Core principles for urbanism

Metro Manila is growing faster than anyone can imagine. The rapidity and complexity of its physical evolution overwhelm government, business and all of us, 11 or so million people, who live in and try to survive this traffic-choked, quality-of-life-challenged metropolis.

Government, though the MMDA, is trying to look at managing metropolitan growth. MMDA’s initiatives are saddled by lack of legal wherewithal and jurisdictional overlaps with the 16 cities and one town that make up Metro Manila along with the numerous other national agencies concerned with infrastructure, the environment and economic development, among other things.

The private sector has taken its own initiatives as Philippine companies, those in general business and those with interests in real estate development, have realized for a while now the need to address the mind-boggling urban problems of Metro Manila.

These initiatives have been shored up recently with the private sector partnering with the Urban Land Institute (ULI), an international non-profit organization with roots in the United States and a seven-decade history of assisting cities, governments and the private sector with their urban challenges.

The ULI’s stated mission is to provide “…leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. ULI is an independent global nonprofit supported by members representing the entire spectrum of real estate development and land use disciplines.”

The energetic Charlie Rufino, NET Group president, invited me to meet with key representatives of companies and other stakeholders who have been working with the ULI officers from its Asia Pacific office based in Hong Kong. Charlie chairs the local chapter of the ULI, which counts over 30,000 members worldwide.

The results of numerous visits and an initial study conducted by these partners were launched recently at the clubhouse in Forbes Park. I met John Fitzgerald, ULI Asia Pacific SVP, there. He and other ULI members believe that Metro Manila could learn the lessons from the success of other cities that have faced similar problems as we now do.

At the meeting, the ULI and its local chapter expounded on a report on Metro Manila and an outline of 10 principles for our metropolis’ sustainable development. Among the areas tackled in the report and recommended principles were urban identity and place making, traffic or better urban mobility, increased resilience to natural disasters, affordable housing policies along with ways to engage with an empowered governance and metropolitan population to achieve change.

The 10 principles for sustainable urban development:

1. Create one Metro Manila: Metro Manila must have a common goal and managed and promoted through a newly created steering committee. The committee should enhance Manila’s international reputation through the creation of a brand based on the city’s unique character and local culture. The report showcases international examples of similar campaigns including PlaNYC in New York, “I amsterdam” in Amsterdam as well as the “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” slogan created by the DOT.

2. Improve urban mobility: Metro Manila needs to overcome its traffic congestion through development of integrated transportation infrastructure. In major highways in Metro Manila  such as EDSA, traffic is routinely gridlocked most of the time. The report encourages Metro Manila to learn from global transportation initiatives including the Congestion Charge Zone in London and the Bus Rapid Transit system in Curitiba, Brazil.

3. Make beautiful places: Metro Manila should use the city’s forthcoming Greenprint 2030 strategy to put a greater emphasis on place making. The plan should include provisions for improving the pedestrian environment, encouraging the use of cycling and public transportation as well as the introduction of more open spaces to create a liveable and sustainable community. The report showcases examples of best practice including the Center City District in Philadelphia, the Cheonggyecheon Restoration in Seoul, as well as existing projects in Metro Manila like the Ayala Triangle Gardens.

4. Work together: Metro Manila should look to expand its use of public-private partnerships as a way of financing and delivering key infrastructure projects. The report highlights a number of successful examples in Metro Manila, including the transformation of Bonifacio Global City (BGC) and the modernization of the North Luzon Expressway. The report also notes a number of challenges to the model, with some projects not implemented due to the short tenure of officials and lack of leadership and funding from the authorities.

5. Establish good governance: The report suggests the eventual creation of an Urban Development Commission to formulate and implement a masterplan for Metro Manila. The report highlights numerous examples of similar organizations in other cities around the world, including the Harbourfront Commission in Hong Kong, the Urban Design Panel in Vancouver and the Urban Redevelopment Authority in Singapore.

6. Engage everyone: Metro Manila should involve its people in workshops, charrettes and community meetings to ensure accountability, responsibility, transparency, inclusiveness, participation, and a sense of ownership for the city’s development in the community.

7. Empower people: Metro Manila needs to focus on the quality as well as the accessibility of education to help support its economic development. The report calls for Community Improvement Districts (CIDs) in Metro Manila to help narrow the gap between jobs and skills, as well as providing more opportunities for the city’s poor.

8. Be prepared: The report calls for Metro Manila to address its preparedness for natural disasters by increasing the city’s resilience. Manila needs to review the effectiveness of its current disaster recovery efforts, improve and upgrade the relevant infrastructure and establish an online and mobile relief centers.

9. Restore human dignity:  Metro Manila needs to tackle the city’s slums, which are plagued by unemployment, high poverty rates, poorly constructed shelters and lack of sanitation. The report believes that an affordable housing policy and delivery is required, drawing from the lessons learned in public housing in Hong Kong and Thailand.

10. Go beyond smart communities: Metro Manila should focus on creating more liveable and sustainable communities by facilitating the development of a low-carbon green communities, with reduced energy consumption, social equality and local economic improvement with planning undertaken at a regional level.

The report was followed by a short forum with a panel from local members and ULI representatives. The audience was filled with almost all of the top developers’ urban planners, consultants and officials, along with government officials like DPWH Secretary Babes Singson and representatives from the MMDA.

I cannot but agree with most of the report’s principles. But these principles won’t apply themselves. We now have to hunker down and change ourselves to the core to be able to turn Metro Manila around and make it the metropolis we all want to live in and be proud of.

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Feedback is welcome. Please e-mail the writer at paulo.alcazaren@gmail.com. For information on the 10 principles and the ULI log on to http://www.uli.org/.