PAREX: Sacrificing urban vitality for a traffic ‘solution’
In this essay, fellow urbanist April Valle and I criticise the proposed Pasig River Expressway (PAREX) as a means toContinue Reading
Category: Published Articles
‘Community pantries are a form of placemaking’
The community pantry movement in the Philippines is a phenomenon, and it’s something I’ve been dwelling on for more thanContinue Reading
On women and the Philippine city
Can a woman take her place in the Philippine city? Would she have the chance to shape it? Will our environment allow feminist places? These questions grapple with steep power relations, from our colonial past to our present authoritarian state. We are still at the level where a teenager has to school a misogynist television host about rape culture. We still live in a regime where a litany of offenses against women have left many feeling resigned; remarks about shooting vaginas can get away, and statements like telling working women leaders to “just maybe shut up” or calling them frauds are hailed by a certain population.
From lakes to bays, we need blue spaces for our mental health
Rethinking our urban fabric has floated in my thoughts since the pandemic began; there is so much we could doContinue Reading
Bracing informal communities for COVID-19
With COVID-19 threatening the world, many countries are challenged with how to deal with informal spaces, congested areas, and communitiesContinue Reading
Jean Palma 