San Fernando slums

Stretch along King's wharf San Fernando

This image may be somewhat more significant to people who have actually passed through this area before. Have you ever felt the strong apprehensive feeling while passing though this very  point? The picture above shows an area of substandard housing, clearly depicting the disparity that exist along one of the most common routes at King's Wharf in Trinidad and Tobago's second city. Although not visible in the picture, this area of housing is directly opposite to San Fernando's main transport hub .i.e. the city's bus, maxi and taxi terminals.  

Located in the South Western Peninsula of Trinidad is the city of San Fernando, the ''industrial capital.'' In the National Physical Development Plan of 1984 the town was identified as a regional urban centre! its population stands at 55,419 and has been on a course of rapid development in the past few years, mainly due to commerce and overall benefits from the oil fields, refineries and many other petrochemical industries nearby.

Historically, the area was inhabited b y Amerindians, however it was later colonised by Spanish in the late sixteenth century on a quest to find ''El Dorado'' (city of gold). Today the area is made up of a multi-ethnic society with large amounts of East Indians, African sand mixed and smaller amounts of Caucasians, Chinese and Syrians. 

The area owes much of its development to its colonial and posy colonial history. In 1797  when the British took over San Fernando the area was poorly developed, having only a few houses at the water front and was similar in form and structure to that of and old Spanish town. 

As the town was developed under the British due to its involvement in the cotton, sugar and coffee industry, new areas for commercial and residential land use came into being throughout the colonial and especially in the post colonial period where the city expanded into the suburbs. with the growth of the city during the early nineteenth and early twentieth centuries came the emergence of social problems in providing basic services such as clean and substantial water. The problem was continued until a dam was later installed in the area. 

The ''urban poor'' in San Fernando do not only reside in the area depicted in the picture  but also in pockets in and around the city , near to government housing. They lack proper structure,electricity,  sanitation and clean water. 

Although government reform and profiling has been done to aid slum areas implementation and enforcemnet has been futile. A common reason for this is the land act which protects squatters from land eviction after they have occupied the land they are on over a period of time.