ILOILO City – This southern city has won an international award in New York for its “Participatory Housing and Urban Development” project. It is also the only awardee from Southeast Asia.
The World Resources Institute (WRI) presented the runner-up trophy of the 2021-2022 WRI Ross Center Prize for Cities to the city, represented by Sonia Cadornigara, regional coordinator of the Homeless People’s Federation of the Philippines, Inc. (HPFPI) for Iloilo City, during the awarding ceremony at the Ford Foundation for Social Justice in New York on Feb. 1.
The Prize for Cities is WRI’s urban transformation award recognizing leaders creating sustainable and inclusive cities worldwide.
“We work with all sectors to help our less privileged have decent housing,” said Mayor Jerry Treñas.
Iloilo City was one of the five finalists for the 2021-2022 Prize cycle chosen among 260 submissions from all over the world under the theme “Thriving Together in Turbulent Times.”
The city’s Participatory Housing and Urban Development project showcases how urban poor associations team up with the local government to create housing that is also safer, more secure and more affordable.
Cadornigara was the main proponent of the initiative in collaboration with the Philippine Action for Community-led Shelter Initiatives, Inc. (PACSII).
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.
In receiving the award, Cadornigara said community groups and the city government under Treñas worked together to find inclusive solutions for delivering much-needed flood-resilient infrastructure in vulnerable areas while respecting the needs of the urban poor communities living on the water’s edge.
Meanwhile, Todos al Parque project of Barranquilla, Colombia won the grand prize of $250,000.
The four runners-up – Iloilo City; Odisha, India; Paris, France; and Peshawar, Pakistan each received $25,000.
Ambassador Ariel Peñaranda, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Philippine Mission to the United Nations in New York, attended the awarding ceremony to support the delegation representing Iloilo City. (With reports from Philippine Mission to the United Nations in New York)/PN
