Photo Credit: New York PM
THE City of Iloilo recently won the global award in New York for its Participatory Housing and Urban Development Project, which provides affordable housing to urban poor.
During the awarding ceremony in New York, the World Resources Institute (WRI) presented the trophy of the 2021-2022 WRI Ross Center Prize for Cities to Iloilo City, represented by Sonia Cadornigara, regional coordinator of the Homeless People’s Federation of the Philippines, Inc. (HPFPI) for Iloilo City.
Cadornigara was the main proponent of the initiative, in collaboration with the Philippine Action for Community-led Shelter Initiatives, Inc. (PACSII).
Iloilo City was one of five finalists for the 2021-2022 Prize cycle chosen among 260 submissions from all over the world under the theme “Thriving Together in Turbulent Times.”
The Participatory Housing and Urban Development project of Iloilo City entailed providing affordable housing and creating flood-control infrastructure to benefit the city’s urban poor without uprooting households from their communities, jobs and support systems.
Ambassador Ariel Peñaranda, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Philippine Mission to the United Nations in New York, attended the awarding ceremony to support the delegation from Iloilo City.
According to Cadornigara, community groups and the local government of Iloilo City under Mayor Jerry P. Treñas worked together to find inclusive solutions for delivering much-needed flood-resilient infrastructure in vulnerable areas while respecting the needs of the urban poor communities living on the water’s edge.
Building citywide relationships and combining multiple community-led strategies have made Iloilo City a model for other housing initiatives in marginalized communities across the Philippines.
American business leader, philanthropist and Prize Jury Chairman Stephen M. Ross presented the runner-up trophy to Cadornigara at the Ford Foundation for Social Justice in New York last February 1.
Four additional finalist projects, from Barranquilla, Colombia; Odisha, India; Paris, France; and Peshawar, Pakistan were also represented at the awarding ceremony.
The Todos al Parque project of Barranquilla, Colombia won the grand prize of $250,000, with the runners-up receiving $25,000 each.
