#MUNIonThis: It’s easy to get frustrated about the way certain things are in the cities in which we live: Too much traffic, difficult access to certain amenities or establishments, safety hazards, and being disjointed from our neighbors vs. being a cohesive community. Truth is, we have the power to change that by rethinking urban design and how we can get involved.
Urban design is the intersection of urban planning, architecture, engineering, sociology, anthropology, art, and any other discipline which shapes the way we live in cities. It is the process of engaging in dialogue with the different voices and seeing of the different perspectives of what makes a city “livable”. It is creating safe, functional, inclusive places that reflect the characteristics and culture of the people who make up the city, whether it be Manila, New York, or Tokyo.
There is an increasing movement where people are revisiting how they use and move about their cities, made evident with the first Manila Urban Design Week + Festival happening this May. Through this, Viva Manila, Curiosity Design Research and other collaborators seek to challenge how we design, develop, and plan Metro Manila today and how we change our process in the future.
The lineup of events include:
May 9 (Saturday) Vargas Museum, UP Diliman, Quezon City Manila Urban Design Week + Festival Kick Off with Karnabal Social Innovation and Urban Planning—Julia Nebrija and JK Anicoche Gobyerno participatory performance with Sipat Lawin
“It’s time for citizens to be more involved in trying to shape it in a positive direction. So I think we are at that point now where we are starting to have that conversation. And for me, that’s when the city is going to change, really,” shared Manila Urban Design festival director and urban planner Julia Nebrija.
EDITOR’S NOTE: While not falling in the festival schedule, Muni’s meetup on May 28 will also touch on urban design with the theme Cities & Change, featuring Pamela Cajilig of Curiosity Design Research, and landscape designer and social entrepreneur Cherrie Atilano.
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