Dear Editor,

In the wake of Hurricane Melissa, which, according to the World Bank’s Global Rapid Post-Disaster Damage Estimation (GRADE) report, inflicted US$8.8 billion in damage — 41 per cent of Jamaica’s gross domestic product — Jamaica faces not only the challenge of rebuilding, but also the urgent need to strengthen the institutions that guide where and how we build.

While architects and engineers are required by law to be licensed and sign off on building plans, the professionals who ensure that land use activities comply with zoning, hazard maps, and development orders — urban and rural planners — remain without equivalent certification or legislative authority.

This imbalance is striking. Architects and engineers rightly safeguard the structural integrity of buildings and infrastructure, but planners ensure the integrity of communities. They are the ones who determine whether a subdivision is located in a floodplain or an aquifer, whether a housing scheme complies with coastal setback requirements, and whether development aligns with national and municipal laws. Yet, despite this responsibility, planners cannot legally sign off on plans or enforce compliance. Their role is advisory, not authoritative, leaving Jamaica vulnerable to unsafe settlement patterns that disasters like Melissa make painfully clear.

Certification and legislation would elevate planning to the same professional standard as architecture and engineering. It would ensure that only qualified, licensed planners can approve land-use decisions and hold them accountable to a code of ethics and national standards. This is not about bureaucracy, it is about resilience. The GRADE report shows that 90 per cent of the damage was concentrated in western and central parishes. Without empowered planners to enforce development orders, no-build zones, and reconstruction, unsafe settlement patterns will continue to put lives and livelihoods at risk.

Jamaica need not look far for a model. In Trinidad and Tobago, the Urban and Regional Planning Profession Act, 2020, established the Council of Urban and Regional Planners to regulate the profession. The Act requires registration and licensing of planners, enforces a code of ethics with disciplinary powers, and streamlines approvals by coordinating planning functions. Its partial proclamation in July 2023 marked a significant step towards modernising Trinidad’s planning framework. Jamaica can and should adopt similar legislation, ensuring that planners here are empowered to safeguard communities against unsafe settlement patterns.

The time has come for Parliament to legislate the planning profession. Municipal corporations should require certified planners to sign off on development and subdivision applications, just as they require architects and engineers. This reform would close a dangerous gap in our regulatory framework and give planners the authority they need to protect lives, livelihoods, and the environment.

If Hurricane Melissa taught us anything, it is that resilience is not only about stronger roofs and sturdier walls. It is about smarter land use, safer settlement patterns, and empowered professionals who can enforce them. Jamaica cannot afford to rebuild in harm’s way. Legislating the planning profession is a necessary step towards building back safer, stronger, and smarter.

Dr Garfield Hunter

Founder, Sustainya Planning

garfield@sustainyaplanning.com