Dear Editor,
Cities across the world can be identified by their unique features. These unique features combine to give a city character, beauty and functionality. In the case of Georgetown the name ‘Garden City’ has been used often to identify it. But there are at least two interpretations of this name.
The first interpretation can be traced back to the physical features of Georgetown. The presence of numerous gardens and green spaces such as the Promenade Gardens, Botanic Gardens, and Company Path Gardens are examples. In addition, the presence of tree-lined avenues, canals and waterways, and greenways give further credence to the name of Garden City. This first interpretation is dominant and often used when describing the city to create a visual picture of the territory.
The second interpretation is rooted in urban planning theory. In 1898 Sir Ebenezer Howard (UK) proposed the garden city planning concept. The garden city was expected to have strong community plans and be self-contained within green belts at the outer boundaries to prevent sprawl. While there were some challenges with this planning concept, adaptations were made based on experience and there are still garden cities in existence today. If Georgetown is a garden city under this interpretation, then identifying with the necessary planning concepts is going to be key.
Quite recently, the term ‘green city’ to describe Georgetown has appeared. Here, green is meant to focus on the vegetative aspects of the city which identifies with the first interpretation above. However, a green city is an urban planning concept that focuses on the extent and level of sustainability in a city, and hence identifies much more closely with the second interpretation above.
While distinctive city descriptors can be an advantage they can also be confusing when there are alternative interpretations. This is an opportunity for those elected in the local government elections for Georgetown to provide greater clarity on what it means to be the Garden City ‒ or something else.
Yours faithfully,
Shivanand Balram