The Face Lift of Baguio called URBANIZATION

CITY OF PINES - BAGUIO

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It is appalling to see how urbanization, akin to a paint brush, can shift the entire canvas of the face of Baguio.  From greeneries to industrial, from agricultural to commercial, and from natural to man-made.  Urbanism shall bring no harm, yet CONSERVATION of natural resources has been proven extremely difficult to achieve along with suburbanization.

We were chanced to visit Baguio City early last year as we observed my husband’s birthday on a place that we perceived, envisioned, and longed to be outside the hustle and bustle of urbanity.  We are from Marilao Bulacan by the way, 20-minutes north of Manila via NLEX :).  It was 2002 when we last visited the place prior to last years’.  Never did we realize when we succeeded the uphill, at the city centre, that we never really evaded the noise and overcrowding of Manila, for Baguio is likewise :), with cooler temperature of course!

What caught me by surprise on our way up as we self-drove and was widely awake; it was hard not to overlook the dead rivers that we passed through.  Not only is a few, if my memory serves me right, yet there are several dead rivers along, and to what I noticed, mining is the culprit.  It was equally daunting to see how houses and buildings had occupied almost the entirety of the mountains in the city central.  If only with the coldness, one will hardly recognizes that you are in fact on a tableland, because everything is covered with vertical houses, less trees, and volumes of vehicles hitting the road.  Tangible beacons of urbanization, indeed.  Nevertheless, we enjoyed our stay to the lovely city of Baguio, and promise to bring the entirety of my clan next time.  Armed of course, with a factual expectations of the place =).

Let me share with you a story, when I’ve met an Australian, who’s a husband to my Papua New Guinean friend.  He said, he used to work in Baguio for a couple of years and he loved it there.  He never mentioned about the quarrying and urbanisation in Baguio, therefore, I assumed he came and lived during those beautiful setting of Baguio several decades ago.  He said, he plans to go back anytime soon to Baguio.  I am hopeful that his adulation for Baguio will not be overshadowed by the eye sore of mining and quarrying going up there, which is once he decided to come back.

In closing, I’m a strong believer that COMMITMENT and PARTNERSHIP are the keys to conservation and sustainable development.  I commend BSU for emulating virtues in Environmental Sustainability.  BSU as one of the steering wheels, in partnership with LGUs and Government Agencies in helping communities and leading the conservation acts to save that one air that we breathe, one ground that we walk, and one earth that we live.  With appropriate planning, perhaps, URBANIZATION with CONSERVATION can get along well.