Sustainable Living

Last February 2011, doodz asked the Nuvali skyscrapercity thread for suggestions on  current and future developments in Nuvali which he would bring up at a focus group discussion with Ayala management.

I put together below the ideas raised by the following contributors: arceesky, timberlandic, lagueno, MAXmonash, peter5688, boogieman909, Kaleidoscope, fwh_buyer, ritzandrico, leechtat, mach000, Radical!, yes!, gpcracker, montalut

Wouldn’t it be great to make a collective vision board for Nuvali?  Feel free to add your own suggestions! (My comments are in green)

I grouped them into the following six categories:

1. Traffic and safety
2. Maintenance
3. Facilities / amenities
4. Green features
5. Community / dialogue
6. Events

1. TRAFFIC & SAFETY

• expansion of Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road to four lanes or installation of \”smart\” traffic lights (Already being done, started on May 9, 2011)
• street lights / solar-powered lampposts along Nuvali Boulevard for nighttime driving safety
• CCTV cameras in public areas to deter crime
• Come up with a grand design for transportation plans from the communities, schools, Solenad and the Makati and/or Ortigas CBDs (A transport terminal to link Nuvali to other town centers and regional hubs will be opened by July 2011)
  • Tram as public transport: Cleaner, quieter & safer than a wayward bus
  • a shuttle bus system to and from Metro Manila to help address the rising toll and gas costs while the train system is not yet in place
• Address security concerns over the increasing public access to Nuvali

2. MAINTENANCE

• Improvement on the cleanliness in SOLENAD by adding more trash bins and strictly reprimanding those who litter
  • INCREASE Maintenance & Security Visibility
  • Post strong “clean as you go” reminders, especially on the tiangge tables reserved for eating
  • Put up signs threatening litterbugs with fines and community service (e.g., for every wrapper thrown, you have to plant one tree seedling in Nuvali)
• Announce [cleanliness reminders during events in Solenad] every now and then
• STOP allowing people to just have a picnic on any grassy area and leave their mess after

3. FACILITIES/AMENITIES

• Free Internet access via Wi-Max
• 100% underground utilities (Meralco, phone, cable TV) for the entire Nuvali
• Emergency response center (a la 911): One number to call for police, fire & ambulance
• Disabled-friendly facilities: e.g. toilets, parking areas, building entrances, elevators, etc.
• Emergency evacuation shelters: Usually schools are designated as such in case of earthquakes, etc.
• Plenty of clean public toilets (with tissue paper)
• Tennis courts. Not everyone can play basketball and soccer.
• Increase the allotment of lots to business district, para maging business hub ang Nuvali
• Figure out how to cater to the different groups [who visit Nuvali] without alienating one or the other. Maybe they can zone establishments?
• They should plan where the future police outposts or government offices will be
• Attract more businesses in Nuvali: the big oil players car companies, banks, food companies, a hotel and hospital (Shell will soon put up a gas station next to Solenad 2.  Check out What’s new at Nuvali’s Solenad 1 and 2 for an update on current and future retail establishments in Nuvali)
• a Nuvali Country Club.
• ALI should relocate some of its offices in Nuvali by becoming a regional office of Ayala Corporation outside of Makati.
• a stand alone cinema.
• a community library in Nuvali
• A High Street -like mall / leisure park
• Ateneo de Nuvali University: Should be fun with archrival De La Salle-Canlubang nearby
• Nuvali Medical Center: State-of-the-art research, wellness and healing center
• A Nuvali Coliseum/Cultural Center which will be a major venue for arts, performances, sporting events, concerts, seminars, and trade shows in the Philippines. This will bring Nuvali into a different level. It\’s also a good chance to showcase a grand modern architecture in our country.
• Bring in Disneyland
• Build a wedding venue for 250-500 guests! Maybe a hotel in the future can fit the bill but a dedicated venue would be nice. It would also promote the area as visitors will be “forced” to visit Nuvali, and the TONS of wedding photos / videos. A nice place would bring in a lot of people.  (A 2,500-sqm Events Place is set to be established by a non-Ayala entity across the Evoliving Center)
• Wilcon Depot: Great long-term business opportunity with so much construction going on now and in the next 50 years
• PriceSmart Wholesale Club: For those who love to buy in bulk
• A central main park that’s huge and well maintained…They should build a central park New York style, that would fit in with their green development vision.

4. GREEN FEATURES

• Ban on plastic bags, just like they did recently in Muntinlupa
• Strict waste segregation: Burnables and recyclables are collected separately. Recyclables have to be further sorted into: (a) cans (b) plastic (c) paper (d) PET bottles (e) glass bottles.
• A redesign of those electric trikes. Function should always be complemented by form and if we really want people to “like” the concept and the design, then we should also make it visually appealing.
• Incentives for homeowners who build green/live green. For example, if you compost, you get a discount from your association dues
• a community garden (for residents in our respective communities and also for Nuvali visitors–this can be integrated into the Evoliving Center).
• Leased Vegetable Plots as stress relievers for city folks (even Laguna dwellers) to play farmer on weekends and go home one day with their own harvest of tomatoes, carrots, etc.
  • experts to assist in making a simple plant nursery and moving the plants to the plot. A fee is made to maintain/water the area and they visit on weekends until harvest.
• Ayala management to look into the planting concerns raised in this forum, i.e. no planting of fruit-bearing trees and vines(!). This goes against the very advocacy of Nuvali
• And a bicycle rental program/system like the one they have in London, Paris and Montreal would really prove that the Nuvali community is really serious about being green.
• Maintain the expected standard of the environmental concept of Nuvali
• Ayala needs to be smarter and work harder at preserving the environment

5. COMMUNITY / DIALOGUE

• More and better communication from Ayala on developments to the community. As noticed, we rely more on each other for updates and news rather than visiting the official Ayala website because of lack of updates.
• the Nuvali website (http://www.nuvalievoliving.com) needs some major overhaul
• All of us who invested our hard earned money in this place should be heard by the Ayala Mgt…..
• A community website for Nuvali, not just a marketing website with lots of nice photos, but a place where people can interact, post pictures, talk about fun things to do in Nuvali that they discovered (Add nuvalicommunity on facebook or join the nuvalicommunity yahoogroup to connect with other residents and stakeholders in Nuvali)
  

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• Everyone involved in Nuvali, whether directly or indirectly–Ayala as developer, residents, visitors, government–should already be involved in the dialogue.
• I would also like to see more of the SOCIAL sustainability aspect of Nuvali promised by Ayala.

6. EVENTS

• STOP those “tiangge”, bazaars, food Kiosks
  • the concept of tiangge is actually not a bad idea because this encourages entrepreneurship. The issue is poor execution. The location in Solenad is not suitable for tiangge. ALI should think of a separate location in Nuvali to hold this tiangge. Perhaps, ALI should build a tent, similar to the NBC tent in Fort, where special events can also take place. This will also answer some of the suggestions earlier where special events such as weddings, corporate gatherings, etc can take place.
• green lifestyle workshops and lectures (example: composting, vertical gardens, landscaping, organic gardening, keeping chickens, green building, etc.).
  • Invite an expert from UPLB to talk about what plants are best planted on Nuvali soil, etc
  • Produce a regular newsletter with this info

You’ll notice that most of these are action steps for Ayala as developer of Nuvali, but I think it’s just as critical to put ourselves in the equation and together ask: How can we make Nuvali a better place?  How can we make it home?