David Dodman

Shooting in the city: an autophotographic exploration of the urban environment in Kingston, Jamaica

This paper reports the results of an autophotographic study carried out in Kingston, Jamaica. Cameras were distributed to high school students from different social backgrounds in order for them to record their own impressions and interpretations of the urban environment. This combination of an unusual methodology with a high level of youth participation provides a unique insight into the human–environment interactions taking place in the city, and reveals a variety of information about the ways in which social class, age and gender influence perceptions of and relationships with the urban environment.

Feelings of belonging? young people's views of their surroundings in Kingston, Jamaica

The feelings of young people towards their surroundings have often been neglected in studies of Third World cities. In this paper, I examine these views in Kingston, Jamaica: a large, poor city with high socio‐economic inequality. The young people surveyed have generally positive feelings towards their surroundings, yet are frequently excluded from making decisions about the ways in which these are managed. Their responses shed light on some of the main problems facing the city, and provide a strong case for young peoples inclusion in local sustainable development planning.

A place or a people? Social and cultural geographies of the Anglophone Caribbean

When one mentions the Caribbean, a few sharp images come readily to mind: sunshine and trade winds, palm trees and mangrove swamps, limestone cays and volcanic peaks—and these images are valid enough. But what are Caribbean peoples? ‘Chinese,’ ‘Indonesian,’ or ‘Latin American’ conjures up a picture, but ‘Caribbean’ does not: indeed, there is no adjective for the inhabitants of the area. In short, ‘Caribbean’ is a place but not a people. (Lowenthal 1961: 1).

Commerce and cruises: a comparative study of Jamaican waterfront transformations

Caribbean urban waterfronts have been extensively modified in recent decades to encourage business (especially through the development of new commercial districts) and tourism (particularly in the form of cruise shipping). This paper draws on three case studies from Jamaica to explore the processes through which waterfronts have been redeveloped and the ways in which these spaces are used. The transformation and ongoing management of these waterfronts involve the negotiation of a complex set of power relationships between stakeholders operating at a variety of scales, including national governments, the private sector, Jamaican citizens and tourists. The position of waterfronts at the junction of the “urban” and the “natural” environments provides a fruitful nexus for examining the intricacies of society–nature relationships, and illustrates the ways in which ideas of modernity, development, identity and exclusion are incorporated into the local environment.