From this effort
at self-insulation an insidious and ultimately absurd pattern of expectations
and fears is created whereby people from each segregated area re-invent the
worlds of those other areas where they dare not venture themselves, or which
they see only through bars. This cultural insulation has a curious effect on
the image of the city. The city is filled with myths. Some urban patches which
actually function very well for one group of Kingstonians are labelled as urban
disaster areas for the other. One such example is St. William Grants Park,
designed in the
1980’s by the architect and dean of the Caribbean School of architecture
Patrick Stanigar. The park is always bustling with activity. It is a marvellous
place full of lovers and delight serviced by the invisibly harsh reality of
photographers having to earn an income. But the park is invisible to the young
of uptown Kingston and, in their eyes, a failure. Were they to venture there
the photographers might be more lucky and the whole engine would start rolling
again.