Residential Differentiation

 Residential differentiation in Port-of-Spain can be observed quite easily.  As with most countries the poor reside to the east and the rich to the west.  The photo above was taken off Lady Chancellor Hill, the houses viewed in these neighborhoods are usually large, modern and are very costly thus only the rich are able to purchase said residences. The occupants are usually White (French creole our local term), foreigners and a few Indians, quite a contrast to the Negro dominated neighborhoods of Belmont and the Inner city.  Hence housing in Port-of-Spain has long been associated with specific ethnic and economic groups clustering together over time. This has decreased the chances of racial change in that area.  Massey and Denton have conined the term “hyper segregation” in an attempt to explain the clustering of particular groups.

The arena of residential segration and its measurability has been debated widely.  Some researchers are of the view that the spatial outcomes of either "unevenness", "exposure", "clustering" or "centralization" have created “segregation". (Massey 2006) Urban spatial structure is multidimensional. [(Timms 1987),(Massey 2006)]The process of residential process stems from numerous process.  It can be viewed as an interplay between many economic and social processes.

In previous post it is clear that some of our Port-of-Spain’s housing inequalities have been inherited from our colonial past which has encouraged differentiation.  Today however, privatization, rental housing and less public investment in urban housing has also helped to increased differentiation.  Port-of-Spain similar to the American cities , spoken of by White 1988, in his book  the “American Neighborhoods and Residential Differentiation”  the characteristics of poverty, income, education and ethnicity have contribute to a high concentration of certain groups in certain geographical niches.  Thus like all cities Port-of-Spain exhibits some degree residential differentiation.

Bibliography

Massey, Douglas S., Nancy A. Denton. "Google Scholar." The Dimensions of Residential Segregation, 2006: 281-315

 White, Michael J.. American neighborhoods and residential differentiation. New York: Russell Sage Foundation for the National Committee for Research on the 1980 Census, 1987.