The Philippines has 100 new cities that can be made smart, sustainable, walkable, bikeable and resilient. Right now, our cities are plagued by inadequate infrastructure and corrupt governance. We must educate the next generation on how to create these new, smarter cities. This is why the Palafox Group has partnered with the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) for a course in “Post-Graduate Certificate in Smart Cities Development and Management.”
Oct. 20 marked the launch of the course. Running until Jan. 21, 2026, the program brings together a unique combination of academic rigor and real-world experience, uniting AIM’s leadership in business and governance with Palafox’s five decades of global expertise in architecture, urban planning and environmental design.
This course is not only for architects, engineers and planners — it is for everyone at the decision-making level who shapes the cities of tomorrow. From local government executives and policymakers to developers, investors and civic leaders, this program welcomes those who believe that good governance, sustainability and innovation must converge to create smarter, livable and more resilient cities.
I am grateful to have lectured about smart cities in places such as Berlin, Seoul and Singapore. I now aim to share this knowledge with the next generation.
Rethinking the future of our cities
Cities are for people. Yet too often, our cities are designed for vehicles, profits or politics. The future of urban development must be re-centered on the citizens. Smart cities are not just about technology or infrastructure; they are about intelligence with integrity, where data, design and decisions align to improve quality of life.
According to the IESE Cities in Motion Index, the world’s smartest cities — London, New York, Singapore, Tokyo and Copenhagen — share a common principle: they integrate governance, technology, mobility and sustainability in a way that empowers citizens. We can draw lessons from these models but must tailor them to our Philippine context.
Through this AIM-Palafox program, participants will learn how to design and manage cities that are not only smart, but walkable, bikeable, livable, sustainable and resilient; cities that embrace data, digital transformation and green design without losing their human center.
The Philippine challenge
The Philippines ranks among the fastest urbanizing nations in Asia. More than half of our population now live in cities, many of which are growing faster than their infrastructure can handle. Traffic congestion, flooding, informal settlements and insufficient open spaces reveal how far we still are from sustainable urbanism.
But with these challenges come opportunities. As emphasized in our national planning advocacies and over 145 recommendations submitted to Philippine administrations, we can transform our urban landscapes by rethinking how we plan, govern and invest.
Our country has the potential to be a hub of smart city innovation in the Asia-Pacific. Clark and Davao, for instance, have already been envisioned as future smart cities in our earlier master plans — designed to be well-connected, sustainable and globally competitive. These examples prove that when data-driven planning, visionary governance and disciplined execution converge, transformation is possible.
The Palafox-AIM framework
The Smart Cities Development and Management program is designed to integrate multidisciplinary knowledge — from architecture and engineering to economics, governance and information systems.
With a total of 30 sessions, the course tackles everything from data analysis, tourism and culture, and interior design, to things like financing development, strategic operations and business model thinking. The course is an interdisciplinary experience, utilizing experts across all necessary fields in order to engage with a smart city as it should be: not fractured into fields, but cohesive and ennobling.
This collaborative curriculum was built on the belief that smart cities require smart citizens and smarter governance. It combines the best of academia and practice — AIM’s strategic management frameworks and Palafox’s field-tested methodologies applied in over 40 countries.
Learning from the world’s best
As I have seen in cities like Dubai, Singapore and Toronto, true smart city development requires not just data and devices, but discipline and design. Dubai’s e-governance model allows over 55 government services to be completed online, reducing red tape and corruption. Singapore’s Intelligent Nation plan ensures 100-percent connectivity for schoolchildren and lifelong learning for all.
Tokyo’s Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City integrates health, housing and transport into a single, data-driven ecosystem.
These examples prove that technology, when guided by integrity and vision, can create better cities and better citizens. Through this course, we aim to bring these global lessons closer to home — to inspire Filipino leaders to adopt strategies that fit our climate, culture and communities.
From blueprints to action
For decades, Palafox has been advocating integrated flood control, land use planning and public transport systems. Our recommendations include greenbelts along waterways, elevated walkways and multimodal transport hubs — features already implemented in global model cities. If executed with discipline and transparency, these plans can turn Metro Manila into a network of smart, resilient and interconnected cities.
Smart planning also means engaging communities, not excluding them. It means using sensors and GIS data not only for efficiency, but for empathy — understanding where needs are greatest and responding with evidence-based design.
The road ahead
As the AIM-Palafox Smart Cities program begins, it represents a call to movement: a call to prepare our cities for the future, to train leaders who plan with foresight, design with compassion and build with integrity.
The next generation of Filipino city-makers will inherit a world of complexity: climate change, artificial intelligence and rapid urbanization. But with the right education, they can turn these challenges into opportunities.
If better is possible, good is not good enough.
Let us build cities worthy of our people, our future and our faith.
Pro Deo, Patria, et Terra.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Felino “Jun” Palafox Jr.
Dieser Artikel ist neu veröffentlicht von / This article is republished from: The Manila Times, 22.10.2025
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