Georgetown, Guyana

As the primate and capital city of Guyana, Georgetown has multiple functions: it is not only the seat of government, but also the hub of industry, commerce, and international trade. We take an in-depth look at the history of this metropolis to gain some understanding of its present city structure, economy, and urban development concerns. Like many cities of the developing world, Georgetown faces several socio-economic problems, including widespread poverty, biting unemployment, poor infrastructure, and a host of environmental predicaments relating to sanitation, garbage disposal, and flooding, with this last being far more threatening, as a result of the city's physical environmental attributes-notably, its proximity to the Demerara River and the ocean, coupled with its below-sea-level elevation.