By 2050, 70 percent of the world’s population would have been living in a city. Metro Manila is the world’s most densely populated city with 42,857 people per square kilometer. And, it is set to reach 30 million inhabitants by 2030.
So how can we make Manila more sustainable, especially through social start-up and individual initiatives to make significant changes in our city?
- Better quality of urban mobility
Traffic is really a day to day struggle in Manila with an average time of 45.5 minutes commuting from home to office. Manila is the fifth city in the world with the worst traffic condition.
To reduce time spent in traffic, we need a mass public transport. But also develop places to work and live that are closer to each other (rather than having everyone commuting to Makati everyday).
Related social entrepreneur projects:
Bambike produce hand-made bamboo bicycles and organize bike tours to promote the use of bikes.
sunEtrike an electric tricycle that will move riders in a more clean, comfortable, and cost effective way.
2. Create more connections with nature
DENR said that 12 percent of premature deaths in Metro Manila comes from poor air quality. There is also high water pollution due to garbage disposal in landfill and illegally dumped or burned.
The city needs to reconnect to nature with more green space but Metro Manila has only 13% green space mostly located in Quezon city.
We could imagine better buildings made from local materials and adopting green design that uses less energy and water.
Related social entrepreneur projects:
Urban Greens introduces accessible, healthier and urban grown greens grown entirely hydroponically
Liter of Light is taking sustainable building solutions to the grassroots level — the people who are in most need of low-cost infrastructures.
3. Promote more equality and develop local communities
Manila was also built around inequalities, an estimated 4 million slum dwellers are living in Manila. Class division developed along the boundary of slums and enclaves
We should think of how we can improve access to affordable housing and mixed-income neighborhoods. Of course, it is also linked to the fight against poverty in the Philippines.
Related social entrepreneur projects:
Transition Philippines promotes change by empowering urban & rural communities in the Philippines towards a more equal and sustainable way of living.
Today, Manila is placed 136th out of 231 cities in the 2017 Quality of Living Rankings. Let’s see if we can act together to do better!
If you want to learn and get involved into the transformation of Manila join our super participatory conference on social entrepreneurship that would take place on the 24th–25th of June around the topic of sustainable and livable cities. We will have breakout learning sessions, creative brainstorming workshops, DIY workshops, opportunities to create your own startup, and MORE on how to make a difference for this issue….whether as a high-level actor or an individual citizen.
You can now get your EARLY BIRD! tickets— here
focusing on waste reduction and circular economy challenges:
