evidoria

← Back to browse

Good practice Imported

Our City, Kingston — Jamaica's Corporate-Funded Downtown Improvement Campaign (DKRI)

Jamaica · Kingston · See the Jamaica profile · See the Kingston profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 83% 52/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Since 2025 Jamaica's Chamber of Commerce and Kingston Restoration Company have run a corporate-sponsored clean-up campaign across eight downtown Kingston blocks. A self-reported 6-month survey found cleanliness ratings up 39.6%→58% and safety confidence up 49.5%→73%.

58 %
Positive cleanliness ratings (2026 (from 39.6% baseline))
73 %
Public safety confidence (2026 (from 49.5% baseline))
Our City, Kingston — Jamaica's Corporate-Funded Downtown Improvement Campaign (DKRI)

Details

Maturity
Pilot
Promoter
Jamaica Chamber of Commerce & Kingston Restoration Company (Downtown Kingston Redevelopment Initiative)
Period
2025–present
Keywords
downtown revitalisation, business improvement districts, public-private partnership, corporate sponsorship, urban economic development

Context

The Downtown Kingston Redevelopment Initiative ('Our City, Kingston'), launched 2025, partners the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, Kingston Restoration Company and KSAMC, funded by corporate sponsors GraceKennedy, Scotiabank, Pan Jamaica and VM Group, targeting eight strategic downtown blocks with street cleaning, a 'Keep It Clean' scheme and coordinated policing and lighting.

Results

An internal survey after roughly six months found cleanliness ratings rising from 39.6% to 58% positive, public safety confidence from 49.5% to 73%, and overall positive ratings of the business environment from 45.5% to 61%.

Conclusions

Downtown Kingston has seen earlier redevelopment pushes fall short (a 2003 restoration company with a J$500 million target struggled to sustain momentum), so DKRI's six-month gains are an early, encouraging signal rather than proof of durable turnaround.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k)
Time to results
Short (< 1 year)
Staffing & skills
Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, Kingston Restoration Company, KSAMC, corporate sponsors (GraceKennedy, Scotiabank, Pan Jamaica, VM Group)

Conditions for success

  • Sustained corporate sponsorship beyond the initial phase
  • Independent verification of self-reported survey gains

Common failure modes

  • Earlier 2003 downtown restoration push struggled to sustain momentum

Do you run this practice? Claim it — verified implementers get a public contact pathway and can propose corrections.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

Similar practices you may find useful