improving these cities and indeed, the whole country’s cultural assets. With limited infrastructure and tight finances, it is essential for the public to understand and support the use of compact settlement patterns, walkable and bikeable neighborhoods, useful densities, and mixed land use, as in the cities’ historic centers. Local government could play an important role in code and planning enforcement. However, there is no unit of local government in the city of Brigetown. Bridgetown, however briefly had a mayor in the 1950s and would benefit from a return to local government.
4.10 Public Education Tools and Techniques Developing a culture of community planning and participation must be cultivated over time to show the community that the process works and produces positive results. Every city or town is a collection of communities of interests. A solid participation program understands how both the individual and the communities of interest benefit from a comprehensive vision. To explore citizen engagement, start with a discussion of issues that offer an opportunity for people to talk to each other in a nonthreatening environment. Develop a community vision as the base of understanding, shared purpose, and collective support for moving forward on specific activities. Participation problems arise when a broad discussion of values and ideas comes too late. In a community where no vision setting has CNULM/blueSpace Caribbean Jeffrey Soule and Gregory Scruggs
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occurred, a specific proposal will be viewed based on isolated wants and needs and communities of interest. A vision and plan adds knowledge of civic benefits, costs and community impact, and the basis for further plans, strategies and tools. Often, elected or appointed officials fear participation because they view it as a loss of control. On the contrary, a jointly developed vision provides the leaders with the basis of agreement to move forward with an agenda to meet local needs. With a community vision and participation, mayors can have their short-term projects and visible achievements, but within an overall strategy—a winwin situation. Building the context and setting a discussion framework will entail a wide variety of techniques.
4.11. Interviews and Focus Groups People will privately volunteer information they may be reluctant to state in public, so meeting and interviewing key representatives in a community can give great insight into the way to approach community engagement. Individuals who can reach out to underrepresented communities, stakeholders, and decision makers are tremendous assets. These “bridge builders” are essential to help you develop your message and understand the values and priorities of all the various communities within your geographic area. Focus groups provide an opportunity to test messages and ideas with a representative sample of your community before you develop the overall outreach. Focus groups are a logical way to follow up on individual interviews and serve to refine your methods, questions and approach.
4.12. Public Meetings Most commonly, neighborhood groups or agencies will hold a public meeting to offer the public a chance to participate. Pitfalls here are lack of adequate information either before the meeting or at the meeting, poorly managed meeting dynamics, and multiple agendas all competing for time and attention. The standard monthly business meetings of neighborhood groups, councils, and commissions rarely serve true engagement—informed impact on decision making—and should be seen primarily as one of a variety of means to inform participants.
4.13. Surveys Community-based surveys can be helpful but only if they are developed and conducted according to accepted methodology. One way to make sure this is done is to get a local nonprofit or university to help.
4.14. Charrettes A short-term intensive workshop aimed at a physical issue e.g., a new development, a park design, or street improvements. During a charrette, the community works with design experts to develop scenarios for the design, each scenario is reviewed and the information is used to inform future development. CNULM/blueSpace Caribbean Jeffrey Soule and Gregory Scruggs
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4.15. Community Assistance Team A community often can find assistance through local, national, and international organizations to provide technical assistance on a particular issue. Often, universities are good sources for this kind of technical help, as well. The community describes the issue and a group of experts focused on that issue engages local residents to develop a set of recommendations.
4.16. Electronic Media Informing and fostering community discussion can be aided by websites, blogs, and so on, but in many cases this can only be used by those who have access to such information, such as representatives of organizations, government agencies, and private firms. In many international areas, it will have less benefit to the general public, but should be used where available. Civic engagement is essential to good planning and good governance. Using the outline here and some of the tools and techniques that apply to your own situation, you can improve the quality of life for everyone. A detailed guide with more case studies from the U.S. can be found at http://www.planning.org/communicationsguide.
4.17. Design Guidelines There are few specific standards for the protection of historic sites, open spaces and views, and the enforcement of the existing guidelines and the staff ability to properly review development alterations and proposals seems to be a major weak point in all four cities. There is a special need for guidelines on street corridors along the lines of a “complete streets” model, which provide for a balance of pedestrian, bike, auto and business uses. Walkability is severely constrained by lack of corridor management, maintenance and street design standards that should include ample sidewalks and bike lanes. The implementation of better street signage, reduction of advertising billboards and establishment of a street tree conservation and planting law are additional elements to improve the public area quality. Right now, these cities have a pattern that is suitable for walkability but the design of many streets and sidewalks doesn’t fully take advantage of the compact pattern and land use densities. For Bridgetown, the Constitution River project, if further modified, could be a model for implementing comprehensive standards for public space design including pedestrian and bike amenities, signage, and plantings
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5.0 Recommendations for Bridgetown, Barbados 5.1. Recommendations to Improve Pedestrian and Bicycle Friendliness
Focus on better connections to the historic center from the Garrison area, which currently function as two separate zones within the BWHS, nearly 1 km apart along the waterfront Develop a pedestrian-oriented business development strategy in the core area While informational signage concerning BWHS is good, improved way-finding signage would benefit visitors and locals alike in navigating through the city on foot Develop a bike program, perhaps bike share, that involves safety, parking, on-street infrastructure, promotion, and awareness More strongly enforce parking rules so that drivers do not encroach on pedestrian spaces Use the Constitution River project to establish a larger green-infrastructure and open space network plan for both bike and pedestrian access and storm water management Consider a fixed-route circulator system for easier circulation within Bridgetown along with a possible tram, light rail, or streetcar system from Bridgetown to outlying parishes Re-think the suburbanizing nature of Barbados to use the example of historic Bridgetown for new and redevelopment projects—update the Barbados Physical Development Plan and town and country planning regulations accordingly
5.2. Recommendation for Demonstration Site: Queen’s Park House Queen’s Park was the first public space in Barbados, opened in 1910. The park consists of 10 acres and it is a tradition to promenade through the park on Christmas morning. The Spartan Cricket Club, one of the first cricket clubs in Barbados to admit black players, uses the grounds as a training area and the site is highly trafficked. However, Queen’s Park House on the site is a wood and brick building in need of repair. This building would be the perfect pilot project for a training program to teach restoration arts. A joint committee consists of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, the National Trust, and the Project Unit of the Ministry of Education, which has a trained architect on staff, could oversee the hands-on training of students. Students could come from the Samuel Jackson Prescott Polytechnic, which teaches masonry, carpentry and electrical skills; the Barbados Community College, which offers an associate’s degree in landscape architecture, architecture, and surveying; and/or government vocational training programs. The completed building could then house the restoration-training program. The InterAmerican Development Bank and Caribbean Development Bank are potential funders, as this program would support educational capacity and job skills. Finally, the Ministry of Energy and the Environment maintains the Solar House on site, a 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom off-the-grid house powered by photovoltaic panels. The restoration of Queen’s Park House could likewise consider modern sustainable construction techniques.
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5.3. Summary Recommendations on Bridgetown for Policymakers
Enable legislation to establish a business improvement district in Bridgetown Increase fines for private owners who illegally modify or demolish buildings on the historic register Formally update the inventory of historic buildings as it has not been changed on the record since the 1980s Work more closely with the National Trust, especially the Sentinel Committee, to ensure that plans are in place to protect buildings at risk Authorize a non-profit entity, like the National Trust or the Chamber of Commerce, to buy and sell buildings so that they can make strategic investments for the benefit of the historic city Expedite new development proposals like the Pier Head project, provided there is consensus among the members of the World Heritage Committee on the project’s conformity to the BWHS Management Plan
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6.0 Bibliography Barbados National Strategic Plan Town and Country Planning Act 1985 Management Plan for Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison 2011 Henry S. Fraser. Things that Matter: Embrace Unesco World Heritage Designation
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ANNEX I: VALLETTA PRINCIPLES AND HUL GUIDELINES Here we have abstracted a summary of the Valletta Principles and Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) Guidelines for reference. These elements should be reviewed along with the recommendations and that discussions take place within the community to ensure further application of the principles in the planning and management system. Elements to be preserved 1. The authenticity and integrity of historic towns, whose essential character is expressed by the nature and coherence of all their tangible and intangible elements, notably: a. Urban patterns as defined by the street grid, the lots, the green spaces and the relationships between buildings and green and open spaces; b. The form and appearance, interior and exterior, of buildings as defined by their structure, volume, style, scale, materials, color and decoration; c. The relationship between the town or urban area and its surrounding setting, both natural and man‐ made; (Washington Charter) d. The various functions that the town or urban area has acquired overtime; e. Cultural traditions, traditional techniques, spirit of place and everything that contributes to the identity of a place; 2. The relationships between the site in its totality, its constituent parts, the context of the site, and the parts that make up this context; 3. Social fabric, cultural diversity; 4. Non‐ renewable resources, minimizing their consumption and encouraging their reuse and a. New functions New functions and activities should be compatible with the character of the historic towns or urban area.” (Washington Charter) The introduction of new activities must not compromise the survival of traditional activities or anything that supports the daily life of the local inhabitants. This could help to preserve the historical cultural diversity and plurality, some of the most valuable elements in this context. Before introducing a new activity, it is necessary to consider the number of users involved, the length of utilization, compatibility with other existing activities and the impact on traditional local practices. Such new functions must also satisfy the need for sustainable development, in line with the concept of the historic town as a unique and irreplaceable ecosystem. b. Contemporary architecture When it is necessary to construct new buildings or to adapt existing ones, contemporary architecture must be coherent with the existing spatial layout in historic towns as in the rest of the urban environment. Contemporary architecture should find its expression CNULM/blueSpace Caribbean Jeffrey Soule and Gregory Scruggs
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while respecting the scale of the site, and have a clear rapport with existing architecture and the development patterns of its context. Analysis of the urban context should precede any new construction not only so as to define the general character of the group of buildings but also to analyze its dominant features, e.g. the harmony of heights, colors, materials and forms, in the way the façades and roofs are built, the relationship between the volume of buildings and the spatial volume, as well as their average proportions and their position. Particular attention should be given to the size of the lots since there is a danger that any reorganization of the lots may cause a change of mass which could be deleterious to the harmony of the whole (Nairobi Recommendation art. 28). Perspectives, views, focal points and visual corridors are integral parts of the perception of historic spaces. They must be respected in the event of new interventions. Before any intervention, the existing context should be carefully analyzed and documented. View cones, both to and from new constructions, should be identified, studied and maintained. The introduction of a new building into a historical context or landscape must be evaluated from a formal and functional point of view, especially when it is designated for new activities. c. Public space Public space in historic towns is not just an essential resource for circulation, but is also a place for contemplation, learning and enjoyment of the town. Its design and layout, including the choice of street furniture, as well as its management, must protect its character and beauty, and promote its use as a public place dedicated to social communication. The balance between public open space and the dense built environment must be carefully analyzed and controlled in the event of new interventions and new uses. e. Facilities and modifications Urban planning to safeguard historic towns must take into consideration the residents’ need for facilities. The integration of new facilities into historic buildings is a challenge that local authorities must not ignore. f. Mobility Traffic inside a historic town or urban area must be strictly controlled by regulations. (Washington Charter) When urban or regional planning provides for the construction of major motorways, they must not penetrate a historic town or urban area, but they should improve access to them. (Washington Charter) Most historic towns and urban areas were designed for pedestrians and slow forms of transport. Gradually these places were invaded by the car, causing their degradation. At the same time, quality of life has been reduced. Traffic infrastructure (car parks, bus and subway stations, etc.) must be planned in ways that will not damage the historic fabric or its environment. A historic town should encourage the creation of transport with a light footprint. It is important to encourage pedestrian circulation. To achieve this, traffic should be drastically limited and parking facilities reduced. At the same time, sustainable, non‐ polluting public transport systems CNULM/blueSpace Caribbean Jeffrey Soule and Gregory Scruggs
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need to be introduced, and soft mobility promoted. Roadways should be studied and planned to give priority to pedestrians. Parking facilities should preferably be located outside protected zones and, if possible, outside buffer zones. Underground infrastructure, such as subways, must be planned so as not to damage historic or archaeological fabric or its environment. Major highway networks must avoid protected areas and buffer zones. g. Tourism Tourism can play a positive role in the development and revitalization of historic towns and urban areas. The development of tourism in historic towns should be based on the enhancement of monuments and open spaces; on respect and support for local community identity and its culture and traditional activities; and on the safeguarding of regional and environmental character. Tourism activity must respect and not interfere with the daily life of residents. Too great an influx of tourists is a danger for the preservation of monuments and historic areas. Conservation and management plans must take into account the expected impact of tourism, and regulate the process, for the benefit of the heritage and of local residents. h. Risks Whatever the nature of a disaster affecting a historic town or urban area, preventative and repair measures must be adapted to the specific character of the properties concerned.” (Washington Charter) Conservation plans offer an opportunity to improve risk preparedness and to promote environmental management and the principles of sustainability. i. Energy saving All interventions in historic towns and urban areas, while respecting historic heritage characteristics, should aim to improve energy efficiency and to reduce pollutants. The use of renewable energy resources should be enhanced. Any new construction in historic areas must be energy efficient. Urban green spaces, green corridors and other measures should be adopted to avoid urban heat islands. j. Participation The participation and the involvement of the residents ‐ and all local interest groups ‐ are essential for the success of the conservation program and should be encouraged. The conservation of historic towns and urban areas concerns their residents first of all.” (Washington Charter, art 3). Planning in historic urban areas must be a participatory process, involving all stakeholders. In order to encourage their participation and involvement, a general information program should be set up for all residents, beginning with children of school age. The actions of conservation associations must be encouraged and financial measures put in place to facilitate the conservation and restoration of the built environment. CNULM/blueSpace Caribbean Jeffrey Soule and Gregory Scruggs
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Mutual understanding, based on public awareness, and the search for common objectives between local communities and professional groups, is the basis of the successful conservation, revitalization and development of historic towns. Information technology enables direct and immediate communication. This allows for active and responsible participation by local groups. Authorities must be encouraged to take an interest in the safeguarding of historic towns and urban areas, in order to establish financial measures which will enable management and improvement plans to succeed. k. Conservation Plan The conservation plan should aim at ensuring at harmonious relationship between historic urban areas. (Washington Charter art. 5) It covers both tangible and intangible elements, in order to protect a place’s identity without impeding its evolution. The principal objectives of the conservation plan “should be clearly stated as should the legal, administrative and financial measures necessary to attain them.” (Washington Charter art. 5) A conservation plan must be based on urban planning for the whole town, including analysis of archaeological, historical, architectural, technical, sociological and economical values. It should define a conservation project, and be combined with a management plan and followed by permanent monitoring. The conservation plan must determine the terms, rules, objectives and outcomes of any changes. It “should determine which buildings ‐ and spaces ‐ must be preserved, which should be preserved under certain circumstances and which, “under quite exceptional circumstances, might be expendable.” (Washington Charter) Before any intervention, existing conditions should be rigorously documented. The conservation plan must identify and protect the elements contributing to the values and character of the town, as well as the components that enrich and demonstrate the character of the historic town and urban area. The proposals in the conservation plan must be articulated in a realistic fashion, from the legislative, financial and economic point of view, as well as with regard to the required standards and restrictions. “The Conservation Plan should be supported by the residents of the historic area.” (Washington Charter art.5) When there is no conservation plan, all necessary conservation and development activities in a historic town must be carried out in accordance with the principles and objectives of conservation and enhancement. Management Plan An effective management system should be devised according to the type and characteristics of each historic town and urban area, and their cultural and natural context. It should integrate traditional practices, and be coordinated with other urban and regional planning tools in force. A management plan is based on the knowledge, conservation and enhancement of tangible and intangible resources. Therefore it must: ‐ determine the cultural values; ‐ identify stakeholders and their values; CNULM/blueSpace Caribbean Jeffrey Soule and Gregory Scruggs
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identify potential conflicts; determine conservation targets; determine legal, financial, administrative and technical methods and tools; understand strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats; define suitable strategies, deadlines for the work, and specific actions.
The production of such a management plan should be a participatory process. In addition to the information provided by local authorities, officials, field survey and detailed documentation, the Plan should include, as an appendix, the conclusions from stakeholder discussions and an analysis of the conflicts arising in these inherently contradictory debates.
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ANNEX II. PROJECT TEAM The Caribbean Network for Urban and Land Management (CNULM) was formed in 2008 with the mandate of facilitating urban planning practices that respond to the unique issues and challenges present across the Caribbean. We have adopted the name “blueSpace” to capture the image of individuals and organizations in the Caribbean, collectively addressing its developmental needs. We undertake a diverse range of activities which are supported by international partners.
Jeff Soule, FAICP is Director of Outreach and International Programs at the American Planning Association. He currently serves as Treasurer of the US/ICOMOS Board of Trustees and as U.S. delegate to the General Assembly for ICOMOS. He is a member of the Cultural Towns Scientific Committee of ICOMOS. Mr. Soule is a Senior Fellow of the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) program, which supported his participation in this project.
Gregory Scruggs is an M.A. candidate in Regional Studies of Latin America and the Caribbean at Columbia University. He is also a research associate at the Latin Lab, an urban planning research center focused on Latin America and the Caribbean at Columbia’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. From 2010-2013, he was a consultant to the American Planning Association for Latin America and the Caribbean. CNULM/blueSpace Caribbean Jeffrey Soule and Gregory Scruggs
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