IN the last several years, nine new towns were so designated in various parts of the country.  These towns were either basically large central villages, or already had some of the characteristics of a town, such as Bartica.  All these towns need to employ professional town-planners and architects, since if the town is not well planned from the beginning with certain characteristic architecture, it would inevitably grow up in a disorderly fashion which could result in serious health problems, traffic problems, development of slums, waste of space and the absence of recreational and cultural facilities.  Almost all towns begin their existence with a commercial area which is occasioned by various factors.  In the case of Georgetown, for example, the early commercial area grew up in Water Street, because the street was contiguous with the port and the river.  In all the commercial areas of the new towns,  there always grew up a market, usually first as an open market and later covered.

Special laws or regulations were always made for these markets, which are often never updated.  The decay of the Stabroek Market, the main Georgetown market, could be regarded as a microcosm of the decay of the city itself.  Both the city itself and the Stabroek Market stand out as valuable lessons to the new towns of what to avoid as they enter upon their journey of growth.

In Georgetown at the beginning of the 19th century, the market was a congregation of small shops and stalls vending various items, but chiefly foodstuff.  Regulations were made to bring some order to the market area.  Then in the early 1880s, a covered market was bought in Boston and shipped from the U.S.  It was then established on the site of the old open market and named Stabroek Market.

The Stabroek Market was well laid out: in the front of the Market, facing east, there were several gates, the widest one being the middle gate which opened to a very wide passageway; this passageway lead to the wharf at the back of the market, where farmers landed their produce.  The wharf became the main wholesale/retail mart for green groceries. The wide passageway was meant to accommodate fire engines, in case there was a fire in the market.  The roof and the floors of the                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        structure were scientifically designed. The concrete floor had a gradient from the front to the back, so that the market could easily be hosed down and cleaned and the water would quickly run off to the river.  The roofs were designed to let in maximum of light and air, so that the market was well ventilated and lit. The stalls were all of the same height  and were painted and it was necessary that each stall carried the name of the owner.  The market was safe and secure for both shoppers and stall-holders and people of every class came there to shop.  The market was opened until 8.00 p.m. and was administered by a clerk of markets, who was responsible for revenue collection and seeing that the market was well-kept and clean.  The market accounts were always in surplus. The early clerks came from established business families and middle-class backgrounds.  The market clock tower became one of the symbols of the town and the clock bell could be heard as far away as Vlissingen Road and Albouystown in the stillness of the night.

The town itself was extraordinarily well-kept.  The streets were all clean and were made from white marl imported from Barbados.  Later, granite was mined from the interior and the main streets began to be gradually asphalted.  The main streets were tree-lined with flowering trees such as the flamboyant.  Rubbish disposal was efficient, the town was well-drained and there were never any floods. Since there were no floods, householders were able to have gardens and in most yards, especially in the wealthier areas of the town, there were flower gardens– roses and oleanders being favourites.  Some families, especially in the Kingston ward, successfully grew flourishing grape vines.  The northern rim of the town, Thomas Lands and Eve Leary were used as sports grounds.  The town was criss-crossed by clean, flowing canals, some of which had ornate bridges built over them.  Some of these bridges still survive in Avenue of the Republic.

The town hall, built in the early 1880s, was a unique fairy- tale palace and was an attraction to all visitors.  In the 1920s, the sewage system was built and replaced the septic tanks and pit latrines.  The town’s Botanical Gardens was the best in the Caribbean and its cemetery, Le Repentir, was the largest and best kept in the Caribbean.  The town was known world-wide as the Garden City of the West Indies.

The administration of the town was efficient and honest and the town councillors were of middle and upper-class backgrounds and received no stipends for their services.  The town was always in surplus and when it issued bonds, they were all taken up without difficulty.  Georgetown was one of the best towns in the world in which to live.

Then independence came in the 1966 and there was a democratisation of the town’s government.  The town councillors were now politicians and came from different backgrounds from the older councils.  With independence came much social, economic and political instability; these, together with the lack of expertise of the new councillors and the officers who ran the Town Hall, led to a break down in administration.  Maintenance of the town was neglected;  the town began to suffer from floods; the sewer system did not function very well; rubbish disposal became an insurmountable problem; the trees of the town were allowed to die or grow wild and untrimmed; the canals all became silted up, and worse, a pall of corruption and non-functional workers enveloped the town.  This decay of the town was symbolised by the rotting of the beautiful town hall building and Le Repentir cemetery growing into a jungle.

The Stabroek Market came to be a mirror image of the town in its decay.  The roof was neglected and developed leaks and collapsed in parts as the wharf.  The gradient of the floor was destroyed by stall-holders being permitted to raise the areas in front of their stalls.  The clerks of markets allowed small, new stalls to be established in any open space, resulting in the light and ventilation of the market being destroyed.  The passageways became encumbered.  Certain clerks of markets, allegedly for kick-backs, allowed overhead stalls to be built, though the foundation of the market could not safely sustain the weight of such stalls. This is now a standing danger and the market has now become infested with snatch-thieves who every day rob shoppers.  The market administration has not been able to make the market pay its way.

The government has now begun to address the chaos of the city but is somewhat inhibited from working faster in the renewal plans and activities, because it is committed to strengthening the autonomy of local authorities.  We are certain, however, that government will be able to bring about the rebirth of the city in four or five years.
The new towns could develop themselves and avoid the pitfalls into which Georgetown fell, since they have Georgetown as a standing example and reminder; it is indeed ironic that the decay of Georgetown should be the guide to new towns to turn themselves into little Parises or Genevas.