Dear Editor,

It has always been felt by many that Portmore is a dormitory community, one in which people live but travel to urban centres to work, seek entertainment, and fulfil their shopping and other needs.

This residential community started in the late 1960s with the development of Independence City, soon thereafter came Edgewater, Bridgeport, and Waterford, as what we now know as the Old Portmore began to grow.

The mid-90s saw the construction boom of Greater Portmore, which by all accounts almost doubled the population in Portmore. But then came the dilemma: Where would all these people find employment? What about entertainment, shopping, and medical care? Was the entire population dependent on Kingston to satisfy their needs?

That, indeed, was the case, we had created one big residential, dormitory community, whereas with a little more planning and forward thinking an urban core — satisfying residential, commercial, institutional, and other uses — could have been created.

Residential developments continue to increase within the municipality, but a closer look shows there has been less of a dependency on Kingston. Portmore always had some attractions, like Rodney’s Arm, Port Henderson Road (“Back Road”), Hellshire beach, and Two Sisters Cave, but given the population size the feeling has always been that more is needed.

In recent years there has been an increase in the number of recreational and entertainment options there, and with the country’s focus on tapping into the call centre/business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, Portmore has not been left behind, with quite a few BPOs operating within the municipality. These BPOs, along with the many recreational and entertainment centres and facilities, are now meeting the employment, shopping, recreational, and other needs that were previously missing. There is the go-karting facility which attracts patrons who are into go-karting or racing in general, when it comes to football, footballers would depend on Football Factory or Dunn’s Azteca, however in Joga Bonito, Portmore now has their own outdoor miniature football field.

In the late 90s and early 2000s Portmore Mall was the place to be, but Sovereign Village now seems to be the hit and to top things off last week Sunshine Palace Cinema opened its doors. This cinema is one attraction I’m sure the citizens of Portmore will be boasting about for years to come. The need to “cross the waters” to go to Carib no longer exists, going to the movies need not take a toll, and dinner is literally only a stone’s throw away.

Still a dormitory community? Some may say yes. With over 100 communities and a population of 182,000 (2011 census), supplying the housing demand should not be the sole focus, meeting the other needs of the residents are just as important. The good thing is that recent developments have shown that there is a drive to meet these needs.

Finally, we can say Portmore is heading in the right direction; housing, check; recreation and entertainment, check; shopping, check; full hospital, hospital, hospital…?

Kemar Bogle

knb800@yahoo.com