Sustainable Development Goal 11.1 in the Caribbean: Assessing Informal Settlement Upgrading in Trinidad and Tobago

Abstract

The study had the purpose of holistically assessing informal settlement upgrading in the Caribbean, due to Trinidad and Tobago's high prevalence of housing informality. Reports highlight that many cities in the region do not achieve the sustainable development goal of United Nations' SDG 11.1, "adequate, safe, and affordable housing, basic services, and upgrading slums." Furthermore, upgrading projects are rarely evaluated in relation to SDG 11.1. Therefore, the study investigated, "To what extent has the upgrading of Bamboo Settlement #3 met the United Nations' five (5) key dimensions of informal settlement upgrading?" It focused on a single case, Bamboo Settlement #3 in Trinidad and Tobago. This informal community well exemplifies the government's strategy in upgrading, comprising 379 residential lots. A mixed-methods approach and a sample that included 31 households were used to collect the primary data. The used metrics aligned with the United Nations' five key dimensions: improved water, improved sanitation, sufficient living area, structural quality, and security of tenure. The findings show that the upgrading possessed moderate access to the five key dimensions due to the inferred average access to four of the five key dimensions. The study results indicate that the government's three-pillar strategy of affordable housing grants, regularization, and regeneration and revitalization is partially effective. However, the government's dependency on international funding, the limited access to limited financial resources for the poorest households and the slow speed of upgrading result in a national situation with high and growing informal settlement.