TITLE: Rapid population growth in Mindanao exacerbates impacts of extreme weather

AUTHOR: Alexander Makinano

DATE PUBLISHED: February 4, 2024

KEY CONTENT: The recent Trough of Low-Pressure Area (LPA) in the Caraga Region and across Mindanao underscores how rapid population growth worsens climate vulnerability. With expanding populations, more marginal lands are inhabited, forests are cleared, and rivers are obstructed, heightening the risk of disasters. In Caraga alone, over 60,000 families have felt the impact of heavy rains and flooding, leading to community displacement, crop destruction, and infrastructure damage. As population densities increase in disaster-prone areas, more Filipinos are exposed to the dangers of floods, landslides, and storms.

TITLE: Official Suspects Construction Works Worsen Flooding Incidents in Davao City

AUTHOR: Davao Today

DATE PUBLISHED: June 18, 2019

KEY CONTENT: In a press briefing, Ancillary Service Unit (ASU) Chief Paul Previldo E. Bermejo expressed suspicion that ongoing construction of infrastructure projects could have worsened the flooding that recently hit Davao City. Complaints from residents, such as in Barangay Bago Aplaya, where a Chinese businessman was accused of clogging waterways with mud, highlight the potential link between construction and flooding. Meanwhile, the City Disaster Reduction Management Council is formulating strategies to address flooding and other natural disasters in Davao City.

TITLE: Why Davao is suffering from massive flooding

AUTHOR: Keith Bacongco

DATE PUBLISHED: February 3, 2024

KEY CONTENT: Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability Executive Director Mark Penalver said that it is no longer surprising that many landslides were reported, given the situation of the forests in the region. He said massive real estate development and land conversion may have contributed to the severe flooding. He cited the perennial flooding problem in one of the subdivisions in this city that sits on the old riverbed of the Davao River. Like in the past, a portion of this residential area has been submerged in flood waters whenever the Davao River breached its bank.

TITLE: Philippines: Disruptions ongoing due to flooding and landslides in Caraga and Davao regions in eastern Mindanao as of Jan. 19

AUTHOR: Crisis24

DATE PUBLISHED: January 19, 2024 

KEY CONTENT: The ongoing flooding and landslides in Caraga and Davao regions of Mindanao, Philippines, underscore the consequences of inadequate urban planning, exacerbating the impacts of heavy rainfall. Further sustained heavy rainfall could trigger additional flooding in low-lying communities near rivers, streams, and creeks, and in developed areas with overwhelmed stormwater drainage systems. Additionally, sites downstream from large reservoirs or rivers may face flash flooding after short periods of intense rainfall, highlighting the urgent need for better urban planning policies to mitigate future risks and protect communities from recurrent disasters.

TITLE: 10 dead, 14K families displaced in new rounds of Davao floods

AUTHOR: INQUIRER.net

DATE PUBLISHED: February 5, 2024

KEY CONTENT: Individuals were once again affected by the new calamity that has once again submerged agricultural lands, private properties, roads, and bridges. Mindanao is hit by numerous major storms each year that kill hundreds of people and keep vast regions in poverty.

TITLE: Philippines: Flood and Landslides kill 45, thousands evacuated

AUTHOR: WION news

DATE PUBLISHED: October 29, 2022

KEY CONTENT: Floods and Landslides are battering the Philippines. At least 45 people have been declared dead, and thousands were evacuated as floods continue to lash the southern Philippines. 

TITLE: STOP LAND-USE CONVERSION!

AUTHOR: Anakbayan Cebu

DATE PUBLISHED: June 9, 2019

KEY CONTENT: A call for protestants to protest a rally for genuine agrarian form. Land-use conversion has promoted this commercialization of agricultural spaces by rural communities into industrial zones for "development" while concealing the widespread displacement of peasants and land grabbing. 

TITLE: SDG 11 | Sustainable Cities and Communities

AUTHOR: Nonviolence International New York
DATE PUBLISHED: July 31, 2020 

KEY CONTENT: SDG 11 seeks to address the negative environmental and social impacts caused by rapid urbanization and make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. The targets of SDG 11 range from providing safe and affordable housing and public transport for all to protecting indigenous communities and their homes. 

TITLE: Sustainable Earth: Cities

AUTHOR: Andrew Curry

DATE PUBLISHED: May 15, 2012

KEY CONTENT: This article talks about how urban areas occupy a small percentage of Earth's surface but consume a significant portion of energy and produce a large proportion of carbon emissions. Therefore, effective urban planning is essential for maximizing the environmental benefits of urban living. This includes initiatives such as clean public transportation systems and realistic strategies for managing rural-to-urban migration

TITLE: For the Love of Davao

AUTHOR: Fr. Joel E. Tabora, S.J.

DATE PUBLISHED: January 16, 2016

KEY CONTENT: Green spaces are fundamentally an issue of social justice. As human beings, we deserve equal opportunities and rights daily. We can do this by protecting the quality of human life through green spaces, protecting the cooling breezes despite the heat that concentrated populations bring in urban settings, protecting the health of our aquifers through green spaces that can regenerate them, protecting health and fresh drinking water for all, and protecting the city against flooding. As stewards of God's creation, let us do our part to create a sustainable, typical home for all.

TITLE: VLOG 1: Rapid Urbanization in the Philippines | Get to know the team!

AUTHOR: Luntiang Lungsod

DATE PUBLISHED: April 4, 2020

KEY CONTENT: Luntiang Lungsod is an organization that aims to spread awareness of the manifestations of rapid urbanization and its effect on the environment. Urban expansion through transport and industrial structure development adversely affects ecological sustainability. The video promotes environmental and ecological measures towards sustainable urban planning in the Philippines. 

AUTHOR: United Nations Environment Programme

DATE PUBLISHED: n.d.

KEY CONTENT: This infographic is presented by the UNEP that tackles the challenges and solutions of SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. The infographic focuses on rapid rural urbanization, environmental issues, and unsustainable living conditions. 

TITLE: The History of Urban and Regional Planning in the Philippines

AUTHOR: Roque Arrieta Magno and Perpetou Librando

DATE PUBLISHED: 2017

KEY CONTENT: This academic publication offers a comprehensive discussion on the history of urban planning from the Pre-Colonial urbanization until the Post-Independence Era of urbanization. This literature also tackles the influential contributions of urban and regional planning in the future direction of urbanization in the Philippines.

TITLE: Reviewing City Limits: The Risk of Rapid Urbanization In Davao City

AUTHOR: Burdeos, Mariz V., Alejandrino, Mara P., Cababat, Charles Ryan

DATE PUBLISHED: January 2019

KEY CONTENT: This research discusses the risks associated with rapid urbanization, particularly in the increasing population in urban areas due to migration from rural areas. It suggests that the phenomenon is identifiable and highlights the challenges of rapid population growth in urban areas, where individuals often move, seeking better opportunities. These challenges might include strains on infrastructure, services, resources, and potential social and environmental issues.

TITLE: Wheatfield – A Confrontation

AUTHOR: Agnes Denes

DATE PUBLISHED: 1982

KEY CONTENT: Agnes Denes planted a wheatfield in an urban area, symbolizing the clash between nature and urban development. The idea behind Wheatfield was to raise awareness about the impact of human development on the environment, particularly on land use and agriculture. The wheatfield's presence in a bustling cityscape challenged people to reconsider their relationship with nature and the impact of human actions on the environment.

TITLE: Loss of Urban Wetland Caused Flooding in Davao City

AUTHOR: Rudolph Ian Alama

DATE PUBLISHED: February 19, 2024

KEY CONTENT: The article mainly focuses on explaining the importance of wetlands in the context of flooding in Davao City. Wetlands are parts of landmass that can hold surface water, like a river or marsh. Due to the urbanization of Davao in the past decades, some of these wetlands end up becoming populated areas. This limited the number of ways that water could circulate through the land and was often the cause of flooding due to overflows.

TITLE: A Case Study of Immediate Causes and Root Drivers from Cagayan De Oro, Mindanao and Tropical Storm Sendong/Washi

AUTHOR: Franta et. al, Harvard Kennedy Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

DATE PUBLISHED: November 2016

KEY CONTENT: The study is an analysis of disasters caused by Tropical Storm Sendong. It talks about the effects or urban planning, and how inadequate planning can increase the risks of disasters. It is mentioned that the expansion of settlements into wetland areas in Cagayan De Oro was one of the factors that allowed huge flash floods to happen.

TITLE: Life in Philippines Waterworld (AGUSAN MARSH in flood)

AUTHOR: Kumander Daot

DATE PUBLISHED: January 28, 2024

KEY CONTENT: The video explores life in the Agusan Marsh. It shows the daily lives of Manobo residents, taking advantage of their situation. While the floods are common for them, the floods have worsen over the past years. One of the things that causes these floods is the frequent cutting of trees and urbanization near the marsh, making the floods worse.

TITLE: The Philippine Flood Problem

AUTHOR: The Meaning of Life Podcast

KEY CONTENT: One of the problems that make the flooding in the Philippines worse than it is, is LGU negligence. Coupled with poor urban planning across many places in the country, negligence is also to blame when it comes to damages because of the floods. This podcast uses the Magat Dam in Cagayan as an example of this.

TITLE: Land Use Conversion

AUTHOR: Sage Grouse Initiative 

DATE PUBLISHED: January 27, 2021

KEY CONTENT: This webinar talks about unplanned agricultural land conversion and aims to tackle and understand the issue of unplanned land conversions and the factors that affect them. It includes addressing gaps, policies, and issues related to land conversion to move towards comprehensive urban planning that supports the country's economy and lessens its environmental effects on society.