CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

PAGLINGAP: REDEVELOPMENT OF THE CABANATUAN URBAN PARK WITH THE INTEGRATION OF BIOPHILIC
ARCHITECTURE

1. Background of the Problem

Project Description

As cities continue to develop and sprawl to accommodate increasingly dense human populations, there is growing
concern about the degradation of urban green spaces. (Vallejo et al., 2009; Wu, 2010; Xu et al., 2018).

Public urban parks were designed to provide large open green spaces within cities, which can help mitigate the negative
effects of industrialization. Most developed countries have recently realized the significance of the multi-functional use
of public parks in the sustainable development of cities. Nonetheless, many public parks already exist in underdeveloped
nations but are underutilized or abandoned due to a lack of public awareness, poor upkeep, a lack of security and
suitable amenities, and a lack of sports and social activities. (Abdelhamid & Elfakharany, 2020).

According to Hermy and Cornelis (2000) and Khera et al. (2009), urban planners frequently design and include features
that benefit biodiversity and the environment, either intentionally or unintentionally. Urban parks are one such
prominent feature in urban areas. The collection of managed park amenities, such as trees, shrubs, and lawn cover, is
frequently associated with wildlife.

In Cabanatuan City, there are some known existing urban parks that can be accessed by the public. There is one called
the "Cabanatuan American Memorial", a memorial park located in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, in the Philippines. Although
the partial area of the memorial park is maintained, the public park for visitors is neglected. The structures in the park
have been partially destroyed and have not been restored. As a result of these major issues, the park is not visually
appealing.

The said park is divided into two separate areas, wherein the memorial park is located on the left side of the site and the
right side is occupied by the public park. The area where the shrine is located is well-maintained by the American Battle
Monuments Commission, but the adjacent public park wasn't, although it is part of the said memorial park.

In addition to that, the value of the park was not well-founded. The public, especially tourists, are not engaged to visit it
because of the lack of public amenities and features that the park can offer, such as recreational and sports facilities,
event halls, public restrooms, a landscape garden, shadings, and more.
2. Statement of The Problem

City parks provide access to recreational opportunities, increase property values, spur local economies, combat crime,
and protect cities from environmental impact. This study generally aims to determine the effectiveness of
redevelopment of the Cabanatuan Memorial Park with the integration of Biophilic Architecture. Specifically, this study
aims to answer the following questions:

1. What are the benefits of the relevance of the study in terms of:

A. Public

B. Environment

C. Government

D. Historical Significance

2. Does the redevelopment of the urban park will provide proper design solutions and solve the existing problems in the
park such as:

A. Absence of facilities and utilities

B. Landscaping and vegetation

C. Aesthetical features

3. How can Biophilic architecture achieve benefits of contact between people and nature within the modern built
environment integrating nature, internally and externally, into buildings, built infrastructure and across the urban space?

3. Definition of the Project

The project "PAGLINGAP: Redevelopment of the Cabanatuan Urban Park with the Integration of Biophilic
Architecture" is an urban park that is redeveloped and reimagined to cater to the needs of the public in terms of social
and recreational activities. The park will offer multi-functional amenities and facilities such as a function or event hall, an
accessible playground, sports facilities and courts, food parks, etc. The said project will feature the integration of
biophilic architecture as the design concept to be used to give the park not only a new lease on life, but it will also have a
direct impact on our health and well-being.

4. Goals and Objectives

The objective of this study is to come up with a feasible design solution for the existing problems in the park. It will also
improve the park’s property values, boost local economies, prevent crime, safeguard cities from environmental harm,
and promote the historical significance of the site to the public.

Furthermore, the research aims to address the following objectives:

1.4.1. To identify the benefits of the proposed redevelopment of the urban park for the public and to the environment

1.4.2. To solve the existing problems with the redevelopment of the urban park and provide proper design solutions and
concepts in planning

1.4.3. To make the park more beneficial to people and environment through the integration and application of biophilic
architecture
5. Scope and Limitation

The study focused on evaluating the results of the execution of PAGLINGAP; Redevelopment of the Cabanatuan City
Urban Park with the Integration of Biophilic Architecture opens a new opportunity to improve the Socio-Economic status
of the City and the Lifestyle of its residents. The proposed project is limited to the vicinity of Cabanatuan City. The
respondents profiles is limited to the city’s residents and tourists. The data gathering method to be utilized are surveys
and interviews. The accomplishment of interviews will be implemented through the utilization of phone audio recordings
and video recordings, using the interviewer guide, and the surveys would be implemented both personal and online
through printed questionnaires and google forms that contains the researcher’s questions.

6. Significance of the Study

The execution of the study entitled Paglingap; The redevelopment of the Cabanatuan Urban Park with the integration of
Biophilic Architecture will be instrumental to the following;

To the community of Cabanatuan City.

The result and findings of this study is beneficial to the community of Cabanatuan City as it would greatly elevate the
Socio-Economic status of the city, therefore providing greater quality of life for the community’s residents such as: better
job opportunities, greater income due to the increased tourism, healthier physical and mental health, and other
opportunities that could further improve the resident’s lifestyle.

To the administration and the regional authorities of the Philippines.

The redevelopment of the Cabanatuan American Memorial would pose as an opportunity for tourism growth, along with
improved tax revenue and personal income, increased standards of living, and more employment opportunities, thus,
providing an another pillar of strength to the Philippine Government. Especially to the National Economic and
Development Authority (NEDA) through improved economic state. Department of Tourism (DOT), through tourism
growth. The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Department of Education (DepED), and The
Commission on Higher Education (CHED), through the provision of new learning opportunities to the students owing to
obtaining a better cultural heritage, and other private sectors.

To the future researchers.

This research is prepared and developed to provide and serve as a reference to future studies that correlates with the
integration of the Biophilic Architecture.

References:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1110016819301905

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2022.958572/full

https://www.worldurbanparks.org/images/Documents/The-Roles-of-an-Urban-Parks-System.pdf

https://www.urbangrowth.london/blog/biophilic-design-what-is-it-and-why-is-it-important#:~:text=Biophilic
%20architecture%20also%20has%20significant,by%20opting%20for%20biophilic%20architecture.