Dear Editor;
Jamaica's sudden awakening to the plight of the disabled to manoeuvre the city's streets, while welcome, makes you wonder if our policymakers and political doctorate are comatose.
It makes one ponder what the policymakers were thinking when they recommended the construction of very narrow, disjointed sidewalks. How can a light post be planted in the centre of a sidewalk? Are there any rules, any standards? Who is enforcing the vending laws? Do the vendors still 'run tings'? Is there any built environment or infrastructure planning being done?
Despite the fact that we are a nation dependent on tourism dollars, and we talk a good political game of becoming a developed country, to the average person it appears that things are built based on one's mood which changes with time and seasons.
Like a well-groomed person, outward appearance is very important. It is that initial attraction that gets the ball rolling. The built environment and infrastructure are a nation's outwards appearance. They are part of the overall tourism product (there is no airport on the tourist resort) and, thus, must be attractive.
Therefore, moving forward, we must rehabilitate and preserve our historic buildings. We must build a more appealing housing stock. Despite the crime, we must try to minimise the bars on windows -- maybe they should be placed inside or require the use of less revealing paint. Finally, we must improve our sidewalk network, hence, allowing wheelchair users to traverse unlimited.
Right now, Jamaica's built environment is very unattractive!
Michael Brown
Washington, DC
miguelbro@yahoo.com
We need to improve the built environment
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Jamaica's sudden awakening to the plight of the disabled to manoeuvre the city's streets, while welcome, makes you wonder if our policymakers and political doctorate are comatose.
It makes one ponder what the policymakers were thinking when they recommended the construction of very narrow, disjointed sidewalks. How can a light post be planted in the centre of a sidewalk? Are there any rules, any standards? Who is enforcing the vending laws? Do the vendors still 'run tings'? Is there any built environment or infrastructure planning being done?
Despite the fact that we are a nation dependent on tourism dollars, and we talk a good political game of becoming a developed country, to the average person it appears that things are built based on one's mood which changes with time and seasons.
Like a well-groomed person, outward appearance is very important. It is that initial attraction that gets the ball rolling. The built environment and infrastructure are a nation's outwards appearance. They are part of the overall tourism product (there is no airport on the tourist resort) and, thus, must be attractive.
Therefore, moving forward, we must rehabilitate and preserve our historic buildings. We must build a more appealing housing stock. Despite the crime, we must try to minimise the bars on windows -- maybe they should be placed inside or require the use of less revealing paint. Finally, we must improve our sidewalk network, hence, allowing wheelchair users to traverse unlimited.
Right now, Jamaica's built environment is very unattractive!
Michael Brown
Washington, DC
miguelbro@yahoo.com
We need to improve the built environment
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