Many Jamaicans returning home after five years or longer are expressing surprise to see the emerging Kingston skyline and the large number of new buildings dotting the capital city and extending outwards, making the place almost unrecognisable to them.

To some people, the explosion in construction is a thing of pride, suggesting that Jamaica is taking on a more modern appearance. But for others, there are fears that the requisite infrastructure that should accompany such developments might not be adequate.

For that reason we have taken special note of a press statement issued six days ago by new Member of Parliament for St Andrew East Central Mr Dennis Gordon that brings hope that he will be the kind of Opposition MP for which the country yearns. Assuming, of course, that he is not just a flash in the pan.

Named as the Opposition spokesman on urban renewal and redevelopment, Mr Gordon called for “a comprehensive and climate-smart approach to urban planning and infrastructure management across the Kingston Metropolitan Area (KMA)”.

He says, correctly, that the ongoing strain on the city’s drainage and physical infrastructure, highlighted by recent flooding events, underscores the urgent need for planning systems that integrate climate resilience, environmental sustainability, and nature-based solutions.

“There is an urgent need to examine the extent to which increasing development in the KMA is impacting our physical infrastructure and to apply climate-resilient, nature-based solutions… given our position as a small island developing state in the Caribbean,” said Mr Gordon.

It is, of course, no secret that unchecked development in the KMA has intensified pressure on drainage systems, roads, and waste infrastructure, leading to more frequent and severe flooding during heavy rainfall.

We wholeheartedly agree with Mr Gordon, who certainly would have learned something about this subject while serving multiple terms in the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation.

A huge part of the problem, particularly in the capital, is the corrupt propensity of developers to build without approval, or to exceed provisions of any approval, sometimes with the tacit agreement of officials who are not shy about lining their pockets.

Mr Gordon was clearly doing his homework when he cited the important work of Jamaica’s Information and Communication Technologies Unit Final Report of the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, noting that: “Jamaica’s vulnerability to rising temperatures, increased rainfall, and sea-level rise demands the use of ecosystem-based and climate-resilient approaches in national and municipal planning.”

He insisted that infrastructure must work with nature, not against it, and that green corridors, permeable surfaces, and urban wetlands are not luxuries but necessities for a sustainable Kingston.

We encourage him to continue to press for improved collaboration between the National Works Agency, National Environment and Planning Agency, and local authorities to create a unified planning framework.

Modern cities thrive when infrastructure investment is guided by science and sustainability, rather than short-term politics, Mr Gordon says. We hope he means it.