Minister Outlines Significance Of Urban Renewal

Minister of Housing, Urban Renewal, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., says the Government is seeking to redefine how urban renewal is undertaken across Jamaica.

Delivering his 2021/22 Sectoral Debate presentation in the House of Representatives on May 4, under the theme ‘reNew Jamaica’, Mr. Charles Jr. noted that the engagement is “not a new idea”, as successive Administrations have implemented several interventions to this end.

“But this Government will ensure that it is not just seen as cosmetic but as an essential tool in the effort to renew Jamaica,” he added.

Mr. Charles Jr. posited that urban renewal can and will be a tool utilised to revitalise socially inclusive cities and bolster public safety.

He said the Government has, to this end, engaged key stakeholders, such as the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and Municipal Corporations, adding that “we will continue to engage them [and others] in the effort to explore opportunities for community renewal”.

“When change meets purpose, we can achieve renewal. This renewal demands a firm resolve to integrate resilience and sustainability in every sector and for us to collaborate with private stakeholders and international partners, and to engage every Jamaican,” the Minister emphasised.

Mr. Charles Jr. pointed out that “if half of our people plant one tree at their house on Labour Day, we would have achieved half of our target [of planting three million trees in three years]”.

He further said that if every Jamaican recycles one plastic bottle per week, “we would have removed 156 million plastic bottles from our landfills, gullies and marine ecosystems”.

Additionally, the Minister maintained that if half of the Corporate Area uses rainwater to flush toilets, “we would save enough money to send [a number of] children to school”.

“If we think, act and do things differently, we are already on our way to a renewed Jamaica. We can do this… we must do this. Our children depend on it, our country depends on it, our future demands it,” Mr. Charles Jr. underscored.

Against this background, he invited all key stakeholders, including parliamentarians and Jamaicans at home and overseas, “to join the Ministry of Housing, Urban Renewal, Environment and Climate Change as we work together to renew Jamaica”.