Christopher Burgess | Evolution of housing in Jamaica: The 1960s – from clearance to condos

The 1960s, global economic stability, from fixed exchange rates, fuelled growth. For Jamaica, independence brought bauxite demand as the world’s third-largest producer, and foreign exchange earnings surged. But post-emancipation inequalities sustained rural underdevelopment and urban pressures, as people fled the countryside for a better life.

By the end of the 1950s, Jamaica’s housing conditions were dire. Many urban families lived in overcrowded informal settlements with limited access to water or sanitation. The government reformed housing laws, developed new areas, and redeveloped informal settlements. Nearly 20,000 housing solutions were delivered, modest by today’s standards, but transformative at the time. The Land Bond Act gave the state power to acquire land for clearance and redevelopment. Reforms to strata titles enabled the first condominiums, reshaping areas in Kingston.

Yet, cracks emerged from weak integration of planning, slow implementation and limited affordability. This decade offers lessons for today’s housing crisis that reform must be tied to equitable access.

PRIVATE DEVELOPERS AND LONG COMMUTES

While the state led many initiatives, the private sector also surged into housing in areas like Trafalgar Park, Drumblair, Hope Pastures, and Pembrook Hall. With Liguanea lands exhausted in the mid-1960s, developers continued into new areas like Harbour View, Independence City and Horizon Park, supported by the new Causeway bridge in 1969. Unfortunately, planning did not envision jobs in these areas, beginning the long daily commutes from dormitory communities for over 250,000 people today. Planning must go hand in hand with development, otherwise we will suffer the consequences of unproductive commutes for generations.

The largest private project, Duhaney Park, completed 1,091 houses in one year, driving GDP contribution to nearly 12%, and was funded by the Government’s Mortgage Insurance Scheme. When private sector led housing is paired with public infrastructure, it stimulates GDP and jobs. Yet, as middle-income areas grew, the struggle in informal communities continued.

INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS

The government of the 1960s undertook major revisions to the Land Bond Act, clearing the way to redevelop informal communities, including Tivoli. The government applied this mechanism in projects such as Rema and upgrades in Trench Town. Unfortunately, many families were displaced without being properly resettled in nearby communities.

Today, over 600,000 Jamaicans live informally, yet legal tools remain underutilized to formalize them and provide them with dignity. The 1960s proved legislative reform and redevelopment can meet the demand for urban homeownership in informal communities, as they did for Jamaica’s first condominiums.

BIRTH OF CONDOMINIUMS

The 1960s also saw reforms enabling strata-titled apartments in Jamaica. Downtown and New Kingston condos opened homeownership to professionals while using less land. Affordability remained a barrier, with most units catering to upper-income earners.

Decades later, the same legislation was used for both affordable and high-income ends of the market. The Inner-City Housing Project (ICHP) (2004–2013) emerged providing social housing apartments. It was initially planned for 5,000 homes but reduced in 2008 and halted in 2009. In 2020 the government embarked on the Ruthven Towers, bringing 86 units priced over J$36 million, unaffordable to most.

This was a missed opportunity to utilise this legal innovation, and scale vertical housing solutions for the working class and young professionals. Urban redevelopment must include affordable high-rise condos, integrated with strong public transport.

CONCRETE ISSUES

In the 1960s, Jamaica’s housing boom was powered by local production of steel, cement and lumber. Cement output alone was more than doubled from 169,000 to 402,000 tons. But today, manufacturers struggle to compete with imports for windows, roofing, electrical wires, and carpentry. The sector is dominated by margin gatherers (importers and retailers profiting from resale), pushing the trade deficit from US$3.4 billion to $5.4 billion over the last decade. With the right incentives and cheaper electricity, local manufacturers could supply over J$60 billion in materials and generate 7,000 jobs. Otherwise more of our people will end up in low-income import-oriented jobs or on the streets.

The 1960s also saw a bold indigent housing programme, delivering 4,800 units (ESSJ) in Clarendon, St. Mary, Kingston, and modernizing communities like Flankers and Naggo Head. That’s ten times more than the 400 units built in the last nine years. With over 14,000 indigents registered with Poor Relief, a revived strategy is urgently needed to prevent the growing homelessness that now stands at over 5,000 people.

Workforce stability, too, is slipping. The Joint Industrial Council’s 1965 pact once ensured fair wages and conditions. Today, foreign firms on government-backed projects often flout wage standards. Every few months workers protest on the news for lack of pay or underpay, yet we are told that the economy is at near full employed. Enforcement, not just agreements, is now critical to protect Jamaican workers and keep our builders at home.

LESSONS FOR TODAY

Today’s housing crisis, reflects the slow uneven progress starting in the 1960s. The state can act decisively to reform informal settlements. Likewise, the condo market needs a refresh to offer affordable, high-density options for young professionals. Affordable housing can keep people home.

The lessons of the 1960s are clear. Jamaica must integrate housing development with job creation and transport planning to avoid unproductive and long commutes. The state must use redevelopment tools to upgrade informal settlements and ensure community integration. Finally, the government must enforce wage protections to stabilize the construction workforce that will build the foundation to deliver the 190,000 homes Jamaica urgently needs.

Christopher Burgess, PhD is a registered civil engineer, land developer and the managing director of CEAC Solutions Company Limited. He is currently a Jamaica Institution of Engineers council member. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com