The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Vice President Robredo recently emphasized the importance of secondary cities as vital contributors to national wealth and productivity.
Speaking during the 2016 International Conference on Urban Development at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila hotel, Robredo said transforming these cities into engines of growth in the countryside would provide families socioeconomic opportunities, and they would no longer have to migrate to Metro Manila and its surrounding areas.
“Promoting secondary cities is becoming an urgent need every day, because more and more of our men and women head to the cities looking for jobs and better services. Our cities are not ready to receive them, so they end up unemployed and oftentimes homeless,” Robredo said.
During the event, she also discussed the construction of more multistory in-city housing that would allow workers to stay close to their jobs, and transforming informal settlements into “vibrant, resilient, connected and inclusive communities.”
“We want to address the 1.4-million housing backlog within our term. We will disrupt and innovate. We will enjoin the private sector to be our partners in providing not just houses, but decent and affordable communities where our people will find jobs, where their children can safely go to school, attend church, run around and play safely,” Robredo said.
The 2016 International Conference on Urban Development was billed as the country’s biggest international conference on urban development and the potential of secondary cities as engines of growth.
It was organized by the United States Agency for International Development, Department of the Interior and Local Government, the World Bank, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), and the National Competitiveness Council.
The two-day conference, with its theme “Accelerating Resilience and Inclusive Growth”, gathered more than 1,200 delegates, including international urban-development experts and national and local government officials, as well as members from industries, donor agencies and professional organizations, civil society and the academe.
The delegates were given a platform to share ideas, strategies and best practices in pursuing resilience and inclusive growth. The conference was divided into several breakout sessions that focused on key areas under urban development. The second day of the conference included sessions on climate change and disaster-risk reduction, urban planning and infrastructure development, urban land-tenure issues, metropolitan arrangements, promoting local economic development, urbanization and housing, promoting innovation through human capital development, and low emission development strategies.
During the session on urbanization and housing, the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, represented by Director Avelino Tolentino III, gave a presentation on the urbanization trends in the Philippines and its housing needs.