Reinventing the Terminal Station

In my senior year in college, I had an unusual thesis topic. While my classmates focused on huge projects like hospitals, airport complexes, and 5-star hotels, I proposed to re-develop an old pedestrian overpass in Cubao. My initial reason for this was that I did not see much sense in burdening myself with more work, but more importantly, I saw the need for redeveloping the pedestrian overpasses to encourage more and more people to use them and to wean the public from taking their chances jaywalking across EDSA. In addition, I saw the market potential in the number of pedestrians plying this foot bridge and the economic feasibility of placing commercial spaces along the route where the merchandise is both highly visible and readily accessible. Then, the enterprise could afford and support the use of air-conditioning in and escalators to the overpass, in order to make its use convenient and even preferable for foot traffic.

Since then, the transportation system has developed (by way of the light rail trains); and, close on its heels, came the commercialism. The property developers, who do not miss a beat, have latched on to the same simple theory:  that by addressing the needs and the comfort of the public, you will be able to make a profit. They have realized that the crosswalks and train stations hold a huge potential market. They can either locate the commercial spaces on the pedestrian areas or facilitate the pedestrian flow into their establishments.

A great example is one of Japan’s transport terminals, the central station in Kyoto, which turned out to be a development we have yet to see here. It became the central hub of the city. Like a simple overpass, it is where commuters pass through each working day. On their way, they stop for groceries, meals, entertainment, and shopping. The establishments run the gamut of small food take-out counters to fine-dining restaurants, from holes-in-the-wall selling kitschy stuff to high-end specialty shops, from comic book stands to an anime museum. Eventually, it evolved to include a center for arts, making the finer things in life more accessible to the ordinary pedestrian. The developers capitalized on the potential of this area being frequented by a lot of people. And with the cooperation of the local officials, they were able to address the needs of the public, in more ways than even that public first realized.

I cannot help but compare it to some of our commercial developments located next to each other. Take the neighboring malls, SM Megamall, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Edsa Central, and Star Mall, for example. All these are adjacent to each other, but there is no comfortable interconnection to make it more convenient and attractive for the public. To aggravate a bad situation, an unsightly fence was even placed between Megamall and Shangri-La. If there was even a bit of concern from the local government involved in the approval of the permits of these malls, they could oblige the owners to build interconnections, such as bridge ways or better pathways that would make it more convenient to the public. One example could be the interconnected malls in the Makati central business district. Such interconnections not only invite more shoppers to every mall, but also decongest pedestrians on busy streets. The people, in turn, are protected from rain, heat, and vehicular accidents. They are also encouraged to shop, dine, and patronize business.

Once again, losing sight of the public good could mean losing on business opportunities and profit. It only takes a little bit of concern to win both ways.