Resiliency and sustainability, along with convenience and accessibility, are the new gold ticket to sustainable living in the time of COVID-19.
Having gone through a year in various stages of community quarantine, many people now realize that proximity to essential stores, services, key establishments and institutions could very well serve as one’s lifeline. As such, many are now embracing the concept of building “15-minute cities.”
C40 Cities, an international coalition of urban leaders, first proposed this concept as a tool for post-pandemic recovery. A Bloomberg report in July 2020 said this proposal “echoes the transformative ambitions” of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who rallied the idea that “Parisians should be able to meet their shopping, work, recreational and cultural needs within a 15-minute walk or bike ride.”
Gold standard
While only gaining popularity recently, building “15-minute cities” is not an entirely new concept. In the Philippines, for instance, one property developer has long adopted such an approach in creating its communities.
SM Development Corp. has already been creating master–planned integrated lifestyle communities that bring together key components within a safe, self-sustaining community. As such, residents of SMDC communities found no difficulty in securing their needs, even in the midst of lockdowns, since a mall or a commercial strip has always been an integral part of the developments — even long before COVID-19.
This same kind of unparalleled convenience, accessibility—and more—can soon be had in SMDC’s latest master-planned project in Parañaque City: the 11.6-hectare Gold City. Rising along Ninoy Aquino Avenue across the NAIA Terminal 1, this fully integrated premier development is poised to deliver the gold standard in mixed-use communities, as it impeccably fuses elegance, convenience and opulence.
As a modern, sustainable community, Gold City enjoys unparalleled proximity to the NAIA terminals, which will conveniently connect future residents, tenants and office workers to the rest of the Philippines and the world, providing ready access to a world of opportunities for business, employment and social connections. It also seamlessly clusters living and working spaces in a micro-city, while ensuring that each component is able to function accordingly. A subterranean parking and walkway will also be built in Gold City, to promote walking by connecting the residential towers, offices and commercial areas with each other – all as it protects residents from harsh weather. Productive open spaces, coupled with well thought-out amenities, further play a key part in ensuring urban sustainability as they promote healthy lifestyles in shared spaces where residents can commune with nature and with each other, and reducing their carbon footprint in the process.
Indeed, Gold City lives up to its name as your golden ticket to a modern, opulent and sustainable life.
SMDC is Property Guru’s Best Developer for 2020. For more information on Gold Residences, visit https://smdc.com/properties/gold-residences/
