The Retreat of the Upper and Middle Classes to Gated Communities in the Poststructural Adjustment Era: The Case of Trinidad

Abstract

The emergence of gated communities of the upper-income and middle-income classes can be directly traced to the failure of governments to close the growing divide between rich and poor and to solve the accompanying wave of crime and fear of violence. It is also a result of an abandonment of faith in governments' capacities to deliver and maintain infrastructure and civic services. State failure has influenced people's decisions to encircle their living space, defend it, and to service their needs autonomously like citizens of the ancient walled cities. The trend toward social exclusion and spatial segregation is characteristic of these modern ministates, which poses planning, policy, and administrative questions for decisionmakers. In this paper I first set out to understand the emergence of gated communities as a global phenomenon, but particularly in the Latin American and Caribbean context. Secondly, I seek to examine the retreat of the upper and middle classes to gated communities in the poststructural adjustment years, using Trinidad as a case study. Finally, I put forward conclusions and policy prescriptions of relevance to cities in addressing the emerging issues.