In Search of Suburbia
So what exactly is Suburbia? First it would be helpful to consider the ’suburb’ portion of the word and give that a satisfactory definition in the Bahamian context. Websters Dictionary tells us that the word ’suburb’ comes from the Latin suburbium, which is comprised of the prefix sub- meaning ‘near’, combined with urbs, which means ‘city.’ So in essence a suburb is ‘the residential area on the outskirts of a city or large town’ or a ’smaller community adjacent to or within commuting distance of a city.’ On an island that is only 27 miles across, everyone is theoretically within striking distance of the city, and thus this definition would make it seem that most of New Providence is just one big suburb, and in reality it is.
However, in my preliminary investigations it appears that in the popular imagination of the people of New Providence an arbitrary distinction is made between suburban areas, with some being designated as ‘the suburbs’ and others as ‘the ghetto.’ For example, what quantifiable difference is there between Sea Breeze estates and Yellow Elder Gardens? Although both areas could be described as middle-class, Yellow Elder is considered ‘ghetto’ while Sea Breeze is not. Is it the average size of the property lots, or of Yellow Elder being a ‘low-cost’ housing zone? Or could it be the perceived attitude of the people that live there? In other words, what is the difference between ‘the ghetto’ and ‘the suburbs’? Clearly more research needs to be done in this area.
A further example of the arbitrary nature of the suburban distinction and corresponding attitudes can be found in ‘the Grove.’ A story is told of two Americans, one Black and the other white, upon arrival in New Providence instructed a taxi driver to take them to a friend who lived in ‘the Grove.’ Upon taking them to ‘the Grove’ they, not recognizing the area said ‘I don’t think this is where they live.’ The driver, then finally understood the situation and said, ‘Oh, you meant the ‘white’ Grove!’ You see, the western ‘white’ Grove is considered Suburbs and the central ‘black’ Grove is a part of ‘the ghetto.’