Prince's Foundation Hopes to Salvage Kingston Ghetto

Crippling violence and dangerous streets in the Rose Town area of Kingston, Jamaica, have motivated Prince Charles to bring his Foundation for Architecture and Urbanism to the island ghetto to attempt a rebirth.

2 minute read

March 12, 2008, 10:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


"Prince Charles will arrive in Rose Town on Wednesday to launch a plan to rebuild the area in what is his most ambitious regeneration initiative yet."

"It is an unlikely combination. The Prince's Foundation for Architecture and Urbanism which coordinates and raises funds for the £4m project is more used to designing new towns and villages such as Poundbury in the genteel surroundings of Dorset. Rose Town is part of the dangerous and impoverished west Kingston ghetto made famous by Bob Marley who lived in neighbouring Trench Town."

"But next week the partnership will start to bear fruit and Prince Charles will open a library, the first part of a plan to build hundreds of new homes and local facilities. For the residents it is their best hope of rebuilding a community that has been ravaged by three decades of political and gang violence."

"The aim is to follow the guiding spirit of the "model village" of Poundbury, an experimental community - praised by some and criticised by others - which started to take shape in 1993 on land on the outskirts of Dorchester owned by the Duchy of Cornwall."

"Prince Charles sees Poundbury, home to 5,000 people, as an antidote to the kind of "carbuncle" town planning he so famously dislikes. The Prince's Foundation's plan for Rose Town is to try to foster new values in a stronger community."

Wednesday, March 12, 2008 in The Guardian

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Historic homes in St. Augustine, Florida.

Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs

Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.

March 18, 2025 - Newsweek

Bird's eye view of manufactured home park.

Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing

Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?

March 25, 2025 - Shelterforce

Aerial view of suburban housing near Las Vegas, Nevada.

HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands

The agency will identify federally owned parcels appropriate for housing development and streamline the regulatory process to lease or transfer land to housing authorities and nonprofit developers.

March 17, 2025 - The Wall Street Journal

Glass building with green tree behind it.

EPA Terminates $116 Million in Grants for Reducing Emissions from Construction Materials

C-MORE grants were earmarked for industry trade groups and universities.

March 27 - Inside Climate News

White BART trains passing each other on elevated track in Fruitvale, California.

BART Closes $35 Million Deficit

Cost control and revenue generation measures prevented service cuts.

March 27 - Mass Transit

Black hearse seen from behind driving on multilane road.

The New Parisian Hearse is a Bicycle

Sleek, silent, and sustainable, a green trip to the graveyard has hit the streets of the French capital.

March 27 - Momentum Magazine