Click here to print
Vision-ing Yabra
Tue, February 9, 2016
40 years ago, it used to be that the area called "Yabra" - was like the end of Belize City. Since then, the city has fanned out into the swamps, and "Yabra" is now more like off center to the city. And now some American planners want to make it a model community.

These consultants are experts from The American Planning Association, a non-profit NGO which specializes in improving communities in the US. The head of the delegation is Justin Moore, a New York City Department of City Planning, and he and his other colleagues landed in at the PGIA this afternoon. Shortly after arriving in Belize, 7News got a chance to meet with the APA consultants, and we spoke to them about their mission for the place known as "Yabra". Here's what they told us:

Justin Moore, American Planning Organization
"We are here to look at the Yarborough neighborhood and the waterfront re-development potential. Really looking comprehensively at the city, not only redevelopment, but transportation, social, cultural, social issues, infrastructure and long term resiliency and sustainability for the city."

"This first team is really looking at the lay of the land and understanding what the issues of stakeholders area and we'll come back with multiple experts; so people from different backgrounds and different types of expertise later in the year and where we'll do more detailed recommendations."

"In urban planning and design, it really looks at the entire context of the city. So all the issues of the economy; what are people's housing situations; what we are the education and recreational activities for young people. Those are all conditions that need to go into how a neighborhood is put together. So I am coming from New York; it is a place that historically had issues with crime and many social issues. Over the generations there have been improvements both in the kind of programming, policing, education programs, but there have also been changes to the city itself - improvement in parks, improvement in transportation. So those are the types of things that we want to look at and investigate and talk to people here in Belize City and Yarborough to kind of understand the opportunities there."

Daniel Ortiz
"Is zoning a major part of this or is that the main focus?"

Justin Moore, American Planning Organization
"Yes, it's a part of it; I would say it is one of the major tools in terms of administrative things that could be done; actionable things the city government can do to help control development and guide development. So that is one of the reasons we are being brought in, planners, people that have this technical expertise to talk about how land use, zoning, different regulations can be paired with things like infrastructural improvements and even kind of cultural social programs to sort of improve the development of the neighborhood. So that's something that I personally have expertise in."

Daniel Ortiz
"For this to work we would presume that participation from the Yarborough community is necessary."

Justin Moore, American Planning Organization
"Ultimately it's your community, it's your neighborhood and your ideas are valid for what the future of your neighborhood is going to be. So we will be a number of different stakeholders while we are here. We will be coming back and I think there is opportunity for people to start brainstorming ideas that they would like to offer. But also to respond to things that we say."

Moore and his fellow consultants are expected to go on a tour of Yarborough with the Mayor tomorrow, and after that, he will start to meet with the residents of that community. We'll show you how that goes in tomorrow's newscast.

Close this window