Rhizome Bay leverages the future port growth of Kingston Harbor by proposing a strategy that combines economic generators, the ecological revitalization of Hunts Bay, and waste management resulting in a positive impact on the entire harbor and waterfront. Kingston’s port has the potential to become the main transshipment hub of the Caribbean, due to its strategic location between the east and west global trade routes through the Panama Canal. However, the city’s growth patterns and exponential port development have harmed the environment of Kingston Harbor. Environmental degradation coupled with the fact that Jamaica now imports commodities at higher rates than ever in its history, have left the island state with a serious solid waste problem. Jamaica’s export industry has waned due to economic decline and disinvestment, creating a dependence on tourism capital. This project poses a solution that alleviates these pressing issues.
The Bay
This project was my capstone project for the Urban Design program at Columbia University. My team was tasked with finding an urban design intervention of meaning within Kingston Harbor, we chose Hunts Bay for a variety of reasons most notably though we asked ourselves: What can small island nations such as Jamaica do with their waste? Is there a way that waste reuse and management can become an asset to the country? As it stands today Hunts bay serves as the final resting place for all the waste and debris flushed down via canals in Kingston, and its adjacent Riverton city dump.
A possible solution
By harnessing the ingenuity of the poverty stricken to create recycling and waste reclamation cycle, Jamaica can provide employment to those who need it most and sustainable dispose of its waste. For hunts bay this means less trash funneling down into its depths and a chance of revival. The bay is biologically dead and the creation of a causeway at its mouth have led the water to reach toxic levels. By introducing reclaimed waste islands the inner flows the bay can be modulated to create a better circulating flow that allows it to clear its toxicity.
