Rapid Assessment of Squatting Report (NOTE: LARGE FILE)

PREVIOUS RESEARCH ON SQUATTING IN JAMAICA
Squatting is a dynamic phenomenon and no one (1) study done in a particular time can satisfy all
areas of reliability after a year or two (2) of the study being carried out. This means that the
assessment of squatting should be an ongoing exercise and the responsibility of a particular
body. Lee, McHardy and K’nIfe (2007) identified a list of studies conducted on squatting in
Jamaica since 1990. This list is represented in Appendix II, however only two (2) of the more
recent studies will be highlighted in this section: Towards a policy and plan for managing
squatting in Jamaica; and the 2004 National Squatter Survey.
Towards a Policy and Plan for Managing Squatting in Jamaica (2007)
A ‘Stock-taking’ Study was undertaken in 2007 by a combined team of local and international
consultants contracted by the World Bank/Cities Alliance in joint support of the Government of
Jamaica’s effort to develop a National Policy on Squatting. The ‘Stock Taking’ Study entitled
‘Towards a Policy and Plan for Managing Squatting in Jamaica’ was undertaken in response to
the perceived absence of firm knowledge about squatters and how squatting may be managed
and countered. It was undertaken as the first part of a proposed four-stage process (see
Appendix III) for policy and programme development and implementation.
One of the conclusions arrived at in the ‘Stock Taking’ Study is that there is little concrete
information about the extent or nature of squatting in Jamaica. The study went on to state that
without knowledge of the magnitude of the phenomenon, its growth and the potential for
upgrading the settlements, it would not be possible to develop a policy to manage the existing
settlements in a sustainable manner. One (1) of the specific recommendations coming out of this
study was for a series of analytical studies that must precede the drafting of a policy. These high
priority studies comprise an assessment of squatting, legal and physical options for managing
squatter settlements, an analysis of land markets in Greater Kingston, Montego Bay and two
smaller urban centres, an analysis of the needs for new housing by different income groups and
collection of the baseline data for this, and studies on housing finance directed to determining
alternative methods of providing financing to lower income households.
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