Dennie Quill, Contributor
A FORMIDABLE real estate boom is taking place in Jamaica. And to facilitate these developments, older homes with their impressive beams, indigenous detailing and distinct façades are being deliberately demolished to make way for new construction. It is happening unfettered especially in the Kingston 6 area. If one were to parachute into Kingston overnight, one could become confused. The city is losing its personality.
The simplest of homes have details which place them in time. Windows, floors, doors, pillars, gables - all have a story to tell. They help to give us a consciousness about our history. But developers don't give two nannies about that.
Security concerns, especially the inability of the police to protect people and property from marauding thugs, have driven many families from their urban homes into gated communities. There are also the empty nesters whose children have flown the coop and are seeking to scale down. So the idea of a gated community holds a certain appeal and the demand is soaring. And yes, we like to see these new edifices sprouting from the ground as they signal progress.
But are the developers looking at the technicalities when they create these new communities? Let's take Dillsbury Avenue as an example. Should home buyers be worried about the density of this area? Was each development undertaken with the full portfolio of planning concepts?
In recent years, scores of houses have been built on Dillsbury Avenue. What about drainage? Can the fire station which serves the Kingston 6 area cope with so many additional homes in that enclave? Don't expect the police from Matilda's Corner to respond above the snail's pace at which they now move. One could reasonably agree with them if they submit that with the Long Mountain development of 500-plus homes and scores of houses on Dillsbury their workload has doubled and the human resource and machinery have not kept pace. These are just some of the essential services which must be upgraded as part of the planning process.
UNPLANNED GROWTH
I don't understand much about urban planning except that there should be scrupulous management of the way a city develops. History has shown some of the pressures which result from unplanned growth and development and we should always strive to avoid the mistakes of the past.
We don't expect to hear much from the Government about either the planning or preservation issue because the upsurge in the real estate market is a fiscal blessing as it rakes in top dollars for transfer, property and other taxes. It also provides work for many in the construction industry.
Some among us don't seem to care about the blow to our architectural heritage, but preserving our architectural heritage is not an unimportant issue. It should form a major objective of our planning process, especially as it relates to buildings of national importance. In studying a people's history, architectural heritage is usually a good place to start. Old buildings can provide a unique source of knowledge about our past. Let us make an effort to preserve our architectural heritage for the enrichment of our lives.
In the meantime, the decay of downtown Kingston continues apace. I believe it's time for Mayor Desmond McKenzie to form some partnership with local banks to make mortgage money easily available to investors who want to transform derelict buildings and make way for the long-touted renaissance of downtown Kingston.
Many people long for the day when they can return to downtown and listen to music, sip a beer and shoot the breeze. There is a huge potential for revitalising downtown, but unless we have a mayor with a sustainable urban vision we will not move from talk to action.
Dennie Quill is a veteran journalist who may be reached at denniequill@hotmail.com.
