ILOILO City – An urban housing project here is one of the Top 5 finalists in the 2021-2022 World Resources Institute (WRI) Ross Center Prize for Cities.
The other finalists are from Colombia, France, Pakista, and India.
The finalists were announced at the recent 11th World Urban Forum in Katowice, Poland.
The Prize for Cities is WRI’s urban transformation award recognizing leaders creating sustainable and inclusive cities worldwide.
Iloilo City’s entry is the “Participatory Housing and Urban Development” by the Homeless People’s Federation Philippines (HPFP) and Philippine Action for Community-led Shelter Initiatives, Inc.
The project showcases how urban poor associations team up with the local government to create housing that is also safer, more secure and more affordable.
The city government provided technical assistance through its Iloilo City Urban Poor Affairs Office (ICUPAO).
About 400 families benefitted from the construction of new houses, while they also helped build transit housing for victims of Typhoon “Frank” in 2008 aside from its ongoing housing materials assistance for urban poor communities.
Using tools such as public land banking, urban poor savings groups and participatory urban planning, the project shows how upgrading and resettlement can be done in an inclusive and collaborative manner.
“The Prize is something very special because it offers a barometer of the challenges cities are facing and then unearths the most impactful and innovative responses,” said Ani Dasgupta, president and chief executive officer of WRI.
It recognizes the very best ideas, working at scale, and celebrates the people and places driving change.
Criteria included the extent to which submissions demonstrated big, innovative ideas and novel approaches; life-changing impact on people’s lives, mindsets and behaviors; and ripple effects across and beyond the city.
The winner will be announced in December 2022./PN
