St Hugh's Preparatory School
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Kingston is the
capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...
and largest city of
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural
harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...
protected by the
Palisadoes Palisadoes (word apparently of Portuguese origin) is the thin tombolo of sand that serves as a natural protection for Kingston Harbour, Jamaica. Norman Manley International Airport and the historic town of Port Royal are both on Palisadoes. ...
, a long
sand spit A spit (cognate with the word for a rotisserie bar) or sandspit is a deposition bar or beach landform off coasts or lake shores. It develops in places where re-entrance occurs, such as at a cove's headlands, by the process of longshore drif ...
which connects the town of
Port Royal Port Royal () was a town located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest and most prosperous city in the Caribbean, functioning as the cen ...
and
Norman Manley International Airport Norman Manley International Airport , formerly Palisadoes Airport, is an international airport serving Kingston, Jamaica, and is located south of the island away from the centre of New Kingston. It is the second busiest airport in the country ...
to the rest of the island. Kingston is the largest English-speaking city south of the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in the
Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the 180th meridian.- The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Geopolitically, ...
. The local government bodies of the parishes of
Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...
and
Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Church stems from the Gospel of Jo ...
were amalgamated by the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation Act of 1923, to form the
Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation The Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation (KSAC) is a unit of local government in Jamaica. It was formed in 1923 when the parishes of Saint Andrew and Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six mos ...
(KSAC). Greater Kingston, or the "Corporate Area" refers to those areas under the KSAC; however, it does not solely refer to Kingston Parish, which only consists of the old downtown and Port Royal. Kingston Parish had a population of 89,057, and St. Andrew Parish had a population of 573,369 in 2011 Kingston is only bordered by Saint Andrew to the east, west and north. The geographical border for the parish of Kingston encompasses the following communities:
Tivoli Gardens Tivoli Gardens, also known simply as Tivoli (), is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Kla ...
,
Denham Town Denham Town is a predominantly residential neighbourhood in western Kingston, Jamaica. It has a reputation as one of Kingston's more violent areas. It was named in memory of Edward Brandis Denham, Governor of Jamaica 1935–1938. Amenities Th ...
,
Rae Town Rae Town is a Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand ...
, Kingston Gardens,
National Heroes Park National Heroes Park (formerly King George VI Memorial Park) is a botanical garden in Kingston, Jamaica. The largest open space in Kingston at in size,
,
Bournemouth Gardens Bournemouth Gardens is a neighborhood in the eastern area of Kingston, Jamaica, off of Kingston Harbour Kingston Harbour in Jamaica is the seventh-largest natural harbour in the world. It is an almost landlocked area of water approximately lo ...
, Norman Gardens,
Rennock Lodge Rennock Lodge is a neighbourhood in Kingston, Jamaica. J.E. Duerden reported finding pre-Columbian art in the area in 1879 in the form of two stone sculpted "images" described as amulets. Notable people * Outlaw Dennis Barth attended Rennock L ...
, Springfield and Port Royal, along with portions of
Rollington Town Rollington Town is a neighborhood in Kingston, Jamaica. Part of it is in Kingston Parish. A campus of Kingston College (Jamaica), Kingston College is in Rollington Town. Notable events In 2017 Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) suspended se ...
, Franklyn Town, and Allman Town. The city proper is bounded by Six Miles to the west, Stony Hill to the north, Papine to the northeast, and Harbour View to the east, which are communities in urban and suburban Saint Andrew. Communities in rural St. Andrew such as Gordon Town, Mavis Bank, Lawrence Tavern, Mt. Airy, and Bull Bay would not be described as being in Kingston city. Two districts make up the central area of Kingston: the historic Downtown and New Kingston. Both are served by
Norman Manley International Airport Norman Manley International Airport , formerly Palisadoes Airport, is an international airport serving Kingston, Jamaica, and is located south of the island away from the centre of New Kingston. It is the second busiest airport in the country ...
and also by the smaller and primarily domestic
Tinson Pen Aerodrome Tinson Pen Aerodrome in Kingston, Jamaica is the largest of Jamaica's three domestic airports. It is located on Marcus Garvey Drive, a major highway that links Kingston to the nearby residential community of Portmore. The airport is also lo ...
.


History

Kingston was founded on 22 July 1692, shortly after the 1692 earthquake that devastated
Port Royal Port Royal () was a town located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest and most prosperous city in the Caribbean, functioning as the cen ...
in 1692; the original section of the city which was situated at the bottom of the Liguanea Plains was laid out to house survivors of that earthquake. Before the earthquake, Kingston's functions were purely
agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...
. The earthquake survivors set up a camp on the sea front. Approximately two thousand people died due to
mosquito-borne disease Mosquito-borne diseases or mosquito-borne illnesses are diseases caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites transmitted by mosquitoes. Nearly 700 million people contract mosquito-borne illnesses each year, resulting in more than a million death ...
s. Initially the people lived in a tented camp on Colonel Barry's ''Hog Crawle''. The town did not begin to grow until after the further destruction of Port Royal by fire in 1703. Surveyor John Goffe drew up a plan for the town based on a grid bounded by North, East, West, and Harbour Streets. The new grid system of the town was designed to facilitate commerce, particularly the system of main thoroughfares across, which allowed transportation between the port and plantations farther inland. By 1716, it had become the largest town and the centre of trade for Jamaica. The government sold land to people with the regulation that they purchase no more than the amount of the land that they owned in Port Royal, and only land on the sea front. Gradually, wealthy merchants began to move their residences from above their businesses to the farm lands north on the plains of
Liguanea Liguanea ( ) is an area of the island of Jamaica. Its name came from the language of the Arawak people who currently inhabit some of the island's rural areas in Cornwall County. and named it after the iguana lizard that is endemic to the island, ...
. The first free school, Wolmers's, was founded in 1729 and there was a theatre, first on Harbour Street and then moved in 1774 to North Parade. Both are still in existence. In 1755 the
governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
, Sir Charles Knowles, had decided to transfer the government offices from
Spanish Town Spanish Town (Jamaican Patois: Spain) is the capital and the largest town in the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of St. Catherine, Jamaica, St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica, Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and Briti ...
to Kingston. It was thought by some to be an unsuitable location for the Assembly in proximity to the moral distractions of Kingston, and the next governor rescinded the Act. However, by 1780 the population of Kingston was 11,000, and the merchants began lobbying for the administrative capital to be transferred from Spanish Town, which was by then eclipsed by the commercial activity in Kingston. The Church of St. Thomas, on King Street, the chief thoroughfare, was first built before 1699 but was rebuilt after the earthquake in 1907. By the end of the 18th century, the city contained more than 3,000 brick buildings. The harbour fostered trade. It was involved in several naval wars of the 18th century. Kingston took over the functions of Spanish Town (the capital at the time). These functions included agriculture, commercial, processing and a main transport hub to and from Kingston and other sections of the island. In 1788, Kingston had a population of 25,000, which was about a tenth of the overall population of the island. One in every four people living in Kingston was white, but there was a large population of
free people of color In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (; ) were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not enslaved. However, the term also applied to people born free who we ...
there too; two out of every five people living in Kingston were free. The remaining three-fifths of Kingston's population was made up of black slaves.Christer Petley, ''White Fury'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018), p. 38. The government passed an act to transfer the government offices to Kingston from Spanish Town, which occurred in 1872. In 1882, there was a large fire in Kingston. In 1892, electricity first came to Jamaica, when it was supplied from a coal-burning steam-generating plant on Gold Street in Kingston. In 1907, 800 people died in another earthquake known as the
1907 Kingston earthquake The 1907 Kingston earthquake which shook the capital of the island of Jamaica with a magnitude of 6.2 on the moment magnitude scale on Monday January 14, at about 3:30 p.m. local time (20:36 UTC), is described by the United States Geological ...
, destroying nearly all the historical buildings south of Parade in the city. That was when a height restriction of no more than was instituted on buildings in the city centre. These three-story-high buildings were built with reinforced concrete. Construction on King Street in the city was the first area to breach this building code. During the 1930s, island-wide riots led to the development of
trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
s and political parties to represent workers. The city became home to the Mona campus of the
University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...
. It was founded in 1948, with 24 medical students. In the 1960s, the international attention of
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
music at that time coincided with the expansion and development of of the Kingston city centre waterfront area; by the 1980s, most of the old buildings were demolished by construction companies and the entire waterfront was re-developed with hotels, shops, offices, cultural centres, and cruise and cargo ship facilities. In 1966, Kingston was the host city to the
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
. In the 1980 general elections, the
democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-mana ...
People's National Party The People's National Party (PNP) (PNP; ) is a Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Jamaica, political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by Norman Manley, Norman Washington Manley who served as party president unti ...
(PNP) government was voted out, and subsequent governments have been more market-oriented and focused on tourism and relations with the United States, which reflected the "turbulent" and "volatile" era, in which Cuba and the United States fought for cultural control over Jamaica. In the 1990s, crime increased in the region and several riots were reported, including one in 1999 against a rise of fuel prices. In 1999, the Jamaican government ordered army troops to patrol the streets of Kingston in an attempt to curb the violent crime. In 2001, army troops and armoured vehicles used force to "restore order" in Kingston after "three days of unrest leave at least 27 people dead". In 2010, the Kingston unrest, an armed conflict between Jamaica's
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
and
police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
forces in Kingston and the
Shower Posse The Shower Posse is a Jamaican posse, Jamaican gang, started by Lester Lloyd Coke, which is involved in drug smuggling, drug and arms smuggling. Its home is in Tivoli Gardens, Kingston, Tivoli Gardens in Jamaica. It has several North American b ...
drug cartel A drug cartel is a criminal organization composed of independent drug lords who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the illegal drug trade. Drug cartels form with the purpose of controlling the supply of the i ...
, attracted international attention. The violence, which largely took place over 24–25 May, killed at least 73 civilians and wounded at least 35 others. and four soldiers and police were also killed.


Demographics

The majority of the population of Kingston is of
African descent Black is a racial classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and often additional phenotypical ...
. Large minority ethnic groups include East Indians and Chinese, who came to the country as
indentured servants Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract called an "indenture", may be entered voluntarily for a prepaid lump sum, as payment for some good or ser ...
in the late 19th century. The Chinese occupy important roles in Jamaica's economy especially in the retail markets in Downtown Kingston and the wider metropolitan area. There is also a minority of
Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common ancestry, language, faith, historical continuity, etc. There are ...
, mostly descending from immigrants from Germany and Great Britain.
Syrians Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine Arabic, Levantine and Mesopotamian Arabic, Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The culture of Syria, cultural ...
and Lebanese form one of the most influential ethnic groups in not only Kingston, but the entire island. Though a minority ethnic group, the Lebanese were able to give Jamaica one of its prime ministers,
Edward Philip George Seaga Edward Philip George Seaga ( ; 28 May 1930 – 28 May 2019) was a Jamaican politician and record producer. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Jamaica, from 1980 to 1989, and the leader of the Jamaica Labour Party from 1974 to 2005.Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
* 12.8%
Multiracial The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races (human categorization), races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicity, ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used ...
* 5.2% Asian * 3.4%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...


Religion

There is a wide variety of
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
churches in the city, most of which are
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
. The chief denominations are Church of God,
Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
,
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
,
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
,
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
,
Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...
and
Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...
. There is a strong Roman Catholic community in Kingston. The Holy Trinity Cathedral is the seat of the metropolitan archbishop and was consecrated in 1911. There are several Catholic schools and institutions, including the Immaculate Conception High School and St. Francis Primary and Infant School. Holy Childhood High School was founded and is owned by the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of our Lady of Perpetual Help (FMS). Afro-Christian
syncretic Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thus ...
religions such as the
Rastafari movement Rastafari is an Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of the movement and much ...
also have a significant following. The Shaare Shalom Synagogue serves Kingston's
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
population. The city also has communities of
Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
,
Buddhists Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE. It is the world's fourth ...
, and
Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
. The Islamic Council of Jamaica and the Islamic Education and Dawah Centre are both located in Kingston. There are three units of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
in the city.


Economy

Kingston plays a central role in Jamaica's economy. The vast majority of economic activity takes place within Kingston, and as most government ministries are located in the city, it is a key force in legislation in regards to Jamaica's finances. The high population density of the capital city means that the majority of monetary transactions occur in Kingston – stimulating much of Jamaica's local economy. The city is also home to the highest number of
schools A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of ...
,
hospitals A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergency ...
and
universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
anywhere in Jamaica. Kingston is also the island's main transportation hub and its largest seaport. Many multinational conglomerates and financial institutions are headquartered in and around the Kingston Metropolitan Area.
Air Jamaica Air Jamaica was the flag carrier of Jamaica. It was owned and operated by Caribbean Airlines from May 2011 until the cessation of operations in 2015. Caribbean Airlines Limited, headquartered in Piarco, Trinidad and Tobago, had administrative of ...
was headquartered in Kingston. The idea of making Jamaica an
International Financial Centre A financial centre (financial center in American English) or financial hub is a location with a significant concentration of commerce in financial services. The commercial activity that takes place in a financial centre may include banking, ...
has also been proposed as a way to boost the city's financial sector and create more jobs, especially for professionals such as accountants and lawyers. The city's major industries include tourism, apparel manufacturing, and shipping. Many international exports are traded through the city's seaport, with major exports including bauxite, sugar and coffee. The city is also a major tourist destination, and tourism is one of its largest sources of economic activity. The city has suffered economic troubles recently, however, along with the rest of the country of Jamaica. Plans to help the city's economy have made downtown Kingston the subject of numerous redevelopment plans. There have also been attempts to grow the manufacturing industry in the area and to attract call centres to the city.


Geography

Kingston is surrounded by the Blue Mountains, Red Hills, Long Mountain and the
Kingston Harbour Kingston Harbour in Jamaica is the seventh-largest natural harbour in the world. It is an almost landlocked area of water approximately long by wide. Most of it is deep enough to accommodate large ships, even close to shore. It is bordered to th ...
, which is the seventh largest natural harbour in the world. The city is on the
Liguanea Liguanea ( ) is an area of the island of Jamaica. Its name came from the language of the Arawak people who currently inhabit some of the island's rural areas in Cornwall County. and named it after the iguana lizard that is endemic to the island, ...
plain, an alluvial plain alongside the Hope River. Kingston experiences frequent earthquakes, including the 1907 earthquake.


Climate

Kingston has a tropical climate, specifically a tropical wet-and-dry climate (''Aw/As''), that borders on a hot
semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...
(''BSh''). characterised by a wet season from May to November, which coincides with the hurricane season, and a dry season from December to April. During the dry season, there is not much rainfall, however, cold and stationary fronts occur at this time, and often bring heavy showers, especially in March. Kingston is in the
rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...
of the Blue Mountains; therefore, little to none of the moisture carried by the Northeast
Trade Winds The trade winds or easterlies are permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere ...
falls over Kingston, causing Kingston to be very dry in comparison to
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...
and
Saint Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
on the windward side of the Blue Mountains. Kingston is on a coastal location, hence it comes under the influence of the sea, though dense urban development can negate this effect. In the 21st century, Kingston has experienced temperatures as high as and as low as . Between 1895 and 1990, the total average rainfall was recorded at , the highest monthly average rainfall recorded in October at , and the lowest monthly average rainfall recorded in March at . Fog, hail, thunder and tornadoes are all extremely rare.


Housing

In 1848 the Jamaican government expanded Kingston by constructing new homes in the west, north and east of the city. This housing became highly segregated in terms of race and class and by 1860 the majority of white elites lived on the outskirts of the city. As Kingston's population grew, existing settlements became so densely occupied that marshes in the southwest were filled in to allow the development of new housing. By 1935, continued population growth and poverty resulted in the emergence of slums in the east and west of the city. Later these areas were demolished by the government and residents were rehoused in
Denham Town Denham Town is a predominantly residential neighbourhood in western Kingston, Jamaica. It has a reputation as one of Kingston's more violent areas. It was named in memory of Edward Brandis Denham, Governor of Jamaica 1935–1938. Amenities Th ...
. This development accommodated 3,000 people, leaving more than one sixth of displaced resident homeless. Consequently, overcrowding persisted throughout the city; further, cramped living conditions resulted in public health issues.
Suburbanization Suburbanization (American English), also spelled suburbanisation (British English), is a population shift from historic core cities or rural areas into suburbs. Most suburbs are built in a formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence ...
also became significant and by the 1960s this residential area spread to the foothills of the Blue Mountains. Subsequently, the lack of space and continued consumerism meant this area then expanded to the east of the mountains. In Kingston, 20% of the population now live in squatter settlements. Contrastingly, Kingston is also home to Red Hills, Norbrook, Cherry Gardens, Stony Hill, Jack's Hill, suburbs that hold some of the most expensive houses in all of Jamaica.


Parks

The city of Kingston is home to a number of urban parks which are frequently transformed to accommodate various events and festivities on the Jamaican calendar. The most popular parks include: Emancipation Park, Hope Gardens, Devon House, National Heroes' Park, St William Grant Park and Mandela Park.


Emancipation Park

The Liguanea Club, a recreational and social club for the upper class in society, located on Knutsford Boulevard, owned over of land including the former Liguanea Park now the site of Emancipation Park. The club gave the land measuring seven acres as a gift to the Jamaican Government. Several government members argued that the land should be converted into a business district, while others felt a multi-functional entertainment complex should be built on the site. The large financial input needed for either venture, was not forthcoming. In 2002 Cabinet granted approval for the transfer of the land to the National Housing Trust on the condition that a park was built and maintained at that location. The land was transferred for one Jamaican dollar. The park is well known for the 11 ft. (approximately 3m) high bronze sculpture done by Jamaican artist Laura Facey, situated at the park's main entrance. This prominent sculpture comprises two naked black male and female statues gazing to the skies – symbolic of their triumphant rise from the horrors of slavery. The statue was unveiled in July 2003, in time for the park's first anniversary which caused an out cry from the Jamaican populace who believed that the blatant nudity and generous bodily proportions of the figures were very inappropriate to depict the freedom of black people.


Hope Gardens

The Royal Botanical Gardens at Hope, popularly called Hope Gardens serves as a national attraction. The Hope Gardens is a part of the of land making it the largest botanical garden in the English-speaking Caribbean. The land situated by the foothills of the Blue Mountains was originally owned by Major Richard Hope from whom it got its name. Two hundred acres of this land was obtained by the Government of Jamaica in 1880 and was originally established as a plant introduction and crop-testing facility for plants such as pineapple, cocoa, coffee and tobacco. The formal Botanical Gardens were laid out on approximately of this land with the assistance of personnel from the Kew Gardens in England. In the 1950s, the Queen, after visiting the island and being pleased with the state of the gardens, gave permission for it to be called the Royal Botanical Gardens, Hope. The Gardens have many exotic species along with some endemic trees of Jamaica. Over the years, the ravages of hurricanes and other disasters have resulted in the loss of a significant number of species. However, there are still some prominent trees and popular sites to be viewed in the Gardens. At Hope Gardens, visitors can view a number of other features including the Coconut Museum, the Sunken Gardens, the Orchid House, the Lily Pond, the Maze and Palm Avenue. The Hope Gardens has an adjoining zoo referred to as Hope Gardens Zoo. The gardens and zoo are undergoing redevelopment to improve the physical landscape and the animal inventory as a part of Bring Back The Hope campaign.


Transport


Road

The St William Grant Park (Parade) in the heart of downtown Kingston is the starting point for three of Jamaica's four A roads, namely the A1 (Kingston to Lucea), the A3 (Kingston to
Saint Ann's Bay Saint Ann's Bay () is a settlement in Jamaica, the capital of Saint Ann Parish. It had a population of 10,961 at the 1991 census. Musicians Floyd Lloyd and Burning Spear, and Hero of Jamaica Marcus Garvey were born in the town. History When ...
) and the A4 (Kingston to
Annotto Bay Annotto Bay is a town in the parish of Saint Mary in Jamaica. It was once an active port on the north side. This town was previously named ‘Guayguata’ by the Tainos, it is named from the abundance of the Annatto Annatto ( or ) is an oran ...
), while the city itself is provided with a dense network of trunk, main, secondary and minor roads. It also consists of the Highway 2000, Jamaica which runs through Portmore,
Ocho Rios Ocho Rios (Spanish for "Eight Rivers") () is a town in the parish of Saint Ann on the north coast of Jamaica, and is more widely referred to as ''Ochi'' by locals. Beginning as a sleepy fishing village, Ocho Rios has seen explosive growth ...
and Mandeville. A new section of Highway 2000, Jamaica (called "T3") was recently opened to the public. It has greatly reduced the travel time between Kingston and Montego Bay from 4 hours to a mere hours. Kingston is served well by a modern bus system, mini buses and taxis, which operate throughout the city with major hubs at Parade, Cross Roads,
Half Way Tree Half Way Tree() is a neighbourhood in the city of Kingston, Jamaica. It is the parish capital of St. Andrew. Half Way Tree is served by the Kingston 10 post office. In recent years, as a result of crime and violence in Downtown Kingston and ...
and elsewhere.Table 3.12 (PDF page 66) ff.
, Annual Transport Statistics Report: Jamaica in Figures 2003–2004, Jamaica Ministry of Transport and Works.


Buses

In June 1898, the existing mule car service was phased out and a transition to electric trams, initially operated by the West India Electric Company and later by the Jamaica Public Service Company, was undertaken. This transition to the electric tram was completed on 31 March 1899. This service continued to operate, but the inflexibility of a tram service could not keep pace with a growing city, and the tram service ceased to operate on 7 August 1948. Between 1948 and 1953, a motor bus service was operated by a company called Jamaica Utilities. The government revoked its franchise in 1953. From 1953 to 1983, the Jamaica Omnibus Service operated a service, which at its peak consisted of over 600 buses and served an area spanning Spanish Town, Border, Mt. James, Bull Bay and Port Royal. It was wound up by the government in 1983 after being nationalised in 1974. Kingston is served well by a modern bus system, the
Jamaica Urban Transit Company The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) is a public transport service operating within the Kingston Metropolitan Transport Region (KMTR), Spanish Town and Portmore owned by the Politics of Jamaica, Jamaican Government. The company is headquart ...
(JUTC), mini buses, and taxis, which operate throughout the city with major hubs at Parade, Cross Roads,
Half Way Tree Half Way Tree() is a neighbourhood in the city of Kingston, Jamaica. It is the parish capital of St. Andrew. Half Way Tree is served by the Kingston 10 post office. In recent years, as a result of crime and violence in Downtown Kingston and ...
and elsewhere.


Rail

The now disused Kingston railway station served the Kingston to Montego Bay main line with branches from Spanish Town to Ewarton, Bog Walk to Port Antonio, Linstead to New Works and May pen to Frankfield. The railway station opened in 1845 and closed in October 1992 when all passenger traffic on Jamaica's railways abruptly ceased.The rise and fall of railways in Jamaica, 1845–1975 – Pg18
, ''Journal of Transport History'', March 2003.


Air

Kingston's international airport is the
Norman Manley International Airport Norman Manley International Airport , formerly Palisadoes Airport, is an international airport serving Kingston, Jamaica, and is located south of the island away from the centre of New Kingston. It is the second busiest airport in the country ...
, while
Tinson Pen Aerodrome Tinson Pen Aerodrome in Kingston, Jamaica is the largest of Jamaica's three domestic airports. It is located on Marcus Garvey Drive, a major highway that links Kingston to the nearby residential community of Portmore. The airport is also lo ...
in Kingston provides domestic services.


Sea

Historically, the Kingston waterfront was Jamaica's main port with many finger piers at which freighters and passenger liners could dock. More recently, with the
containerisation Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers, or ISO containers). Containerization, also referred as container stuffing or container loading, is the process of uni ...
of freight, the port has moved to Newport West.


Emergency services

Jamaica's police force, the
Jamaica Constabulary Force The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is the national Police, police force of Jamaica. Founded in 1867, during the period of Colony of Jamaica, British colonialism, the JCF was intended as a civil body with a military structure. Since the late ...
, is based on Old Hope Road near
Liguanea Liguanea ( ) is an area of the island of Jamaica. Its name came from the language of the Arawak people who currently inhabit some of the island's rural areas in Cornwall County. and named it after the iguana lizard that is endemic to the island, ...
. Smaller police stations, such as Hunt's Bay, Matilda's Corner and Half-Way-Tree, are dispersed across the Corporate Area. The Supreme Court of Jamaica is also located in Kingston. Other courts, such as the Half-Way-Tree Resident Magistrate's Court,
Gun Court The Gun Court is the branch of the Jamaican judicial system that tries criminal cases involving firearms. The court was established by Parliament of Jamaica, Parliament in 1974 to combat rising gun violence, and empowered to try suspects ''in ca ...
, Traffic Court and Family Court, make Kingston their home. The
Jamaica Defence Force The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) is the combined military of Jamaica, consisting of an infantry Regiment and Reserve Corps, an Air Wing, a Coast Guard fleet and a supporting Engineering Unit. The JDF is based upon the British military model, with ...
(JDF) has its headquarters at
Up Park Camp Up-Park Camp (often Up Park Camp) was the headquarters of the British Army in Jamaica from the late 18th century to independence in 1962. From that date, it has been the headquarters of the Jamaica Defence Force. It is located in the heart ...
near New Kingston and Cross Roads. The JDF also operates a major naval base at Port Royal. Crime rates are high in and around Kingston and
Montego Bay Montego Bay () is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth most populous urban area in the country, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore ...
, and include gang violence and shootings in inner city areas. The highest-crime areas include West Kingston, Grants Pen, August Town, Harbour View and Spanish Town.


Fire service

Fire response in Kingston is provided by the Jamaica Fire Brigade, the national fire service. The service operates from fire stations spread throughout the Corporate Area. Fire stations are located at *York Park (HQ) *Half-Way-Tree *Rollington Town *Port Royal *
Norman Manley International Airport Norman Manley International Airport , formerly Palisadoes Airport, is an international airport serving Kingston, Jamaica, and is located south of the island away from the centre of New Kingston. It is the second busiest airport in the country ...
*Stony Hill *Trench Town *
Kingston Harbour Kingston Harbour in Jamaica is the seventh-largest natural harbour in the world. It is an almost landlocked area of water approximately long by wide. Most of it is deep enough to accommodate large ships, even close to shore. It is bordered to th ...
(Fire Boat)


Media

The
Gleaner Company The Gleaner Company Ltd. is a newspaper publishing enterprise in Jamaica. Established in 1834 by Joshua and Jacob De Cordova, the company's primary product is '' The Gleaner'', a morning broadsheet published six days each week. It also publish ...
, the ''
Jamaica Observer The ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by ...
'' and the ''Sunday Herald'', three of Jamaica's large newspaper companies, make their home in Kingston. Several television and radio stations including
Television Jamaica Television Jamaica (TVJ) is a television station in Kingston, Jamaica, a subsidiary of the RJRGleaner Communications Group. It is one of Jamaica's two major television stations. TVJ has had a number of managers, the general manager being Dr. Cla ...
(TVJ), CVM TV,
RJR 94 FM Radio Jamaica, also known as RJR 94 FM, and formerly Real Jamaican Radio, is a broadcast company in Jamaica with headquarters in Kingston. History On 9 July 1950, a commercial license to operate as a subsidiary of the British Rediffusion Group ...
,
TBC Radio TBC Radio is a Christian radio station in Kingston, Jamaica, broadcasting on 88.5 MHz FM. It is owned by Tarrant Baptist Church. TBC Radio airs a variety of Christian programs including programs that are locally produced and syndicated pro ...
88.5 FM, Hitz 92 FM, FAME 95 FM, LOVE TV, ZIP 103, Kool 97 FM and LOVE FM, are all based in Kingston.


Sports

Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
, including test matches, is played at
Sabina Park Sabina Park is a cricket ground and the home of the Kingston Cricket Club, and is the only Test cricket ground in Kingston, Jamaica. History Sabina Park was originally a Pen (urban residence and adjoining land of a wealthy merchant, shopkee ...
. The capital is home to five
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
teams who play in Jamaica's
National Premier League The Jamaica Premier League (formerly the National Premier League), commonly abbreviated as JPL and officially known as the Wray and Nephew Jamaica Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is sanctioned by the Jamaican Football Federation as the ...
. The teams are Arnett Gardens, Boys' Town, Harbour View,
Maverley Hughenden Maverley Hughenden F.C. is a Jamaican football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ' ...
and Waterhouse. Olympic Sprinter
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (''née'' Fraser; born December 27, 1986) is a Jamaican track and field Sprint (running), sprinter competing in the 60 metres, 60 metres, 100 metres, 100 m and 200 metres, 200 m. She is widely regarded as ...
also was born and raised in the suburb of Waterhouse.


Telecommunications


Fixed voice and broadband

Fixed voice and broadband services in Kingston are provided by either
FLOW Flow may refer to: Science and technology * Fluid flow, the motion of a gas or liquid * Flow (geomorphology), a type of mass wasting or slope movement in geomorphology * Flow (mathematics), a group action of the real numbers on a set * Flow (psyc ...
and
Digicel Digicel is a Jamaican-based Caribbean mobile phone network and home entertainment provider operating in 25 markets worldwide. Digicel has operated in several countries, including Guyana, Fiji, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Samoa, St. Lucia, Surinam ...
(via their new Digicel Play service which is exclusive to the Kingston Metropolitan Area). FLOW uses a Hybrid Fibre and Coaxial network to provide IPTV, VoIP & POTS and broadband capable of speeds up to 100 Mbit/s. FLOW also uses a Copper network to provide POTS and
ADSL Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) is a type of digital subscriber line (DSL) technology, a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over Copper wire, copper telephone lines than a conventional voiceband modem ...
capable of speeds up to 12 Mbit/s. Digicel uses a
GPON ITU-T G.984 is the series of standards for implementing a gigabit-capable passive optical network (GPON). It is commonly used to implement the link to the customer (the ''last kilometre'', or ''last mile'') of fibre-to-the-premises ( FTTP) serv ...
fibre-optic network, providing IPTV, VoIP and broadband speeds of up to 200 Mbit/s. Digicel's Fibre-optic network boasts capacity of up to 10 Gbit/s.


Mobile voice and broadband

Mobile voice and broadband services in Kingston are dominated by incumbents,
FLOW Flow may refer to: Science and technology * Fluid flow, the motion of a gas or liquid * Flow (geomorphology), a type of mass wasting or slope movement in geomorphology * Flow (mathematics), a group action of the real numbers on a set * Flow (psyc ...
and
Digicel Digicel is a Jamaican-based Caribbean mobile phone network and home entertainment provider operating in 25 markets worldwide. Digicel has operated in several countries, including Guyana, Fiji, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Samoa, St. Lucia, Surinam ...
. Both carriers provide GSM, EDGE, HSPA, HSPA+ and LTE connectivity in and around the city. FLOW offers HSPA+ of up to 21 Mbit/s on 850 MHz and 1900 MHz. FLOW also offers
DC-HSDPA Evolved High Speed Packet Access, HSPA+, HSPA (Plus) or HSPAP, is a technical standard for wireless broadband telecommunication, and extends the original HSPA. The 3GPP standard organisation specified the original HSPA in release 7. HSPA+ can ...
(commonly known as DC-HSPA+) allowing capable devices speeds of up to 42 Mbit/s on contiguous 1900 MHz spectrum. Digicel also offers 21 Mbit/s HSPA+ however, they also offer
DC-HSDPA Evolved High Speed Packet Access, HSPA+, HSPA (Plus) or HSPAP, is a technical standard for wireless broadband telecommunication, and extends the original HSPA. The 3GPP standard organisation specified the original HSPA in release 7. HSPA+ can ...
(commonly known as DC-HSPA+) allowing capable devices speeds of up to 42 Mbit/s on contiguous 850 MHz spectrum. Digicel was also first to market with LTE in Jamaica. Their network covers all of Kingston Parish and most of the populous areas in the Kingston Metropolitan Area, capable of speeds of up to 75 Mbit/s on 10 MHz of Band 17 spectrum. FLOW also offers LTE in Kingston. FLOW's LTE network is accessible on Band 4 or AWS spectrum. Due to the network delaying its rollout to acquire more spectrum, its network is theoretically faster than both Digicel and Caricel, to the tune of 150 Mbit/s (20 MHz of Bandwidth) with further plans to add low band spectrum, possibly increasing theoretical speeds up to 225 Mbit/s. Kingston is also home to Caricel, Jamaica's newest telecoms operator, which deployed its LTE network first to the Kingston Metropolitan Area. In addition, both carriers have their Jamaican head offices in the city (with the exception of Digicel, which has its company headquarters in Kingston rather than a regional office there as is the case with FLOW, which is based in
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
).


Institutions

Kingston, as the capital, is the financial, cultural, economic and industrial centre of Jamaica. Many financial institutions are based in Kingston, and the city boasts the largest number of hospitals, schools, universities and cultural attractions of any urban area on the island. Notable Kingston landmarks include the
University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...
,
Jamaica Defence Force The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) is the combined military of Jamaica, consisting of an infantry Regiment and Reserve Corps, an Air Wing, a Coast Guard fleet and a supporting Engineering Unit. The JDF is based upon the British military model, with ...
Museum, and
Bob Marley Museum The Bob Marley Museum is a tourist attraction in Kingston, Jamaica, dedicated to the reggae musician Bob Marley. The museum is located at 56 Hope Road, Kingston, and is Bob Marley's former place of residence. It was home to the Tuff Gong reggae r ...
. A United Nations agency, the
International Seabed Authority The International Seabed Authority (ISA; ) is a Kingston, Jamaica-based intergovernmental body of 167 member states and the European Union. It was established under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and its 1994 Agreement o ...
is headquartered in Kingston.


Twin towns – Sister cities

Kingston is twinned with: *
Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County () is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most-populous coun ...
,
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
, United States *
Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...
, United States *
Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...
, United States *
Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
(United Kingdom) *
Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
,
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...
, England *
Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...
, Mexico *
Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...
, People's Republic of China *
Panevėžys Panevėžys () is the fifth-largest List of cities in Lithuania, city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, eighth-most-populous city in the Baltic States. it occupies with 89,100 inhabitants. As defined by Eu ...
, Lithuania *
Windhoek Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which ...
, Namibia


See also

*
List of metropolitan areas in the West Indies This is a list of the largest metropolitan areas in the is insular Caribbean, based on the latest official population estimates or projections. See also * List of Caribbean countries by population * List of populated places in the Caribbean ...
* List of people from Kingston, Jamaica * Roy Anthony Bridge *
Trenchtown Trench Town (also Trenchtown) is a neighbourhood located in the parish of St. Andrew, part of which is in Kingston, the capital and largest city of Jamaica. Today Trench Town is the location of the Trench Town Culture Yard Museum, a National He ...


References


Bibliography


External links


Kingston & St Andrew Corporation website
{{Authority control Populated places in Jamaica Populated coastal places in Jamaica Capitals in the Caribbean Capitals in North America Populated places established in 1692 Port cities in the Caribbean 1692 establishments in the British Empire