AS WE trek to development, the urban city of Davao continues to rise in economy as manifested by the change of the architectural and infrastructural landscape that we have.
Concepts on how the city can be redesigned even with its existing urban sprawl were presented in the third public consultation of the Metro Davao Urban Development Plan in July 2018, by the Palafox Associates.
“We are making sure that when we try to develop the city, we also consider the environment as a big part of the plan,” Palafox communications manager Mikey Ramos said.
Palafox Associates is the multi-disciplinary architecture and design company of Archt. Felino Palafox Jr., who is among the most vocal and staunch advocate of urban master planning. The company is into architecture, master planning, and/or urban design of islands, provinces, cities, municipalities and towns, retail and entertainment centers, golf course communities, commercial, office, institutional, industrial, residential, and tourism estates and mixed-use development projects of high-, medium-, and low-rise buildings.
Ramos said that after the recent public consultations they had with local government units (LGUs), and national development vision, they crafted a mindmap that will represent their plans for Metro Davao.
They anchored their proposals on a greener sustainable Metropolitan Vision Mindmap for Davao City with the tagline, “Build, Better, Berde!”
The Mindmap aims to build efficient mass transportation, better gateways for economic development, and greener sustainable communities through waste management and renewable energy.
The project also considers making sure that the plans will be accepted by Dabawenyos. Safety and convenience are among the main factors considered.
Meanwhile, among the plans presented in the event is the Davao Gulf Bridge which will connect Davao to Samal Island, which features the geometric patterns of a Maranao panolong.
Even the night market at Roxas Avenue gets a spruce up with the Roxas Park and Sky Garden where an elevated sky garden is proposed to house the food stalls at night and provide more green space downtown. Top on the requirements here is a city waste management program.
A cruise port for international cruise ships and other sea transporting vessels is also envisioned to be built in the neighboring areas.
Common to all the projects is making sure that they won’t compromise the environment. Ramos said that in taking a leap forward into progress, Dabawenyos must not lose track of their responsibility to protect the environment.