Whenever I got the time, I do visit or walk by the city’s district plazas here in Iloilo City and get to enjoy the features of these public spaces that were recently improved by the LGU’s development projects. Plazas play a crucial role in facilitating social interaction and fostering vibrant communities. Here are some key reasons why plazas are important for social interaction:

1. Gathering spaces: Plazas serve as gathering spaces where people can come together, interact, and engage in various activities. They provide a central location for community events, performances, markets, and festivals, attracting people from different backgrounds and fostering a sense of belonging and community spirit.
2. Social cohesion: Plazas bring people from diverse backgrounds, ages, and interests together in a shared public space. By providing a common ground for social interaction, plazas promote social cohesion, strengthen community ties, and encourage a sense of solidarity and mutual understanding among residents.
3. Informal interactions: Plazas encourage spontaneous and informal interactions between individuals who may not have otherwise crossed paths. People can engage in conversations, meet new acquaintances, and forge social connections in a relaxed and informal setting. This helps to build social capital and create a sense of belonging within the community.
4. Cultural exchange: Plazas often serve as platforms for cultural expression and exchange. They provide opportunities for individuals and groups to showcase their traditions, arts, music, and cuisine. These cultural activities foster understanding, appreciation, and celebration of diverse cultures within a community.
5. Recreation and leisure: Plazas offer spaces for relaxation, recreation, and leisure activities. People can gather to enjoy a picnic, read a book, play games, or simply people-watch. These activities create opportunities for social interaction and enhance the overall quality of life in a community.
6. Sense of place and identity: Plazas contribute to the identity and character of a place. They become iconic landmarks and symbols of a community’s values and aspirations. By providing a space for social interaction, plazas help to reinforce a community’s sense of place, pride, and belonging.

Overall, plazas serve as vital social spaces that foster social interaction, promote community cohesion, encourage cultural exchange, and enhance the overall social fabric of a place. They play a crucial role in creating vibrant, inclusive, and livable communities.

This is maybe week-late news but still, I am happy to share on this blog that my home city, Iloilo, has gained a batch of awards, in particular, the most improved Highly Urbanized City in the recent Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index Rankings for 2022.

Rankings of Cities and Municipalities are based on the sum of their scores on 5 Pillars: Economic Dynamism, Government Efficiency, Infrastructure, Resiliency, and Innovation. This was then our Standard basis for the city’s goals and objectives during our ISA workshop held last October 19 to 21, 2022 at The District 21 Hotel, Iloilo City.

A summary of the awards garnered by Iloilo City is as follows:

2022 Most Improved Highly Urbanized City
1st Place in Government Efficiency HUC Category
3rd Place in Resiliency HUC Category
7th Place in Infrastructure HUC Category
Top 7 Overall in CMCI Rankings

Congratulations Iloilo City, the Iloilo City LGU, and of course the City Mayor for the efforts in leading and inspiring both the citizenry and government offices in achieving this status in the CMCI Rankings for 2022. Me being part of the employee workforce of the city is an outlook to improve not only in my roles in the office but also become a more efficient, intelligent, and welcoming Ilonggo. You can check the rest of the details of the CMCI 2022 rankings here.

“Padayon sa pag-uswag, Iloilo City.”

This on-street parking policy is aimed at limiting parking on-street and discouraging long-term parking in the most congested areas of the city center, so as to enhance environmental quality and maintain a high proportion of public transport usage. The city’s all on-street parking spaces must be controlled to ensure that they are used in the most appropriate manner for the efficient operation of all users of the central business district. On-street curbside parking in the city center must be restricted for the use of service vehicles, and short term parking for retail and commercial.

The objectives of this on-street parking policy are as follows:

(i) To provide a rational approach for the provision of “no standing” and “no parking” restrictions. In areas where such restrictions are warranted for safety or capacity considerations, such restrictions will be limited to the time period during which they are necessary.

(ii) To provide more and better managed parking for city shoppers and other short stay users. The differing needs of the various users in different parts of the city will be incorporated in the implementation of the policy.

(iii) To minimize all day commuter parking on-street in the city center, and discouraging long-term parking on-street, in the vicinity of major institutions such as schools, government institutions and hospitals.

(iv) To implement an on-street parking control system which is simple, legible, uniform, clearly understood, easily enforceable, efficient and cost effective, taking into account the standards and policies developed by other capital cities, adopting symbolic signage and using recyclable plastic signs.

(v) To control the use of loading zones so that public transport vehicles can obtain more efficient access to loading/unloading spaces where private use vehicles are discouraged.

(vi) To achieve consistent and coordinated parking enforcement throughout the city center.

Source: Final Iloilo TTMP Document.

I was able to drop by Critical Hit yesterday for the second day of their Free Comic Day event and even though it was already late in the afternoon, there was still two artists’ booth that was selling their artworks and other merchandise. One of them was Pigboom Art, a close friend and former officemate at Eversun. Here got new artworks for sale as well as some designed shirts that were printed in the US. I was able to browse through his album and checked for new stickers and art prints to hang on the wall of my room.

I also found this cute Godzilla coin collector & piggy bank that he placed at the center of his booth. It plays a roaring sound just like Godzilla and the sneaky reptile will get your one or five-peso coin if ever you would place it in the designated spot.

Check out this video below:

You can drop by Pigboom Art’s recent and past works on his Facebook page. Also check out his t-shirt design shop at http://www.pigboom.com.

*header image found from the official Pigboom Art website.

I’ve been walking from office to my apartment these past days as a sort of an exercise and also to do some observation of the street activities in the downtown area. This is my way of experiencing first-hand the scenarios of the streets.

My walk starts on JM Basa street and crossing to Valeria street to SM Delgado, then finally traversing Delgado street to Jalandoni street. I’ve noticed that most of the sidewalks are littered with various obstructions such as vendor stalls and parked vehicles. Also noticeable are the sidewalks used as mini terminals of trisikads and tricycles.

Pictured below is one exact example. This is a scene along Delgado street and you will see vehicles obstructing the sidewalk, forcing pedestrians to walk through the road instead.

People should be aware of its importance. If we want to promote a more walkable Iloilo City, we should protect the pedestrians by providing them with more walkable sidewalks. Sidewalks, if they are lacking in some way (being broken, occupied by cars and tricycles, occupied by small vendors and establishments) people is going to use the streets to walk, making it dangerous for them and also slowing the traffic. This increases the chances of accidents and generating a sense of lack of security for the people, which they would rather commute than to walk.

There are still other factors to consider, but we have to start somewhere. Public awareness could be an option. We can also propose to revise the current policies of the city or formulate a new plan, which could probably be our work in the City Planning and Development office.

Either way, the end result should be favored and for the benefit of the people, both on pedestrians and commuters.

An urban form is defined as the physical characteristics that make up built-up areas, including the shape, size, density, and configuration of settlements. It refers not only to the physical layout and design of the city but also to the spatial pattern of human activities at a certain point in time. Urban forms are ever-changing, adapting to every new building, park, sidewalk, road, or gate that’s erected.

Prof. Serote has introduced the different urban forms in his typology of urban forms in which he identified five types and these are the following: dispersed sheet, the galaxy of settlements, the core city, the urban star, and the ring.

Of the five urban forms, Iloilo city has adopted the urban star as its current form and layout. The main notable characteristic is a strong urban core with secondary centers of moderate densities, distributed along main radial roads. The downtown area or the city proper district is considered to be the core and the districts of Jaro, Mandurriao, Molo, and Lapaz as the secondary centers. The current circumferential road connecting the city districts acts as the main radial road of the city’s urban form.

It is a star in its urban form also because of the development patterns in each of the city districts pointing out to the neighboring municipalities i.e. Pavia, Oton, & San Miguel. Pavia is most likely to be the most rapid in its development in both infrastructure and industrial and is forming an urban center of its own, making the surrounding districts of Jaro and Mandurriao also flocking with its residential population.

It somehow has similarities to the concentric zone model in terms of residential areas starting at the outskirt edge of the districts up to the neighbor towns. There is only that its sort of radio-centric form has open spaces between the outreaching corridors of development.

The growth of Iloilo City started in the downtown center and that the development of surrounding districts can be a factor in changing its urban form in the future. Further government projects on urban development can also alter this and with a definite city planning, it is no surprise that Iloilo city’s urban form will evolve adopting to its development.

References:

Ibabao, R. A. (2017, November 5). Theories on the morphological patterns of cities [Ppt].

4 Theoretical Explanations of Morphological Pattern of a City (with diagram). (2014, May 12). Retrieved from http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/geography/geographical-theories/4-theoretical-explanations-of-morphological-pattern-of-a-city-with-diagram/40001

I am sharing this short writeup about the City of Iloilo which I wrote and contributed to the Grand Prix Manila Travel Guide handbook. The guide was initiated by the Philippine MtG judges as a reference for those coming over to participate in the event. This was also another opportunity for me to promote tourism in the city.

Iloilo City

Iloilo is a province of the Philippines, located in the center of the Philippine archipelago in the southeastern part of Panay Island. The capital city, Iloilo City, is considered one of the major urban centers in the Philippines and continues to become one of the major industrial and eco-tourism destinations in the country. The city was a conglomeration of former towns which are now turned into geographical districts. These are: Jaro, Mandurriao, Molo, Villa Arevalo, La Paz, Lapuz and Iloilo City Proper.

Iloilo City is just 55 minutes of flight away from Manila and is a hub for trade, commerce, technology, and of course, tourism. The nationally acclaimed Dinagyang Festival has been the flagship yearly event of the city and is celebrated every January. There are many travel treasures you can hunt around the city. From mouthwatering delicacies to mesmerizing and splendid architectural heritage and modern designs, these are a few of the many things the city has to offer for tourists and locals to enjoy.

The Top 10 you can have as your checklist are the following:
1. Eat Batchoy & Pancit Molo
2. Pray at historic churches
3. Love the skyline at the Iloilo City Hall Rooftop
4. Stroll at Iloilo Esplanade
5. Bike at Benigno Aquion Avenue
6. Time Travel at Calle Real
7. Joy Ride in a Jeepney
8. Party at Smallville Complex
9. Brew at Madge Café
10. Bask at Fort San Pedro Baywalk

Touring around the city is easy as most of the major roads are served by public utility jeepneys, taxis, and tricycles as your transport options. Most of the locals are very friendly so it is also easy to ask around for directions as guide or if ever you get lost. Start by greeting them “Maayong aga” for good morning or “Maayong hapon” for good afternoon, then follow it up with your inquiry. Other relevant lingo are “kamusta ka?” for “How are you?” and “Tagpila ni?” for “How much is this?” Lastly, always say Thank you or “Salamat”.

Traveling to the outer municipalities is catered by five major transport terminals located at the city’s parameter areas which offer large jeepneys and buses.

Iloilo City also serves as a gateway to other nearby tourist spots in the provinces of Guimaras, Antique, Aklan, and Capiz. Examples are Boracay Island, Isla de Higantes and Mararison Island.

Cities can be grouped into five broad urban types based on the most significant environmental risjks they face. Grouping cities into urban types can be a useful way for national or regional level decision-makers, development agencies, companies and municipal authorities to pin-point common areas for action, innovation, or investment.

Type 1 – Energy intensive, sprawled cities with significant carbon footprints. These cities can be characterized as sprawled cities with high carbon emissions and high energy intensity. Examples are Bangalore in India and Cape Town in South Africa.

Type 2 – Cities with Major Climate Hazards. These cities face major climate hazard risks – predominantly from flooding – which are likely to intensify over time. Examples are Dhaka in Bangladesh, Kampala in Uganda.

Type 3 – Cities with Regional Support System(s) at Risk (Water, food, biodiversity). These cities face significant risks within their urban catchment affecting either their water security, food security, or risks to biodiverse natural habitats and ecosystems (for example virgin rainforest areas or wetlands). Examples are Karachi in Pakistan, and Da Nang in Vietnam.

Type 4 – Cities with Multiple Risks: Energy, Carbon, Climate Hazards, and Regional Support Systems. These cities are both at risk from major climate hazards and have relatively high carbon emissions and high energy intensity. Some of these cities also face significant risks to either their water security, food security, or biodiverse natural habitats. Examples are Jakarta in Indonesia and Bangkok in Thailand.

Type 5 – Cities with a Low Current Risk Profile. A limited number of cities have a relatively low current risk profile, although this could change over time as factors such as population pressures and climate change intensify. Examples are Blantyre-Limbe and Lilongwe in Malawi.

For this year’s preparation for the Iloilo City Socio Ecological Profile, the division is now required to do a descriptive analysis using a range of data from the previous years. While it is not specified as to from what year to start, we are tasked to check if there is a rise or decline in these range. An officemate said that she had been oriented with the proper guidelines and procedure and she is willing to share and train the rest of the personnel. I would love to learn and master it so that we could start processing each of the returning data that we requested from the various offices and departments.

Just last week, I was tasked to do a data digging of the number of vehicles that are currently registered in the city, a specific tally of registered Public Utility Jeepneys as well as the total length of the motorable roads from the previously published SEPs. The range was from the year 2011 up to 2015. The other data that was searched for was the number of commercial buildings within the city and the number of cases of respiratory diseases. I do not know how it is related, but good thing I was able to found and tally each of the data for every year and compared it via a side by side column. The noticeable change was the consistent increase of PUJs but also the huge surge of the number of motorcycles in the city. I guess that is the result of Motorcycle retailers’ motor promo that is low priced and easy to process.

We will see how this trend will take effect for the year 2016 but with the obvious development within the city recently, I think the direction will just be upwards.

It has been a while since I ate at the Mongolian buffet of the Centennial Hotel which is just a stone’s throw from my boarding house. They have this buffet as scheduled daily though at times they cancel it when the restaurant area is used for meetings and conferences. I decided today that I’ll drop by before my office shift and good thing that they are available. 

The Mongolian Buffet is a good-ol eat all you can setup, fairly priced at 200php. You basically eat your meal for the day here and it can actually cost you less. They setup the ingredients beforehand and you will just choose which ones you’d have in your bowl. Don’t worry as there are menu guides that you can follow in order to combine and cook for the results. My starter bowl is usually is mix of most of their meats, adding a few noodles and veggies and then sauced with Mongolian and a slight of Oyster sauce. I then follow it with a Spicy Oriental Pork menu and instead of just pork, I added chicken and squid meat. Lastly, I ended my meal with a mix meat and veggies with Teriyaki sauce. This one tastes lighter as compared to the strong umami of the Mongolian sauce.

Years before, I can finish up to four bowls but then later on, I am already satisfied with just two bowls.

Centennial Hotel’s Mongolian buffet is scheduled Monday to Saturday, 11am to 2pm then 5pm to 8pm. The hotel is located at Jalandoni Street City Proper, beside the Hijas school.

This week’s highlight Standard tournaments here in Iloilo City will be tonight’s Friday Night Magic and tomorrow’s Saturday Standard. November’s FNM promo foil card will be Roast and will be used more than the previous Ultimate Price.

Here are the scheduled tournaments this weekend:

November 6, 2015
Friday Night Magic
Standard Constructed format, 80php entry fee.
Top 4 gets an exclusive FNM Promo foil card and Battle for Zendikar booster packs
Tourney starts 6:00pm, Rei’s Place

November 7, 2015
Saturday Standard, 80php entry fee.
Battle for Zendikar booster pack prizes
Tourney starts 3:00pm, Rei’s Place

Last Friday’s Battle for Zendikar Release Party FNM saw 16 players in attendance. The local Standard metagame has currently revolved around the clans of Tarkir as Rei’s products has not yet arrived that night as well as most of the players’ preordered cards. I played a Jaceless Jeskai Dragons deck replacing the planeswalker with whatever spot removal that I could grab on the card pool. Good thing I was able to pilot the deck well and finished second with 3-0-1 record.

Here is the tournament results for Friday:

Friday Night Magic and Battle for Zendikar Release Party
Top 4:
1st, Mark T (Abzan Aggro)
2nd, Mark Ian (Jeskai Dragons)
3rd, Eric (Abzan Aggro)
4th, Patrick (Jeskai Dragons)

16 players, 4 rounds gameplay

Saturday’s first week for Road to ICCON 2015 October league was attended by ten players and here are the top finishers of the tournament:

Road to ICCON October 1st Week
Top 3:
1st, Mark T (Abzan Aggro)
2nd, Fiona (Mono White Aggro)
3rd, Jason (Jeskai Dragons)

10 players, 4 rounds gameplay

The weekly MtG Iloilo tournaments are posted here in the community Facebook page.