Gwamile street was the first street to be established in Mbabane, the capital city of Swaziland. It is an area in Swaziland that is extremely rich in its history. It was first named after the first city's secretary; Alister Miller. I can personally relate to the significance of this street since it is where I grew up.Its significance comes with the wide range of services provided and the fact that it is located in a place of convinience for the people of Mbabane.
According to Lynch's theory I can safely say that Gwamile street is a node. Not only is it a node but, it also has some of the most important buildings, such as the Swazi Bank, the Deputy Prime Minister's office, the National Radio station and the Magistrate Court.
As I have been learning more on environmental enterpretation, I found it more exciting analysing a place where I grew up. I can actually see a certain degree of development within this street, whereby buildings have been renovated and street roads improved. Furthermore, the safety of the people within the street has not been ignored. Gwamile street is a very safe place, which brings out the atmosphere of tranquility and this makes one to feel at home when walking along the street.
Cullen states that our emotions change as we move through a space and I have been more aware of this fact since I started reading his work.I am more comfortable walking through Gwamile street than I am in other places. This is because the street is not a very busy one and even though there would be many people in the street, the pathways are big enough to accommodate almost everyone.
One thing I love about the street is that, it has a constant change from where it begins to where it ends. This constant change comes with a story of how the street has developed. In the beginning of the street there are more buldings and towards the end there are less buildings and more vegetation. We hardly see this characteristic in streets today, most of what we see is concrete and small trees planted here and there. What makes Gwamile street different to me is that the natural environment has not been totally covered. I personally think that vegetation makes a street look less artificial and shows the originality of the place.
in which place from this street do you feel more comfortable in? towards the end where there is vegetation and less buildings or at the beginning where there are many houses and less people? because i think it is safer to be where people can see you and where there are many buildings to move about and then i will know that there are people and therefore the place s safe.
ReplyDeleteMaryam-You mentioned how 'it also has some of the most important buildings, such as the Swazi Bank, the Deputy Prime Minister's office, the National Radio station and the Magistrate Court", Then you mentioned how this street has an atmosphere of tranquility, but wouldn't you associate the numerous important buildings with many people utilizing their provided services, in turn meaning that the streets would have a rush,buzz and many people moving about creating more of busy atmosphere?
ReplyDeletenoma- not really. These are the main offices, for example, the Swazi Bank has the main office on this street, so not many people go to the main office except for the people who work there.I see your point and its a very good observation, Mbabane is not a big city that one can compare with Johannesburg.
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