Tagbilaran City is a growing density. As the development of the city advances
along with its urban volume, the lack of public open spaces is starting to arise. The
Tagbilaran City Urban Pocket Parks is a study that aims to create a greener vision for
the city involving the introduction of public open spaces that caters leisure, profit and
environmental prospects. Pinpointing four most viable locations in Tagbilaran's
premises, the researchers assessed site conditions, existing problems, commercial
viability, density of people observed around the area, and possibility these hold as
future public areas. These miniscule spots in the city will create recreation amongst
neighborhoods, common spaces for the citizens in the city, income for owners and will
help regenerate nature back to the rising urbanization of Tagbilaran City.
Cities in the present times tend to be characterized by having rising edifices,
automobile abundance, and a place where higher income and larger innovations exist.
The way a city grows greatly affects the way people live, even more so now in the
modern age. With business being a huge deal to investors in the city, structures for
commercial usage maximizes an area by building almost more than what is required
in order to gain more profit. This practice results to the densification of cities, firewall
against firewall, leaving only minimal portion for open spaces. Tagbilaran City is no
exception to this matter. As Bohol’s tourism continues to improve by the day, the
construction of new higher buildings is inevitable, more specifically in the city. This
leaves the idea of having open spaces in the area put aside. Even if Tagbilaran is still
not as developed as any other cities in the country, the subject on providing open
spaces for breathing areas and landscapes must already be a concern.
Tagbilaran City’s central business perimeters can be seen in aerial view as a
huge gray spot surrounded by greener lands of Bohol’s municipalities. This makes one
distinguish how vastly the urban growth of Tagbilaran is affecting the whole city. When
walking through these areas, the urban heat island effect is very much evident.
Discomfort can be felt because of the intense heat from the sun and the surrounding
concrete buildings built next to each other with little to no greeneries that should
provide shade. This is another indication that the city needs to make more efforts in
incorporating nature back to the thriving urbanization of Tagbilaran.
However, apart from the apparent settings and lapses in the city, Tagbilaran
also holds the most scenic locations that can satisfy the public’s outdoor leisure
desires featuring views of its own architectural and cultural heritage, the sunrise and sunsets of the bay, the tropical heat, and even the exquisiteness of the busy streets
of the city where interaction between the common people happens. This goes to show
how much potential these locations have and how huge the effects would be if given
these locations become public open spaces.
The researchers considered all the above mentioned conditions and designed
four varying themes of pocket parks for each location. Pocket parks will provide shade,
temporary shelter for the public, relaxation, profit to owners and nature regeneration.
Each pocket park hosts different types of attraction, therefore creating variation and
more choices for the public.
The Tagbilaran Seaport Sidewalk Pocket Park
Having a total lot area of 2087.46 square meters, the site plan is composed of
wider sidewalks for pedestrian, parking spaces for cars, shuttles, tricycles and
motorcycles, planting strips for trees that buffer the road access and the main park
grounds, seating areas, food vendor stalls and public toilets.
The main attraction of this proposed pocket park is not the park grounds itself
but the Tagbilaran City Bay, its clear waters, and the breathtaking view of the sunrise
and sunset. Therefore, the researchers designed this location with a modern concept,
fewer lines, more open spaces providing a clear, unobstructed view of the bay.
Boholano vendors stay as close as possible to the seaport to gain income from the
tourists. The vendors shall remain but will be relocated in rentable food stalls.
Designed with a simple wood framing, glass partitions and polycarbonate roofing
material, the food vendor stalls shall provide a more organized setting for the vendors.
With a perfect view of the bay, the seating areas of the park is maximized to
accommodate the public. These are made of concrete and is designed like huge
planter boxes. The center portions of the seating areas are to be planted with grass
and low lying trees and palms that will give shade. The greeneries shall break the
boundary between the busy seaport streets and the bay. With this, the people will feel
a more relaxing ambience.
The Tagbilaran City Skate Park (Corner J. Borja St. and C.P.G. Ave.)
The site has a total lot area of 564.80 square meters. The plan is basically
composed of the public seating areas with public toilets and the skating grounds.
About 75% of the area is occupied by the skateboarding ramps and obstacles. This
allows them to be freely moving around and about the area. The remaining 25% is allotted for the seating areas and public toilets. A 1.50-meter sidewalk along the two
access roads is provided and is divided by a wooden fence and shrubs.
The concept of this pocket park is creating a sports-related attraction in the
middle of the city. A few months after the old commercial spaces in this area was
demolished, teenagers were spotted skating the old concrete floors that remained in
the site. The researchers, therefore concluded to design a skateboarding park that
shall cater these teenagers’ hobbies and hone their capabilities in a safer place. The
design features a variety of skateboarding obstacle courses like half pipes, quarter
pipes, manual pads, pyramid, grind rails, and launch ramps. The obstacles are made
of wood material to make it safer compared to pure concrete.
The City Heritage Park (Corner F. Rocha & A. Hontanosas Sts.)
The total area of the site is 568.70 square meters. The simplicity of the park’s
site plan is the key to creating an effective distribution of flow of traffic in the park.
Since F. Rocha Street is a two-way lane and A. Hontanosas Street is one-way, the
public parking slots are accessible to the side on A. Hontanosas Street to
accommodate easier entrance and exit flow for vehicles. Wider sidewalks measuring
1.50 meter with a planting strip for trees dividing it into two lanes provide more
convenient pedestrian access. Enclosed buildings which are the rentable spaces and
the toilets are positioned at two firewalls while the park pavilion is located at the center
of the site creating an unobstructed and clear sight of the whole park. Habitable
landscapes with only few trees and shrubs provide huger spaces for social gatherings
such as picnics. High-lying and wide trees shade the whole park but do not block the
surrounding views.
Being situated in the city’s heritage district, this pocket park’s development
would highly require the design to camouflage and not stand out with its adjacent
structures. The researchers proposed a heritage-themed open space where the public
can rest, enjoy food and nature and appreciate the beauty of Tagbilaran City’s cultural
heritage all at the same time. Vernacular architecture was used in the design of the
structures, featuring simple gabled roofs, timber construction, usage of bamboo and
nipa (thatch roofing) as building materials and callado feature.
The City Heritage Park (Corner F. Rocha & A. Hontanosas Sts.)
This location has a total lot area of 955.65 square meters. The site’s planning
requirements include a commercial congregation area, landscapes, seating areas, parking spaces and public toilets. An existing tree also becomes an advantage to
providing a wide shade along the corner of the site.
The site is located in the city’s heritage district but instead of mimicking the
surrounding heritage structures, the park’s design merges traditional construction
methods with modern design concepts. It mainly promotes the flexibility and durability
of Bohol’s local materials namely timber and bamboo. The park features an open
pavilion that shall serves as congregation area. It has rentable spaces for food vendors
on each sides and a central dining area. This may also be used as venue for other
small social gatherings that want to experience an outdoor ambience. Its inspiration is
a mimicry combination of the natural forms of a butterfly and the center lines of a leaf,
a representation of the rich flora and fauna of Bohol. Its roof is made up of nipa (thatch)
on lower parts and polycarbonate on the center to allow natural skylight to pass
through. The pavilion provides shelter but do not seclude the occupants from the
outdoor ambience of the whole park.
CONCLUSION
The citizens and commoners visiting the city of Tagbilaran are likely to have
resorted themselves in the collective notion that the only place to relax, socialize and
release the day’s exhaustion is the closed air-conditioned walls of shopping malls. It
is actually a good sign that Tagbilaran is constantly developing in the sense that
business investors have ventured more in the city, creating jobs and more access for
people to goods and services. However, it lacks the very essence and identity it should
hold as a city which is showing the people that Tagbilaran does not merely exist to
provide spaces where business emerges but a place where common people can
experience the outdoor, appreciate nature, be mesmerized by its own architecture, be
willing to get out of their homes to explore the city and create socialization amongst
each other.
As little as these pocket parks may seem in the large scale development of
Tagbilaran City, altogether, these areas will generate a connection once these are
spread around the city. This connection will become the source of neighborhood
among the citizens, wide-spread socialization and eventually more satisfied people
that will never get tired of visiting Tagbilaran City.
"TAGBILARAN CITY URBAN POCKET PARKS"
LEAH KRISHA C. TABIGUE
ALYSSA HANNAH L. BAG.AO
JAY P. LOBRIGAS
BOHOL ISLAND STATE UNIVERSITY - MAIN
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