Makati villages ready to present green urban designs
Posted on | January 15, 2013 |
MAKATI CITY, Jan. 15 (PIA) — The Green Urban Design Center (GUDC) of the local government will hold the third in a series of presentations of green urban designs prepared by barangays on January 16, 23, and 30 at the Sampiro Conference Room, 21st floor of Makati City Hall.
In a statement, Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin S. Binay said for each date, five barangays will be presenting their outputs after taking part in the third and fourth cycles of the six-day workshop held by GUDC for barangay officials and personnel in 2012.
“I laud the 29 barangays that actively participated in the GUDC workshop and have come up with innovative structural designs and urban landscapes that integrate green concepts, which are crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change and disasters on our people and communities,” he said.
The mayor also said the city government will soon award a P2-million prize to the barangay that will be adjudged with the best green design, to be used as initial funding in the project implementation.
The third cycle barangays are La Paz, Pinagkaisahan, Singkamas, San Isidro, Bangkal, Guadalupe Nuevo, Palanan, South Cembo, Tejeros and Kasilawan, while the fourth cycle barangays include Bel Air, Dasmariñas, Magallanes, Urdaneta, and San Lorenzo.
The barangays officials and personnel created their designs with the assistance of students of Graduate School of Architecture of the University of the Philippines, Mapua Graduate College of Architecture, city government architects, and private experts/consultants and architects.
Among the standards laid down in the design are: can be implemented within the time frame, defining the site well and defending its selection, defining the problem clearly and addressing it, and instilling pride among the residents.
The workshop course includes barangay governance, research, urban design, good governance, visualizing the barangay, managing and financing a green public space, disaster resilient urban design, marketing, public private partnership (added in the second cycle), as well as fieldwork. The designs include modification of existing structures or building new ones that incorporate green features (such as plants, trees, natural ventilation), income generation, budget projections, financial sourcing, and utilization of spaces.
Meanwhile, the first and second cycles that completed the workshops in 2011 were Comembo, East Rembo, Olympia, Pembo, Poblacion, Rizal, West Rembo and Valenzuela for the first; and Cembo, Pio del Pilar, San Antonio, Southside, Sta. Cruz and Pitogo for the second. These barangays already made their design presentations in June and October 2011, respectively.
The Green Urban Design Center, housed in the University of Makati, is the first institution in the country that spearheads and advocates building of green communities and upgrading the physical environment and infrastructures.
It was created by the city government in accordance with the Development Agenda for the 21st Century (Makati21) to make the city a livable and healthy environment. GUDC was launched on May 6, 2011 as part of the College of Governance and Public Policy of UMak. (ICRD/RJB/JCP-PIA NCR)