Future-centric Palafox has been at the forefront of architecting future-proof developments, a testament to its mission of creating connected, resilient and accessible communities in the process. What used to be a familiar adage of location, location, location is now replaced by technology-driven concepts such as mobility, connectivity and accessibility.

A renowned architect and world-famous urban planner, Felino "Jun" Palafox is a visonary leader whose strength lies in what is not yet seen. Building masterplan of cities, incluidng future ones, takes decades to come to life, and arguably so, as executing this to transform cities and inevitably the way we live requires many other things in parallel such as policies, budget and partnership.

Philippines 2050

In celebration of its 35th year, Palafox launches its advocacy campaign Philippines 2050: First World Country and First World Economy where Palafox carefully details the challenges that persist and sustainable ways forward for the country to achieve this feat. Such efforts aim to give life to the Goldman Sachs and HSBC's projection that the Philippines will be the 16th economy of the world by 2050, and the 12th by 2075.

According to PSA, the Philippines would have an estimated population of about 140M by the year 2055 and Palafox forecasts that the country will be needing 100 new cities in the process. These new cities have to be healthy, sustainable and resilient and will be supported by the different types of infrastructure available to yield 18 kinds of tourism.

The long list of transformative projects that Palafox has been leading reflects its consistency to what it has been advocating all along. The different typologies designed including mixed use development, hotel and resort, high rise, places of worship and health and wellness, among others, cater to the different needs and requirements of the LGUs, businesses and communities alike. Further, its ethos of incorporating planning principles touching on accessibility, mobility and connectivity can be seen in the design of 15-minute cities - that you can get what you need in 15 minutes.

A living testament to this is Palafox's stellar work done in Rockwell, where the land used to be a brownfield site at the edge of Makati City and when, in 1992, Geny Lopez, the erstwhile Kapitan of the Lopez Group of Companies, was on the brink of selling the land at Php3,500 per sqm on an as-is, where-is basis. Little did he know how that would change exponentially as Palafox brought to life its vision of the future.

In this age of connectedness, Palafox further reiterates that those with less in wheels should have more in roads, capitalizing on open spaces that can be used for landscaping and people-led activities. Open spaces are the lungs of the city and the more that this is incorporated, the more sustainable communities will be.

Challenges

Truth be told, there is no vision that is not beset with challenges. The persisting challenges in the country delay and limit the potential that can be had in the process. After the war, the Philippines took after the city of Los Angeles that was predominantly designed for automobiles. Bigger challenges likewise impact the execution of high profile projects which include the absence of long-term planning, as what can be gleaned from the country's development plans, all but spanning 6 years given the Constitutional limitation.

This reflects the need to have a more continuous and administration-agnostic developmental planning strategy to ensure that the road to progress can be made sustainable. This, coupled with the involvement of the private sector and the continued education of the Filipino people will pave the way for the country to achieve Philippines 2050.

Postcards from the future

From the eyes of Palafox, the future can be readily seen. It continues to send postcards from the future through their diverse developments both here and abroad while beaming with Filipino pride. Its notable accomplishments are sustained and make their way to the future by combining key elements such as environment, equity, spirituality and history, culture and humanitie. This integral ecology allows Palafox to charter its advocacy on the Philippines 2050 to greater heights and we are here catching the glimpse of the future.

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