After gaining independence in 1962, the government of Trinidad and Tobago chose to
pursue economic development via industrialization, and specific to its case, through resourcebased
industrialization (RBI), that is, the development of heavy industries related to oil and gas
resources. Over the past five decades, the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago has
significantly developed its energy sector, and has emerged as a prominent actor in the global oil
and gas market. Petroleum operations have been in existence in the country for more than a
century; since the 1970s, with the appearance of gas-based industries, these industries have
flourished and expanded, with many being accommodated within one of several industrial estates
located on the Trinidad mainland. These estates were created to provide the basic amenities,
facilities and services necessary for industrialists to establish their plants. The national economy
on a whole has benefitted from the establishment of these industries through revenues generated
by the export of their products, but have these benefits trickled down to the local economy - to
those who reside within the host communities of these industrial estates? What sort of
relationship exists between industrial estates and their host communities? This research looks at
two industrial estates and their respective host communities in Trinidad to determine wherein lie
the symbioses between industry and community in each case; under what conditions are these
links created; and finally, what conditions can lead to their propagation of these established
connections.