In today’s highly urbanized Metro Manila, it is not easy to find developments enveloped by nature, greens, and open spaces. A rare example is Parklinks, Ayala Land and Eton Properties’ greenest urban estate in Metro Manila. The estate puts a premium on open spaces, giving workers and locators a wealth of benefits. This includes better general health, a more active lifestyle, and connectivity beyond measure—all resulting from thoughtful urban greening.

Green and open spaces are a fundamental component in an urban ecosystem. The many benefits of spending time outdoors, especially in green spaces, have proven to be one of the fastest ways to improve your health and happiness. This makes it a key component in your home.

According to the World Health Organization, having access to green spaces can reduce health inequalities, improve well-being, and aid in treatment of mental illness. It also gives residents the opportunity to lead an active lifestyle, rather than a sedentary one. Ultimately, the availability and accessibility of green and open spaces in urban neighborhoods support the development of healthy lifestyles. This can include spending time outdoors walking, jogging, or playing.

While everyone’s waiting for normalcy in our life to get back, we can’t help but wonder what the ‘new normal’ will be.

As it is right now, design experts around the world look at the COVID-19 pandemic as a call to change the way we create things for good as we move forward. To city and architecture experts, this involves more calculated measures of how possible future waves of contagion will be controlled. This can be in terms of how they design homes, residential communities, cities, even retail and public spaces. It has certainly become an invitation for designers to be more innovative, and come up with solutions that will enhance and preserve life further.

While cities have been around for centuries, the concept of urban planning is a relatively newer study that has been developing importance in the last decade. Overpopulation, traffic congestion, and health issues throughout the years have urged government and developers to stop and think – how do we make our urban developments a foolproof place for people to live well?

The COVID-19 pandemic should not stop you from investing your hard-earned savings in a worthwhile venture—be it a house and lot or a condominium unit. This may be, in fact, the best time to invest in your future as current promotions and smart offerings make it even more attractive to purchase a property today. What you need to take stock of, however, are the crucial lessons learned so far in this pandemic.

Apart from buying ready-for-occupancy (RFO) properties, buying pre-selling properties is another popular choice when it comes to acquisition. These properties are off-the-plan, which means the property is not constructed yet. Buyers sign a purchase contract but can only view the designs and building plans. While there are no physical properties that buyers can inspect, buying a pre-selling condo, lot, townhouse, or office space has several benefits.

Despite economic challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, real estate in the Philippines is still seen as a solid ground for future-proof investments.

In fact, over the last decade, commercial land values South of Metro Manila have quadrupled. Growth in prices are even at 400% from 2009 to 2019 for properties located in thriving estates all over the country, such as Makati and Bonifacio Global City. Newer estates in the South have also proven their track records for commercial lots sales, given the strong demand for developments such as Vermosa, Evo City, and Broadfield.

Ayala Land's newest estate is Broadfield. Offering a choice location in Laguna, it has a diverse estate mix that includes already-built communities, existing and future infrastructure, and strong market capability potential.

Spanning over 120 hectares, about 36.6-hectare of this estate is allocated for the first phase of the commercial district. This location is ideal for business enterprises who are seeking to develop their own building or other mid-rise developments.

Metro Manila’s potential for economic expansion has been constricted by a poor infrastructure network brought about by decades of neglect and underspending. The current administration is addressing this by identifying major infrastructure projects that will be built in Metro Manila over the next three to seven years. Among the infrastructure projects that the government intends to develop is the Manila Subway system.