A local architect has reminded homeowners to include “personal space” when building their houses.
According to Architect Ned Carlos, an environment with no personal space nor social distance “breeds contagion”. He warned that informal settlements such as slum areas is ground for the spread of diseases. He added that a good housing plan can avoid such situation.
He lamented that the proliferation of diseases in communities has a huge negative impact on tourism and the economy.
One of the ways to solve such social malady is to create an environment that retains what psychologists call “personal space” in communities. “There is a need to integrate higher quality and more appealing housing into neighborhoods. We need clearly-defined public, semi-public, and private spaces that discourage violence, alcohol and drug abuse, and disease contamination,” Carlos said.
He said that efforts to privatize assisted-housing production to promote home ownership is ineffective in solving the problem. He cited how existing public housing units that have survived vandalism and rapid deterioration have become “visual pollutants”.
“When you build housing, you also have to consider commercial, retail, street-level uses, day-care, sports, community centers, health-care. It has to be more than housing,” the architect said.