This blog seeks to explore how people of different socio-economic status survive in urban areas within the island of Trinidad. Urban relates to towns and cities. Survive in this context mean how those who exist whether wholly or partially within an urban setting cope with the hardships that are synonymous with urban areas. Socio-economic status (SES) is defined as “an individual’s or group’s position within a hierarchical social structure. It depends on a combination of variables, including occupation, education, income, wealth, and place of residence. Sociologists often use socioeconomic status as a means of predicting behaviour.” (Dictionary.com)
(Photo Reference: Neils 2015. Blog Assignment - An Intro to Urban Geography)
What do you see when you look at the picture above? A street with no cars, electrical wire posts and light poles, a wall, behind it trees and a peek at Centre City Mall, Chaguanas. Almost at the very centre of the photo are two grocery trolleys covered in tarpaulin which are tied by ropes, further covered by a sheet of galvanize and a thin piece of wood. Next to it is a fold in chair. What you don’t see is the owner of the trolleys. The trolleys belong to a man who’s home are the streets. His age, how he ended up there, what’s contained within the trolleys are all unknown just like the people we see while we ourselves walk the streets of Urban Trinidad.
A city is characterize by its population size, economic base, administrative criteria and functional definitions, as well as its social and cultural milieu. There are urban places that feel like a city but are not, as they lack the administrative criteria i.e. it is not legally defined as a city. The three urban areas to be examined consist of Port-of-Spain (which fulfills the administrative criteria) and Chaguanas which does not. On the other hand, the city lifestyle is present alongside service provision and the population in which these services are made available to. By administration Chaguanas, in which is central in its locale, is a borough.
Homelessness is very much evident in the urban setting.It is integrated into the socio-economic workings of the society.The homeless are a body that cannot be excluded when analyzing a metropolitan place.The homeless, like several other socio-economic groups flock to such spaces in an attempt to survive.Hence in representing Survival in Urban Trinidad, the homeless cannot be eliminated.They are a quintessential element in what it means to truly surviving the urban place.
