In search of symbioses : an assessment of the relationships between two industrial estates and their adjacent communities in Trinidad, West Indies

Abstract

After gaining independence in 1962, the government of Trinidad and Tobago chose to pursue economic development via industrialization, and specific to its case, through resource-based industrialization (RBI), that is, the development of heavy industries related to oil and gas resources. Over the past five decades, the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago has significantly developed its energy sector, and has emerged as a prominent actor in the global oil and gas market. Petroleum operations have been in existence in the country for more than a century; since the 1970s, with the appearance of gas-based industries, these industries have flourished and expanded, with many being accommodated within one of several industrial estates located on the Trinidad mainland. These estates were created to provide the basic amenities, facilities and services necessary for industrialists to establish their plants. The national economy on a whole has benefitted from the establishment of these industries through revenues generated by the export of their products, but have these benefits trickled down to the local economy - to those who reside within the host communities of these industrial estates? What sort of relationship exists between industrial estates and their host communities? This research looks at two industrial estates and their respective host communities in Trinidad to determine wherein lie the symbioses between industry and community in each case; under what conditions are these links created; and finally, what conditions can lead to their propagation of these established connections.