Green building, also known as sustainable or eco-friendly building, focuses on designing and constructing structures that minimize their impact on the environment and promote energy efficiency, resource conservation, and occupant well-being.

Here are some common green building terms and concepts:

1. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design): LEED is a widely recognized green building certification program that assesses a building’s sustainability performance. Buildings can earn different levels of certification, such as LEED Platinum, Gold, or Silver, based on their green features.
2. Energy Efficiency: This concept involves designing and constructing buildings to use less energy, often through the use of efficient HVAC systems, insulation, and energy-efficient appliances and lighting.
3. Passive Solar Design: Passive solar design utilizes the sun’s energy to heat and cool a building naturally, reducing the need for artificial heating and cooling systems.
4. Renewable Energy: The use of clean, renewable energy sources like solar panels, wind turbines, or geothermal systems to power a building.
5. Green Roof: A green roof is covered with vegetation, which helps reduce heat absorption and provides insulation, reducing energy consumption and managing stormwater runoff.
6. Rainwater Harvesting: Collecting and storing rainwater for later use, which can reduce the demand for municipal water supplies and mitigate stormwater runoff.
7. Low-VOC Materials: Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are harmful chemicals found in many building materials. Low-VOC materials release fewer harmful chemicals into the air, promoting better indoor air quality.
8. Recycled Materials: Using materials made from recycled content to reduce the demand for new raw materials and minimize waste.
9. Sustainable Site Planning: Careful planning to minimize the environmental impact of a building’s location, including preserving green spaces, minimizing disturbance to ecosystems, and promoting walkability.
10. Water Efficiency: Implementing water-saving fixtures, appliances, and landscaping techniques to reduce water consumption.
11. Daylighting: Designing buildings to maximize natural light, reducing the need for artificial lighting during the day.
12. Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV): A system that captures and recycles heat from outgoing air to preheat incoming fresh air, improving energy efficiency and indoor air quality.
13. Triple Glazing: Using three layers of glass in windows for improved insulation and energy efficiency.
14. Net Zero Energy: A building that produces as much energy as it consumes over a year, typically through a combination of energy-efficient design and renewable energy generation.
15. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): An analysis that assesses the environmental impact of a building over its entire life cycle, including construction, operation, and demolition.
16. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ): Strategies and materials that promote healthy indoor air, including proper ventilation, filtration, and the use of low-VOC products.
17. Green Certification Programs: Besides LEED, there are other green building certification programs, such as BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) and Green Globes, each with its own set of criteria for assessing sustainability.

These terms and concepts are crucial in the field of green building to create environmentally friendly and sustainable structures that benefit both the environment and the occupants.

By definition and history of the term, the Creative City is a concept developed by Australian David Yencken in 1988 and has since become a global movement reflecting a new planning paradigm for cities. It was first described in his article ‘The Creative City’, published in the literary journal Meanjin. In this article, Yencken argues that while cities must be efficient and fair, a creative city must also be one that is committed to fostering creativity among its citizens and to providing emotionally satisfying places and experiences for them.

Also to quote, “The creative city when introduced was seen as aspirational; a clarion call to encourage open-mindedness and imagination implying a dramatic impact on organizational culture. Its philosophy is that there is always more creative potential in a place. It posits that conditions need to be created for people to think, plan and act with imagination in harnessing opportunities or addressing seemingly intractable urban problems.” Source.

Cities are the Agents of the Creative Economy

CREATIVE INDUSTRIES as a key driver of employment, innovation, and economic activity, that promotes city competitiveness and sustainability.

11.6% Of Total Employment is in the creative industry (2021)
15.4% Creative Industry Total Value Added Growth Rate, 9.3% faster than the non-creative economy (2016)
14.8% Possible reduction in youth poverty due to Creative Industry
PHP 375M Per employed person in the creative economy, indicating high production levels
Tourism – Cultural tourists generally spend more than other tourists and tend to generate fewer negative impacts, i.e. public disorder and environmental damage
Spillover – Innovation in the creative sector is likely to spillover to other
sectors in the local economy

Creative industries as the key to recovery and resilience.

Creative and Cultural industries are known to improve local production and innovation, increase the attractiveness of the area, and it can also have positive effects on people’s well-being, health, and social development.

Cities play a critical role in creating an environment for the creative economy to be more innovative and transformative, thus unleashing its maximum potential.

Sources: UNESCO and The World Bank (2021), OECD, Bayudan-Dacuycuy (2021)

The day started with the participants’ registration and giving out of seminar kits including a huge folder which is where the photocopied slides will be placed. There were a total of 65 participants, mostly composed of personnel from various LGUs and also a few from NGOs and private companies. It was a formal opening program with the Philippine anthem and a welcome speech.

The course proper was then formally opened with an introduction of the key speaker on Public sector planning, Prof. Ernesto M. Serote. He is considered as the father of Philippine planning as he developed the foundations of Land Use Planning in the Philippines. He is also the author of the book Property, Patrimony and Territory: Foundations of Land Use Planning in the Philippines published by UP SURP/PLANADES in 2004.

The first topic was Public Sector-led Planning and the discussion started with the period before Martial Law was declared and where the Oligarchs originated. It was those times that the Private Sector was on a paramount status. I am glad to learn on how that term has defined the private sector at that time.

As the Martial Law period began, the state got hold and control of the major corporations and at that time they were in paramount. However, most of the old oligarchs along with technocrats and bureaucrats established a new oligarchy which was called cronies. It then developed into crony capitalism, wherein the state and the business sectors became close allies.

As the EDSA revolution put an end to Martial Law, the state started to establish an equal opportunity between it and the people: the whole civil society per se. it was at the time the slow rise of the “third pillar”. The term “civil society” in the 1990s came in vogue, and was composed of NGOs, PVOs, POs, CBOs, etc.  To recap, the three pillars are State, Business, Civil Society.

The afternoon lectures were mostly composed on the discussions, IRR of the Republic Act No. 10587 or the Environmental Planning Act of 2013. This was discussed by Atty. Mark Anthony Gamboa. He also discussed on the various roles & legal mandates of the Environmental Planner.

We were finally able to grab a slot for the upcoming Basic Course in Urban and Regional Planning (ABC in URP) which will be held in the School of Urban and Regional Planning in UP Diliman, Quezon City.

This will be in the first week of April, 2019. It was a good thing that they opened a second batch as we weren’t able to reserve on the first batch which was scheduled on March 11-15, 2019. The initially processed cash advance on the City Mayor’s Office was put into good use by just updating the travel dates. I just hope this will be finished so as we can buy our plane tickets as soon as possible.

As for the coverage of the training, I am expecting it to that will discuss updates on the various sectors of urban planning as well as major theories and practices which I previously learned from the DURP course. I needed to ready myself for the Environmental Planning Board exam and so I should set my mindset to review and memorize all of the principles. This upcoming training is one important way to do so.

Last Saturday afternoon, the two groups in our class on P205 – Project Development Planning has decided to check on the possible sites in the municipality of Pavia which is our LGU of study, and wherein the project proposal will be located.

Me and my groupmates, Ma’am Mabel, Ma’am Robel, and Ma’am Vanessa are proposing a Multi-purpose center for the Pavia LGU wherein it will cater the local products and SMEs. We identified the core problem which is the absence of a venue to showcase Pavia’s ethnicity, social events, and local products. Because of the rapid development of infrastructures in the municipality in which the LGU is more focused, this affects on the local culture and products being less prioritized. This center will be the venue that will somewhat mitigate that problem and will also become a source of long-term revenue for the LGU.

We arrived at Brgy. Mali-ao, Pavia after about 30 minutes of travel and one of the Brgy. Kagawads there assisted and guided us to the place. it was the initial location in which the other group of Sir Louie, Sir Arnold, Atty Chad, and Sir Cyrus decided to locate their Municipal Slaughter House project. It was a narrow and muddy road to go inside but after that there was a widespread grassy area that was near the Aganan river.

Here, the group scouted the area while enjoying the afternoon sun and estimated how wide the slaughterhouse would occupy. Group A and Group B represent!

After the short visit, we headed back to the Municipal Hall but not after we drop by Golden Treats pasalubong store located beside the highway. We bought a lot, like buko pie, egg pie, Mamon, and Maja Blanca.

We then proceeded to the Pavia DTI office beside the municipal wet market. It also housed their LEIPO office which Ma’am Mabel usually went to on a daily basis. We decided to eat there while resting and setting up the group discussion of the projects.

I enjoyed this cup of hot Healtea while munching on two slices of special Maja Blanca. We started the discussion right away before we fall asleep due to a full stomach.

Sir Arnold’s group did a recap of their project and did some edits and documentation before going ahead of us. We discussed ours on the features of project draft and with the help of Ma’am Robelle’s architect team, she was able to present the look of structure and the surrounding amenities. We then have to work for the writeups of the project features and make the initial presentation. That is to follow this week.

To wrap things up, it was a good experience visiting the site for the project though we need to schedule it on an earlier hour like in the morning next time so as it won’t be that hot.

As part of the Project Development Officers of the Iloilo City Planning and Development Office, we had recently attended the International Conference on Urban and Regional Planning which was hosted by the UP School of Urban and Regional Planning of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Here below are the event details and description as well as its objectives.

Conference Title: International Conference on Urban and Regional Planning
Sponsored Institution: University of the Philippines Diliman
Date: March 14-15, 2018
Venue and Location: Century Park Hotel Manila, Philippines
Theme: Planning Towards Sustainability and Resilience

Description of the Event

International Conference on Urban and Regional Planning is a gathering of researchers and urban planners and aims to bring together 300 to 500 local and foreign participants from government agencies and offices, private organizations and the academe with an interest in influencing and further advancing sustainability and resilience at the national, regional and local levels.

The conference objectives are:
• To unite research and planning initiatives that foster significant, incremental change towards sustainable growth;
• To provide a venue for the exchange of knowledge toward meeting the diverse environmental, social, and economic needs of society, at present and in the future; and
• To strengthen the international, regional, and local collaborative networks with the intent of promoting sustainability.

The conference covered the following sub-themes:
• Sustainable Development
• Sustainable Transport
• Sustainable Infrastructure
• Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation
• Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
• Policy and Institutions

Conference Structure

The conference is of two major components: the breakout grouped parallel session with different themes and the plenary speeches. It started with the opening program in which the opening ceremonies were composed with messages from various speakers. It was then followed by keynote speeches and a panel discussion. The first part of the breakout sessions which started after lunch was composed of research on the topics: Disaster Risk Reduction and Management/Climate Change Adaptation, Sustainable Development, and Sustainable Transportation. The second part of that afternoon was then on the topics of Policies and Institutions, Sustainable Infrastructure and Sustainable Environment.

The second day started with grouped parallel sessions on the topics Disaster Risk Reduction and Management/Climate Change Adaptation, Sustainable Transportation, Sustainable Environment. It was then followed by sessions discussing research on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management/Climate Change Adaptation, Sustainable Infrastructure and Sustainable Environment. The afternoon session was initiated with the plenary speeches and open forums and lastly, the closing ceremonies.

There is an upcoming event this March for the urban planners in the country and it is at an international level. The University of the Philippines School of Urban and Regional Planning is holding an International Conference in Urban and Regional Planning with the theme “Planning towards Sustainability and Resilience” on March 14-15, 2018 at the Century Park Hotel Manila. The theme seeks to unite various research and planning initiatives that foster significant, incremental change towards sustainable growth. They have lined up the following sub-themes to be discussed in detail by educators, researchers and experts:

• Sustainable development
• Sustainable Transport
• Sustainable Infrastructure
• Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation
• Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
• Policies and Institutions

I have already registered with their Early Bird promo rate at an amount of 4,500 together with Maam Janis. Their regular rate is at 6,000 per participant.

I am convinced that joining this event will expand my knowledge further on the mentioned topics but also help me with my subjects on my DURP course. This is also a point for my work as a Project Development Officer for the Iloilo City Planning and Development Office. I am hoping that the invite will be processed with the office as soon as possible so that my other officemates can also register and participate in this conference.

For those interested, you can contact their secretariat for the registration at:

Email: regcom.icurp2018@gmail.com
Website: http://conference.surp.upd.edu.ph/index.html