Renowned architect and urban planner Felino Palafox Jr. believes that now is the best time to pursue sustainable development measures to develop a better tomorrow for Filipinos.
As the pandemic rages on, Palafox urged the government to put up pedestrian facilities, bike lanes, pedestrian walkways, bicycle bridges across waterways like Pasig, San Juan and Marikina Rivers, elevated walkways/bike lanes in congested roads like the whole length of Edsa, narrow streets in Metro Manila without sidewalks, waterfront promenades, and pursue tree planting along sidewalks and waterways to generate employment during this crisis.
The University of Santo Tomas alumnus said he is passionate about these causes because they are part of his numerous advocacies.
“My advocacies include the protection and enhancement of the environment, promotion of green architecture, green urbanism, architecture for the poor, anti-corruption, and other advocacies for a better Philippines,” Palafox told the BusinessMirror in an online interview.
People who know him would agree that Palafox practices architectural activism, philanthropic architecture, patriotic architecture, democratic architecture and architecture of faith.
Palafox also walks the talk in his advocacies.
He believes that the greater the number of people who are well briefed, the wider the cascade effect. “At Palafox Associates/Palafox Architecture group we put forward many planning, architecture and design recommendations during this pandemic, to help transform our cities, communities, our homes, our offices, buildings, and spaces well into the new world order. We donated our architectural design converting basketball courts into Ligtas Covid centers,” Palafox explained.
The Palafox Associates and Palafox Architecture Group have been advocating and proposing that street designs and road cross-sections should have one-third allocation for pedestrians and bicycle lanes, one-third for trees and landscaping, and one-third for vehicles.
For Palafox, the role of an architect/urban planner is to plan and design environment-friendly buildings, communities and cities that are sustainable, resilient, livable, walkable, bikeable, safe, clean, inclusive, intergenerational, mixed-income, and integrating places to live, work, shop, dine, learn, worship, with health-care facilities and wellness centers, with some 24-hour activity centers. Moreover, an architect must integrate harmoniously the natural environment in land use, zoning, transportation, tourism, utilities and services, among others.
“In these challenging times, architects and planners have the opportunity to improve our environment, correct the mistakes we see in our urban development and conditions, address not just this pandemic that will reshape our cities, communities, buildings and spaces, address climate change, and other hazards before they become disasters like earthquakes, flooding, landslides and volcanic eruptions,” he said.
As far as the roads in urban areas are concerned, Palafox said pedestrians should be given more space, followed by bicycles and public transport and private cars.
To give Metro Manila more oxygen and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, Palafox urged government, particularly local government units, to build more parks and open spaces. To do this, he proposed the construction of elevated walkways in the central business districts of the metropolis, and along major thoroughfares to minimize traffic congestion.
He said the country needs to develop alternative roads because vehicle travel time along EDSA has gone down to a snail’s pace of only 11 kilometers per hour, whereas its standard design is for a speed of 60 kilometers per hour.
“Urban mobility should prioritize walking, biking and all kinds of public transport. The automobile, the most inefficient mode, should be the last priority, whereas high-occupancy modes of transport must be the top priority. An indicator of a First World or progressive country is when leaders in government and business, as well as the more affluent members of society, walk or take their bikes or use public transportation to reach their destination,” he said.
However, he said the country is slow in adopting urban planning global best practices and recommendations.
Palafox said the country does not have a choice but to bite the bullet now to save and protect the future.
“Now is the time to correct past mistakes, make our cities and communities more liveable, and protect and enhance the environment,” he said.