Urbanisation in the Caribbean
By Marjorie Henry, Contributor

Mr. Lynton Weir, past student and vice-principal at Old Harbour High School, St. Catherine, gesticulates as he speaks glowingly of the performance of some students at the 'upgraded' school, in this April 4 photo. - File

Your brief Easter break has just ended. I trust that over that period you seized the opportunity to revise and reinforce what you have been taught during the previous terms. The stark reality of the situation is that your external examinations begin shortly, and you certainly need to be well prepared for them.

I hope that by now you have purchased copies of the syllabuses for all the subjects you will sit. You need to be properly guided in what to do in the different subjects and the syllabuses provide that guideline. As I have mentioned in my lesson at the start of this academic year, the geography syllabus has been revised and this year, you will be the first set of students to be examined on this new syllabus.

For several weeks now, I have been sharing with you mainly on the new areas of the syllabus. However, it will not be possible for me to go through all the new areas before you sit the examinations. But, having your own copy of the syllabus and working along with your teacher, you should be able to complete all that you are required to do for the examinations.

Focus

Last term, my focus was on population and settlement, a part of Section III, that is, human systems. There are still some topics in this section that I would like to complete with you. I will, therefore, continue where I left off last term, that is, urbanisation in the Caribbean. My focus in today's lesson is specific objective five which states:

'Explain the population growth of one capital city in one Caribbean country within the last 20 years'.

Note that you are restricted to a particular period of time for which to explain the population growth of the city you choose to discuss. Kingston is my chosen capital city. My sources of reference remain the same as in previous lessons, that is, the new edition of The Caribbean Environment by Mark Wilson and Geography For CSEC by Jeanette Ottley & Marolyn Gentles.

The population of Kingston, the capital of Jamaica, has grown very rapidly during the last 20 years, both through natural increase and through migration from the rural areas. It is the largest settlement in Jamaica. It has been combined with the urban areas of St. Andrew to create the Kingston and St. Andrew Metropolitan area, now referred to as the Kingston Metropolitan area (KMA). In addition to the reasons already stated, Kingston has grown for several other reasons. I quote directly from the textbook, Geography For CSEC.

• It is the chief administrative centre and seat of government, including all the ministerial head offices.
  
  
• It is the largest industrial centre; there is a large, diverse range of industrial activities throughout the city. Marcus Garvey Industrial Zone is the largest area.
  
  
• Kingston is a centre for sports and entertainment: Jamaica's largest sporting venues are at Sabina Park and Stadium Park. These are large enough to host international events. There are also several nightclubs, game halls and cinemas in the city.
  
  
• It is a centre for education: Kingston has more primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions than any other region in Jamaica. The University of the West Indies and the University of Technology are regional institutions located in St. Andrew.
  
  
• Kingston is a centre of business and commerce: Financial institutions, such as banks, insurance companies and the stock exchange, shopping malls and an array of other commercial activities are located in the city.

The topic continues in the next lesson. As usual, I encourage you to keep reading on it.

Marjorie Henry is a vice-principal at Glenmuir High School and is head of the Geography Department. She teaches the subject at the CSEC Level.