random writings

Metropolitan Manila: a dream unfulfilled (an Urban Roamer editorial)

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As I am writing this entry, heavy rainfall for the past 2-3 days thanks to Typhoon Maring (international name: Trami) has submerged much of Metro Manila under floods…again. While in a way, this highlights how serious climate change has affected the global climate, especially here in the Philippines, there is also another issue that lingers in the horizon that few seem to take note of:

Manila is a badly planned metropolis.

What’s heartbreaking is that this has been foreseen decades bacl, even more than a century ago when Daniel Burnham first laid out his plan for the city. Over the years, we have seen competent planners like Harry Frost, Juan Arellano, Felipe Mendoza, among others who strived to make this metropolis a livable city that has the necessary aesthetics and room for growth.

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Four and going on for more

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It felt like yesterday since I decided to cut on my procrastination and blog about something I’ve long wanted to write about: the city and the metropolis I grew up in.

Back then, I never really thought about getting much following. I never intended to beat the number of followers of online celebrities like Carlos Celdran, Ivan Henares, Anton Diaz, the Professional Heckler, and others. All I wanted to do was to be able to have an outlet where I can share my interests and advocacies, no matter how non-mainstream or unpopular they may be.

And throughout those four years of blogging, I am thankful for the thousands of people who appreciate the humble work I have been doing, who shared with me and the others their knowledge and nostalgia of the old metropolis some of us never got to experience. That in itself is a big honor for me. Again, my sincere thanks to all of you!

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