I am pissed off (and quite amused) that everyone is NOW seeing the relevance of urban and regional planning in Jamaica. Jamaica has many urban and regional planners who are SUPPRESSED In different Agencies of Government.

Anyways, let my briefly illustrate the MARGINALIZATION or the professional in Jamaica. You see, The Revised Town and Country Planning Act (to replace the outdated act of 1958) have been under review for how many years?

Also, the National Physical Plan for Jamaica was done from 1978 to 1998 and has been in preparation for over ten years, why? because of a lack of prioritization and funding. It's still hasn't been finalized, and PLANNERS are not the AUTHORS of the document, but... Who cares?

The National Spatial Plan (replacing the National Physical Plan) provides a national settlement strategy for Jamaica. Without a strategy, there has been increasing haphazard development in Jamaica, especially in vulnerable areas.

Then comes the Disaster Risk Management Act, which was conceptualized (supposedly) to demarcate NO BUILT ZONES in areas prone to hazards. But there hasn't been a multi-hazard mapping of Jamaica to scientifically (and spatially) Identify these zones. Why is ODPEM SO SILENT?

The Development Orders under which development control is regulated are under preparation. However, there are a lot more challenges to the problem of this for e.g....

If there isn't affordable housing provision by the vulnerable population, people will be forced to live in Squatter Settlements and on Marginalized LANDS, which are prone to various hazards.

Don't forget politicians who object to Squatter Site relocation, which might fall outside of their constituency and reduce vote count during elections.

Let's move to development planning. Over the last 50 years, Planners have crafted Plans on top of Plans on top of Plans. Most have not been implemented. JSIF, UDC, & NHT have been implementing plans and projects over the past years, but they can't do it alone.

Let's talk about Road Development.
The Municipal Authority is responsible for the construction and maintenance of Parochial roads, many of which are in a horrendous state. They simply do not have the funds, and it's usually left up to communities to ”patch” these roads.

The National Works Agency Maintains all the major roadway, and their maintenance practices are quite dubious. We cannot continue to patch and repair roads a couple of months after they've been fixed.

Planners are to be blamed for being complacent. Still, until the profession is recognized (legally) and given a seat at the table, other technical professionals will continue to plan and implement settlements without due respect to dynamic societal changes, e.g. climate change.

In closing let me point this out..

It's the FIRST TIME in modern Jamaica that a Government has named an Urban Renewal Ministry.
Although new to the professional area, Minister @pcharlesjr is listening to stakeholders and is upbeat about building ”sustainable communities.”