Rural areas is known for being the food basket of any region here in the Philippines. But aside from this, it is also appreciated for its aesthetic value. This is the world apart from the daily grind and congested neighborhoods of the built-up towns and cities. The rural areas are where we escape to for vacations, a respite from the fast paced culture of the urban zones.
Rural areas mean more nature, farmlands, dirt-roads that hug the terrain, open space, local culture, vernacular architecture, and "bayanihan" or our local concept of being good neighbors. Today when one travels out of town, what used to be old farmlands that opens up to vistas of rivers, hills and mountains, is filled in with subdivisions if not lines of stores hugging all of the roadside. This is the urbanization or at the least, the suburbanization of our rural areas.
While development is inevitable as a necessity, mere transplanting of an urban or suburban "pod" of a village or house and lot in a rural setting does not necessarily mean real development other than for show.
We need to create a relevant pattern for development and design for rural communities that preserves the values we have come to appreciate from those rural areas in the first place. We need to look for "local solutions for global issues" in the rural setting. We do not just copy from what has worked in an urban setting. After all urban and rural are two totally different things, not just in spelling.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Aftermath of A Storm
What an opportune time to begin this blog. Just five days ago, Ondoy (a tropical depression or storm), dumped heavy rains over Central Luzon to a record high surpassing the highest rate recorded by the weather bureau more than 40 years ago.
Floods coupled with strong water currents inundated most of Metro Manila and surrounding provinces. Lakes, rivers and other waterways overflowed washing out houses and buildings, and even entire communities around these water bodies.
A lot of speculation has already been made as to why this recent calamity happened. People talk of climate change, an unusual volume of rain water, water released from dams, clogged or constrained waterways and drainage, improperly developed and inappropriately sited communities.
I believe there is no single cause to which this calamity can be blamed. We have gone through this calamity and the exercise of preventing or solving this before. Instead of an eye opener, I would call this a stern reminder to all of us.
We need to be more sensitive to our natural & built environment. We have not done enough. We must exert more effort to understand, preserve and if possible, enhance role that our natural environment plays in the larger scheme of our built environment. Nature deserves more respect and attention than what we have been giving it until recently.
We need to re-examine our approach to planning & designing of communities. To not only look forward at the potential of a site for maximum use and economic gain, but to look at a site as an investment to an environment that can be safe and sustainably liveable.
Floods coupled with strong water currents inundated most of Metro Manila and surrounding provinces. Lakes, rivers and other waterways overflowed washing out houses and buildings, and even entire communities around these water bodies.
A lot of speculation has already been made as to why this recent calamity happened. People talk of climate change, an unusual volume of rain water, water released from dams, clogged or constrained waterways and drainage, improperly developed and inappropriately sited communities.
I believe there is no single cause to which this calamity can be blamed. We have gone through this calamity and the exercise of preventing or solving this before. Instead of an eye opener, I would call this a stern reminder to all of us.
We need to be more sensitive to our natural & built environment. We have not done enough. We must exert more effort to understand, preserve and if possible, enhance role that our natural environment plays in the larger scheme of our built environment. Nature deserves more respect and attention than what we have been giving it until recently.
We need to re-examine our approach to planning & designing of communities. To not only look forward at the potential of a site for maximum use and economic gain, but to look at a site as an investment to an environment that can be safe and sustainably liveable.
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