by CJ Peradilla
MANILA – If there’s anything Manila’s quite notorious for, it’s heavy traffic. In fact, based on Waze’s 2016 Driver Satisfaction Index survey, Manila is rank 170th among the cities with the worst traffic worldwide. The Filipino psyche of using heavy traffic as an excuse does nothing to mitigate the situation, either. Having reached an impasse, commuters now chalk up the horrible traffic to simply being an aspect of living in the city; they no longer feel the need to assuage their struggles.
In search of a solution to the all-too common problem, Dowayo Foresight, a studio specializing in service design and strategic foresighting, as well as the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde Hub of Innovation for Inclusion (DLS-CSB HiFi) collaborated in crafting a human-centered research innovation project, Our Traffic Way Of Life (OTWOL).
A thorough inspection of citizen insight and emotion, HiFi and Dowayo note, is necessary, as people often view traffic with infrastructure and policy in mind. Furthermore, the 12-day research revealed that “lovability is more valuable than livability,” that is, a more meaningful urban experience stems from not just living in the city, but loving living in it. By enjoying the city one can better empathize, and possibly explore more pragmatic solutions to the hassles of city living.
The culminating seminar/exhibit came into fruition on March 3, 2017, with help from the Design Center of the Philippines (DCP). An attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry, the DCP supports the initiative’s attempt to seek non-infrastructure to the traffic problem in the Metro. The project’s design-rooted methodology, DCP Officer-In-Charge Rhea Matute remarked, provides new insight on design as a tool not just for innovation, but for enhancing the quality of human life–a notion well-aligned with the agency’s mandate.
Among the products for transportation services recognized by the DCP as Design Solutions for Mobility in March 2015 are the Nyfti, a three-foldable compact bicycle, the Salamander, an amphibious flood-faring utility vehicle, the eJeep and the eQuad.
