On June 12 this year, local celebrity Daphne Osena-Paez posted an aerial photo of Pasig City while on a plane. The photo quickly became viral, because of obvious reasons. The image showed a very condensed part of Manila, with little to no greenery in sight.
A lot of Paez’s fans were debating on the authenticity of the image. However, commenter Kimberly Bautista had put everyone in perspective when she responded:
That face palm moment that people kept on saying this is edited and not real, when in fact they experience heavy traffic on a daily basis, flood after a 20 minute rain and hour long lines when riding a public train. Kung yun nga tanggap na e, eto pa kayang picture na to. Take this as a wake up call rather than dispute it as a fake picture.
How YOU can help
Urban density is a term used to measure the number of people living in a specific urban area. Although the photo speaks of only Pasig City, you only need to look around to understand that the Metro Manila is brimming with too many people: you have hours-long traffic, flooding in some major thoroughfares during rainy season, power outages, and air quality getting poorer by the day.
Time will tell if Metro Manila will witness a dramatic reduction of its current population or the establishment and implementation of long-term sustainable solutions. However, as noted architect and urban planner Paulo Alcazaren pointed out, we, as residents, should also offer a counterpart list of solutions or take action aside from just ranting online or holding other people responsible.
Here are nine ways a homeowner could do to counter the effects of urban density:
1. Be mindful of your own trash, including noise and light.
We all know what to do when there’s clutter at home, but many Filipinos are not self-aware of the effects of the other types of “trash” they unknowingly create.
Noise pollution is becoming a huge problem in the city, for one. Inconsiderate drivers who do not have the sensibility (or mostly the patience) to wait for their turn in traffic honk like there’s no tomorrow especially in one-way residential streets and cul-de-sacs. Some neighbors feel the need to stage a loud karaoke session every day from sun up to sun down.
You can also add light pollution to the urban problem. The glaring lights can easily disturb homeowners who might be retiring for the night.
Although these acts may be seem to be harmless, it could induce, at the minimum, hearing loss, high blood pressure, stress, and sleep disturbance.
2. Change your mindset and the way you travel.
Julia Nebrija of Viva Manila, a citizen-led effort to revitalize Metro Manila livability, shared to a national paper:
In cities globally, people are tired of commuting in cars, as well as maintaining them… They are willing to pay more to live-in developments, which regard walkability, bikeability and local community as part of what it means to be ‘world-class.’
If you are paying thousands of pesos for a gym or fitness membership, have you considered skipping those short jeep/tricycle/pedicab rides from your daily commute in favor of walking or biking home? How about carpooling with friends? Reducing the number of vehicles we take in our daily commute together not only makes us physically healthy, but also reduces the carbon emission majority of the gas-fueled vehicles produce.
3. When looking for a home, be smart on choosing where to settle.
Master-planned communities are created to provide its residents greater access not just only to basic necessities, but to things that makes living life worth your while. Therefore it makes sense to consider whether the residential development you are eyeing to settle in accommodates your lifestyle aside from the seemingly cheap monthly amortization payments.
4. Create an economical and sustainable home.
The personal choices we make in our daily lives actually affects affect our communities, our cities, our countries, and the entire planet. Unnecessary use of electricity for example (e.g. phantom current on unplugged devices) could mean power outages in other neighborhoods. As such, it makes total sense to make sustainable lifestyle changes at home.
For example, washed, empty soda bottles can also be turned into water jugs. You can get more sustainable improvements you can do at home here.
However, if you are still on the hunt for a home, you can make the conscious decision of living in an eco-friendly home like these green condos for sale.
5. Keep your bakuran (yard) bright and beautiful.
Although it is only an aesthetic issue, visual pollution courtesy of open trash storage, unsightly signs or dilapidated external fixtures (e.g walls, posts) create distraction and eye fatigue. It can, in effect, make your neighborhood lose its sense of identity and create a sense of danger, elements that doesn’t make your home a great place to live in.
For homeowners who have invested in properties for sale or rent, visual pollution also has a negative effect on market prices, and could create instances wherein the house and lot, condo unit or townhouse might not attract sales offers.
6. Retrofit your home from flood and natural disaster risk.
To quote a government agency senior official, you can only mitigate the impact of nature’s wrath. Homeowners in Metro Manila are encouraged to retrofit their homes before the next big catastrophe. Not only you protect your families and your homes, you also reduce the possibility of your debris endangering other people when an earthquake comes.
7. Encourage forms of entertainment that boost mind growth and social bonding
Spending time outside your home by yourself and engaging with the people and the neighborhood promotes a sense of belonging, increases social awareness and influences you to step forward and own up to the responsibility of keeping your home in order.
8. Pay it forward (with kindness).
Acts of kindness do not require grand gestures. A simple good morning smile to the downstairs security of your condo building or giving up your seat for an elderly or disabled commuter can not only do wonders on your well-being, but can only inspire others to perform their own acts of kindness to others, truly making Manila a bit better.
9. Use your vote wisely. Champion those who have used your taxes wisely.
Are the public services in your barangay up or beyond expectations? Are the streets conducive to pedestrians and bikers? Are the streets clean of stray pets or vagrants, or those pesky announcements/subtle election materials? Is there flooding in your area? By asking these kind of questions, you would have a clear indication of whether your politicians have done good to the community and whether they deserve your vote in the next elections.
Philippine real estate is not just about building condos, townhouses or house and lots for sale. See how real estate improved urban Manila.
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