How can we make our barangays green?
One low-risk, high-reward, quick win solution: POCKET GREEN PARKS.
The map by BA Racoma, a PhD student and a personal acquaintance, shows the sparseness of green spaces in the region.
Disclaimer from BA Racome: Data is from OpenStreetMap and the tagged areas would be dependent on how the users tagged them.
I believe the short-term, quick-win solution to our lack of with green spaces is right in our neighborhood: POCKET GREEN PARKS.
What are Pocket Green Parks?
Borrowing Allison Blake’s definition of pocket parks, I describe pocket green parks as
Pocket green parks are small scale urban open and green spaces in our neighborhoods. usually only a few house lots in size or smaller.
PART 1: 3 Advantages of Pocket Green Parks
Pocket green park development has 3 advantages for local governments.
- Pocket green parks weaken the friction of distance.
- Pocket green parks increase the frequency of exposure to greens.
- Pocket green parks mean quicker wins because of less red tape.
3 Advantages of Pocket Green Park Development for LGUs
PART 2: 3 Steps for Barangays to Develop Pocket Green Parks
Barangays can start developing pocket green parks by following these 3 initial steps.
- Conduct greening on the buffers of existing government facilities, social gathering areas, and streets
- Enjoin residents in using idle lands for pocket green parks.
- Use funding wisely and coordinate for shared pocket green parks among barangays..
3 Steps for Barangays to Develop Pocket Green Parks
Key Resources for Developing Pocket Parks
- Public Spaces 101 by EnP. Jean Palma:
- Public Park and Open Spaces Guidebook by ASSURE, Inc.
- Pocket Park Toolkit by The Trust for Public Land
- ” Parks will save us: Pandemic highlights lack of Metro Manila green, open spaces (Rappler) “
Update: Found that the DATOS Project also released a map demonstrating the “live green vegetation” in NCR using NDVI values.
Formulating Comprehensive Land Use Plans