In the heart of the depressed south-east of Georgetown sits a bustling little village named Lodge. It is bordered on the north by Hadfield Street, the south by Princes Street, the west by Vlissengen Road and the east by Mandela Avenue.The village boasts neither significant enterprise, nor space for agrarian diversification. Houses are bunched together in defiance of city ordinance, grass grows untended and residents build roadside huts and park their cars anyhow and anywhere.
But the collective unbridled intransigence will soon come to a halt with the rapid-fire construction at Durban Park, sparking a heart-warming revolution in the forgotten urban ethos.
Lodge, like so many other administrative divisions, wards and boroughs badly needs sustenance to maintain its village-like existence and the hope is that Local Government Elections will be the precursor of a major overhaul.
But, maybe we don’t have to wait on all the municipal politicking. Right before our eyes is the transformational development that could jump-start a magical revival of inspiration, not only for Lodge, but for Albouystown, Werk-en-Rust, Kingston, Charlestown, etc. The list is long but we have to start somewhere.
In urban planning and design, an urban village is a development typically characterized by medium-density housing, mixed use zoning, good public transit and an emphasis on pedestrianisation and public space.
Urban villages are seen to provide an alternative to recent patterns of urban development in many cities, especially decentralization and urban sprawl. They are generally purported to:

• Reduce car reliance and promote cycling, walking and transit use
• Provide a high level of self-containment (people working, recreating and living in the same area)
• Help facilitate strong community institutions and interaction

Right after the March 18 local government elections, the new leaders must immediately move into top gear to fund the urbanization of Lodge Village. Eye-sore structures and abandoned houses should be demolished. New buildings should be built with ownership offered to the Lodge-based community. Mixed-income housing and single family homes should dominate the skyline.
And what has spawned this hope of a sudden gentrification of Lodge?
Enter the ambitious Durban Park project…a cornucopia of sporting activities all in one place. A hub of family-oriented activities that can enhance bonding and the challenge of “doing it together.”
Add commitment and enthusiasm.
But for those two interlocking concepts, Guyana would have been sucked into the dustbin of history, no longer relevant despite God’s healing hands and the bountiful resources under our feet just waiting to be released.
Every time I drive past Durban Park I pause to inhale the intoxicating aroma of progress. I was a doubter. Now I am a firm believer. I can almost feel the energized morale of the community rising.
The new Durban Park can shape a new Lodge (more so Hadfield Street)… a mall, sidewalks, street lighting, transient housing for out of town athletes, sports museum with memorabilia of relevant disciplines, training facilities.
The absence of a municipal-type swimming pool is the one glaring omission. Someone forgot that a Guyana-born swimmer – Maritza Correia – won an Olympic silver medal in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. And also a gold medal at the World championships in Japan in 2003. She is the first black woman to earn a place on a US swim team.
What irony! Correia started swimming as a seven-year-old when a doctor suggested the sport could help with her scoliosis…a curvature of the spine. You should know the rest.
She swam for the US but she is ours. Motivation and determination are hallmarks of the greatest athletes. And public swimming pools in every region must not be seen as extravagant. The movement involving life, work and play is never seamless but the potential is there for Lodge to ignite a community bonfire.
Lodge residents should get “first jump” when it come to jobs in their area and at Durban Park. They would have a vested interest in protecting their livelihood and homes.
A strong sports management team must be put in place and the previously soggy, abandoned acreage transformed into a tourist attraction day and night.
The ebullience of happy children frolicking in a pool is a sight that has few equals. (Remember Luckhoo Park)
Do it right for Lodge and the other urban utopias out there waiting for their opportunities.
And don’t forget the swimming pools in every region.