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TO PREPARE FOR ECONOMIC BOOM IN ASIA

Urban planner Palafox pushes for ‘redevelopment’ of PHL cities


Urban planner and veteran architect Felino “Jun” Palafox Jr. on Friday said the government must start “redeveloping” the cities, especially those outside of Metro Manila to prepare for the projected economic boom in Asia.

“The Philippines is in a great position being at the strategic center of Asia Pacific. As a country with incredible potential, we need to start preparing our cities to be able to accommodate and sustain the growth,” Palafox said.

Palafox cited a 2012 projection by the international bank HSBC, which said that Philippines is set to be the 19th strongest economy in the world by 2021 and 16th by 2050.

“This century will be the Asia Pacific Century, with the Pacific Ocean at its trade hub,” Palafox said.

“If we address our issues now like corruption, drugs and criminality, like what the HSBC said in its projection, we should be in the top 20 economies in the world by 2021, number 19 in fact, and by and by 2050 we should be the 16th in the world,” Palafox said.

However, Palafox said many cities in the country including those in Metro Manila are still not conducive to doing business due to heavy traffic, lack of interconnectivity of cities, inefficient mass transport system, flooding, as well as criminality and corruption.

“By 2050, we would have 50 million more Filipinos, we would need at least 200 more cities to sustain economic growth,” Palafox said.

Commuters over car owners

To develop the country’s cities, Palafox said the government must craft policies and build infrastructures that would promote walking, biking and public mode of transportation.

“The use of car should be the last mode of transportation,” Palafox said.

He cited as example the top most livable cities in the world namely Stockholm, Copenhagen, Zurich, Frankfurt, Vancouver, Portland, and San Francisco.

“What these cities have in common include prioritizing walking, biking, and public transit as the main modes of transport,” Palafox said.

Palafox said Portland, for example, has allocated 250 miles of bike lanes and made them part of the road design while Freiburg in Germany “has even managed to do away with cars, relying mostly on walking and tram lines.”

“Only two percent of Filipinos own cars, yet the policy of the government is still more in favor of automobile….All this big infastructures [of the government] who are the beneficiaries? Car owners, those who sufferer? The pedestrians,” Palafox said.

“If we only make sidewalks better lighted, and more convenient and safer, even if it is 400 meters away from the MRT station, I think people will walk. We should have pedestrian and bicycle bridge near waterways,” Palafox added.

Vertical urbanism Palafox also suggested to the government to promote “vertical urbanism” such the construction of high-rise, high-density infrastructures and buildings that are usually interconnected through elevated walkways.

“Today, Singapore has an increasing number of buildings with sky bridges. These are not just architectural statements and open spaces, but act as important emergency links when a building is on fire by moving from one building to another,” Palafox said.

Citing another example, Palafox said Hong Kong kept 70 percent of its open spaces by making “high-density, high-rise” developments.

“Compact developments use less land. It is found out that people who live in compact cities also live longer because they are less likely to rely on cars as a means of getting around,” Palafox said.

Decongesting Metro Manila

Meanwhile, on the easing the traffic in Metro Manila, Palafox said it is time to start transferring key government offices, including the Malacañang to nearby urban cities in the provinces.

Palafox said the government must also start building more infrastructures in the provinces to encourage investors to do business.

“To address traffic congestion, there should be an emphasis on regional growth centers and regional integration,” Palafox said.

“It is in this manner that growth and development can reach other areas and thus encouraging new opportunities for locals of that region.With this, Metro Manila will no longer be treated as the only center of development,” he added. — VVP, GMA News

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