Gearing Towards A Better Urban Environment with Model United Nations: The Case of the Philippines

It was the 9^th day of April 2016, when I have been given the chance to participate in the recently concluded 1^st South Luzon Model United Nations Conference. It was my first time to join a MUN simulation and the first statement I uttered was that I boasted about the beauty and pride of the Philippines, which is my very own country and the one I have been tasked upon to represent, under the United Nations Environment Programme Committee. I talked strongly about my country?s stance regarding the issue of environmental degradation, especially the underlying causes and impacts to the society.

The committee focused on two specific areas of environmental science, namely ?Urban Planning? and ?Green Architecture?. Starting with green architecture, this field primarily focuses on designing infrastructures, especially houses and buildings, that are both environmental friendly and cost-effective. However, what piqued my interest more was urban planning.

Urban planning convenes inputs, throughputs, and outputs on a larger scale, namely the whole urban environment, itself, aiming to create the most liveable and sustainable cities. It is a partnership between public, private, and civil society, aiming to uplift the quality of life of people through optimal planning of land use. Unfortunately, here in my country, it is sad to say that not too much importance is given to urban planning, despite the fact that we have recognized its capability of solving heavy traffic, which is a big thing in the country?s metro.

More than the physical aspect, I have realized that urban planning is about people. Being capable of uplifting the quality of living and link it to the environment.

QUICK FACTS:

In 2010, Philippines has already a total population of 90 million (PSA, 2016), wherein 70% can be found in the urban areas.

An estimate of 140 million is the expected population of the country, by 2040 (PSA, 2016).

RESOLUTION:

1. Balanced Development

2. Green Urbanism

3. People – centered communities

 Balanced Development

            It?s not about controlling the population and limiting growth rates that will solve the problem, but actually distributing them properly, in order to prevent and/or eradicate urban sprawl.

Green Urbanism

            In green urbanism, we advocate the establishment and development of areas following the multiple use principle. In multiple use areas, we dine, shop, work, and play, within just one place. Moreover, the more use obtained from such resource, the more valuable it is, both monetarily and socially. Most importantly, there is less need for roads, cars, and electricity since everything we need is just within one area. Needless to say, green urbanism is highly capable of mitigating climate change as it promotes less, or even eradication of pollution caused by excessive carbon dioxide emission.

People-centered communities 

            The simplest but the most often forgotten, people-centered communities promote walking, instead of utilizing cars or any vehicles. By walking at manageable distances, we encourage people to go down the streets, hence, very much healthier for us physically, environmentally, and even socially, since there is more clean air and more interaction.

My whole SLMUNC experience?

All the aforementioned is everything I have learned during the Model United Nations conference.  But more than the free-flowing knowledge on environmental science bested upon us during the event, we should not forget the deeper reason of MUN simulations. We should not waste the chance given to create a venue to strengthen our command of our desired language, but more importantly, socialize with people from different walks of life. Most importantly, the conference can open our eyes, change our perspectives, persuade us into doing better, and become informed of what?s really happening.