Baguio City decay worsening
Mayor Benjamin Magalong, according to Tabangin, has ordered the CPDO to initiate reforms, plans and activities and link all departments for a united action
BAGUIO CITY — The City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) warned urban decay is eating up the country’s Summer Capital and more should be done to address population growth vis-a-vis what remains of natural resources.
CPDO coordinator Donna Tabangin, an architect, said Baguio has long breached its carrying capacity.
With city’s environmental degradation, Tabangin said Baguio can no longer support its people.
“If business as usual and we just continue our ways, we will feel the effect of urban decay by 2043,” Tabangin said.
As of 2010, the city’s open spaces, watersheds and green covers have already been exhausted.
Baguio, noted Tabangin, is over the 200 per square meter open space per person; the urban road network of 40 square meters per person has been breached since 1988; the water supply of .15 cubic meters per person per day; the green cover of 80 square meters per person; and land for development of 110 square meters per person.
She said Baguio residents are lucky if they get water twice or thrice a week as service interruption are becoming more frequent.
The CPDO likewise noted decreasing spaces for comfortable living, which include housing areas and easements, due to the increase in population.
It is also the reason why the city is having a hard time solving traffic woes, water pollution and waste disposal problems.
If business as usual and we just continue our ways, we will feel the effect of urban decay by 2043.
CPDO’s observations are based on data gathered from the United Nations, World Health Organization and the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources.
To address the problem, Tabangin said creativeness and innovation are needed.
“Whatever city managers decide with the remaining land the city has will be crucial for the city’s future,” she said.
Tabangin said the city should consider building upwards instead of using up too much horizontal spaces.
She proposed the establishment of a “20-minute City,” a pedestrianfriendly Baguio where folks would rather rely on “body fat” rather than petrol to move around.
She also suggested an “incubator city” which encourages new enterprises to gear toward landscape management.
Mayor Benjamin Magalong, according to Tabangin, has ordered the CPDO to initiate reforms, plans and activities and link all departments for a united action.