P17.5-M set to create safe city urban spaces

By Jordan G. Habbiling

BAGUIO CITY -- The city government is set to start a program to capacitate young people to contribute in enhancing the city’s urban landscape to create safe spaces for city folks.
    The City Council approved March 6 the first annual supplemental investment program for 2023 in the amount of P250 million which includes the Safe and Sound Cities Programme for Baguio City. This project will localize the Safe and Sound Cities Programme (S2Cities), an initiative led by a Swiss foundation called Global Infrastructure Foundation (GIB).
    The implementation of the S2Cities program will cost P17.5 million.
    Of the amount, P5 million will be spent for the setting up of the innovation hub.
    Baguio City, along with Naga City and Cuenca and Ambato in Ecuador, has been selected through a rigorous selection process for the implementation of the S2Cities programme.
    The project proposal for the S2Cities Programme for Baguio City was presented by City Planning and Development Coordinator Arch. Donna Tabangin to the city council last March 6. It is a one-year program to be implemented by the City Government of Baguio in partnership with ECLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability.     It is expected to start this March of this year and to end in February 2024.
    According to Tabangin, the S2Cities Programme is committed to creating safer environments with and for young people by addressing urban safety and security issues. 
    She said this will provide the youth a platform to reflect on their urban safety and security experiences and perceptions and will encourage them to collaborate with other urban actors such as youth organizations, the public and private sector, non-government organizations, and the academe to improve urban infrastructure.
    “Young people should have access to adequate public spaces that stimulate positive social interactions and wellbeing. To achieve this, they should have a say in shaping these urban environments and experiences,” Tabangin wrote in the project proposal. 
    Tabangin added that he S2Cities Programme will provide the youth and local government officers capacity building opportunities in terms of decision-making related to urban safety and security
    To realize the vision of S2Cities Programme, the city government will put up a youth safety innovation hub to serve as a space dedicated to nurturing ideas by all urban stakeholders including the youth on how to create safe spaces in the city. 
    The innovation will be located temporarily in the basement of the Baguio Convention and Cultural Center and will be transferred to the Youth Convergence Center which is currently under construction after its completion.
    A network with three university-based incubators will be created for this undertaking. Currently, there are three universities in the city with incubators for research and innovation. These are Saint Louis University, University of the Cordilleras, and University of the Philippines-Baguio.
    The city government will partner with these universities.