Dear Editor,

In the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, which made landfall in Jamaica on October 28, 2025, Montego Bay, St James, stands at a crossroads. What emerges from this moment will not simply be a recovery, it will define the trajectory of urban development in St James for decades to come.

Encircling the Greater Montego Bay area are more than 21 major informal communities, forming what can only be described as a necklace of informality. Within these communities a deeply entrenched culture of informality persists, where squatting has become not just a survival strategy, but a dominant mode of land access.

The recent devastation of both commercial and residential properties has intensified the pressure on every available open space. Displacement has created urgency, but also opportunity — both constructive and destructive. The temptation for continued land capture is real, and if left unchecked, it will accelerate disorder, deepen vulnerability, and undermine any serious effort at sustainable development.

There must be decisive intervention. Municipal authorities must move swiftly to establish clear guardrails to ensure that Montego Bay — and by extension the parish of St James — is rebuilt in an orderly, resilient, and sustainable way.

But enforcement alone will not solve the problem.

The Government must intensify efforts to implement meaningful land reform. The energies of the marginalised must be channelled into formal systems that provide real access to affordable land for both residential and commercial use. Without this shift, informality will simply reproduce itself.

The Greater Montego Bay Redevelopment Company once advanced a people-centred planning model that remains highly relevant today. That approach divided the city into planning districts, with community-based committees helping to determine appropriate development within each zone.

Today, that vision has eroded. The St James Development Order is outdated and too often ignored. It is observed more in the breach than in practice. The St James Municipal Corporation appears either constrained by limited capacity or lacking the institutional will to enforce development controls.

The consequences are visible: unregulated expansion, misuse of land, declining standards, and growing risks to safety and security.

Community sensitisation must now become central. Residents must understand not only the rules, but why they matter. Planning affects safety, disaster resilience, infrastructure, and property value. Informed communities can become stewards of order rather than participants in disorder.

This moment calls for alignment. The Development Order must be modernised and enforced. Municipal capacity must be strengthened, community-based planning must be revived, and land reform must be accelerated.

Montego Bay cannot afford to rebuild along the same fault lines that made it vulnerable.

If we are serious about building back better, then we must build back smarter, fairer, and with a commitment to order, inclusion, and sustainability.

O Dave Allen

odamoxef@yahoo.com