Dear Editor,

Eight thousand, six hundred and forty new housing units by the National Housing Trust (NHT) in the next year? Great news, or is it?

Jamaica’s economy looks its best since Independence and we hope the Eternal Father will continue to bless our land. Consumer and investor confidence have been consistently high and the unprecedented raft of tax cuts will further spur our domestic market.

But, knowledge, send us Heavenly Father. Along with every economic growth spurt comes greater self-actualisation by the populace, which often occurs in the form of an increase in population growth. The UN projects that by 2050 the global population will rise to 10 billion people. The world’s resources, already thin, will be traded in currencies of blood and war. At the moment, the world’s population increases much faster than our ability to house and feed it. Jamaica, our global blip, is no different. By 2050, what will our population look like? Four, six, seven million, perhaps?

Further economic growth will improve housing demand. Jamaica, land-limited, continues to respond to the housing market by constructing housing units. But everyone owning a “piece of the rock”, with a nice backyard and a mango tree, is not going to be sustainable.

Two problems arise. First, the ballooning population will need to be fed. Lands presently being used and targeted for development are the tiny island’s best agricultural lands. It is not housing that competes with agriculture, but agriculture that competes with housing. Suburban sprawls will continue to eat us into greater dependency on food importation. Yet by 2050 food will be more commoditised than ever. Producing nations will secure their own populations, while the rest goes to the highest bidders. A trap for the agri-industry and all the bells and whistles of its agro parks.

Second, with an eventual slump in the growth of the housing construction market, less houses will be available for our children to own. By the time our grandchildren come to age, the fortunate among us will be withering away in nursing homes, while the rest carpet the streets and public infirmaries.

Give us vision lest we perish. Jamaica cannot continue to develop housing solutions for 2.7 million people. Solutions designed for today will be chaos tomorrow. The only solution is to build upward. House more families in multi-storey developments today and leave space for agriculture and development tomorrow. This insight requires the re-use of present urban spaces through demolition and construction of multi-purpose buildings. The buck lies with the NHT.

Of course, its expensive now, but imagine inflation tomorrow!

Dave Richards

d1darichards@gmail.com