The master plan of the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program, a flagship program of President Marcos, complements the development of smart cities, specifically its component on township development, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Jose Acuzar said.
Acuzar cited “The Prospect of Smart Cities: From a Real Estate Perspective” as timely and relevant, with the DHSUD vigorously pushing it to elevate the living conditions of the Filipino people through decent shelters in sustainable communities through the 4PH.
“In the parlance of a government agency such as ours, it can only mean enhancing the quality of life of our fellow Filipinos through innovations and technological solutions in the housing, human settlements and urban development sectors,” he said.
The essence of developing smart cities — to bring forward the vision of improving the quality of lives in urban areas — matters most, he added.
He said this can be achieved through maximizing land uses, efficiently using our valuable resources, delicately balancing and promoting our open spaces and connecting them through networks, investing on and adoption of appropriate technological breakthroughs that will translate into realizing the cities’ or housing communities’ purpose for its local inhabitants and the general public.
“It sounds pretty complicated as it is indeed complicated. Establishing smart cities would entail weaving various social, economic, geographical as well as political components into a net of strategies capturing urban development,” Acuzar said.
He also cited the Digital Cities Index (DCI) 2022, developed by the Economist Impact and supported by the Nippon Electric Co.
The assessment considers four key pillars — digital connectivity, services, culture and sustainability to assess the extent and impact of digitization in 30 global cities.
“As a developing country, we are apparently lagging behind. But with recent realizations, thankfully, we are now pursuing the promising track, especially with Pambansang Pabahay,” he said.