For cities on the cusp of economic development, is there really a place for crumbling centuries-old buildings?

This was the question experts from the Philippines and Spain attempted to answer at a round-table discussion on urbanism and better living entitled “Any Future for Historical Cities”, the closing event of the First International Conference on the Manila Galleon and Port Cities mounted recently by the Intramuros Administration.

Finding the balance between economic development and preserving vestiges of the past was the main concern of the speakers at the forum which included Spain’s National Awardee for Urbanism Francisco Pol; Spanish sociologist and urban planner Carlos Lles Lazo; FEATI University College of Architecture dean Joy Mananghaya; and leading Filipino expert on heritage rehabilitation Mico Manalo of the Escuela Taller.

Dean Mananghaya, for instance, focused on Quiapo’s Carlos Palanca street which is today dotted with illegal businesses and haphazardly parked vehicles. Unknown to many, this has a few heritage sites which are already in dilapidated state. Mananghaya posed this question to the audience: Would it be better to move on and consider disposing of these heritage sites or consider rehabilitating them?

“Quiapo has very few remaining heritage structures. Should we reconstruct it or should we move into the future and come up with a better plan and some of its areas?” she asked. “The illegal vendors around Quinta Market already occupy almost one-third of the street, so the streets have become very narrow. Vehicles are parked anywhere and there is no real order. Should we really construct Quiapo as it was before?”

But Mananghaya and her students at FEATI have seemingly not given up on this historic avenue downtown. They have in fact even come up with possible designs for walkways similar to the ones used in Makati.

Mananghaya’s group has also approached the city government about regulating vendors, the proper zoning of commercial establishments, as well as rerouting the flow of traffic.

UNIQUE CURRICULUM

On the other hand, heritage rehabilitation expert Mico Manalo pointed out how a city’s cultural heritage can itself be a source of economic progress.

“Before Vigan was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, they started out not knowing what they were dealing with. What was their heritage? Was it the houses?

Was it what was inside the houses? Or was it the whole city, the customs, the songs and dances? Vigan had to do their own cultural mapping for two years before they knew for sure,” said Manalo.

All the effort have paid off in the form of a unique curriculum that emphasizes the importance of the cities’ cultural heritage, as well as renown tourist destination.

“They infused that heritage that they have inside the curriculum, from first grade up to high school, so that little children know how to make proportions by way of calculating the ingredients in pakbet. It is ingrained in them that they are from Vigan. After that tourists came in droves and it has become economically good for them. Now they’re trying to educate the outside towns and asking them if they have any heritage they want to share. By conserving their city, they have been able to make millions,” revealed Manalo.

SOCIAL PROCESS

Spanish experts Francisco Pol and Carlos Lles Lazo, while supporting the desire for cultural preservation, cautioned against forsaking the concerns of the majority of stakeholders.

Lazo, who has been part of the management team responsible for drafting 60 regional plans in major Spanish cities, said that cultivating an appreciation for a city’s heritage needs to be a “social process”.

“Sometimes the city that you want to Buhave built isn’t exactly the city that can be built. There will be conflicted views, and people will have different ideas. You need to have a clear idea of the city that you want to have,” Lazo explained.

Pol, who took part in the town planning of Spanish historical areas in Barcelona, Madrid, and Cordoba, among others, added that there is also a need for political will when it comes to implementing a plan that conserves a city’s heritage while fueling its economic growth at the same time.

“Does Manila have an urban plan? Frankfurt, Vienna, London, Rome, they had plans,” Pol said. “There should be a project for the city and a strategy for its implementation. Are there resources available? If not, then the plan would be wishful thinking.”

‘PRETEND CITIES’

Manalo agreed and stressed that it is through cooperation between the private sector and the government that the balance between cultural preservation and economic development can truly be achieved.

“We have Newport City, Eastwood City, Bonifacio Global City. Are they cities? No, they’re not, but they pretend to be cities because they are inside cities that they don’t want to be involved in. But at the end of the day you have to go out. You cannot stay in these ‘cities’. The government and the private sector have to combine their efforts,” he said. “The question of whether or not historical cities are still valid in this day and age and if it impedes progress can only be answered by us. We should be the one to say ‘no’ or ‘yes’. We need to have the spirit to want to conserve our cities.”

In an initiative to bring the understanding of the rich tradition of the galleon trade within the public realm, the Intramuros Administration organized the International Conference on the Galleon and the Making of the Pacific, at Villa Immaculada, in Intramuros, Manila.

The three-day gathering of scholars from Spain, People’s Republic of China, Indonesia, the United States, Mexico, and the Philippines will looked into the context and infrastructure of the Galleon Trade, its impact on regional trade in Asia and the Americas, and the horizons of change and cultural transformation brought by the Galleon trade.

The Intramuros Administration spearheaded the international conference as the first step in its plans to establish The Center for the Study of Galleon Trade in the Philippines, along with a maritime museum. The center is set to open by next year, where galleon trade artifacts, documents, and references will be available to researchers; regular seminars on the galleon trade; and the biennial international convention.