Dear Editor,

The recent fire at the Brown’s Town Courthouse is the latest blow to the architectural palette in the civil architectural space. Over the years, fires at government institutions have destroyed not only current files, but also historical documents, including those related to history and genealogy.

Unfortunately, the lack of appreciation for architectural relevance to Jamaica’s development has left the country’s public buildings devoid of safety measures. Important documents and even spaces could have been saved if only practical planning information from a knowledgeable architect was applied about fire walls, suppression, and fire protection.

In addition to loss of civic architecture, safety is handicapped as crime thrives in the chaos of our built environment, and our cities and towns now exist in chaos due, in large part, to neglect and ignorance.

Criminality lives where streets have no names, fences screen criminal activity from detection, and tenement yards are overcrowded. Fighting crime in an environment like this is unlikely to succeed as laws are only useful if people agree to live by them. It doesn’t help that most Jamaicans have not accepted these laws because the environment in which they live does not support it. But architecture can break the chaos by providing order in the city’s built environment.

Education is also critical to reducing crime, creating opportunity, and nurturing sustainable developments, and education is not effective if students are returning to chaos and stress in their homes every day.

The matter of the national spatial plan was floated by politicians about two years ago, to be done by foreigners. It has since been buried by scandal, the novel coronavirus pandemic, and the general ignorance of our population because they are busy hustling to make a living.

We must engage architects to pair the social needs with the physical space to create livable environments. However, if architects are not engaged to ensure that successful public and built spaces are created for all in Jamaica, what will continue is what we have now, worthless, ad-hoc designs of houses, cities, and towns that do not enable growth of community and buildings that oppress the national psyche, thereby creating national stress.

We need to engage our architects and planners and get the national spatial plan done.

Without a focus on housing, environment, and education, every Jamaican will become a police or soldier to protect their space and property. This will leave no space for politics or politicians. Can you imagine that, a world without politicians? Oh, what a beautiful thing that would be, at least better than what exists today.

Hugh M Dunbar

Architect

hmdenergy@gmail.com