Transnational urbanism in Port of Spain: returning middle-class urban elites

Conway, D. and Potter, R. (2012) Transnational urbanism in Port of Spain: returning middle-class urban elites. Urban Geography, 33 (5). pp. 700-727. ISSN 0272-3638 doi: 10.2747/0272-3638.33.5.700

Abstract/Summary

Port of Spain, Trinidad offers an ideal context in which to analyze pre-retirement return migration to a Global South urban realm, expanding transnational urban research beyond the conventional focus on Global North metropolitan destinations. In this article, we draw on the transnational narratives of a selected sample of relatively youthful Trinidadians, who have spent many years abroad acquiring education and professional experience, but who have then decided to return in mid-career to the capital region of the island nation of their birth, or of their parent(s). Theoretically, we position these returning professionals as members of a "middling" transnational urban class whose return is at least partly motivated by a desire to "make a difference." Our results contribute to a growing literature that documents the role of transnational middle-class urban elites returning elsewhere in the Carribbean: "middling" transnational urbanism is reshaping key facets of urbanization in the Global South.