Public launch of #PlanTacloban: Tacloban’s proposed Recovery and Rehabilitation Plan

March 31, 2014 by devonwong4 1 Comment

On March 21st, City Mayor of Tacloban, Mr. Alfred Romualdez, and UN-Habitat representatives revealed the first iteration of the Tacloban Recovery and Rehabilitation Plan to the general public. After several planning workshops, and consultation meetings co-chaired by UN-Habitat, stakeholders finally came up with a plan that envisions Tacloban as “a resilient, vibrant and livable city”.

Presenting to more than 2000 stakeholders from the business sector, academia, people’s organizations and other national and international humanitarian organizations, Mr. Romualdez said that he appreciates all the support provided by UN-Habitat, in addition to inputs from ARCADIS, and ASSURE, and funding from UNDP. The combined efforts have assisted in the development of the plan, which focuses on housing people in safer areas, requiring a city expansion.

For the immediate needs, the plan calls for more than 2200 temporary shelters for survivors that are still living in tents and evacuation centers. Around 40,000 housing units require repair and reconstruction, in addition to 4,800 temporary shelters for those living in makeshift houses. The medium-term plan calls for industrial development, tourism, and economic infrastructure development.

During the development of the proposed plan, the local government of Tacloban City, with support from UN-Habitat and UNDP, was organizing several planning charettes to brainstorm and discuss strategies for the spatial development of Tacloban in order to address emergency, recovery, and long term rehabilitation needs. Meetings were attended by representatives from the city government, national agencies, local and international humanitarian organizations operating in Tacloban, as well as urban planners and other technical professionals.

After the presentation of the proposed recovery and rehabilitation plan, the floor was opened up to members of the public who had the opportunity to express their questions and concerns. The launch of the Facebook page for the Tacloban Recovery and Sustainable Development Group was also announced as a means for the public to continue the dialogue on Tacloban’s recovery.

The Tacloban Recovery and Rehabilitation Plan will be followed by the revision of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan, and will be incorporated into the National Government’s Rehabilitation Plan.

See related Facebook page: Tacloban Recovery and Sustainable Development Group