Be Resilient
reathing Life Into Downtown Kingston
I
n any thriving metropolis, the heart of a city pulsates at a steady rhythm. Business, housing, entertainment and recreation are all important aspects that keep a city vibrant and evolving. Kingston has been Jamaica’s capital city since 1872. Formerly a huge agricultural terrain, its prominence actually began after the survivors of the 1692 earthquake found refuge there after decadent Port Royal was almost completely destroyed . Lying on the south east of the island, population estimate in 2002 revealed that a little less than 600,000 persons live here, making it the largest city in Jamaica. The heart of the city known as ‘downtown’ lies below Cross Roads with an invisible divide that starts at Torrington Bridge. It is a place where the rich hardly venture; socialites would not be caught hanging out and every day citizens look over their shoulders as safety is always an issue. By dusk, most of the major streets look like a virtual ghost town. Add to that the eye sore of raw sewage, debris, garbage and burnt out buildings has made more than a few businesses, especially government agencies, migrate ‘uptown’ so that their CEOs and employees can work in comfort. Downtown Kingston is definitely not the sweet, sophisticated place that Petula Clarke sang about in her famous song. However to say that Downtown Kingston is dead would be a misnomer as despite its shabby exterior, dirty streets, dilapidated board structures and zinc fences, the city is alive as commerce downtown brings in more money to merchants’ coffers than anywhere else in the island. During the day business thrives so offices, stores, wholesales and haberdasheries do financial
Places & Spaces
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