In solidarity with the theme “Restore Our Earth” for the 51^st Earth Day celebration on April 22, Valenzuela City continues to solidify its efforts to restore the earth one green space at a time. Already with three (3) existing parks, a fishing village, and a mini-park -- two (2) more parks and a bike lane are in the pipeline. 

As urbanization spread rapidly across the metropolis, it has become increasingly challenging for people to commune with nature. With this, creating more open spaces and turning them into sustainable parks is high on Valenzuela City’s priority list.

Green and good

Simply put, greening refers to the process of converting living spaces into its greener, more eco-friendly version, usually by planting trees or seedlings. It may also necessitate incorporating more environmentally friendly systems to modern infrastructure or one’s environment.

Urban green spaces pertain to pieces of land that are partially or entirely covered with vegetation. It may include parks, gardens, playgrounds, sports fields, walking trails, and plazas.

With Valenzuela City being a highly-urbanized city in Metro Manila, it has come to the local government’s initiatives to create liveable spaces for Valenzuelanos to go to – offering a different, more open, and a “greener” view of the City’s public spaces.

Studies have revealed that urban green spaces are essential to people’s emotional, physical, and mental well-being, as well as to stimulate the economy of local communities. In this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is increased activity in people having regular walks and strolls in open spaces as a safer alternative than going to enclosed establishments or malls. Such is seen in Tagalag Fishing Village, a City eco-tourism zone in Barangay Tagalag, where bikers and park-goers alike spend time with nature.

Reiterating the value of liveable spaces in the City, Mayor REX Gatchalian shares, “We want people to perceive Valenzuela not only as a place where one can do business but more importantly, as the best place to raise a family and stimulate a person's creativity. We offer our parks as recreational facilities where Valenzuelanos can spend time together or unwind from the demands of their fast-paced lives, or just relax.”

Road to a more liveable city

To help the City in urban green space planning, the standards approach must be employed. Through careful urban planning, each inhabitant is guaranteed access to utilize green spaces and fully enjoy the socio-economic and environmental aspects of city living.

The provision of urban green spaces to its citizens allows for the establishment of a liveable city and promotes sustainable urban development.

The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that each city should allot a minimum of 9 sq. m. (0.0009 hectares) to as much as 50 sq.m. (0.005 hectares) of green space per person. These spaces must be safe, functional, accessible, and extensive enough to exceed the minimum space requirement for the city to be deemed as one of the most liveable. 

While a study conducted by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme showed that an urban area with a minimum density of 150 dwellers per hectare has a generally accepted minimum standard for public space of 45%. Of this percentage, 15% is for green space.

Valenzuela City, with its population of 664,614 and total land area of 4,700.83 hectares, has a population density of 141.38 persons per hectare.  A total of 705.12 hectares must be allotted for green spaces.

The City’s first three (3) parks, the 1.09-hectare Valenzuela City People's Park, the 1.10-hectare Valenzuela City Family Park, and the 0.09-hectare Polo Park, has a combined land area of only 2.28 hectares. 

Existing green spaces for the entire City are at 269.59 hectares, the majority of the green spaces are in Barangays Ugong, Gen. T. de Leon, Marulas, and Karuhatan.

To reach the general standard for green spaces in relation to its total land area, the City needs to create an estimate of more than 400 hectares more of green spaces. Much work remains to be done to expand the urban green spaces in the City, but this only drives the local government to up its “urban liveability” game, taking the challenge as an ideal requirement of local government units to improve the quality of life of its residents while they also feel a sense of confidence with their community.

Mayor REX adds, “Public spaces should not be an ideal but should rather be a pre-requisite. These are facilities that give a person the sense of confidence”.

What’s next?

Fortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic did not hamper the City’s urban greening efforts. Maintenance and repair works are still in full swing even while parks remain closed and park staff follows a skeleton workforce arrangement.

Construction of urban green spaces funded under the Local Government Support Fund-Assistance to Cities (LGSF-AC) of the Budget and Management (DBM) will proceed as planned.

More urban green spaces are set to open in the coming months. Valenzuelanos can look forward to the completion and opening of the Valenzuela City Sports Park in Barangay Wawang Pulo and the Arkong Bato Linear Park in Barangay Arkong Bato. A bike lane covering Valenzuela City’s portion of the MacArthur Highway is also now in the groundwork. The bike lane will cover a total of 6.7 kilometers that will occupy the rightmost lane of both the northbound and southbound directions.

In addition to the parks, another greening initiative of the City is the Integrated Community Food Production Project in Disiplina Village Bignay. The project trains the community to practice self-sustained food production through urban gardening. The residents earn extra income by selling the produce from the community garden to the local government for the City’s Central Kitchen supply.

The City Government of Valenzuela is never new to the concept of liveability and creating more urban green spaces. The local government understands the need to provide for a sustainable and an improved quality of life to its residents, aiming to achieve the equilibrium between its vibrant industry and its green spaces. Valenzuela City can only hope for a stronger sense of cooperation among Valenzuelanos – as more projects are now underway to not only improve Valenzuela as a liveable city but also as a community.