Roseau

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Roseau

Roseau, population 14,847 (2001 census),Commonwealth of Dominica, Population and Housing Census — 2001. Roseau, Dominica: Central Statistical Office, Ministry of Finance and Planning, Kennedy Avenue, 2001. is the capital of Dominica. It is a small and compact urban settlement surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, the Roseau River and Morne Bruce. Built on the site of the ancient Kalinago Indian village of Sairi, it is the oldest and most important urban settlement on the island.

It is located at , on the west (leeward) coast of Dominica, and is a combination of modern and colonial (French Style) architecture.

It exports limes, lime juice, essential oils, tropical vegetables, and spices.

Overview

The central district of Roseau is tightly packed with small houses, and only little green or open space is situated within it. The district is, however, framed in every direction by natural elements. The sea and the river provide water element while the Botanical Gardens and the State House gardens frame the city with green space. Both these elements are rare in the Caribbean. No other centre in the region has such extensive botanical gardens with such central location, and the Roseau River is amongst the largest rivers that flow through any Caribbean capital.

The urban structure of Central Roseau is based on an irregular grid system ofn miniature proportions, making it a highly illegible city. Even though the grid area is not very extensive, it is relatively easy for a visitor to get lost there. The grid area has some 80 blocks in the area of thirty hectares. In comparison, the grid areas of Kingstown and Castries--capitals of St. Vincent and St. Lucia--have some 50 and 60 blocks in the areas of over forty hectares. The avarage block size in Central Roseau is thus some one third of a hectare, i.e. about half of the figure of Central Kingstown.

History

In the 18th century Roseau was only what is now its central district. Currently, only about one seventh out of the 14,000 who live in the district of Roseau City Council do live in Central Roseau. Newtown and Potter's Ville, the old suburbs, where formed already in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Goodwill was established in the 1950s and Bath Estate in the early 1980s. Since that several new semiurban settlements--such as Stock Farm, Castle Comfort and Wall House--have been constructed around the existing ones. Some older settlements like Fond Cole and Canefield nowadays belong also to the semiurban area that lies around Roseau.

City life

Because of the suburban sprawl, fewer people sleep their nights in Central Roseau, but more of them come to do their daily business there. Motorised vehicles pour into the central district thus introducing a mode of point-to-point interaction in an environment that was created for multiple use. As elders said, first there were no streets but just a space between the buildings. The streets of Roseau, and especially those of its central district, are not only ways to move from place to place but they are places themselves. They are used as gardens, playing fields and social meeting places, for instance.

The Botanical Gardens on the fringes of the central district are a relaxing place if compared to the busy downtown area. They are, however, mostly used by children. Several schools are situated in the vicinity of the gardens, and groups of school children in their blue or brown uniforms populate the gardens along with tourists. When there is a cricket match, however, people gather to the sides of the Cricket Ground to watch the game.

Scenery

Roseau's nearby scenery (mostly in its so-called valley) includes waterfalls, thermal springs, and scenic plateaus.

Notable people

Dominica's most famous writer and novelist, Jean Rhys, was born in Roseau on August 24, 1894.

NBA basketball player Garth Joseph was born in the town on August 8, 1973.

References