MANILA Philippines ? A week since the Facebook-based environmental advocacy group ?Metro Manila Needs More Green Spaces? composed mostly of urban residents clamoring for increased oxygen sources in the metropolis was featured in Inquirer Property, membership had abruptly snowballed from 563 to 613 as of press time.
Also quite notable is the increasing number of developers in the country growing a ?green conscience.?
To name a few, South Forbes boasts its developer Cathay Land is now employing its so-called Green Construction and Technology, particularly in its 18-hole golf course, amid the popular thinking that golf courses, by themselves, are notorious for the ecological imbalances they cause.
In the development of the golf course, Cathay Land stresses that minimal earth movement had been incurred in order to preserve and maintain the natural features of the site.
South Forbes is being positioned as the country?s largest fully integrated golf resort city at 500 hectares, dedicated to the promotion of its residential, education, business, wellness and leisure aspects at the Metro Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay growth corridor.
Its various communities will carry the eco-friendly theme ?Walking as the main mode of transportation to lessen dependence on automobiles,? said Jeffrey Ng, Cathay Land president. ?Landscaped promenades to and from every location are provided to make this basic and pollution-free activity most enjoyable.?
Other upscale urban residential developments have tried to simulate much-desired vacation themes.
In Makati City, Rockwell?s The Grove?s centerpiece is its ?contemporary urban river? which flows ceaselessly from one form to another starting with a spectacular waterfall feature that culminates in a reflective koi pond. Lush tree canopies complement the water features and provide a natural blanket of green for rest and recreational islets where groups or families may hold private functions or simply enjoy the outdoors.
Sustainability
Recently, Nuvali described how its community was driven by the theme of sustainability with its Montecito (a 60-hectare residential development on the hills of Canlubang) preserving the natural site conditions, and also driven by energy-efficient enclaves.
Its Matang Tubig (?eye of the water?)?an artesian spring from Tagaytay ridge that would be used to irrigate the greenways and other common areas?also powers a mini-hydroelectric plant that generates electricity to light the community?s main streets.
Last August, during the launch of Celadon Manila?s lifestyle weekend market, Ayala Land revealed that it was setting aside 7,000 sq m for the development?s open space and greeneries. As a result, Celadon Manila is considered a low-density development.
Ayala Land boasts that environmental conservation has been its heritage since the 1950s, with lush greeneries and open spaces characteristic of its pioneering communities Dasmariñas, Bel-Air and Forbes.
