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| Cities Alliance is supporting the "Metro Manila Greenprint 2030". Photo: Danilo Pinzon/ World Bank |
Manila, Philippines
Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation
[12 March, 2012] -- The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) — working with other government agencies, local government units and supported by the World Bank, Australian Agency for International Development, and the Japanese Government — has launched the formulation of a 20-year strategy to transform Metro Manila into a highly competitive East Asian metropolis that promotes a higher standard of living for its residents.
Dubbed “Metro Manila Greenprint 2030,” the plan will develop a common vision for Metro Manila’s future, propose institutional reforms to improve coordination among key players, and provide spatial strategy that will guide the urban form of the metropolis, primary infrastructure, green systems and the clustering of economic activities to improve livability.
“We desire an urban environment that is more conducive for investors, entrepreneurs, and innovators as well as creative minds that will enhance our competitiveness vis-à-vis other cities in Asia. It’s a long process but Greenprint 2030 is one big step towards this direction,” said MMDA Chairperson Francis S. Tolentino.
To be completed in June 2013, the formulation of Greenprint 2030 is supported by a trust fund from the AusAID, as well as the East Asia Eco2 Cities program administered by the World Bank. The East Asia Eco2 program, which helps cities in developing countries achieve greater ecological and economic sustainability, is a multi-donor initiative anchored in the World Bank and supported by a grant from the Japanese government through the Cities Alliance.
“Greenprint 2030 will be a broad-stroke document, which aims to look strategically into the future, and provide a long-term direction to guide actions of both the public and private sectors to help Metro Manila rise up to its potential,” said Tolentino. “Of special considerations are factors including climate change, the increasing vulnerability of the metropolis to natural disasters, rising demand for affordable housing close to places of work and livelihood.”
Greenprint 2030 will provide a framework for integrated management of complex issues within Metro Manila, including coordination among the 17 local government units (LGUs) that make up the National Capital Region (NCR), as well as the surrounding LGUs.
On June 12, 2011, the Cities Alliance provided a US$455,000 grant for the formulation of the country’s national slum upgrading strategy that will guide the efforts of national and local government units in improving the living condition of informal communities in the cities. (The Cities Alliance, housed at the World Bank, is a global coalition of cities and their development partners committed to scaling up successful approaches to slum upgrading, city developing strategies, and poverty reduction.)
Read the full story on the MBPC website.
