RECOVERING THE URBAN LAND: Brownfield Regeneration of Pandacan Oil Depot

LIVABLE CITIES start slowly, says Gil Penalosa, founder and chair of 8-80 Cities. They start with
traffic slowed down to 20 mph in neighborhoods, to make pedestrians safe whether they are
eight or 80 years old. Bike lanes are physically separated from roadways so people who would
have never considered biking feel safe pedaling their toddlers to school. They have public spaces
that celebrate public life, including parks where people can gather, play and rest. And they have
clean, fast, public transportation that gives people choices about how to get around. When Gehl
Architects Founding Partner Helle Sholt hears people say change is impossible culturally or
financially for their city, she points out that even Copenhagen had to change culturally to be as
livable as it is now, with downtown squares that once served as parking lots for commuters are
now ringed with restaurants and retail, linked by commercially vibrant walking streets.
WALKABILITY
To design streets for everybody, design for pedestrians first slow speeds, raised crosswalks.
Next, make streets interesting for walkers.
BIKEABILITY
Success isnt more Spandex; its a woman biking to a business meeting dressed exactly as if she
were driving. First step: Make bikers feel safe.
PUBLIC SPACES
Parks, walkable streets and other public places are great equalizers; they bring people together,
and they can energize people through recreation.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
High-speed buses with dedicated lanes are the most cost-effective way to move people, though
offering choices to commuters is best of all.
Walkability is the cornerstone and key to an urban area's efficient ground transportation. Every
trip begins and ends with walking. Walking remains the cheapest form of transport for all people.
Construction of a walkable community provides the most affordable and equitable transportation
system any community can plan, design, build and maintain. Walkable communities return urban
environments to scale, pattern and mix for sustainability of resources (both natural and
economic). They lead to more social interaction, physical fitness, diminished crime, and
increased wellness, addressing many social and economic problems. Walkable communities are
more liveable built environments and lead to whole, happy, healthy lives for the people who live
in them. Walkabile communities attract and keep jobs, young adults, families, children and
grandchildren.
Design Elements
According to Julie Campoli, Author of Made for Walking, design details for walkability follow "five
D's and one P."" In order to achieve high levels of walkability and livability, a town must focus on:
Destination Accessibility (walking scale), Diversity (mix of uses), Density (sufficient people so
that costs are contained), Design, Distance to Transit, and Parking (better managed). Although
walking calls for many details (street connectivity and low vehicle speeds are great places to
start), we emphasize that walking will not come by building more sidewalks and crossings.
Walkability calls for holistic and complete town making. No single act, approach, focus or effort
will make a town walkable. Each act adds to the whole. Our web site, has a 12-step program for
defining and achieving or strengthening community walkability.

Multi-family housing construction

More people (especially those from the millennial generation) are moving into the city because of
their proximity to their places of work all around the world. And these have propelled architects
and planners to design developments that would answer the projected saturation of the housing
market. A direct result of the changing family size and dynamics have spurred developments in
multifamily housing in the Philippines. Multifamily housing ranges from low-rise apartments to
high-rise condominiums, and they will continue to be a popular choice for consumers in the next
decade.
Mixed uses and vertical, compact developments will continue to increase economic value
Compact, mixed-use developments provide economic benefits to developers through higher
property values, marketability, and quicker sales and leasing, especially among baby boomers

and millennials. The resurgence of urban development through vertical urbanism is helping
provide more compact, high-rise residential housing for key workers
More focus on health and wellness
Walkable cities are livable, healthier cities. This has become a global advocacy by architects,
designers, and planners. The US, for example, have taken the issues on health and wellness to a
macro scale through infrastructure developments, improvements and government policies that
promote people to walk, bike, or take the public transit. However, there is a knowledge gap
between research on human health and wellness with implementation in the built environment.
Well-designed and well-planned buildings and spaces lead to better health outcomes elsewhere
in the world and the principles that the Philippines can adapt to.
In all of its complexity, sustainable cities basically are cities that promote human development. The
environment is there to provide each person all the materials we need and the protection necessary
for health and a mitigating factor to the negative effects of climate change. Economics on the other
hand is important because it gives an empowerment of choice and value to work
For Singapore and New York, they developed more bike lanes and well-maintained walkways. Singapore limits car use, and
people are encouraged and motivated to walk because of the pleasing environment with wide sidewalks, safety, and maintained
pocket parks. In New York, Times Square was regained to be a pedestrian area. Generally, roads are transforming into
pedestrian plaza in the Manhattan area, and it increased social activity in the area.
The intention here is not to increase the speed of vehicles, but to decrease the travel time of people, promote health and to
encourage more social activities. This results in cleaner and more environmentally sustainable cities with increased economic
development. It creates a psychological and cultural effect on how people should live.

Plan the city for the primary usage of cars, it will become a city for cars. Plan the city for the sole
purpose of economic growth and monetary gains, it will become a city for money. Plan the city
for the integral development of people, then the city will become humanely sustainable.
The most progressive cities in the world are walkable and bike-able. Tourists spend more time in
walkways than in museums and shopping malls. Cities should not be for cars, they are for
people.

Brownfield - According to the Small Business Liability

Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act of 2001, a
brownfield is defined as a real property, the expansion,
redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by
the presence or potential presence of a hazardous
substance, pollutant, or contaminant.
Brownfield redevelopment - cleaning up of sites that
help improve the quality of the environment in the
community and removes real and perceived threats to

health and safety.