Downs appears to be a particularly grim and unsanitary place, marked by large swathes of refuse and decay. This depiction is further intensified in the anime, where Donquixote Doflamingo and his early companions are shown surrounded by large mounds of garbage.
31 years ago, a 10-year-old Donquixote Doflamingo fled to the island of Downs after he and his family left Mary Geoise and endured poverty and torture at the hands of victims of the World Nobles. Once a Celestial Dragon, Doflamingo found himself cast into the filth and brutality of the lower world. At Downs, he formed a gang with Trebol, Diamante, Pica, and Vergo—four individuals who would become his most loyal and powerful lieutenants in the Donquixote Pirates seven years later.
References
↑One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 78Chapter 782 (p. 13) and Episode 724, Trebol recounts meeting up with Doflamingo after he escaped Mary Geoise.
