PROPONENT’S NAME: AUSTRIA RAPHAEL E

SCHEDULE OF SUBMISSION: JUNE 30 2020

PROPONENT’S TITLE/ TITLE NUMBER: TWO
Proposal Title / Title #2 A PROPOSED NEW NORMAL PARK
RATIONALE:
Due to many incidents and changes that happened just this mid-year, people are
forced to live in a new normal way to survive. Thus, even the public spaces needed in a
community like parks had to have the “new normal” design approach to address the social and
economic need of the society.

Parks and protected public lands are proven to improve water quality, protect

groundwater, prevent flooding, improve the quality of the air we breathe, provide vegetative
buffers to development, produce habitat for wildlife, and provide a place for children and
families to connect with nature and recreate outdoors
PROBLEM STATEMENT:

Through time, as population increases, municipalities in the province are becoming

more and more saturated. In order to meet this growing demand in aspects such as economic,
social and tourism also without compromising the environmental and historical aspect of a city,
we must prioritize the development of what is constantly overlooked but fills the urban gaps with
life; creates the main success of an urban city: public spaces.

Rapid urbanization challenges our cities. Development issues exacerbate its negative
impacts; we hardly have dignified experiences as commuters, we see displacement in urban poor
communities, and over time, the movement towards a cement-ridden infrastructure has taken an
ecological toll on personal lives and general development progress. According to Veteran
environmental planner and architect Nathaniel “Dinky” von Einsiedel, ”The open green spaces
also become a strategy of sustaining our cities in the long run. There’s a World Health
Organization recommendation of 9 sqm of open spaces per person. Would you know where
we are faring right now, for Filipinos”, he adds “Based on the Green City Index research, we
have an average of 5 sqm open space per Filipino. But what to me is a more dramatic statistic is
when you consider Singapore, 47 percent of its land area is green space. Followed by Rio de
Janeiro at 29 percent. New York is at 14 percent, and Manila is at 0.03 percent. We’re so far
behind.”

The challenge is not just to design and develop parks in a community but more
importantly to be able to create a public space with the new normal design consideration. The
pandemic affected the people’s social and economic life in such a way that the livability of the
people is majorly affected. Despite the situation the goal is to create and design spaces that will
provide the needs of the people even during pandemic.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

MANILA TIMES: PARKS AND OPEN SPACES BY ARCHITECT FELINO A. PALAFOX

JR.

The author said that parks and open spaces are considered as the ‘lungs of the city.” These
draw people closer to nature, provide a healthy playground for children, a place to recharge for those
who are stressed from work, a venue to get fit through biking and jogging and an opportunity for
social interaction.

According to Chris Crawford, “a city with great parks, trails, and recreational amenities
attracts talented and educated people because it is viewed as a good place to live.” Such places are
lacking in the Philippines especially in Metro Manila. It is more often allocated for “profitable”
developments in the belief that parks and open spaces would just generate additional costs, a cost
penalty.”

Architect Palafox emphasizes that parks and open spaces increase the amenity value of their
immediate surroundings. A study by John Compton, author of The Proximity Principle, confirms
that proximity to parks and open spaces increases property values. The Central Park in New York
has 341 hectares of open space, surrounded by prime real estate.

Open spaces are also important for emergency preparedness. The open space at the ground
level must be able to accommodate the number of residents in the building, plus the fire trucks,
ambulances, and other emergency vehicles. There should be at least one square meter allotted per
person for evacuation. I have observed that some developments with tall buildings in Metro Manila
do not have enough open spaces for such emergencies. Many tall buildings want to reach the sky but
do not know how to meet the ground. Moreover, our building codes allow high-rises to only have
two meters of space between tall buildings. Without enough distance, these buildings will hit each
other during big earthquakes, which will cause greater damage to life and property.

ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY: FINDING GREEN SPACES IN OUR CITIES, FOR

OUR CITIZENS, SEPTEMBER 2019

In search for ideas, the Green Spaces Project of the Institute of Philippine Culture (IPC)
gathered urban planners, government officials, academics, and advocates at the "Creating Green
Spaces Workshop" held last September 5 at Arete. A study done by the Green Spaces Project
showed that people’s use of parks and open spaces are closely intertwined with the satisfaction of
their needs. Dr. Czarina Saloma of IPC explained that these include people’s need to belong and to
socialize; need for personal development; need for livelihood; and need for a safe, livable
environment. These, she explained, "are universal even as they reflect local, cultural, and historical
contexts."

Urban planner Julia Nebrija and Nathaniel von Einsiedel of the Alliance for Safe, Sustainable and
Resilient Environments citied how various cities around the country and abroad have found ways to
provide public spaces in places such as former avenues, landfills, and even under highway
overpasses and bridges. Parks also serve as links to our environment, culture, and customs. In some
cities, urban green spaces can serve as potential heritage sites, said Erik Akpedonu of the
Architectural Heritage of Metro Manila Project of the IPC. Parks can have historical and cultural
value built in them, such as the old plazas in Intramuros. On the other hand, some can be
transformed when heritage structures are translocated to a more modern park, such as in the case of
the Quezon House being moved to the Quezon Memorial Circle, he said.

Park maintenance and improvement is also an important discussion point. Arch. James Buño
of the University of the Philippines-Diliman shared how the university takes care of its green spaces,
in particular the Academic Oval, taking into account how the community uses the space and how it
fits in the urban ecosystem. Public space is what makes a city, Nebrija said, and the workshop hopes
to have provided advocates and decision makers information and ideas that can be useful for their
own contexts. Green spaces, after all, is crucial for city dwellers, said University President Fr. Jose
Ramon Villarin, SJ, "especially for the sake of the human spirit, for the sake of the quality of our
lives. "The challenge for us... is to be guardians of these spaces so they are not compromised,"
Villarin said. After the session at the Arete, the participants were given a tour of the UP Diliman
Academic Oval, to see firsthand one of Metro Manila’s major public green spaces.

CNN: METRO MANILA NEEDS MORE PUBLIC PARKS AND GREEN SPACES. BY
RAGENE ANDREA PALMA, AUGUST 2019

 Rapid urbanization challenges our cities. Development issues exacerbate its negative
impacts; we hardly have dignified experiences as commuters, we see displacement in urban poor
communities, and over time, the movement towards a cement-ridden infrastructure has taken an
ecological toll on personal lives and general development progress.

The author enumerates the reasons why we need parks and public spaces in our cities below
are the summarized reasons:

1. Greens and open spaces should really be part of our city spaces because of its many
health benefits.
2. The open green spaces also become a strategy of sustaining our cities in the long run.
There’s a World Health Organization recommendation of 9 sqm of open spaces per
person.
3. It has been a trend, lately. “For the government, it’s not considered a priority. This is
ironic to me, because the government requires private developers based on PD 957 and
BP 220 a minimum of 30 percent for roads and open spaces. But government itself does
not increase its supply of public parks and open spaces. The private sector is something
that can be encouraged, maybe supported.”
4. It’s not just about relaxation or passive recreation for many of us.
5. What more for improvement of these parks. Basic facilities are not given proper care.
6. It works. It does. But with the growing population, we will need more of such examples.
With growing populations come the demands of urbanization.
7. It’s also about creating an experience in the city. It’s not just money-out, like how some
localities rent out general sports arenas. We have to go beyond that. It takes a lot of
difference if a road has a lot of trees, and if you had a proper sidewalk to walk on. If you
can’t even have a proper sidewalk, where do we even plant the trees? Those small things
matter.
8. There could be smaller spaces turned into pocket parks.
9. This helps contribute to protection and safety for pedestrians, bikers, and better mobility,
integrating this with what’s presently car-centric. Many people — even in the
environmental planning profession — do not have a concept of road narrowing, or find it
too controversial.
RESEARCH STRATEGY:
Exploratory research studies also termed as formulative research studies

THE MAIN PURPOSE

- formulating a problem for more precise investigation of developing the working hypotheses from an
operational point of view. The major emphasis is on the discovery of ideas
and insights.

TYPES OF DATA TO BE COLLECTED:

Qualitative Approach
A qualitative approach is one in which the inquirer often
makes knowledge claims based primarily on constructivist
perspectives (i.e. the multiple meanings of individual
experiences, meanings socially and historically constructed,
with an intent of developing a theory or pattern) or
advocacy/participatory perspectives (i.e. political, issue-
oriented, collaborative or change oriented) or both.
•Questionnaire
(Formal and informal surveys)
•Observation (In-depth andDirect Observations)
•Interview (Key informant, Focus Group, Group interviews)
•Psychological Tests
•Library Technique
•Literature Search
•Direct Measurement
•Case Studies
 .

Evaluation Result: __________ Approved ___________ Disapproved

By:
The Title Review Board

Member 1 Member 2 Chair

Signature over Printed Signature over Printed Signature over Printed

Name/Date Name/Date Name/Date