As part of the two‑semester advanced project “Integrated Climate Resilience Planning in Bacolod, Philippines” at the Faculty of Spatial Planning at TU Dortmund University, 12 students traveled to Bacolod in the Philippines during the first two weeks of March under the supervision of Dr. Wiriya Puntub and Dr. Wolfgang Scholz.

Integrated approaches to urban climate resilience

With a population of around 600,000, the city of Bacolod faces increasing climate risks ranging from severe flooding and typhoons to extreme heat. The project focused on developing options for integrated, resilient urban development using a proactive, cross‑sectoral approach. The spatial focus was on particularly vulnerable coastal settlements as well as a nearby brownfield site of a former airport in the barangay (neighborhood) of Singcang in Bacolod.

In addition, the group had the opportunity to participate in concrete planning processes through full‑day workshops organized by the city administration and GIZ as part of the continuation of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. The students presented their results to around 80 professional participants. The city’s planning office expressed strong interest and intended to incorporate the students’ designs into the ongoing planning process for the former airport site

Interdisciplinary exchange in practice

A workshop with civil engineering students from the University of Negros Occidental – Recoletos opened up perspectives for interdisciplinary as well as intercultural exchange. The aim was to gain insights into the Philippine planning system and, together with the civil engineering students working on evacuation centers in Bacolod, to jointly develop interdisciplinary flood protection measures.

The results were further developed in a half‑day focus group discussion with representatives of residents from flood‑prone areas in Singcang. The presentation of the interim results to the Mayor of Bacolod was undoubtedly a highlight of the project. In the summer semester, further in‑depth work will focus on building typologies for informal settlers and concepts for water management.

Since 2018, the Wilo Foundation has supported similar field excursions for young spatial planning students on topics related to water, climate resilience, and settlements, including destinations such as Oman, San Francisco, Bangkok, and most recently Manila—thereby enabling valuable international experience for the students.