United Nations Earth Summit+5 Success Stories - The Greater Montego Bay Area Development Plan

EARTH SUMMIT+5
Special Session of the General Assembly to Review and Appraise
the Implementation of Agenda 21
New York, 23-27 June 1997
SUCCESS STORIES FROM LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

The Greater Montego Bay Area Development Plan

Location Montego Bay City and its serroundings, approximately two-thirds of the Parish of St. James), Jamaica, West Indies.

Responsible Organization(s) The Greater Montego Bay Redevelopment Co. (GMRC).

Description This is the first community-driven, integrated development plan prepared in Jamaica and the Caribbean. The project, conceptualized 6 years ago, was designed to enforce planned development, growth and protection of coastal resources in the Greater Montego Bay Area (GMBA).
The project is gaining wide credibility as an alternate, broad-based development model for urban and rural towns in Jamaica. It is sustained by a partnership strategy involving community organizations, citizens, the government and the private sector.

Issues addressed Community participation, community management.
Development of holistic methodologies that incorporate environmental management, sector expansion strategies and participatory development into a formal and regulatory process.
Environmentally sustainable tourism, infrastructure development; ecosystem protection and recovery.

Objectives
Improve the quality of life through broad-based participatory development;
Achieve better land and environmental management through improved planning methodologies;
Channel social and capital improvement budgets more effectively and efficiently, by improving institutional processes, and the quality of baseline data available for decision-making.
The Plan strategies include: a. sustainable planning of the 17 informal communities, detailing stronger community-based integration strategies for the base sectors, such as tourism and export manufacturing, through dispersed industrial zones;
b. privatization of community and urban services, community housing and land titling, community enterprise strategies, better institutional processes for urban management, including a proposal for community zoning;
c. a downtown commercial and service-based revitalization plan; urban incentives, including the floating of inner-city development bonds;
d. transport management - short and long-term improvements, a micro-enterprise integration programme and a community stakeholder plan with strong environmental and institutional processes tied to the evolving coastal zone management programme for the GMBA.

Results achieved Unparalleled, non-partisan, community mobilization for development, including the establishment and sustainability of a community membership and development organization (the GMRC) with a current membership of over 100 private sector and community member organizations.
More focused development in the preparation of a draft development plan and matrix for environmental zoning;
Better inter-sectoral and inter-agency coordination due to improvement of the baseline data for project and capital infrastructure planning. (The data has been tested and used for forecasting capacity for the critical expansion of the sewerage and north coast road improvement projects);
Strengthening of NGO/CBO, Government and private sector collaboration for the implementation of the Plan. (These initiatives relate to the Resort Board, Marine Park, heritage, community and environmental organizations);
GMBA 2014 Plan to be tabled and brought to the relevant organizations as a possible hemispheric model for "bottom-up", urban and regional center planning.

Lessons learned Development of a framework for better community and sector integration, already incorporated in the proposals for a new development order for Montego Bay City and its municipal area.

Financing Seed funds for the first 2 years: USAID with matching funds from the local private sector. Funding for second through the fourth year: local private sector. Funding for the fifth year to present: Government and local private sector, including corporate sponsorship for the extensive public process of the Plan.

Contact Arlene Dixon, Urban and Regional Planning Director
Planning and Design Quroum
P.O. Box 524
Montego Bay 2, St. James, Jamaica, West Indies
Mrs. Rose Skinner, CBO, GMRC
21 Market St., Montego Bay, St. James, W.I.
Tel: (809) 979-9545

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Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Comments and suggestions: esa@un.org
Last updated 1 November 1997

	The Greater Montego Bay Area Development Plan
	Location	Montego Bay City and its serroundings, approximately two-thirds of the Parish of St. James), Jamaica, West Indies.
	Responsible Organization(s)	The Greater Montego Bay Redevelopment Co. (GMRC).
	Description	This is the first community-driven, integrated development plan prepared in Jamaica and the Caribbean. The project, conceptualized 6 years ago, was designed to enforce planned development, growth and protection of coastal resources in the Greater Montego Bay Area (GMBA). The project is gaining wide credibility as an alternate, broad-based development model for urban and rural towns in Jamaica. It is sustained by a partnership strategy involving community organizations, citizens, the government and the private sector.
	Issues addressed	Community participation, community management. Development of holistic methodologies that incorporate environmental management, sector expansion strategies and participatory development into a formal and regulatory process. Environmentally sustainable tourism, infrastructure development; ecosystem protection and recovery.
	Objectives	Improve the quality of life through broad-based participatory development; Achieve better land and environmental management through improved planning methodologies; Channel social and capital improvement budgets more effectively and efficiently, by improving institutional processes, and the quality of baseline data available for decision-making. The Plan strategies include: a. sustainable planning of the 17 informal communities, detailing stronger community-based integration strategies for the base sectors, such as tourism and export manufacturing, through dispersed industrial zones; b. privatization of community and urban services, community housing and land titling, community enterprise strategies, better institutional processes for urban management, including a proposal for community zoning; c. a downtown commercial and service-based revitalization plan; urban incentives, including the floating of inner-city development bonds; d. transport management - short and long-term improvements, a micro-enterprise integration programme and a community stakeholder plan with strong environmental and institutional processes tied to the evolving coastal zone management programme for the GMBA.
	Results achieved	Unparalleled, non-partisan, community mobilization for development, including the establishment and sustainability of a community membership and development organization (the GMRC) with a current membership of over 100 private sector and community member organizations. More focused development in the preparation of a draft development plan and matrix for environmental zoning; Better inter-sectoral and inter-agency coordination due to improvement of the baseline data for project and capital infrastructure planning. (The data has been tested and used for forecasting capacity for the critical expansion of the sewerage and north coast road improvement projects); Strengthening of NGO/CBO, Government and private sector collaboration for the implementation of the Plan. (These initiatives relate to the Resort Board, Marine Park, heritage, community and environmental organizations); GMBA 2014 Plan to be tabled and brought to the relevant organizations as a possible hemispheric model for "bottom-up", urban and regional center planning.
	Lessons learned	Development of a framework for better community and sector integration, already incorporated in the proposals for a new development order for Montego Bay City and its municipal area.
	Financing	Seed funds for the first 2 years: USAID with matching funds from the local private sector. Funding for second through the fourth year: local private sector. Funding for the fifth year to present: Government and local private sector, including corporate sponsorship for the extensive public process of the Plan.
	Contact	Arlene Dixon, Urban and Regional Planning Director Planning and Design Quroum P.O. Box 524 Montego Bay 2, St. James, Jamaica, West Indies Mrs. Rose Skinner, CBO, GMRC 21 Market St., Montego Bay, St. James, W.I. Tel: (809) 979-9545