Urban optimism, grounded in data

Originally published in Manila Bulletin

“You’re too ambitious.”
“It’s impossible.”
“Nothing ever changes here.”

These are the words that people say when you tell them you want to fix cities like Manila. That you want to make public transport dignified. That you believe sidewalks should exist — and actually be walkable. That informal settlers should have secure housing, not just eviction notices. That urban life in the Philippines can be fair, efficient, and even joyful. Some say it’s naïve. Others say it’s madness.

But after completing a Master of Science in Cities at the London School of Economics, I’ve learned something critical: Urban optimism is not fantasy — it’s a discipline. And when grounded in data, it becomes a force that’s not only realistic, but necessary.

Look around the world

If you look around the world, you’ll see that urban transformation is happening — not in abstract theory, but in hard infrastructure, community governance, and measurable outcomes.

In Bogotá, Colombia, a city once overwhelmed by congestion and inequality, the TransMilenio bus rapid transit system has reshaped mobility patterns for millions. In Rwanda, Kigali’s land use data system has allowed for more inclusive urban planning. In India, the Smart Cities Mission has begun digitizing services and rethinking how medium-sized cities function.

These aren’t perfect models. But they’re proof: Change is not only possible — it’s already happening.

What unites these cities is not blind faith or even just strong leadership. It’s a relentless commitment to data — to measuring what matters, understanding what’s broken, and tracking what works. Urban transformation begins with visibility. Without the numbers, you’re just guessing. With them, you can build.

The case for Metro Manila

So let’s bring it home. The Philippines has no shortage of planners, visionaries, or political declarations. What we lack is the institutional muscle and policy culture to follow through — to act with data as our compass.

Metro Manila is where we must begin. It is the country’s capital, our most complex urban region, and a mirror of both our potential and dysfunction. But it’s also a place where we can prove what is possible.

We can digitize land use maps. We can reform traffic through data-driven transport policy. We can track informal settlements, not to remove them, but to understand what services they actually need. We can build systems — ones that survive beyond political terms — to analyze and act on urban realities.

There are already seedlings of this work: the Pasig City transport reform efforts, Marikina’s long-standing pedestrianization policies, Quezon City’s data on gender-inclusive spaces. They’re not enough, but they’re not nothing.

From theory to practice

My year at LSE Cities was filled with spreadsheets, mapping tools, and policy critiques. But it was also filled with stories — of Dakar’s resilience planning, of Athens’ refugee integration challenges, of Barcelona’s tactical urbanism.

What I take home is not just theory. I take home a toolkit — and a conviction that change starts by proving it can happen somewhere.

Let that “somewhere” be Metro Manila.

Let’s show what’s possible when optimism is disciplined by evidence.

Let’s stop arguing over whether the dream is too big — and start building proof, one street, one dataset, one policy at a time.

(Note: On July 24, 2025, Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo graduated with a Master of Science in Cities from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE Cities) during a ceremony held at the Peacock Theatre. Her capstone research, “Assessing the Viability of the 15-Minute City Model in Metro Manila,” examines how the widely discussed urban planning model can be adapted to address the complex and fragmented urban landscape of the Philippine capital.)

This opinion piece is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). You are free to share, adapt, and redistribute this content, provided appropriate credit is given to the author and original source.