The Ecology of Urban Poverty

The slums and squatter settlements in the Caribbean are the breeding grounds for the reproduction of poverty, chiefly because of the concentration of urban dwellers to be found there. As one observes the total landscape of any primate Caribbean city, one begins to understand that there is often a correlation between poverty and space. There are several reasons for that. For example, the rural poor who migrate to the city, unless they have relatives in other parts of the town, tend to settle in the lower-class neighbourhoods. Further, because there is always speculation in land, the élite usually buy up what are perceived to be the best locations, and the most marginal land is left to the poor.