By Danilo P. Padua, PhD
The Jan 21, 2024 issue of this paper carried an article on averting urban decay of Baguio city by 2043.
I have always been an excited and interested reader of articles on history including decaying of ancient cities. So, I naturally paid attention to the aforementioned article.
Well, I have visited a lot of cities in Western Europe in my various times of travel over there. Some were already there in the first century A.D. I saw and actually walked inside some buildings built in 1100A.D. yet. Definitely I enjoyed the overall conditions of such old cities. They were not talking of decaying urban centers. After thousands of years they are still standing. That means, they knew how to take care of their cities.
How about us?
The article cited above talks about a 5-year old National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) study in 2019 that Baguio city is already moving towards urban decay. It did not categorically state though that the city used that study to craft a relevant plan to address the concerns and issues raised in the study. It hinted however that Baguio city has, at the moment, a new vision to prevent the city’s decay 20 years from now.
In simple terms, it appears that the city’s reaction towards the above study is about 5 years late. Note that somewhere in the article, Arch. Donna Tabangin, the head of the city planning, development and sustainability office(CPDSO), admitted that they are still developing measurement of indicators they set for the city’s new vision. At any rate, for CPDSO to come up with its plan, even with its possible shortcomings, is worth appreciating.
My neighbor said, “better late than never, remember ?”. Oh, yeah?
NEDA described urban decay as a sociological process where a previously functioning city collapses toward disrepair and decrepitude through irresponsible urbanization and industrialization, and is a result of breaching the city’s carrying capacity.
I haven’t seen a full study on the carrying capacity of Baguio. Maybe the important study is underway.
We know that the renowned American, Daniel Burnham (he is the same guy who designed the future Tabuk city), designed the city for only 25,000-30,000 population. If the population is only such number then Baguio is a highly livable city. But fact is, its population as of Jan, 2024, is placed at 399, 547. It is far too big for its 57.51sq.km. area. The land area of La Trinidad (more than 70 sq.km.) is even bigger than Baguio’s.
This is why, most of the mountainsides in the city are now forested with houses resulting to lesser fresh air and water for everyone.
It goes without saying that when a city like Baguio far, far exceeds the population it was expected to harbor, then it becomes less and less livable. Is it already decaying before it even reached a satisfactory level of economic development?
In a media interview a couple of weeks back, Mayor Benjie Magalong found out from a national agency that Baguio is sinking 2mm/year due to the unrestricted harvest of water through pumping from the city’s aquifer, underscoring the reality that the city’s overcrowded population is already over its carrying capacity.
The CPDSO is not even mentioning the ballooned and continuing burgeoning of the city’s population. The city is now host to countless houses of people who are not permanent residents of the city. Many of such houses are precariously hanging on the hillsides. This has to be considered in its plan to avert urban decay.
This kind of planning should not be confined to CPDSO alone. It must be comprehensive, and all inclusive. The economic side is just one aspect. Maybe a temporary moratorium for building vacation houses, and houses of well-to-do businessmen and vegetable growers who are not Baguio residents might be wise to study. It might be counterproductive, but regulations for migration into the city must be looked into more deeply.
I hope that rain harvesting is an important integral plan of the CPDSO. This is one measure that could help prevent the irreparable sinking of Baguio city.
It maybe late in the day, vis-à-vis the mentioned NEDA study, but making sound plans to protect lives and properties is still commendable.
La Trinidad, Benguet is experiencing the same. There are so many people at the valley floor and too much houses on the hillsides of the valley. The town prides itself as a valley of colors, but it could become a fleeting valley of stars when disasters strike, and the town is unprepared for such eventuality.
By the way, people, especially at the Pines Park area in the municipality are elated that their bridge is already nearing completion. For sometime now, pedestrians are now using the bridge although it is still to be completed.
My neighbor told me to go walk in the Pines Park Streets. I am not a resident of the place so I asked why but he just insisted for me to go there as I might see something interest. Curious, I crossed the still unfinished bridge. I saw that a business stall which is being built right almost after the bridge has roof with an overhang covering almost one meter of the newly concreted vehicular road. What?
Walking further the length of some roads, I saw that one lane was occupied as parking areas by residents, despite several NO PARKING(Barangay Ordinance # 02) signs prominently displayed along the length of the road. There are even flower pots and tires on the lane. Only in the Philippines? Or in La Trinidad? I have actually seen the same in at least two streets in other parts of La Trinidad.
Unattended, those observed things will contribute to urban decay. Something must be done, pronto.**
