A gentler, happier, and healthier city

A former government official has declared his plan to run for mayor of Cebu City. His intention appears serious, judging by the number of billboards splashing his name and face alongside the slogan, 'For a better and safer Cebu City.'

The billboards featuring that message must have cost a fortune, considering it is displayed in strategic areas throughout the city. I pass by one every day on my way home to Banilad from work, which has led me to think that the probable candidate's strategists --or should I say handlers-- should come up with a better slogan for their candidate.

I’m not sure if 'better and safer' is really what I want prioritized for Cebu City. Of course, the idea of a 'better and safer' Cebu City is appealing, but it’s too vague. The term 'better' can encompass many things. So, what specifically does the probable candidate hope to achieve if elected into office?

I have no plans to run for public office, but let me venture into coming up with another catchphrase. It is my wish for the cities of Metro Cebu to prioritize the quality of life for their residents. Achieving a higher quality of life means nurturing a happier state of being.

In recent years, Metro Cebu has been too focused on the physical signs of progress --more buildings, grey infrastructure, and the like-- so much so that it has neglected the essence of city living. Thus, I hope we can all strive for a “gentler, happier, and healthier city.”

I was born and raised in Cebu City. My late father was involved in real estate and was among the pioneering officers of Casals Village, a private subdivision in Mabolo. I spent my toddler years and early childhood there until I was around nine years old, at which point my family moved to Doña Rosario Village in Basak, Mandaue City.

In both villages I remember a gentler community, where "gentler" meant more green spaces. There weren't many public parks during my childhood, but there were green spaces and vacant lands where we children could frolic, play, and learn from nature.

A gentler city also means a pedestrian-friendly city, where streets are designed not just for vehicles, but also for pedestrians. I yearn for the day when we can have wide, well-maintained sidewalks and pedestrian zones.

Back in the early 2010s, there was a wide expanse of green at the center of IT Park in Lahug, which I hoped the developers of the business park would maintain or perhaps develop into a mini nature park. That was where I, along with many other city residents, would go to jog or walk and get a dose of endorphins, that happy hormone released after physical exercise.

However, I guess the business park developers succumbed to the lure of a more profitable concrete structure-based commercial development, transforming the area into an extension of the adjacent box-type mall. This new section features outdoor, al fresco-style establishments and restaurants, but it lacks the greenery that once defined the place. It’s very sad.

A gentler city features well-maintained and spacious public libraries and cultural centers. It includes community centers, open plazas, and public squares that encourage community interactions and socialization; these areas are also well-lit and free to access. A gentler city also provides sports centers where people can pick up a racket to play ball, kick a football, or shoot hoops.

Cebu is a thin, elongated island surrounded by the sea. During my childhood and teen years, it was easy to bike or take a ride across the bridge to the island of Mactan and, for a token fee, swim and spend the whole day at its beaches.

Today, Mactan is a maze of jumbled zoning and narrow roads lacking proper setbacks, some of which lead to residential subdivisions that are potential fire hazards. Shops run by foreigners apparently in cahoots with local dummies stick out anywhere, and a recently implemented ?100 environmental fee has proven to be a marketing failure because tourists find it exorbitant.

Over the years, our cities seem to have descended into a pit of vice driven by the pursuit of tourist money and investors' “kickbacks”, far removed from the gentler and healthier community we once were. We need our local leaders to be more creative, and to be not easily dazed or consumed by the perks of an unsustainable sprawl.