Rochelle Channer

I am a PhD Candidate in Urban and Regional Planning at Florida State University focusing on Behavioural Housing Economics, Land Governance, and Informality in post-colonial contexts. My dissertation explores home-purchase decision-making in Jamaica, taking a decolonial and transformative approach to real estate and housing markets. I aim to make the housing market transparent for those most challenged by the current system, and to tackle colonial structures that impact how community planning and real estate are practiced, most often leading to the dispossession and displacement of vulnerable groups like women and children. Through institutional analysis and economic experiments, I explore a multi-disciplinary approach to community-engaged solutions and hope to create a non-profit housing institute with branches across Jamaica, offering specialised supportive housing services, counselling, and financial training.