In his address at the opening of the recent Building Expo President Irfaan Ali extolled Silica City on the highway, which he called his “masterpiece.” His audience probably took no notice; after all many of them were there in search of house lots, and they were certainly not seeking these in the ‘masterpiece,’ where homes come ready built at formidable prices. The President first had his urban vision when he was Minister of Housing in 2013, and he intended that it should be sustainable, low-carbon and climate resilient. Now that he is head of state he is translating his concept into reality at an eye-watering cost of $81.7 billion.
There has been little public discussion about Silica City, in part because until very recently there has been a paucity of details to discuss. In any case, the President has followed the time-honoured practice of his party by not consulting anyone locally, or informing them either; even the uninspiring name of the new venture has been imposed from above. If there is no great wave of enthusiasm among the public for the ‘masterpiece,’ therefore, President Ali only has himself to blame.
Part of the rationale for the new city, it seems, relates to our vulnerability to climate change and rising sea levels. According to the World Bank Guyana is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. Following approval of a project around two months ago to help Guyana adapt, it was said that studies had indicated that rising sea levels exposed 100 per cent of the country’s coastal agriculture and 66.4 per cent of its coastal urban areas to flooding and erosion. The new initiative was set to benefit approximately 40 per cent of the population.
The problem is that the government seems incapable of taking a scientific approach to the problem as the Dutch have done, and commissioned research to find out what would need to be undertaken to maintain life along the coast and in Georgetown, and for how long, given the different estimates for sea-level rises. If all this has been done without citizens’ knowledge, then it is about time the administration made the results public, so there could be a viable debate about what the future should look like. The likelihood is, however, that it hasn’t done anything.
What can be said is that Silica City is not the answer at the moment to Georgetown, for example, sinking below the waves. The new urban development is not intended for the underprivileged of Albouystown, say, when the Atlantic ocean comes lapping round their doorways, or anyone who cannot come up with a minimum of $25 million odd for the smallest residences.
President Ali and his housing Ministers have made much of justifying the new development in terms of the overspill, particularly from the capital. Minister Rodrigues, for example, was reported as saying that a new, modern, smart city was needed given Georgetown’s geographic location with its attendant physical disadvantages. But Silica City is not intended to accommodate a major overflow from the urbanised coast either. From what has been described it has more the aspect of a private housing scheme writ large, than a normal town. The President himself has laid great emphasis on the fact it will be “safe”, with all the connotations that has in this country. Planning for future overspill requires thinking in a different way and on an entirely different scale.
For a party which has always maintained that class is more important than race in this country, it is to be marvelled at that when a new town is to be created it has all the appearance of being exclusive in class terms. Even if it did come fully to fruition, however, there would be nothing to prevent it attracting the less affluent members of society to its outer precincts in search of work as gardeners, cleaners and the like. They would build their own hurried accommodation as they do at present in other locations.
Maybe the head of state is hoping to avoid this with his massive programme helping the poor obtain their own houses, but he should remember that people go where they think work might be available and remuneration might be better than in the area where they live. In any event, any large-scale descent on the new city might put pressure on its ‘smart’ features unless the President and company have plans up their sleeves which would guarantee its exclusivity.
Citizens are now privy to far greater detail about the project that they were previously, and an artist’s impression has been released. Two months ago Minister Rodrigues was reported as saying that the President had retained a team of urban planners, architects and environmentalists through a collaboration with the University of Miami and one of the world’s leading architectural design companies. The ‘city’ was all about low carbon development, she said.
Of the 12,000 acres set aside for the development, the largest allocation will be for residential purposes. Apart from that there will be a commercial area, an industrial zone, a tourism district, a conservation district, an agricultural zone, a hydroponic area, an administrative section and a sports district. This is in addition to infrastructure such as roads, drainage and culverts, sidewalks, a water supply and electricity networks.
One can only wonder what there will be for tourists to see, unless they are to amuse themselves for the duration of their stay on the 9-hole golf course.Minister Rodrigues was also quoted at one point as describing the Innovation Village: “Within Silica City, there will be also the Innovation Village which will feature the ideas in terms of research and development for new technology, and sustainable designs.” One doubts that this explains adequately for the average citizen exactly what it involves. At the bottom of it all, of course, is the fact that no official has clearly indicated what the economic basis of this settlement will be. What will be produced in the industrial zone which has been listed?
It has been announced that building has already begun for the professional homes, another puzzle in terms of planning since it is not clear how the residents are going to make their living, unless by urban hydroponic farming. The Ministry of Housing has said the houses will be built in four different styles – no room for personal innovation in this city; even architectural design is managed in conformity with the plan. Two are bungalows valued at over $25 million, and two have a second story and are priced at almost $34 million in one instance and almost $34 and-a-half million in the other.
In terms of the number of rooms they appear well provided for, but since no interior pictures have been published, it is impossible to say how spacious they are. The public has been afforded an external image of one of the bungalows. It looks serviceable, but there is no imagination here, nor any concession to Guyanese habits and architectural tradition. Guyanese like to relax outside, but no terrace has been incorporated. Perhaps the two-storey homes have verandahs, but we will have to wait and see if that is so.
What there was not was even the slightest acknowledgement of Guyana’s building style, like a Demerara shutter, for example. It was as though some foreigner settled on something they thought we should want without bothering to find out what it is we do want. So here we have a new smart city with alien buildings.
President Ali has no reservations about his creation: “What you will see in this city is not only a place to live but a place in which you will live healthy [and]safe … It is a city that is in harmony with nature …” Whether it is practical is another matter entirely.
