Downtown and Uptown

Uptown and Downtown are used to describe geographical regions in metropolitan Kingston, but the names are also used locally to describe the social classes that live within each general area. In a socioeconomic sense, Downtown refers to Kingston's "have-nots," while Uptown refers to the "haves."

The bulk of the city's poor population is concentrated in tenement yards and shantytowns, most of which are found in and around Downtown. In recent years, squatter settlements have sprung up throughout the city, however, usually on marginal land around the drainage gullies.

Kingston's wealthy tend to live Uptown where some of the island's most excessive concrete mansions boast spectacular views and cool breeze, even in the dead of summer. The slums of Downtown Kingston stand in stark contrast to the concrete mansions that dot areas like Beverly Hills, Jacks Hill, Norbrook, Cherry Gardens, Red Hills, and Stony Hill. Many of these grand homes lay empty, however, while still others were never completed before being abandoned. It is said that many of these unfinished residences belong to "druggists" (narcotics traffickers) who either fled the country after drawing too much attention with their conspicuous displays of wealth or were nabbed by the authorities.

Downtown

Downtown Kingston hugs the northern shores of the world's seventh largest natural harbor, which helped the city become one of the most important export centers for Europe-bound goods, as well as a major transshipment port for Caribbean cargo. As the nature of trade and commerce changed over the years, the Downtown area has seen less and less direct economic benefit from shipping, which is today focused between the wharves west of Downtown along Marcus Garvey Drive and the causeway leading to Portmore. The modern wharves are unmistakable, with massive cranes servicing an endless stream of container ships that make Kingston Harbour one of the busiest ports in the world.

Development since independence has been focused almost exclusively above Cross Roads, leaving the Downtown area neglected. In 2009 the government established a tax incentive for companies to relocate their corporate headquarters Downtown, with the mobile phone provider Digicel the first to announce it would take up the offer. Digicel Group CEO Colm Delves said the move reflects an optimism for the area and that immediately following the announcement, property values began to rise in the area. Downtown sees a lot of activity during the day, with many government offices still located there, including the Survey Department, the Urban Development Corporation, the Jamaican Parliament, the Supreme Court, the Institute of Jamaica, and most ministry buildings.

The Bank of Jamaica, with its Coin and Notes Museum, and Scotia Bank both have their headquarters along the waterfront. It's not the best place for a lonely stroll at night, as the business area becomes a bit desolate and the Parade area tends to attract a few vagrants.

A new wave of Chinese and Indian immigrants have set up a slew of retail outlets along King and Orange streets, somewhat reviving what was once Kingston's Chinatown.

Jubilee and Coronation Markets more or less fuse together into a seemingly endless array of stalls west of the Parade along West Queen Street, marking the heart of Downtown. As the name suggests, the Parade was once used as a marching ground for British troops. Today it is a poorly maintained park where domino games abound. The adjacent market has a distinct buzz and thick air that fluctuates with little warning between the aroma of fresh produce and wafting herbs to an unpleasant stench. It takes some courage to stroll through the market and navigate the cacophony, but it's worth doing at least once, as it's an experience unto Downtown Kingston alone. The bus terminal just south of the heart of the market is the principal departure point for routes around the country. Expect overpacked and cramped seats and blasting R&B and dancehall music for the duration of your ride, no matter the destination.

Uptown

Until well into the 1800s, St. Andrew parish consisted of a handful of large private estates covering the rolling Blue Mountain foothills. When Downtown Kingston began to overcrowd, the land was parceled off and sold to accommodate the overflowing city with new residential neighborhoods, subdivisions, and gated townhouse communities. Many areas of greater Kingston still retain the name of the farming estates on which development took place. Constant Spring, Hope, Mona, and Papine were all rural estates that are now Uptown neighborhoods.

New Kingston is a hub of business activity and nightlife, and has been the focal point for urban development since independence. Some of the busiest nightclubs, bars, and restaurants are found along or just off of Knutsford Boulevard, as are many hotels catering to business travelers and tourists. New Kingston is a small area bound by Trafalgar Road and Oxford Road, which run parallel to each other at the northern and southern ends respectively.

North of Trafalgar Road, the residential neighborhood of Trafalgar Park extends to Hope Road, and from there Liguanea extends west and north to the boarder of Barbican. Barbican is a predominantly residential neighborhood that extends up the slopes toward Jacks Hill.

Directly west of New Kingston is Half Way Tree (often pronounced "Half-a-Tree"), the capital of St. Andrew parish and the city's commercial core. Shopping plazas abound, with the clock tower, Half Way Tree's most notable landmark, located at the main intersection, and the Transport Center in between northbound Eastwood Park Road and southbound Constant Spring Road. The Transport Center is a departure point for public transportation around the city and for major points around the island. Route taxis also leave from Half Way Tree. A few steps west of the heart of Half Way Tree stands the historic St. Andrew Parish Church.

The name Half Way Tree apparently refers to a large cotton tree that at one point before the British takeover of 1655 provided shade for resting soldiers traveling between a base in Greenwich, St. Andrew, and a fort in Spanish Town. The tree no longer stands. Plenty of shopping, several restaurants, and a few notable hotels are found in the general area.

Along Hope Road

Running from Half Way Tree in the heart of St. Andrew northeast to Papine Square, Hope Road was for a time the quintessential Uptown address, one which marked Bob Marley's rise to fame and fortune when he moved there from the ghetto of Trench Town in the early 1970s. Several noteworthy attractions, a few restaurants, and plenty of shopping line the busy thoroughfare.

Must-see sights including Devon House, the Bob Marley Museum, and Hope Gardens are found along Hope Road. The University of Technology (UTECH) is also located here, and Mona, the main campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), is a stone's throw away just southeast of Papine. On Saturdays, Papine Square comes alive with drumming and singing when Rastafarians from His Imperial Majesty's School of Bible Study and Sabbath Service, based in a squatter settlement in the hills above Irish Town, descend for their weekly Nyabinghi Sabbath service. Barbican Road winds off Hope Road at Sovereign Centre with a few notable restaurants in Orchid Village plaza.