GREENBELT3

Naga City, located in Luzon Island in the Philippines is a quickly developing business, educational, trade, and financial center of the Bicol region; has a long history, its own unique nature, cultural features, and great potential for its inhabitants. Unfortunately, due to the geographical location and changing climate, the city often suffers from flooding, heavy rains, and typhoons; together with rapid urbanization, all these natural disasters destroy the city infrastructure and cause further social problems, such as poverty and unemployment. In order to enhance residents’ quality of life and create a safe urban space, some improvements are required in Naga.

The Greenbelt3 is a comprehensive pilot project developed by TU Darmstadt that provides solutions at every level of urban and social structure and entails the development of resilient and safe city spaces that meet the needs of the rapidly developing Naga society. The design also takes into account the Filipino mentality, and lifestyle, in order to preserve the local culture and ensure the smooth integration of the project into the existing environment.

The main project components include enhanced water and disaster management systems, improvement of the transport system, a slum upgrading program, and integrated farming and learning facilities in Naga City. The first part of the project is a newly designed green area in the southern part of the city, which is divided into three zones: the Productive Parks, Water Park, and Riverwalk. Each of them focuses on addressing a specific set of problems, and they work at the local level but simultaneously have a positive effect on the whole city. The second part of the project entails the optimization of the mobility system and improvements in the disaster management program. Its aim is to strengthen the existing transportation network and increase the resilience of the entire urban system. The Greenbelt3 is a flexible system of design strategies that can be applied to other territories with a similar climate and social context and integrated without any global changes in the concept. This project is a tool for resilient city development that helps solve local problems and create a well-functioning urban structure that ensures the safety and high quality of life.