Open spaces and parks redesigned accommodating more green spaces, promoting inclusive access to public spaces, and incorporating climate change adaptation design elements like rainwater harvesting – these are just some of the new sights that welcomed the people of Tagum City early this year. All these were part of the city’s continuing efforts for resilient and green recovery (RGR), addressing overlapping issues of climate change, urbanization, and pandemic challenges.
Aiming to sustain its resilience initiatives, Tagum City recently wrapped up its RGR mentoring and catch-up sessions where projects identified by the cities were further enhanced at the project site-level design.
The hybrid session, held in June, with the city team attending onsite and their partners logging in virtually, allowed city technical groups to develop investment and resource mobilization plans for RGR projects.
As part of a series of RGR capacity building activities that started in 2021, the event was conducted through the technical assistance of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and the Building Climate Resiliency through Urban Plans and Designs, a project implemented by UN-Habitat Philippines and supported by the German government’s International Climate Initiative.
DHSUD eyes that these RGR mentoring sessions be replicated to other cities, allowing more areas in the country to ascribe towards resilience in recovering from the impacts of COVID-19 and climate change.