Baguio sets development parameters to arrest urban decay

The city government of Baguio through the City Planning and Development Office listed 10 parameters on developable areas in the bid to arrest further urban decay.

Architect Donna Tabangin, City Planning and Development Coordinator, said these parameters will form part of the guidelines in the ongoing updating of the city’s land use plan and zoning.

Tabangin discussed the following parameters of developable areas during the first leg of Environmental Summit as follows: suitable slope; suitable geologic formation (limestone prone to sinkholes); not a forest area; not under fault lines (there are four fault lines in Baguio); not a road; not under protected area; not highly vulnerable to landslide; not ancestral claims; not proclamation lots; and, not heritage sites.

Mayor Benjamin Magalong announced during his inauguration speech as second-term chief executive on June 30 that his mission is to save the city from hurtling towards urban decay.

In his speech, the mayor called for a “change of mindset” to veer away from old destructive ways that have been compromising the environment and upsetting the city’s carrying capacity.

He said results of the 2019 urban carrying capacity study showed the city has breached its natural carrying capacity of its environment and that urban decay had manifested starting 20 years ago in terms of diminished standard allocation per person from 40 sqm to 20 square meters; solid and liquid waste collection issues; traffic and diminished open spaces among others.

“The challenge is not to just reverse urban decay but to root out the causes, implement immediate and strategic solutions and eventually put us on track toward the Better Baguio we long for,” he said.

He said they are exploring what would be its best strategy for population management vis-à-vis the plan to become a livable city which is the first step to putting back allowable densities in the different parts of the city.

The mayor repeatedly said city officials are currently auditing the city, its people and resources, in order to develop a viable and equitable solution through an updated land use and zoning code including the inculcation of advanced technology. – JMPS