JAMAICA IN A GEOGRAPHICAL NUTSHELL

Jamaica is a small island with a very coherent geography: the entire coast is flat, with a mountainous spine running lengthwise from east to west. Over the centuries of British colonial rule, starting in 1655, towns sprang up by natural harbors along the entire coast. And except where exceedingly craggy limestone made town development prohibitive, the towns were like a string of pearls held together by a narrow coastal road. Since sea travel was by sailboat, and land travel was pedestrian or horse powered, travel was slow, and towns remained rooted and held on to their character. By contrast, the advent of fossil fuel powered travel in the 20th century allowed towns to sprawl, roads to widen and congest. There was also more industrialization, consumption, economic mobility, more energy dependent construction--like the ubiquitous use of cinder block concrete--and the discarding of architectural heritage. Population mushroomed. The list goes on. What I'm proposing is based on empirical observation, and the ability to think critically, and philosophy is a useful tool in that endeavor.