In an ideal world, our capital would be less car-centric. It would prioritize the welfare of commuters over that of motorists, and put more emphasis on the betterment of public transport rather than road networks with elevated highways and the like.
But that’s an ideal world. In the real world, we have none of those. The least we can do is imagine, and that’s exactly what Emman Aquino—an active member of Facebook group How’s your biyahe, bes?—did. He used AI to generate images of what some of Metro Manila’s busiest areas would look like if they were more pedestrian-friendly.
Aquino used Nano Banana Pro via Gemini to create the four-part series. It started with Carriedo Street in Manila City, specifically the part going to Plaza Lacson and Sta. Cruz Church—this is the image you see up top. Directly above this one, meanwhile, is the sidewalk below the northbound side of the MRT-3 Ortigas Station. The rendered images show larger sidewalks and protected bike lanes, giving more room to other road users who aren’t in cars or on motorcycles.
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The third photo in the set is Quezon Boulevard, the area beside Quiapo Church in Manila City. Instead of the multiple-lane highway, the reimagined photo shows actual usable sidewalks and bike lanes on both sides of the road.
Fourth and last subject Aquino chose was the Guadalupe Cloverleaf, specifically the path connecting it to the nearby MRT-3 station. The idea was to give pedestrians and commuters better walkways and dedicated bike lanes that would allow for easier and safer transfers between public-transport routes.
In case we have to say it again, though, these are just images rendered using AI, so don’t be mad about the carless roads. It’s not realistic because there’s an absence of vehicular traffic, yes, but it’s also far from reality because there’s an abundance of open spaces for better pedestrian mobility.
Anyway, while there have been efforts to improve mobiltiy in the city, especially on EDSA and the EDSA Busway, we know there’s still a long way to go before we see Metro Manila in this state. One can dream, though.
