AS cities evolve and advance in terms of technology, infrastructure and even design, it is essential to remember that to move forward, we must first look back at, and address, age-old concerns that plague our cities up until these days.
With towering buildings dotting the skyline, busy streets packed with cars weaving here and there, and powerful businesses as dominant occupants, it is easy to see a city as an imposing oasis of concrete, steel and chrome. Hence, it almost seems ridiculous to think that these imposing monoliths could easily be wiped out by something as seemingly primitive as Mother Nature. But time and time again, the ever-powerful force of Mother Nature has proven her superiority, pummeling and crumbling even the biggest cities with all her might.
Facing a crisis
Cities around the globe are slowly transforming into climate-resilient hubs with already existing infrastructure being altered and new structures being modified to serve as reinforcements against climate-induced calamities.
In 2010 the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (Undac) along with the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), cited El Salvador as the most high-risk country in the world. Having found 96 percent of its population living in danger zones, this finding resulted in a mass collaboration between both private and public sectors to direct their efforts to not only fortifying their infrastructures but also their ecosystems. In the UK, meanwhile, a 2011 report stated that infrastructures, moving forward, must be built with the changing climate in mind, and, therefore, must also be flexible enough for future modifications assuming that the climate will once again change.
Bangladesh, another developing country, has also taken a more serious role at being a climate-resilient city by addressing its coastal defenses. Spearheaded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank and the International Finance Corp., these improvements target Bangladesh’s relatively vulnerable coastal embankments, transportation, communication lines, steady water supply and sanitation facilities, among many others.
Fortifications on the home front
Of course, with a whopping 34,000-kilometer of coast in the Philippines, the threat of Accelerated Sea Level Rise (ASLR) could not be any graver, especially considering that our country has already felt the brunt of climate change through massive tragedies in the last decade alone.
Just this year, conglomerate giant San Miguel Corp. proposed a P338.8-billion public-private partnership (PPP) to construct a sea barrier and flood-control system that will run alongside a major expressway that spans National Capital Region to Bataan. A joint venture with New San Jose Builders, this PPP was submitted to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) just in February, with the aim of protecting the metropolis’ coastlines. This monumental undertaking comes at a time when climate change has continued to deter socioeconomic progress and has resulted in catastrophic damage to life and business.
Collaboration and strategic partnerships
On a smaller scale, we must keep in mind that creating a climate-resilient city lies not only in the hands of the big developers and governments, but also with every citizen. While the idea of green-living has become less of a hip concept and more of an imperative need that we must all recognize, more information regarding its large-scale impact must be spread.
While some Filipinos still see green-living as more of a fashionable lifestyle rather than a solution to living in this rapidly changing world, it is my sincere hope that we see more initiatives geared toward safeguarding our nation through strategic partnerships—partnerships targeted at creating infrastructures that will allow us to thrive and adapt to whatever climate change may bring us.
For us Filipinos, the image of cities succumbing to nature’s fury is not a stretch. Let us hope that as we continue to grow and develop, our cities become more tailored for our people’s needs and continue growing as a strong and resilient nation.
Image credits: Shutterstock, Reuters