Urban Renewal and Sustainable Development in Jamaica: Progress, Challenges and New Directions

The chapter discusses the history and context of urban renewal in Jamaica and shares the country’s integrated model for urban renewal, as well as the lessons learned from over two decades of implementation. As the urban planning landscape evolves there is a call to move in new directions, incorporating concepts which embody the development of human capital. One call is to re-position urban renewal as a public health tool to reduce crime and violence, communicable and non-communicable diseases, especially for the urban poor and urban youth who share a greater burden of Jamaica’s status as a Low/Middle Income Country (LMIC) and Small Island Developing State (SIDS). The call for the paradigm shift from gender-blind to gender-sensitive urban planning is expected to promote policy coherence between commitments to gender mainstreaming and gender equality and urban development modalities. There is also the need for a new governance framework to support the active participation of the average resident in the decision making process for land use management and other aspects of urban renewal to meet the goals of the New Urban Agenda and to realize Vision 2030 Jamaica, making “Jamaica, the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business”.