THE coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the necessity to integrate various considerations in urban planning, and the urgency to accelerate and adapt cities to an emerging pandemic, according to a blog post published by the World Bank.
The May 14 blog titled “Building safer and more resilient cities in the Philippines,” pointed out that hotspots in one barangay increases the threat to the whole metropolitan area.
“This pandemic has highlighted the need for a more equitable management of our cities. Urban management is fundamental for efficient and effective service delivery, especially for ensuring that all citizens have equal access to quick and coordinated response efforts in times of crises and disasters,” said Madhu Raghunath, sector leader for sustainable development for the Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand Program at the World Bank and author of the blog.
“This pandemic and our experiences with the shutdown of megacities all over the globe compels us to revisit the basic tenets of urban planning and urban management. We must work collectively to make our cities more livable and designed around the health, safety, and well-being of all residents,” she added.
Raghunath noted a glaring disparity in level and quality of service delivery between informal mostly poor neighborhoods and wealthier areas.
Citing a 2017 World Bank report, she said close to 11 percent of Metro Manila’s population live in informal settlements.
She added while not all informal settlers are income poor, many are vulnerable to external shocks that can easily push them below the poverty line.
“Under (their) circumstances, how can social distancing be practiced? How can households afford basic services like water supply and sanitation to follow protective hygiene practices like handwashing? Or even afford a doctor visit? Local governments are best placed to step-up through increased coordination across jurisdictions and meet the promise of inclusive high-quality services for all but this requires proactive approach to urban management that spans beyond election cycles,” Raghunath said.
Meanwhile, Raghunath also pointed out public transportation came to a halt during the enhanced community quarantine and while this was done as part of social distancing measures, the lack of mobility options impacts vulnerable sections of society like the poor, elderly and disabled.
“Weak urban transport is hampering the economic productivity of the cities as people’s choice of mobility is very limited in Philippines. For example, the development of urban transport directly competes with the increase of private cars in Manila’s congested road network. With COVID-19, it is time to rethink urban mobility solutions,” she said.
Raghunath said over the short-term, the focus would be on demand management including social distancing measures, fleet sanitation, enforcement of safety protocols in informal modes of transport and management of public’s travel expectations.
“In the medium-term, there needs to be a focus on public transport reform including interjurisdictional coordination of public transit and better management of informal transport providers,” she said.
“This can be achieved by bringing in multi-modal solutions such as mass transit systems like Metro and Bus Rapid Transit and start thinking of non-motorized solutions like bicycles, e-vehicles alongside main corridors to offer diverse mobility solutions for people,” she added.
According to Raghunath, future city planning will also need to take into account access to health services during epidemics and integrate it with mobility solutions.
“We are advancing rapidly with digital solutions like internet of things or artificial intelligence for evidence-based planning. As part of its COVID economic recovery efforts, greater emphasis could be given to use of geospatial tools for planning and implementation of infrastructure,” Raghunath said.
“This (is) a fantastic opportunity for cities in the Philippines to interconnect with the rest of its peers and also use these solutions in proactive urban planning,” she added.
