Urban Planning Reaction Paper (1of 5) - GK Southville

My first of five reaction papers sa urban planning. Love ko na 'tong subject na to! Para sa masipag magbasa.^^

eto yung link sa article:
http://www.philstar.com/archives.php?aid=20080614174&type=2

at eto naman ang pinag-aksayahan ko ng panahon kagabi habang naulan:*tawa*

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And if empty cans were all I have, what a joy

I never fight to take someone

else's coins and live with fear

like the rest of the boys



Paraiso, help me make a stand

Paraiso, take me by the hand

Paraiso, make the world understand

that if I could see a single bird, what a joy

This tired and hungry land could expect

some truth and hope and respect

from the rest of the world

-lines from Paraiso, Composed by Ryan Cayabyab

Sung by Smokey Mountain

Theme song of the Gawad Kalinga trilogy

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The Choice

Question #1: Why did I choose this article about GK Southville? 

First of all, it was an event in celebration of the Philippine Independence Day
in Cavite that DLSU-D was supposed to be part of. We, in the Council of
Student Organizations, together with the University Student Council,
the College Student Councils and other student groups of this University,
was to send to participants in the said project in GK Southville.

Mr. Greg Mercado, chairman of GK Youth in De La Salle and an active advocate
of GK, became one of our speakers in the Lasallian Youth Agenda (LaYA)
Symposium last May. It is here where he introduced to us the said GK Southville
project with the theme “Kapatiran, Kalayaan sa Kahirapan”.

Question #2: Why didn’t DLSU-D’s participation in it materialize? 

The concern here was that the different student bodies had a short period of
time for the processing of the papers needed for the school administration
to approve the school’s participation on the said event. We learned about
the event during the last week of May, and prior to the date of the GK Southville
project, the respective student bodies were also busy on their own mid-year
workshops, leadership trainings, etc., though in terms of participants, there were
a handful of them.

Another issue here was that the dates covered by the GK project were in conflict
with the opening days of class. It became hard for some students to decide on
whether they should participate because they were also hesitant to miss their
first days of class. Securing excuse letters was also quite a long part of the school
process in holding or participating on off-campus activities. 

So Much for the Reasons 

Now this is where my real observations about the project and the whole organization will start. *smile*

Gawad Kalinga has no doubt done its part toward community development and nation building. Its vision for the country has touched the hearts of the poor on places where it has already provided programs to develop the lives of the Filipino people living in poverty.

When I was still a common student back in second year and I first heard of Gawad Kalinga, my idea about it was building houses. I thought it was purely about putting up homes for the homeless, as I saw pictures of my seniors working together in carrying bricks, working it out on shovels and pails, and mixing gravel, sand and cement for concrete (very Civil Engineering-ish ^^), all for sharing and giving love and peace to these poverty-stricken people.

The Heroes

I was wrong.

After participating in one of its scheduled activities at GK Adlas (one of DLSU-D’s partner outreach communities), I learned that Gawad Kalinga is not at all about just house-building. Putting up homes for the poorest of the poor meant providing them dignity for having an adequate place to live, and consequently, giving them a community of love. This not just about the physical development (site planning) aspect, but more importantly, Gawad Kalinga is concerned with the social transformation that follows such progress on its nurtured communities. Included in this community change are the different livelihood, health, education, environment and youth formation programs to empower the GK residents.

The article about the project in GK Southville says it all. It has come to that point where former recipients of the GK movement, so to speak, has become very passionate on their fellow poor, and decided to be part of its growing number of volunteers. This action of passing and paying it forward is what made this movement a strong example of the Filipino values of Bayanihan and patriotism. Everyone becomes a hero to each other.

The Challenge

The youth comprises the majority of our population. This is one of those activities in community development where we should be more involved. Need I say more?

No more slums. No more violence. No more poverty. This is what GK is all about.

*smile*

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*for love and peace!

My Place (Paper ko sa Urban)

Paper ko sa Urban and Community Planning and Design.
kanina ko lang natapos! haha.backdive.!
Enjoy!
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When the whole world lets you down and there's nowhere for you to turn,

‘Cause all of your best friends let you down, down

Then you try to accumulate but the world is full of hate

So all of your best thoughts, just a trip thru space, space

Chorus:

I know a place, where we can carry on

I know a place, where we can carry on

We can carry on…

And there's people like you, people like me, people need to be free yeah!

There's a place in the sun where there is love for everyone where we can be, be!

-I know a Place, Bob Marley

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Matter

We all have our own spaces to occupy in this world, though one can argue that these spaces are not relatively always equal. Some may have vast spaces for them to live on, others have just enough spaces to fit in, and there are then those who all compress their way to squeeze into the small spaces.

Still, we all have our own places. It is here where each and every one of us grew up and learned many things. It is in these places where we’ve felt the different emotions and considered different ideas.

So, when we were tasked to write something about how was it like on our own place some ten years ago and what are the community developments and also some drawbacks that we’ve seen, it was altogether a happy and puzzled feeling for me.

I’m glad since I’ll then again remember how it was like when our family was in PCU. PCU stands for Philippine Christian University, a school in Dasmariñas where my dad worked as a faculty and we lived there. That was where I grew up and literally had senses on this world.

However, I’m confused on what should I be writing. Should I be writing based only on the place where I grew up (practically the PCU-UTS compound alone)? Or should I include the places where I am now? Well, I could try and do both. ^_^

A Decade Ago

The things I remember I did (routines) back when I was just a nine-year old kid and a third grader in elementary in PCU during schooldays were when I was:

• Walking to school. Around 6:30, I’d be having a 15-20 minute walk from our house to the elementary building with my first sister (she’s Grade 1). Sometimes, our pet dog walks with us, but he usually gives up and heads back home after 10 minutes (maybe he just makes sure if we really go to school).
• Playing with my classmates. Our school has this sort of an open field within its compound, where I play with my classmates those games for kids our age– marbles, playing and trading card collections, all the running games.
• Having lunch. After tiring ourselves out, we have this so-called “base” in school where I and my pals have our lunch. It’s an area between two mango trees (we remember shaded areas very well) on the side of the school field.
• Walking back home. After finally ending class in the afternoon, I and my sister would be walking back home (sometimes, our dog meets us on our way back).

The Base

Life for an eight-year old back then in PCU was full of adventure. The summer and weekends would be incomplete without having to roam around the whole university locale with my friends, our dogs and bikes. We pass through dirt and concrete roads.

There were fewer places to go to though during those times. We ended up having multiple trips on our bikes to similar spots all the time. Those were also the times when we flew kites on the grassy field near our school chapel, played basketball on the school court and spent time chatting on our tree house (literally on top of an acacia tree). You see, I and my neighborhood friends have our separate base from that of my school friends.

Growing Up

As I grew up, I recognized the physical changes that happened on PCU. More houses for staff and faculty were put up. More classrooms were made to accommodate the number of students. Facilities and structures were improved, especially the façade of the school now landscaped with a big dolphin design made of plants (PCU Dolphins).

The open field where I and my elementary classmates used to play is now covered with fences, and our base is now part of the restricted area of the school.

The paths we used to take during our biking moments are now cemented, and the open area in front of the school chapel has more landscapes than before, including one big rock! ^_^

Leaving PCU

During the last months of my fourth year in high school, my dad retired as a faculty in PCU. Such meant leaving our home there and settling at an apartment somewhere in Silang.

It was slightly a hard feeling for me, to leave a place which became a place of safety and held too many memories, and adjust to a new environment. It was also exciting to see what a new place for us family would be, and it was physically challenging to transfer home stuff (I’m the only son. I and my dad did all the lifting those times ^_^).

The Second Transfer

After spending a year and a few months at Silang, we had to move again back to a place between Silang and Dasmariñas. Though we were not living in PCU anymore, my two sisters were still studying there. We basically had a difficult time traveling. We were also trying to maximize our resources.

We found an apartment in a subdivision in Bucal, a barangay in Dasmariñas. To cut the story short, we ended all but BACK to where we were before!! The subdivision is literally one wall away from our old home!!

Insights

It was during these times of transferring from one place of residency to another that I realized how much has changed in my community –the larger community where I belong.

The different establishments grew in number in that span of ten years. Two major malls –Robinsons Mall and SM City Dasmariñas – were notably constructed and are now continuous in their operations in Dasmariñas. These two alone have created big changes on the community – more job opportunities for people in Dasmariñas and more spaces for smaller businesses to operate.

However, accompanying these were also some drawbacks. Because of these major establishments alone, more vehicles traveled daily and an increase in traffic flow was generated. Questions in increase of air and noise pollution are then asked as expected consequences.

Closing Out

Actually, I have no idea how to end this paper now. I may have started somewhat seriously, but the middle and last parts were mostly personal experiences written lightly.

Hmm. I guess I’ll just restate the third paragraph.

“Still, we all have our own places. It is here where each and every one of us grew up and learned many things. It is in these places where we’ve felt the different emotions and considered different ideas.”

Welcome to my place. ^_^

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*for love and peace!