Kingston and St Andrew are being built out with high-rise developments at an unsustainable pace and in a manner that, to some, spells ruin.
We need a visible, vocal citizens’ movement for a liveable city.
Goal 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) commits the signatory countries to making cities and human settlements green, safe, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable.
Unfortunately, although we are a signatory to the SDGs, our approach to development in our city (and the wider country) remains unsustainable.
In 2017, the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) issued a provisional development order for Kingston, St Andrew and the Pedro Cays. The order allows for increased density – that is, putting significantly more people to live on the existing lots by building multi-family, multi-storey housing; and for mixed land use – that is, a combination of commercial and residential, in what were mainly residential areas. Mixed-use, in theory, reduces the need for people to drive to get to most needed services and amenities.
The provisional development order sets out general directions and anticipates in its Fifth Schedule that more detailed sustainable development plans will be devised for each local area designated for increased density. It says:
“It is (the) intent that development plans will be prepared for the local planning areas listed in the order some time in the future and for which provision of basic infrastructure, social services, and amenities will be given priority. Local commercial centre(s) … are expected to develop in these places and it is important that proper siting and other considerations be observed.”
Note the reference to “sometime in the future” for the detailed planning and provision of basic infrastructure. Meanwhile, developers and the agencies giving permits are off to the races in a mad rush to, it seems, build out every last square inch of the city and surrounding hills.
There appears to be no aesthetic vision for the city. No lot is too small for the new high-rise apartments, and the character of existing communities seems irrelevant. Residents of Elizabeth Avenue, Havendale, Meadowbrook, Seymour Lands, Barbican and so many communities are watching in horror as six-, seven-, and now 10-storey apartment complexes dwarf their homes and block their light and airflow.
To add insult to injury, some experienced real estate agents and entrepreneurs now say there is an oversupply of these mostly vacant high-rises. So what is the point? It would seem that we are witnessing the laundromat effect of the construction sector, but we shouldn’t speculate.
No responsible entity seems to have a plan for how water supply, sanitation and solid waste management, public transportation, security, or other provisions will keep up with the building frenzy. There is no clear plan for mitigation of air, noise and other types of environmental pollution.
Governments past and present talk of climate change adaptation but execute plans for a city of increased, fossil fuel-based, energy consumption. This is clear from the fast, four-lane highways currently being built across the city to move more and more private vehicles, and from the numerous air-conditioning-dependent, energy-intensive high-rise buildings, with few, if any, having renewable energy installations. There is also no word of a disaster-resilience strategy, especially as more paved surfaces lead to increased run-off. By now it should be obvious to everyone how much flooding occurs from relatively minor rain events.
Towards a liveable and sustainable Kingston
The residents of Eastwood Park Gardens for a long time were the lone voices in the wilderness calling for a different approach to the development of their community. Lately, other communities have been expressing a similar desire.
At a community visioning workshop hosted by the Golden Triangle Neighbourhood Association in October 2018, residents, representatives of the business sector, local Church, schools, elected representatives, and relevant state agencies articulated a vision for a liveable community as one that is green, clean, safe, peaceful, and walkable (with proper sidewalks and such); a community with public amenities that support well-being and spaces for activities that are family-friendly, and/or encourage social gatherings, among other features. In other words, ‘liveable’ means an aesthetically pleasing, well-planned and laid-out, pedestrian- and family-friendly place that caters to us humans as the social beings that we are.
We need to press for enlightened leadership and will and set ourselves the 2030 goal of making Kingston a green, sustainable, people- and pedestrian-friendly city.
Think about it. A liveable Kingston could be a really wonderful city. It has so much going for it. In a few hours, you can go from mountain to sea. It’s a culturally vibrant city with every kind of experience imaginable. There is great history in Kingston. The view of the mountains is fantastic and the harbour at the other end is a treasure.
Residents and stakeholders of Eastwood Park Gardens and Seymour Lands are producing an alternative development vision and plan for their communities. This has been made possible through a grant programme that the National Housing Trust has for such exercises. Other communities could follow suit.
The community-specific plans become the basis for focused discussion and advocacy with the relevant authorities. For the Golden Triangle Neighborhood Association, the goal is to have Seymour Lands formally declared a demonstration area with a consultative mechanism set up to give residents and other local stakeholders a voice in the determination of what will go where, how, and when, and in the fashioning of a liveable, sustainable community based on a set of objective criteria. It is left to be seen whether the relevant ministers and authorities will respond.
