Monday, October 12, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
What ‘Ondoy’ can teach us about urban planning
MANILA, Philippines – As Manila and the cities surrounding it slowly attempt to recover from the Ondoy catastrophe that struck last week, discussions and debates about accountability and blame have been (and still are) raging.
There are so many factors to consider: an extraordinary weather incident (we also consider the climate changes that have been happening); lack of civil-defense planning and vigilance; inadequate weather bulletins and alerts from Pagasa; poor waste management (if the creeks and rivers had not been clogged, would they have allowed a way for the released waters from the dams and the floodwaters to have somehow drain out faster?); environmental degradation (denuded watersheds); and wild and unregulated property development (why are communities allowed to grow near creeks, rivers and dams, anyway?).
Architect and urban planner Dan Lichauco, associate professor at the College of Architecture of University of Santo Tomas and managing partner of Archion Architects, points out that while urban planning is a factor in the disaster, the situation also needs to be evaluated against the fact that the weather incident that day was extreme.
“News reports said it was the worst storm in 40 years and that it was the equivalent of one month’s worth of rain falling within six hours,” he says. “The existing infrastructure that Manila has for water control and drainage just really could not deal with that much water.
“We should also remember that all of us are contributors to this disaster, from the plastic bags we throw into the sewers, to the trash in the streets, to the indiscriminate abuse of unsustainable resources and our reliance on a government that is not working, we all play a part in this disaster. The sewers and drain systems are like the veins in our body. If you feed it junk, it will give you a heart attack! There are only so many bypasses that can be performed.”
Public emotion
While Lichauco understands the current state of public emotion that is looking to pin the blame on something or someone, he hopes that, eventually, the process results in finding out how we can move forward.
“Let’s ask the right questions, get the answers, propose changes, and execute those changes,” he says.
“Parts of Manila were designed using American architect Daniel Burnham’s master plan that was created in the early 1900s,” Lichauco explains. “It was an aesthetic plan, but now we can see that engineering goes hand in hand with aesthetics. Also, Manila was razed by bombs after World War II and the reconstruction of the city did not follow any urban planning.
“Ultimately, the flooding problems and water-drainage problems of Manila is an engineering problem.”
Lichauco says urban planning standards are developed based on historical and existing data and are created to withstand destructive risks but within certain parameters.
“Forty years ago, the population and waste of Manila was vastly different from what it is now. The infrastructure that has been built since then and are in place now did not anticipate this kind of situation. The drain systems were designed based on a standard and average amount of rainfall. In recent years, all these averages were thrown out the window.
“Yes, better planning could have possibly mitigated the effects of this calamity, but then, it’s also possible you cannot completely stop a storm of this nature,” he says.
New thinking needed
He notes that urban planning standards will have to be changed in accordance with the new data provided by this situation. “In the same way that the great earthquake and fire of San Francisco in 1906 changed the standards of that city’s urban planning, Manila will have to reevaluate and revise its standards, too,” he says. “The risks have changed, in this case, we now experience super typhoons, so the solutions will now also have to be modified.
“New standards should take into consideration the advances in construction technology and new ideas introduced by the environmental movement.”
A leading proponent of green architecture in the country, Lichauco notes that possible solutions for water drainage could include nontraditional methods.
“Concrete does not allow water to pass through, so perhaps we can start using permeable materials to line the streets to allow water to leach through into the ground,” he says. “Also, flood-prone areas could incorporate the development of parks that will serve as draining fields. The parks can be used by the public whenever it is not needed as a retaining pond.
“Now we know for a fact that the city’s systems are unable to sustain something of this magnitude. The question now is, How and will we be able to upgrade these systems? We have to use this disaster as an opportunity to evaluate and change the necessary building and urban designs in the country.”
There are so many factors to consider: an extraordinary weather incident (we also consider the climate changes that have been happening); lack of civil-defense planning and vigilance; inadequate weather bulletins and alerts from Pagasa; poor waste management (if the creeks and rivers had not been clogged, would they have allowed a way for the released waters from the dams and the floodwaters to have somehow drain out faster?); environmental degradation (denuded watersheds); and wild and unregulated property development (why are communities allowed to grow near creeks, rivers and dams, anyway?).
Architect and urban planner Dan Lichauco, associate professor at the College of Architecture of University of Santo Tomas and managing partner of Archion Architects, points out that while urban planning is a factor in the disaster, the situation also needs to be evaluated against the fact that the weather incident that day was extreme.
“News reports said it was the worst storm in 40 years and that it was the equivalent of one month’s worth of rain falling within six hours,” he says. “The existing infrastructure that Manila has for water control and drainage just really could not deal with that much water.
“We should also remember that all of us are contributors to this disaster, from the plastic bags we throw into the sewers, to the trash in the streets, to the indiscriminate abuse of unsustainable resources and our reliance on a government that is not working, we all play a part in this disaster. The sewers and drain systems are like the veins in our body. If you feed it junk, it will give you a heart attack! There are only so many bypasses that can be performed.”
Public emotion
While Lichauco understands the current state of public emotion that is looking to pin the blame on something or someone, he hopes that, eventually, the process results in finding out how we can move forward.
“Let’s ask the right questions, get the answers, propose changes, and execute those changes,” he says.
“Parts of Manila were designed using American architect Daniel Burnham’s master plan that was created in the early 1900s,” Lichauco explains. “It was an aesthetic plan, but now we can see that engineering goes hand in hand with aesthetics. Also, Manila was razed by bombs after World War II and the reconstruction of the city did not follow any urban planning.
“Ultimately, the flooding problems and water-drainage problems of Manila is an engineering problem.”
Lichauco says urban planning standards are developed based on historical and existing data and are created to withstand destructive risks but within certain parameters.
“Forty years ago, the population and waste of Manila was vastly different from what it is now. The infrastructure that has been built since then and are in place now did not anticipate this kind of situation. The drain systems were designed based on a standard and average amount of rainfall. In recent years, all these averages were thrown out the window.
“Yes, better planning could have possibly mitigated the effects of this calamity, but then, it’s also possible you cannot completely stop a storm of this nature,” he says.
New thinking needed
He notes that urban planning standards will have to be changed in accordance with the new data provided by this situation. “In the same way that the great earthquake and fire of San Francisco in 1906 changed the standards of that city’s urban planning, Manila will have to reevaluate and revise its standards, too,” he says. “The risks have changed, in this case, we now experience super typhoons, so the solutions will now also have to be modified.
“New standards should take into consideration the advances in construction technology and new ideas introduced by the environmental movement.”
A leading proponent of green architecture in the country, Lichauco notes that possible solutions for water drainage could include nontraditional methods.
“Concrete does not allow water to pass through, so perhaps we can start using permeable materials to line the streets to allow water to leach through into the ground,” he says. “Also, flood-prone areas could incorporate the development of parks that will serve as draining fields. The parks can be used by the public whenever it is not needed as a retaining pond.
“Now we know for a fact that the city’s systems are unable to sustain something of this magnitude. The question now is, How and will we be able to upgrade these systems? We have to use this disaster as an opportunity to evaluate and change the necessary building and urban designs in the country.”
Monday, September 28, 2009
Manila…In The Center of Calamity and Devastation
The electricity was cut off in the afternoon of September 25, so we literally got disconnect from the outside world. We are situated in an executive village in Cainta and living in a peaceful place, no one really suspects that a major calamity have already been taking place. We were somehow enjoying the company of family members while sharing food trips with snacks and hot chocolates to beat the cold somehow. In the evening, still no electricity and of course internet connections, we just content ourselves with chattering and stories till late nights. We were listening to one of my sister’s radio, through her phone, since it is the last mobile phone that is still working, not knowing that someone might have been trying hard to get through us for help. So we manage to survive the night with the company of my brother’s in laws since its late for them to go home then and its raining heavily, not knowing that their own home were submerge in water. It quite surprised us to see that flooding reach around our vicinity and we were surrounded by flooded areas. All the streets that surround us were flooded, and we felt lucky that somehow the rain stops in the middle of the night and somehow the water level of the creek at the back of our house didn’t rise up enough to reach our kitchen floor (thank goodness). Still no power and no connections, our access to latest news are still limited, only to any happenings around and inside the village, flooded areas, the main gate having flood water up to neck level so that makes everyone isolated. We won’t be able to go to the market to buy food and stocks. Panic buyers going to stores to buy things. Even at the bakery, you need to fall in line just to have your serving of bread. People, rich and poor, you will really feel that they are equal during those times. They walk around, mingle and share news, go over to the flood and try to cross and looking for exit points around the village. The first time that village streets become a busy street, people walking around, on foot since most vehicles were useless because it won’t get them far since they will get into a flood from block to block. We even entertain ourselves catching small fishes that came from the overflowing creek. They were on the streets, big and small of them. So we somehow forgot the effect of Ondoy. (Ketsana is the international name). Reality hits us when the power resumes and the evening news were starting then. Only Ohs and Awwws were mostly heard among us all who were watching. We never imagined how devastating and overwhelming the effects are. Sighs. So I will summarize the news headlines here just to keep this post short:
'Ondoy' toll rises to more than 100 - reports abs-cbnNEWS.com as of 09/28/2009 8:18 AM
New storms may hit RP: PAGASA
ABS-CBN telethon raises over P20M for 'Ondoy' victims
Ondoy’s fury sparks Pinoy bayanihan spirit
How you can help
Ondoy situation map for Metro Manila
Only a heart of stone won't care or even cry...
'Ondoy' toll rises to more than 100 - reports abs-cbnNEWS.com as of 09/28/2009 8:18 AM
New storms may hit RP: PAGASA
ABS-CBN telethon raises over P20M for 'Ondoy' victims
Ondoy’s fury sparks Pinoy bayanihan spirit
How you can help
Ondoy situation map for Metro Manila
Only a heart of stone won't care or even cry...
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
25 Facts on Global Poverty
1. As of 2008, 79.8% of humanity lives on less than $10 per day. (5.15 billon people).
2. As of 2008, 48.6% of humanity lives on less than $2.50 per day. (3.14 billion people).
3. As of 2008, 40.2% of humanity lives on less than $2 per day. (2.60 billion people).
4. As of 2008, 21.7% of humanity lives on less than $1.25 per day (1.40 billion people)
5. As of 2008, 13.6% of humanity lives on less than $1 per day. (880 million people).
6. As of 2008, the world’s richest 20% consume 76.6% of private consumption.
7. As of 2008, the world’s richest 10% consume 59.9% of private consumption.
8. As of 2009, 25,000 children under 5 years old die each day due to poverty.
9. As of 2006, access to piped water into the household averages about 85% for the wealthiest 20% of the population, compared with 25% for the poorest 20%.
10. As of 2007, every year there are 350–500 million cases of malaria, with 1 million fatalities: Africa accounts for 90 percent of malarial deaths and African children account for over 80 percent of malaria victims worldwide.
11. As of 2007, 1.6 billion people — a quarter of humanity — live without electricity.
12. As of 2007, the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the 41 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (567 million people) is less than the wealth of the world’s 7 richest people combined.
13. As of 2009, the poverty line in the USA for a single individual is drawn at $10,830 per annum or $29.67 per day.
14. As of 2006, 10.6 million children die every year from causes that are easily preventable - equal to 29,000 children every day.
15. As of 2006, half of these deaths 29,000 daily deaths of children occur in just six countries – China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.
16. As of 2006, 2 million children die every year from pneumonia and other acute respiratory infections, making it the leading cause of death of children under five years of age.
17. As of 2006, 1.6 million children die every year from Diarrhoeal disease, primarily from the resulting severe dehydration that can quickly result in the failure of vital organs in young children.
18. As of 2006, 1.1 million children die every year in Africa from malaria, making it the largest cause of death for children under five in Africa.
19. As of 2006, 657,000 children under the age of 15 are infected with HIV every day, most through transmission of the virus from mother to baby during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding.
20. As of 2006, 500,000 children die every year from measles.
21. As of 2008, on the whole, people are healthier, wealthier, and live longer today than 30 years ago. If children were still dying at 1978 rates, there would have been 16.2 million dealths of children globally in 2006. In fact there were only 9.5 million such deaths. This difference of 6.7 million deaths is equivalent to 18,329 children’s lives being saved every day.
22. As of 2007, each year, more than 500,000 women die from treatable or preventable complications of pregnancy and childbirth.
23. As of 2007, in sub-Saharan Africa, a woman’s risk of dying from complications from childbirth over the course of her lifetime is 1 in 16, compared to 1 in 3,800 in the developed world.
24. As of 2005, an estimated 15.2 million children had lost one or both parents to AIDS.
25. In 2008, net disbursements of official development assistance (ODA) reached $119.8 billion. That is equivalent to 0.3 per cent of developed countries’ combined national income.
Taken from
Ryan Allis's Blog, Thanks for the wonderful facts.
2. As of 2008, 48.6% of humanity lives on less than $2.50 per day. (3.14 billion people).
3. As of 2008, 40.2% of humanity lives on less than $2 per day. (2.60 billion people).
4. As of 2008, 21.7% of humanity lives on less than $1.25 per day (1.40 billion people)
5. As of 2008, 13.6% of humanity lives on less than $1 per day. (880 million people).
6. As of 2008, the world’s richest 20% consume 76.6% of private consumption.
7. As of 2008, the world’s richest 10% consume 59.9% of private consumption.
8. As of 2009, 25,000 children under 5 years old die each day due to poverty.
9. As of 2006, access to piped water into the household averages about 85% for the wealthiest 20% of the population, compared with 25% for the poorest 20%.
10. As of 2007, every year there are 350–500 million cases of malaria, with 1 million fatalities: Africa accounts for 90 percent of malarial deaths and African children account for over 80 percent of malaria victims worldwide.
11. As of 2007, 1.6 billion people — a quarter of humanity — live without electricity.
12. As of 2007, the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the 41 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (567 million people) is less than the wealth of the world’s 7 richest people combined.
13. As of 2009, the poverty line in the USA for a single individual is drawn at $10,830 per annum or $29.67 per day.
14. As of 2006, 10.6 million children die every year from causes that are easily preventable - equal to 29,000 children every day.
15. As of 2006, half of these deaths 29,000 daily deaths of children occur in just six countries – China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.
16. As of 2006, 2 million children die every year from pneumonia and other acute respiratory infections, making it the leading cause of death of children under five years of age.
17. As of 2006, 1.6 million children die every year from Diarrhoeal disease, primarily from the resulting severe dehydration that can quickly result in the failure of vital organs in young children.
18. As of 2006, 1.1 million children die every year in Africa from malaria, making it the largest cause of death for children under five in Africa.
19. As of 2006, 657,000 children under the age of 15 are infected with HIV every day, most through transmission of the virus from mother to baby during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding.
20. As of 2006, 500,000 children die every year from measles.
21. As of 2008, on the whole, people are healthier, wealthier, and live longer today than 30 years ago. If children were still dying at 1978 rates, there would have been 16.2 million dealths of children globally in 2006. In fact there were only 9.5 million such deaths. This difference of 6.7 million deaths is equivalent to 18,329 children’s lives being saved every day.
22. As of 2007, each year, more than 500,000 women die from treatable or preventable complications of pregnancy and childbirth.
23. As of 2007, in sub-Saharan Africa, a woman’s risk of dying from complications from childbirth over the course of her lifetime is 1 in 16, compared to 1 in 3,800 in the developed world.
24. As of 2005, an estimated 15.2 million children had lost one or both parents to AIDS.
25. In 2008, net disbursements of official development assistance (ODA) reached $119.8 billion. That is equivalent to 0.3 per cent of developed countries’ combined national income.
Taken from
Ryan Allis's Blog, Thanks for the wonderful facts.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
One-third of world's poor is Indian
Taken from: 4to40.com
In spite of all the hype of the great growth story post-liberalisation period, about one-third of the all the poor people in the world lives in India. It means the fruit of economic benefits failed to trickle down to the poor, as India possesses a very high proportion of its population living on less than US$ 2 per day.
It has higher percentage of poor living on this money than even sub-Saharan Africa. As against India's 828 million people, or 75.6 percent of the population living below US $2 a day, the Sub-Saharan Africa region, which considered the world's poorest region is better with 72.2 percent of its population, i.e. about 551 million people below the US$ 2 a day level.
This revelation comes out of the World Bank's latest estimates on global poverty. According to the report, India has 456 million people or about 42 per cent of the population living below the new international poverty line of US $1.25 per day. The number of Indian poor also constitutes 33 per cent of the global poor.
It is ironical to state that the rate of decline of poverty in India was faster between 1981 and 1990 than between 1990 and 2005. Between 1990 and 2005, it declined to 41.6 percent, a drop of 9.7 percentage points over 15 years, clearly a much slower rate of decline. It means post-liberalisation, India has failed to arrest the growth of poverty. Not only it will give leaders, policy makers and economic think tanks a sleepless night, but it will also make them think of the future strategy on poverty reduction.
Though the full report is yet to be released, a briefing note sent by the World Bank shows that the poverty rate, i.e. those below US$ 1.25 per day for India has come down from 59.8 percent in 1981 to 51.3 percent by 1990 or 8.5 percentage points over nine years.
In February this year, the World Development Report of the World Bank revealed that greater investment in agriculture in transforming economies like India is vital to the welfare of rural poor. Titled 'Agriculture for Development', the report warns that the international goal of halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 will not be reached unless neglect and underinvestment in the agricultural and rural sectors over the past 20 years is reversed. Over the years, agriculture in India has seen decline in investment, which is a matter of concern In India, it is to be noted, the current World Bank commitments in agriculture, irrigation and rural livelihoods amount to US $2.6 billion.
Writing in the Good Earth, the famous author, Pearl S Buck said that while she had seen enough poverty in China, but she saw even greater, grinding poverty in India, which was more painful. Continuing poverty is not only a great challenge for us, but also a worry that we have not done enough to reduce it in 61 years of existence.
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