METRO Manila currently has a population of 14 million people. And according to the Philippine Statistics Authority, this grows by roughly 1 percent annually. This means 140,000 individuals are added to the capital metropolis every year. Yet, the land area stays fixed at 636 square kilometers.
Where will all these people live, work and play?
Urban sprawl is the phenomenon when cities grow rapidly (and often uncontrollably) into surrounding rural areas. It is marked by single-use zoning, low-density housing, and heavy reliance on private vehicles.
When people live far from their workplace, there is a greater need for the government to build more roads and maintain them; commuters spend many hours on the road just to get to work, with an economic toll of P3.5 billion a day according to JICA; and people are isolated from each other.
The Philippines has the potential to become a First World country, First World economy by 2050 with its vast resources. However, that will only happen with visionary leadership, good governance, strong political will and implementation of good planning, design and engineering.
As a fellow, regional leader and country representative of the Council of Vertical Urbanism (headquartered in Chicago), I assert that Metro Manila and other metropolises must embrace vertical urbanism, in order for them to be sustainable, resilient, and future-ready cities.
What is vertical urbanism?
Vertical urbanism is an approach to urban planning that revolves around building upward, rather than outward. By creating compact, high-rise ecosystems, we get to use land more efficiently and productively in urban areas.
The point is not to construct tall buildings for the sake of it, but to improve lives through holistic, vertical development. That is why the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat rebranded itself into the Council of Vertical Urbanism.
Case studies in vertical urbanism: New York City
New York City (NYC) is considered to be one of the greatest cities in the world with its iconic skyline filled with skyscrapers overlooking the Hudson and East rivers. However, NYC wasn’t always like this. Its transformation into a global city was a matter of both circumstance and choice.
New York began as a trading outpost. But when the city’s population began growing rapidly, the government realized the need for planning. Much of the development revolved around Lower Manhattan, and if it were not organized the city’s northward expansion would be a disaster.
The Commissioners’ Plan of 1811 was the defining document that shaped the destiny of NYC. Rather than replicating European-style cities with a pattern of radial streets, the planners implemented a grid of rectangular blocks from Houston Street to 155th Street.
This introduced an unparalleled degree of simplicity and efficiency in city management. People can easily navigate the streets, and the standardized lots made taxing, buying, and selling property more convenient.
However, putting order into the land does not increase its area.
Unlike the rest of the US where land is plentiful and affordable, NYC is surrounded by water. No amount of money could change its topography. That’s why New Yorkers began building upwards.
Even the housing and transportation adapted to the density with mixed-use buildings and the bustling New York Subway. Space is too scarce for American suburbia. The majority of New Yorkers do not own a car because they do not have to travel far, and they are able to move around their city efficiently through walking, cycling and public transit.
Before the terms were popularized, NYC was already practicing vertical urbanism, as well as 15-Minute Cities and transit-oriented development, in response to the needs of rapid urbanization. And that is what makes it one of the greatest cities of the world today.
Case studies in vertical urbanism: Chicago
Chicago is another good example of vertical urbanism. The city developed rapidly thanks to its diverse population and its unique position by Lake Michigan, making it a center for transportation and logistics.
The world’s first skyscraper was built in Chicago. The Home Insurance Building was completed in 1885 with an initial height of 42.1 m. It featured a steel and metal frame, instead of conventional masonry.
I once spoke with the mayor of Chicago, and he shared the benefits of vertical urbanism in his city. People live nearer to their place of work; there is more space for parks and open spaces; and they are able to preserve the farms and the forests.
Chicago is a unique American city that bridges the East and West coasts. It has all the amenities, buildings and scale that many of the cities in the northeast have, yet is divorced from their elite colonial roots. As a result, it formed an identity that is distinctly midwestern, characterized by Chicago’s history as a hub for immigrants, who brought their entrepreneurial spirit and contributed to the development of the city.
Case studies in vertical urbanism: Rockwell Center
Although Metro Manila is still a far cry compared to NYC and Chicago, we can see examples of vertical urbanism within the Metro. Rockwell Center is akin to the Emerald City, a shining beacon in a metropolis where central business districts are surrounded by low-density exclusive communities.
It stands as the first master-planned, high-density, mixed-use development where people get to live, work, play, shop, dine, study and worship. Whereas a conventional subdivision can house as low as four families per hectare, the high quality urban neighborhood in Rockwell Center can accommodate as many as 200 families per hectare.
The walkways are pedestrian-friendly with streets lined with beautiful ornamental plants and trees, which provide shade. We call it a 5-Minute Neighborhood because you only need a five-minute walk to get where you need to be from your doorstep. This is the kind of lifestyle you can’t enjoy in a gated subdivision.
The need for new high-density cities
In 2010, I gave a speech at a CTBUH conference on the “Remaking of Mumbai.” Similar to Metro Manila, the city was congested, poorly planned and structurally fragile. Vertical urbanism was a key strategy in ensuring that the people could be housed in resilient, environment-friendly designed buildings, with more open spaces acting as the lungs of the city.
Back then, the Indian metropolis had a population of 18 million people. Now, it is estimated to be at least 20 million. As for the rest of Asia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo and Dubai are good examples of vertical urbanism.
By 2050, more than a hundred million Filipinos will be living in urban areas. That is why we will need at least 100 new cities that are smart, resilient, sustainable and future-ready. Metro Manila wouldn’t be enough to accommodate such a population. However, the capital acts as a role model for the development of other metropolises. That is why it must pave the way by applying global best practices such as vertical urbanism.