The skyline may show how much a city has grown, but its sidewalks and public plazas reveal how much room it leaves for people.
Paulo Alcazaren, principal architect of PGAA Design and an urban planner, told the BusinessMirror that cities and towns often equate progress with building more structures. As available land becomes scarce, local governments increasingly turn to public plazas as sites for development projects, sometimes at the expense of their original purpose.
‘Of course, now we know that some of those projects are not entirely helpful for the good of the people,’ he said in an exclusive interview on October 20 during the World Architecture Festival (WAF) 2026 Philippines send-off and CRIT book launch in Makati City.
Alcazaren, who has sketched nearly 300 town and city plazas across the Philippines, estimated that about 90 percent have been compromised by buildings and monuments. His architectural drawings also include landmarks such as the Pantheon, Piazza San Marco, Trevi Fountain, Sydney Opera House and Petronas Towers.
He estimated that half to 60 percent of the roughly 800 historic plazas dating back to the Spanish and American colonial periods are at risk of disappearing or have already been lost.
According to Alcazaren, preserving public spaces must go hand in hand with rethinking how cities accommodate people.
He called for a shift away from car-centric planning toward pedestrian-friendly design, with accessible sidewalks and public plazas as starting points for more walkable and livable urban areas.
‘Bring back the sidewalks. That can be done in a lifetime,’ he said. ‘The rest are more difficult, but we can start with the sidewalks and pedestrian plazas.’
UN-Habitat, in its guidance paper Healthier Cities and Communities Through Public Spaces, said well-maintained public spaces support physical and mental health, encourage social interaction and improve residents’ quality of life.
The paper also emphasized that safe, pedestrian-friendly streets and accessible, low-emission public transport can reduce dependence on private vehicles, helping curb air pollution and its effects on respiratory health.
Cycling lanes and electric public transport, meanwhile, can lower urban carbon emissions and help mitigate climate change.
Street design also plays a role in public safety, particularly in densely populated neighborhoods. Citing research on road safety, the paper noted that appropriate speed limits, pedestrian zones, speed bumps and roundabouts can reduce traffic-related injuries and fatalities.
The COVID-19 pandemic further highlighted the importance of accessible public spaces, according to UN-Habitat. The agency urged urban planners and local governments to integrate health considerations into urban design as cities continue to grow and climate change intensifies public health risks.
‘Instead of trying to add new things that were not part of the original heritage, the best thing to do is to audit what’s left and conserve or preserve what was there before because the original plazas hold so many memories to generations of people who used to gather there and live their lives,’ he said.
‘So, you have a responsibility to conserve the urban space as well as the structures around it,’ he added.
Cities for the People
Sudar Khadka, a partner at Leandro V. Locsin Partners, likewise stressed to BusinessMirror that cities should be designed around the needs and aspirations of their residents, rather than development alone.
Khadka, whose firm worked on Streetlight Tagpuro, a study center in Tacloban built with survivors of Typhoon Yolanda, urged Filipinos to consider whether their cities reflect their collective ambitions.
‘Is this the best product of our collective imagination or is this the best product of our collective ambition?’
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He said improving urban environments need not begin with expensive or complex projects.
Local governments can start by keeping streets and sidewalks clean and ensuring pedestrian pathways are properly maintained, measures he described as achievable with sufficient attention and commitment.
‘Those are like the bare minimums that we should be able to achieve. And those are low-hanging fruit, I think. That’s something we can easily achieve if we put our mind to it properly,’ he said.
From there, cities can pursue broader improvements, such as integrated transport networks, covered sidewalks, more trees and dedicated bike lanes.
These investments, he said, can help create urban environments that better serve the public and reflect what communities value.
‘Urban planning is always a negotiation. It is a collective exercise,’ he said.
Alcazaren said there is still reason to hope that urban spaces can be restored and made more livable.
‘It all boils down to the citizens being aware of what they have. And number two is electing the visionary and progressive and honest leaders to public office,’ he said.
‘That’s the only way we can have any hope for the future,’ he added.