Negril, Jamaica

My urban juxtaposition takes place in Negril, Jamaica. Negril is located in the Northwest area of Jamaica. To view a map of Jamaica and Negril go to www.infoplease.com. I felt that this is a unique area. I choose this area because I felt that this is a becoming a new urban area. Even though it is a new urban area, there are juxtapositions all over. Jamaica gained its independence only a short time ago around 1962. Tourism is the main industry in the area. Because of this tourism industry, many things are changing for the native people of the area. For example, Negril use to have a rule that no building could be taller then the tallest tree in the area. Now this rule is not longer in affect, and many of the resorts are significantly taller then the trees.

When you think of Negril, Jamaica one pictures, beautiful beaches, clean water, nice houses and irie people. This image is not completely true. Many of the people who are living in Negril are very poor. When driving through the town you see small shacks made of wood, held together with ropes and nails, many of them having no windows. Then you see massive, well-constructed buildings that are brightly colored right along the beach. These are the resorts. The resorts have taken the best land in that area and are forcing the native people to move further inland. They cannot live, work or use this land for themselves. In addition, they must take low paying jobs at the resorts in order to live in the area. The resorts make everything avaiable on site so there is no need for tourist to leave the resort. This causes the local population not to be able to make money off of the tourists.

The pictures on the top of the page show the contrast of the living conditions of Jamaicans living on the island compared to the resorts.

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