Skip to content
WTA
WTA
  • Practice
        • People
        • Studio
        • Social Architecture
  • Projects
        • All
        • Institutional
        • Residential
        • Office
        • Hospitality
        • Mixed-Use
        • Commercial
        • Master Planning
        • Transportation
        • Homes
        • Retail
        • Interiors
  • News
        • Awards
        • Projects
        • Media
  • WTA Labs
        • Publication
        • Research
        • Lectures
        • Events
        • EQF
        • WTA Labs Videos
  • Affiliates
        • Artesan Prime
        • Izumi Bonsai
        • Art Stadium
        • Anthology
        • Partners
  • Contact
        • Careers
        • Press Kits

City of Tomorrow: Our city at risk

November 14, 2020December 5, 2020 William Ti, Jr. | Philippine Daily Inquirer

Brookside Hills Subdivision after Typhoon Ulysses —PHOTO BY ROY ALEJANDRO
Brookside Hills Subdivision after Typhoon Ulysses —PHOTO BY ROY ALEJANDRO

Floodwaters have been a constant part of life in Manila for as long as I can remember. Rain boots were a closet staple for my family and I growing up, and we used to cut up plastic bottles and turn them into boats to float down the flooded street.

In college, my car stalled a number of times in the flood, so my classmates and I would instead spend the night in UST every time España flooded. My first office was along Araneta Avenue, where floodwaters would almost reach the second floor and my team would be stranded for a couple of days at times.

Over the years, much has been said about the threats of climate change and the need to protect our planet and plant more trees. There is an obvious need for more structural infrastructure, like dams and spillways to address our overflowing rivers. Permeable surfaces must be implemented and a stronger disaster response program is necessary.

I’d like to share a few ideas that can be implemented immediately to help us prepare for the next few years, as typhoons of increasing risk and severity come our way. While long term structural programs are put in place, we must promote actionable, yet non-structural measures that can provide immediate relief.


Bicol after Typhoon Rolly—PHOTO BY AGRABAH VENTURES
Bicol after Typhoon Rolly—PHOTO BY AGRABAH VENTURES

Brookside Hills Subdivision after Typhoon Ulysses —PHOTO BY ROY ALEJANDRO
Brookside Hills Subdivision after Typhoon Ulysses —PHOTO BY ROY ALEJANDRO

Community-based response

We need to develop community-based flood mitigation programs that empower local communities to act upon the needs of their own. These programs can better identify and address local concerns and create solutions that may escape centrally planned programs. This bottom-up approach can be facilitated with education and training programs centered around our barangays.

The first step is to identify and assess the communities that are most at risk. Floods can endanger lives, damage property or hinder mobility. Information can be better received and understood when it is delivered locally by well-informed and trained community leaders. Proper safety protocols and escape routes can be better communicated with constant dissemination of relevant literature.

We should provide local communities with basic boating equipment and first aid training at very little cost. The availability of equipment locally and within reach of the community can reduce the reliance on communication infrastructure that regularly gets cut during these typhoons. This also empowers the community and serves as visible reminders of the need for earlier evacuation to locally available disaster shelters.

Training for at-risk communities should include leadership and organizational training, waste management, search and rescue, and public health training. The biggest threats of floodwaters are diseases that can come after the flooding. Organizational support should not be overlooked nor delivered only when disaster strikes, but rather throughout the whole year to better strengthen local resilience.

Philippine Daily Inquirer publishes WTA Architect William Ti’s City of Tomorrow Column: Manila, Our City at Risk. Click here to read more.

Related Articles

Massing and presentation model of a house using blue foamCity of Tomorrow: Tiny Village
September 26, 2020October 29, 2020
Massing and presentation model of a house Architectural models or maquettes are visions of tiny little worlds. Sometimes, they represent...
Read More »
The contemporary arts museum forms the cornerstone for the arts and culture district. It also forms one end of the lifestyle shopping street opposite the market square.City of Tomorrow: Urban luxuries
September 19, 2020October 29, 2020
People live in cities for a variety of reasons. One of the more delightful aspects to urban life is the...
Read More »
City of Tomorrow: Celebrating our cities’ delights, imperfections
July 11, 2020October 30, 2020
Aerial view of Intramuros and Rizal Park We live in a beautiful city. A city with its own share of...
Read More »
Wide sweeping balconies that are relevant and functional define the medium density alternative of Twelve Luxury Flats in San JuanCity of Tomorrow I
June 20, 2020January 9, 2021
Wide sweeping balconies that are relevant and functional define the medium density alternative of Twelve Luxury Flats in San Juan...
Read More »
Horizon Manila - The three islands of the 419 hectare Horizon Manila project is planned to encompass a vast diversity of communities that all function together as a complete cityCity of Tomorrow: A growing city
November 28, 2020December 5, 2020
The three islands of the 419 hectare Horizon Manila project is planned to encompass a vast diversity of communities that...
Read More »
WTA Architecture + Design Studio
  • Practice
  • Projects
  • News
  • WTA Labs
  • Affiliates
  • Contact
Copyright 2023 WTA Architecture + Design Studio. All Right Reserved.