Cebu should choose ‘smart growth’ not ‘sprawl’

Instead of a city “for cars”, which incresases pollution and time spent on the road, why not aim for a compact, well designed Metro Cebu that favors pedestrian safety and fosters a sense of “community” with open spaces and room to grow?

This approach was discussed in depth yesterday by Senen Antonio, a US-based Filipino architect in a forum that explored the future of Metro Cebu.

He said developing “smart growth” cities was the direction to take in order to avoid “suburban sprawl”, where problems of traffic congestion, crime, poor health and lack of recreation space would have Metro Cebu looking like Metro Manila.

Antonio and sociology professor Dr. AbdouMaliq Simone were speakers in the “Sustainable City Dialogues 2012 ” mounted by business, civic and professional groups seeking a road map for a “Mega Cebu” that integrates development from Danao city in the north to Carcar City in the south.

Antonio, who holds a master’s degree in urban design from the University of Hong Kong, is a partner and director of business development in Duany Plater-Zyberk and Company.

Antonio said Cebu should adopt a “mixed use” plan instead of the traditional “land use based planning”, where buildings are clustered in zones and “any space left over” is considered “open space”.

“It is important that our basic, daily needs should be within walking distance,” Antonio said during his presentation in the CAP Theater.

He showed examples of large cities in the United States where Tradtional Neighborhood Development or TND can blend needs of urban dwellers with pedestrian-friendly , community lifestyles .which balance retail, residential and civic offerings.

The forum “Creating Future Cities: People and Place Making” was part of a five-day series of forums and consultations.

Roberto Aboitiz,, president of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc., and a leader in the Mega Cebu board, opened the forum, saying “Success is no accident. It is a planned journey.” Aboitiz said a piecemeal approach to addressing urban problems was not the way forward.

Antonio lamented that many parts of urban Philippines still follow suburban sprawl where “It’s all about the cars, with no regard for pedestrians.”

In Powerpoint slides, he showed examples of highways including a cloverleaf Magallanes Exchange in Metro Manila where most road space is occupied by vehicles , and more attention is given to parking lots than space for non-car users.

This does not create a cohesive community, he said, since people would spend more time in their vehicles stuck in traffic rather than doing more productive activities.

Antonio resommended using the TND approach or the smart growth community, which favors more public and open spaces which are well defined with community, events and celebration.

“In Cebu, we have that little piece of green,” Antonio said, referring to open spaces and parks as “leftovers” for development.

“There are trickles of green in the plan that don’t mean anything,” Antonio said of Cebu City’s parks.

The audience was a mix of students, planners, architects and engineers, urban poor organizations, and government officials.

Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama attended along with former Cebu City Rep. Raul del Mar, who are on oppositte sides of the debate on whether more flyovers should rise.

Sought later for comment, Mayor Rama said the city government will design the 300-hectare South Road Properites (SRP) as a smart growth community and continue to restore heritage sites and old buildings.

“In the future, that’s what we want to pursue,” Rama said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Simone of the University of London, talked about the dynamics of a city where “deception is at the heart of urban life.”

In what looks like a “messy environment”, a diversity of people get things done, often in an indirect manner because most the inhabitants don’t own their space or have resources that are controlled by an elite, he said.

Looking closer, he said, one will find many “accidental gifts” and people willing to take risks or try different things just to survive or have a better life.

Simone said cities should be “inclusive” and value collaboration in deciding and impelmenting pland and policies.

He cited the importance of building relationships within the community, and harnessing that potential instead of focusing on just building infrastructure. Reporter Candeze Mongaya and Eileen Mangubat