MANILA, Philippines — What makes a perfect city?

Participants of the Social Good Summit (SGS) came together on Saturday, October 19, to imagine and conceptualize their ideal, climate-resilient neighborhood.

Attendees made sure to put community needs, including more green, communal spaces, at the core of their dream cities, especially amid the harmful effects of climate change — putting their heads together, and piecing together a plan on illustration boards.

The SGS breakout session was organized by Project Agos partners in the government, and Make Manila Liveable, a collaboration of journalists and communities aiming to improve quality of life in Philippine cities.

Some groups placed emphasis on building infrastructure and creating legislation that facilitate community synergy — not just for recreational activities, but also for environmental concerns like sanitation, waste management, among others.

The task was done after a panel discussion on building climate-resilient cities wherein policymakers and frontliners in national and local government, along with experts on disaster response and climate adaptation, discussed how Philippine cities can be better equipped for the climate crisis.

Elijah Go Tian, co-founder of Placemaking Pilipinas, said that the voice of the community must be taken into account before government officials carry out any new initiative. The people, after all, are the end users of these projects.

“That’s what placemaking does — it’s putting the community as the experts of the place, not just someone to consult with,” he said.

Unfortunately, there are cases when locals are the last to hear about developments happening within their vicinity.

Tian recalled how members of communities were often left surprised whenever they were told during placemaking events that new projects or infrastructure would be built in their area.

Placemaking, according to Project for Public Spaces, is a community-based approach to reimagining and reinventing public spaces.

“They are usually not being heard, especially when we have these big projects from the national or the local level,” he said. “We need their voice in all of this since at the end of the day, they are the end user, so the buy-in must come from them at the start.”

Planning for climate change

Understanding the community also comes in handy when planning for climate change adaptation, since every city has different problems that need to be addressed. 

Dr. Mahar Lagmay, executive director of the University of the Philippines Research Institute, encouraged government officials to create holistic development plans for their community based on research done within their vicinity.

“When we plan all of these climate change scenarios across all sectors, you are able to incorporate into their plans good science-based and risk-informed projects, programs, and activities that translate into actual projects that are funded by the local government and maybe the national government as well, that are climate resilient,” he said.

These programs, however, need to have continuity across administrations, said Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Deputy Administrator Raffy Alejandro. This proves to be a challenge when local leaders are newly-elected every three years.

“There’s a risk of having these plans change again,” he said. “That’s why we are investing or asking LGUs to institutionalize their local disaster risk management office.”

Quezon City is one of the few cities who have their own local disaster risk management office. According to Alberto Kimpo, Assistant City Administrator for Operations for the Quezon City Government, the office ensures that the city is consistent with their climate change adaptation and mitigation objectives.

“What it is that the previous administration has started may be discontinued by the next. But if they are indeed institutionalized, then I would like to think that more and more, the staffers and officials of our local government, [will] begin to be professionalized,” he said. – Rappler.com