Beyond point-in-time: an analysis of the spatial–temporal distribution of street-dwellers in Port of Spain

ABSTRACT

Street-dwelling is a common occurrence among the homeless population in Port of Spain. For street-dwellers, the city is a place where they can fulfil their basic survival needs, but it can also be a place where they experience socio-spatial injustice. Previous studies have already concluded this type of homelessness as unhealthy, unsafe, and usually attracts punitive responses aimed at restricting the presence of homeless people in public spaces. The spatial distribution of street-dwellers in the city was investigated by mapping their GPS coordinates for nine (9) non-consecutive days in a single month. The data collection period was divided into three (3) study periods and this allowed for a systematic analysis of the spatial–temporal distribution of the N=481 coordinates. Results demonstrated that their spatial distribution varied according to the study period: “Early Week”, “Late Week”, and “Sundays”. Likewise, an analysis of field observations points to selected features in the social and built environment and its combined likelihood to accommodate the basic needs of street-dwellers influenced their level of spatiality in different spaces within the study site. These findings can be used to advise on socio-spatial conflicts, highlight possible vulnerable spaces, and provide a characterization of survival spaces for street-dwellers.

KEYWORDS:

• Port of Spain
• homelessness
• spatial–temporal
• spatial distribution

Acknowledgement

The author acknowledges the contributions of Dr. Jason Tambie, and Ms. Fadilah Ali.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 In 2018 the Ministry enumerated a total of 414 street-dwellers in all major municipalities.

2 Popular examples of when the Act was used in this manner was during the period prior to the country’s hosting of the Fifth Summit of the Americas, and the Twenty-First Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, both of which were held in 2009.

3 The Socially Displaced Persons Act of 2000 was drafted and presented in parliament, however, it is yet to be made law. This Act is meant to address the complicated issue of involuntary removal of street-dwellers and accordingly, “without prior warning, street-dwellers can be removed by police officers upon written advice from field officers attached to the Social Displacement Unit”.

4 Located in Port of Spain, St. Ann’s Psychiatric hospital is the country’s only resident mental healthcare facility.

5 With an estimated 2011 population of 37,074 distributed over a land area of about 13 km² (5 mi²) Port of Spain is also the second most densely populated municipality in Trinidad and Tobago.

6 Between the period of January 6th – 21st, 2019: during the planning stages, January was considered as one of the least active months of 2019 in terms of the hosting of cultural and seasonal events in the city which may have influenced the spatial distribution of street-dwellers.

7 A 2016 survey conducted by the lead author demonstrated that of a sample of 96 homeless people in Port of Spain, 81% were male, 67% identified as Afro-Trinidadian, and 73% indicated that they were unaccompanied. However, the fact that male street-dwellers continue to account for a larger number of the population does not mean that there are less female street-dwellers. This could also mean that homelessness among women is more hidden and therefore without the adequate representation.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Leevun A.R. Solomon

Leevun A.R. Solomon, MPhil, is a graduate of The University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus in (Human) Geography. His research examined the impacts of homeless experiences on social pyschological well-being and its combined influence on perceptions of “home” and housing. His research interests also extend to an understanding of the process of acculturation to “street-life” in the context of homelessness in the Caribbean.