Moving Forward: How the Philippines Can Unlock Health, Mobility & Climate Wins by Walking and Cycling

In many Philippine cities and towns, we see clogged roads, increasing vehicle ownership, traffic congestion, air pollution, and rising chronic health problems such as obesity and cardiovascular disease. At the same time, the country is highly vulnerable to climate change: sea‑level rise, typhoons, and the need to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are real concerns. So there is a strong case for tackling mobility, health, and climate together. A recent global study (published in PNAS) shows that investing in walking and cycling infrastructure is one of those rare “triple‑win” strategies.

source: Scientific American Dec 2025

What the study found and why it matters for the Philippines

The global research shows that when cities are designed so that people can walk or cycle safely and conveniently, the benefits are huge.

Key findings:

• Higher population density → shorter trips → more walking/cycling.

• More extensive and better bicycle lane networks → meaningful uptick in cycling rates.

• Even climates with hot summers or cold winters are no barrier — what matters is the infrastructure and design.

• If all cities matched Copenhagen’s cycling network extent, global emissions from private vehicles could drop ~6%, and the health benefits would be in the hundreds of billions of dollars annually.

For the Philippines:

• Many urban areas (e.g., metro Manila, Cebu, Davao, etc.) already have high densities and many short trips. This is an advantage.

• If we bolster walking/cycling infrastructure (bike lanes, pedestrian‑friendly streets, mixed‐use neighborhoods) we can tap into latent potential for active mobility.

• Reducing vehicle dependency helps reduce congestion, air pollution (which affects health), and transport emissions (which matter for climate commitments).

• Health gains from active travel (more walking/cycling) include reduced risk of chronic disease, improved wellbeing and reduced health system burdens.

Specific Opportunities & Considerations for the Philippines

1. Urban planning & mixed‐use development In many Philippine cities, residential areas and workplaces/shopping/amenities may be separated, so short trips get done by vehicle or motorcycle. Encouraging mixed‐use development (homes, shops, offices closer together) helps make walking/cycling feasible.

2. Safe, continuous infrastructure for active travel Simply having a painted bike lane is not enough. The global study emphasized street‐design: separation from vehicle traffic, safe crossings, comfort for walkers/cyclists. In the Philippines, many sidewalks are discontinuous, obstructed, or absent; many bike lanes are fragmented or share space with vehicles. Upgrading these can raise walking/cycling rates.

3. Contextual fit & local culture The study shows: you don’t have to replicate Copenhagen exactly to succeed. What matters is tailoring to local conditions — topography, climate, culture, travel habits. For the Philippines, for example, around‑the‑year warm/humid climate is the norm, so shade, green corridors, rain protection might matter more. Hilly terrain or informal settlement patterns may present challenges.

4. Equity and inclusion Many Filipinos rely on walking and cycling out of necessity (not choice). Infrastructure upgrades must consider low‑income neighborhoods, safe access for women, children, elderly. Also linking active travel with public transit is key (so you can walk/cycle to the bus/train station).

5. Health and climate co‑benefits

   • Health: more walking/cycling → more physical activity → fewer chronic diseases, lower health system costs, improved quality of life.

   • Climate & emissions: lower reliance on private motor vehicles → fewer GHG emissions. This helps the Philippines meet its climate goals and reduces vulnerability from transport‑related air pollution.

   • Resilience & efficiency: A diversified mobility system that includes walking/cycling is more resilient (less dependent on fuel, less vulnerable to traffic jams) and more space‐efficient (less land used for parking, roads).

A Few Action Steps for Local Government & Communities

• Conduct a mobility audit: identify neighborhoods with high short‑trip potential (schools, workplaces, shops within 1‑3 km) and lacking safe walking/cycling infrastructure.

• Prioritize pedestrian first: wide continuous sidewalks, safe crossings, shade trees, lighting.

• Expand and connect bike lane networks: ensure continuity, safe intersections, visibility, and links to transit hubs and workplaces.

• Promote mixed‐use zoning and local amenities so shorter trips become practical.

• Launch behavioral campaigns: encourage walking/cycling by showing benefits, safety tips, community‑rides, walking groups.

• Measure and monitor progress: track mode‑share of walking/cycling, infrastructure length, safety outcomes, health metrics.

• Secure funding: active‑travel infrastructure tends to deliver strong cost‑benefit (health + environment) so build the business case for local budgeting or donor funding.

Why This Matters Now

The Philippines is at a critical juncture: urbanization is increasing, vehicle fleets are growing, climate change risks are mounting, and public health burdens are rising. Investing in walking and cycling isn’t just an “add‐on” — it’s a strategic investment in sustainable mobility, healthier citizens, and lower emissions. The global study gives strong evidence: the infrastructure choices we make today will shape health and climate outcomes for decades.

Conclusion

If the Philippines can shift more mobility toward walking and cycling — by density‐friendly development, robust infrastructure, and inclusive design — we stand to gain on multiple fronts: better health, less traffic stress, cleaner air, fewer emissions, more livable cities. The roadmap is there; what we need now is the will, the planning, and the action.

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Source: Ziggurat Real Estate

Building a flood-proof city

The 2009 Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) was one of the compelling reasons why I started envisioning building Clark Green City (now New Clark City). It was merely a tropical storm without much wind or gustiness. But its effects were catastrophic, as it drowned Metro Manila with a month’s volume of rainfall in just 24 hours. It was one of the worst, if not the worst, floodings of Metro Manila, with more than 460 people dead, many of whom were residents of Provident Village in Marikina, and causing economic losses of more than P23 billion, including the destruction of more than P10 billion worth of infrastructure and agriculture. In the aftermath of Ondoy, it was discovered that Provident Village should never have been developed as a residential community, as it was a natural hazard area, a flood basin of the Marikina River.

Deforestation of the uplands and the massive quarrying activities in the Sierra Madre caused the raging flashfloods, which caused the Marikina River and its tributaries to burst beyond the banks and into the highly dense communities beside them. The flimsy shanties of poor urban communities along the riverbanks were swept away by the floodwaters and slammed the structures against the bridges. Because people thought that Ondoy was not a strong typhoon, the government was caught unprepared by the massive floods that it caused. It was also discovered that government weather monitoring could have been more informed of the volume of rainfall if it had been provided with a Doppler radar.

Because of this, the late President Aquino III made it one of his priorities upon being elected in 2010 to acquire Doppler radars that would provide accurate weather data to our weather monitoring officials. However, in 2013, another unfamiliar climate change phenomenon would hit the country. Despite the preparedness of government agencies in disaster relief operations, they were no match to Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), the first category 5 super typhoon to make landfall in the country. This time, it was not the volume of rainfall but the intensity of wind gustiness that created devastating storm surges that swept away the entire Tacloban City and other towns along its destructive path.

Last Saturday, Quezon City experienced rainfall even much worse than Ondoy’s. In a short span of one hour, rainfall reaching 121 mm — compared to Ondoy’s peak of 90 mm — drenched the entire city. UP Diliman, which had never experienced flooding before, experienced the worst floods in its history. Fortunately, this downpour was localized. Hence, the damage was mitigated, and the administration of Mayor Belmonte was equipped with the technology and resources to immediately respond to the needs of QC constituents. Had the torrential downpour covered the entire Metro Manila again, the damage would have been unthinkable. Sadly, this is the new normal for climate change. We should expect more of these disasters to come our way.

The Aquino administration learned its lessons from Ondoy and Yolanda. It created the Climate Change Commission, empowered the Office of Civil Defense capabilities, invested in more advanced weather monitoring technologies, including Project NOAH, and the acquisition of more Doppler radars. Under the able leadership of the then public works secretary Babes Singson, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) drew up a flood control masterplan for the entire Metro Manila to address the impending floods.

Aware of the vulnerability of Metro Manila to climate change disasters and the possible Big One earthquake, I led the master planning and laying of the foundations of a new backup capital in Clark, which we launched on April 11, 2016, and which is now known as the New Clark City. One of the major features of this new metropolis is the preservation of natural waterways, such as rivers, creeks and streams. We required that these natural waterways never be blocked, nor their flows hindered.

Adopting the similar engineering technology that we built in Bonifacio Global City, we incorporated a 100-hectare manmade lake that would serve as the water detention pond where run-off water that causes floods will be detained prior to releasing it to the nearby streams. The rivers will have 100-meter open and green easements that will serve as green parks, esplanades, jogging paths and picnic areas. We envisioned rivers with natural anti-erosion infrastructures such as trees and other natural green softscapes. We wanted the rivers to be as clean to allow our children to experience swimming in them because the water in these rivers is coming from the natural springs of Mt. Pinatubo.

Our flood problems are not only caused by nature. Because nature, left alone, will simply seek its natural path. However, floods are caused by man’s stupidity and greed as well. We cannot stop nature on its track, but we can manage its course in a limited way. That is the role of science and engineering. Water is the source of every living thing on Earth. Yet it is also one of the most destructive, such that God would have to use the great flood to almost wipe out humanity.

With the raging controversy on the plunderous greed of public works officials and their cabal of contractors, we witness firsthand that science and engineering technologies can address the flooding problems that we have. What we could not stop, though, in so many years and so many ways, is the unquenchable avarice of a very few who made plunder of government funds an intergenerational family enterprise.

It’s about time that this flood of shameful plunder be met by the burning fire of people’s rage and retribution.

Source: Manila Times

Estate developments anchored on transport hubs

The pulse of cities beats strongest in their transport hubs, where the constant tide of movement defines the rhythm of urban life.

Once regarded solely as conduits for transit, these centers of activity are now shaping entire communities. They have evolved into the foundations of estate developments, driving progress and elevating how people live in connected environments.

The global city model

Around the world, transport-integrated estates reveal the profound influence of mobility on urban form.

In Hong Kong, the MTR has woven residential towers, offices, and shopping complexes directly into its stations, placing daily essentials within minutes of travel. Tokyo’s districts of Shinjuku and Shibuya thrive as dynamic hubs where rail networks converge with retail landmarks, entertainment, and cultural attractions.

London’s King’s Cross has been reimagined into a flourishing district combining education, business, and leisure, all rooted in its transport spine.

Once a declining rail yard, London’s King’s Cross has been reimagined into a flourishing district combining education, business, and leisure, all rooted in its transport spine. These developments show how the strategic joining of transit and real estate generates lasting urban vitality.

Philippine pioneering efforts

The Makati central business district had set the original benchmark for integration long before new estates—weaving together workplaces, commercial centers, and transport access in a cohesive urban fabric.

This global pattern finds resonance in the Philippines, where Ayala Land has spearheaded transport-oriented estates. Arca South in Taguig embodies forward-looking urban design, planned around the future Metro Manila Subway and the South Intermodal Transport System. Vertis North in Quezon City reflects the same vision, standing beside MRT-3 and directly linked to the North Triangle Common Station that will connect several railway lines.

Concentrating offices, residential towers, and retail establishments around transit allows cities to optimize land efficiency in dense districts. (DOTR)

From Makati’s early precedent to today’s emerging estates, Ayala Land illustrates how projects can anticipate infrastructure, establishing growth districts that evolve with the city’s expanding networks.

Urban growth advantages

The impact of these estates extends to the development of metropolitan areas. It influences how these urban regions grow and evolve.

Concentrating offices, residential towers, and retail establishments around transit allows cities to optimize land efficiency in dense districts.

These nodes attract global companies, educational institutions, and retail anchors eager to operate where accessibility drives performance. Reliance on private cars decreases as people embrace convenient public systems.

With national undertakings such as the Metro Manila Subway and the North-South Commuter Railway underway, Ayala Land’s estates complement these efforts, multiplying their economic and social impact.

Shinjuku in Tokyo thrives as dynamic hub where rail networks converge with retail landmarks, entertainment, and cultural attractions.

Through this interplay, transport and real estate reinforce each other, positioning these estates as catalysts for sustained urban vitality, shaping investment confidence, encouraging balanced land use, and setting a precedent for smarter metropolitan planning.

Lifestyle advantages for communities

The advantages extend beyond mobility for residents. Walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods allow work, leisure, and home life to unfold quickly.

Reducing commute times leads to several significant benefits. It gives individuals more time to engage in healthy routines, such as exercise or preparing nutritious meals. Shorter commutes also foster more quality time to spend with loved ones, helping reduce stress and fatigue.

Transport-integrated developments offer more than simple solutions to mobility challenges.

Streets and public spaces become animated with activity, while curated retail and cultural destinations nurture a sense of belonging and identity. In these settings, convenience and vitality combine to shape places where communities thrive.

This integration transforms estates from functional clusters into inspiring districts that people identify with and proudly call home.

Shaping future-ready cities

As Philippine cities continue to densify, the role of transport-anchored estates grows in importance.

Ayala Land’s pioneering efforts demonstrate how private developers can align with national mobility projects to create a lasting impact. These estates embody resilience, adaptability, and inclusivity, essential for future-ready urban centers.

Transport-integrated developments offer more than simple solutions to mobility challenges. They establish the framework for a thriving city life where economic opportunity and human experience converge in one connected vision.

Source: Inquirer