DUE to the increasing number of population, Davao City planners are eyeing to encourage more high-rise projects in order to reserve land for agriculture and forests.
City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) head Ivan Cortez said this is among the measures that they are drafting to address the densification, or the increasing density of people living in urban areas, of Davao City as more people migrate from rural areas.
"In urban planning per se, we are already moving towards having policies that will improve density patterns. Ibig sabihin, densification of the urban areas para wala kaayo stresses to the reserved areas for agriculture and forests," Cortez said.
"We now go high-rise, if it's possible. We go high-rise instead of sprawling to reserve other areas," he added.
Last year, however, the Davao City Council drafted an ordinance imposing a limit on the height of buildings in the city to 27 stories to achieve desired levels of urban densities and respond to transport and traffic concerns.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio has also been urging the city council to approve an ordinance that will impose height limits for new buildings.
Cortez said that to address the growing population, the city needs to plan and balance each sector and consider more than just the density and planning policies. Cortez said that other considerations are governance and growth, urban development and infrastructure, environment and natural resources, and society and community.
"We are always guided by the 10-point agenda of the mayor. As a city planning office, we always provide support to the achievement of the agenda of the mayor such as poverty alleviation, agriculture, infrastructure, environment, among others," he said.
Davao City Councilor Diosdado Mahipus, for his part, said he agrees with the move to save agricultural land.
"I totally agree with the move to save our agrilands but we have to create new communities to serve the needs of the rural areas. We need to establish work areas and employment opportunities. Let the city do the mapping and identification of lands," the councilor said.