Urban planning pushed

MANILA, Philippines - The citizens, national government, local government units, municipalities, and private enterprises must fulfill their responsibilities and join forces in creating a city which is less vulnerable to disasters, an internationally recognized urban planner noted.

“A public-private partnership is needed,” Architect Felino “Jun” Palafox Jr., said at the joint meeting of the Rotary Club of Manila and the Rotary Club of Bagumbayan-Manila recently.

He said that the flooding of 2009 was mainly caused by poor urban planning, and that the 1976-1977 planning of Metro Manila, funded by the World Bank, was a “car oriented development with no walkable cities.”

The 1976-1977 plan for Metro Manila, the architect explained, allowed development but did not provide the necessary utilities. “It is like having a tub without a drain or a toilet without a flush,” he pointed out.

Palafox said that the topography of the Marikina, Pasig and Cainta acted as a basin towards Laguna Lake and with only the Manggahan Spillway to divert flood waters. With 21 rivers passing through the spillway, the water volume during Ondoy was so heavy that it was not able to accommodate the floodwaters, eventually spilling out of the low-lying areas, he added.

He also said that the Parañaque spillway, proposed during the 1976-1977 metroplan, Rep. was never built due to time and budget constraints. During the open-forum. Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez said that the plans of the proposed Parañaque spillway was kept in archives because of the amount involved. It would have lessened the burden of the Manggahan spillway had it been built, Palafox said.

Palafox pointed out that in order to create a flood-proof city, the metro should undertake extensive flood control measures, tree-planting, drainage, sewerage, spillways, dikes, water retention basins, and cisterns, which take into consideration the individual characteristics of each river basin.

He envisioned a well-planned Metro Manila, a 27-km river walk stretch from Manila to Laguna and a 250 kilometer Lakefront development. “We can interconnect our fragmented metropolis and develop a walkable community like in Rockwell or even Paseo del Rio in Cagayan de Oro. They are starting the Marikina development with investors coming in from Dubai,” he added.

He also encouraged the private sector to help in the urban plan implementation that the government should publicize flood maps, earthquake and tsunami maps for the public.