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Iloilo City's Redevelopment Plan for APEC 2015

Iloilo City recently made headlines when it was declared as among the winners of the 1st Livable Cities Design Challenge. The said competition seeks to encourage cities to plan and design their cities for resilience and livability. The objectives of the competition is to get city planners to better plan their respective cities for a climate-defined future. At the same time, city planners will be encouraged to design livable cities that offer safety, convenience, livelihood, lifestyle, and sustainability, thus attracting people to live, work and play, further enhancing the overall competitiveness of their cities.

The Livable Cities Design Challenge conceptualized by the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) in March 2014 together with the following institutions:  Asia Society Philippines, Alliance for Safe and Sustainable Reconstruction (ASSURE), APEC 2015 National Organizing Council (APEC 2015  – NOC), Microsoft Philippines, Urban Land Institute Philippines and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) with funding support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). 

The competition has two entry categories:
  • “Government Center” - a complex of government buildings which are designed to be disaster-resistant (e.g., able to withstand designated limits of wind velocity, floods, and earthquakes, etc.) coupled with an awareness and education program to make people better prepared for disasters.  

  • “APEC Meeting Venue” - a plan covering a meeting site for one of the APEC meetings which the Philippines will host in 2015. The site need not cover an entire city but must at least cover an area surrounding an APEC meeting venue plus access and routes to other events and functions and to the airport.  
All competition entries were judged based on the following criteria: 
  • Aesthetic and Form (adherence to architectural design principles)
  • Substantive Elements (adherence and appropriate integration of relevant concepts and principles on: Economic and Social Linkaging and Integration; Ecological Balance; Physical/Land resource use efficiency, Infrastructure and Utilization optimization and Disaster resiliency) 
  • Feasibility ( adherence to the principles of sound and acceptable financial viability)
Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog holds the Winner's Plaque
Photo from Liveable Cities Design Challenge Facebook Page
Of the 20 cities invited to participate, only 15 cities made the final list. Eventually, Iloilo City topped the APEC Meeting Venue category while Cagayan de Oro won the Government Center category. Other cities which took part in the competition are Angeles, Bacolod, Cebu and Legazpi for the APEC Meeting Venue while Baybay, Marikina Olongapo, Ormoc, San Fernando (La Union), Tacloban, Valenzuela, Roxas, and Zamboanga for the Government Center

Here are some portions of Iloilo City's entry in the 1st Livable Cities Design Challenge

1. The revitalization of the Old CBD which includes pedestrianization of Calle Real and the renovation of the Iloilo Central Market. It would also bring back the Sunburst Park (topmost photo) which was part of the original Aduana Complex. 
The Iloilo Customs House or Aduana with the Sunburst Park
Photo from Old Iloilo Facebook Page
2. With the "rebirth" of the Sunburst Park, the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand will be demolished and a new and more modern grandstand will be built just a few meters from the original location which is the old Panay Railways station lot.
3. The old slaughterhouse near the Carpenter Bridge in Molo will be demolished to pave the way for the construction a Rivercraft Pavilion which will complement the developments along the Iloilo River. It will greatly boost the tourism potential of the area brought about by the Iloilo River Esplanade.
4. The non-existent Fort San Pedro is being planned to be recreated for tourism and historical purposes.

An old photo of Fort San Pedro that used to guard the mouth of the Iloilo River. (Photo by John Tewell)
There are other points in the said presentation and this blogpost will be updated as soon as information is at hand.

With these developments at hand, Iloilo City's Old CBD revitalization and other projects will have a great impact on the City of Love - even after APEC 2015!

Here are some of the the actual presentation slides delivered during the Livable Cities Design Challenge as posted in the Iloilo City Government Facebook Page. (Just click the images to enlarge.)




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