Metro Manila Climate Adaptations 2100

Metro Manila Engineering Innovation Workshop on Urban Climate Adaptations

MAPUA University, Intramuros, Manila — 8:30am-5pm, December 1, 2025

This event has been postponed to Dec.1, 2025 in the light of road closures due to the INC Peace Rally from Nov.16-18, 2025. 

Event date is now Dec.1, same time and place at MAPUA University.

Convenors

Climate Action Labs International (CALI) · MAPUA University · Adaptive Leadership International · Asian School of Governance · MPAplus+ · Green Cities Consortium · Galing Pook Foundation

About the Forum

Metro Manila faces two interconnected climate challenges that will define the region’s livability in the year 2100:

1. City Cooling — Extreme heat and urban heat islands increase health risks, drive energy demand, and strain infrastructure.

2. Precipitation & Sea-Level Rise (SLR) — Heavier rainfall, flooding, land subsidence, and coastal inundation threaten lives, livelihoods, and public assets.

Responding to these requires interdisciplinary collaboration across engineering, health, and governance:

• Health disciplines bring vital insights into heat-related illness, waterborne diseases, and public health preparedness.

• Public administration ensures solutions are embedded in governance, planning, and regulatory systems.

• Engineering and design provide technical solutions and prototypes to make adaptation actionable.

Universities, acting as city-level anchors, can integrate these perspectives within their climate research. By aligning across Metro Manila, they can connect climate science with health systems and local governance to deliver city-scale and metro-wide solutions.

Objectives

1. Identify possible student- and faculty-led city adaptation design projects under Track 1 (City Cooling), Track 2 (Precipitation/SLR), Track 3 - Curricular Adaptations (mindsets and culture).

2. Identify flagship multi-campus initiatives that span engineering, health, and public policy.

3. Identify shared protocols for NCR-wide collaboration on data, ethics, and intellectual property.

4. Discuss possible curricular adaptations given a warming planet

Who Should Attend

Each participating university is invited to send two representatives:

1. University President OR Dean of Engineering (required)

2. University Vice President OR Assistant Dean of Engineering (optional second representative)

Pre-event preparation: Participants are encouraged to convene prior intra-university faculty discussions with their Deans of Medicine, Nursing, and Public Administration to frame an interdisciplinary approach to city-scale climate cooling and flood/sea-level rise adaptation. Participants are also encouraged to secure their city's Local Climate Change Action Plan to pre-identify shared climate adaptation interests between the university and their city. 

This ensures that insights from public health, governance, and engineering disciplines already inform research perspectives emerging from the forum.

Expected Audience: ~100 leaders representing 50 universities with engineering schools across Metro Manila.

Confirm your attendance here.

Program Topics

08:30 – 5:00 pm
MAPUA University, Intramuros

The forum features plenary sessions, interdisciplinary dialogues, and parallel working tracks.

Track 1 – City Cooling

• Heat island mapping, shading, and green corridors

• Cool/reflective pavements and building surfaces

• District cooling and retrofits linked to health system resilience

• Energy-efficient, renewable-powered cooling for hospitals, schools, and public facilities

Track 2 – Precipitation & Sea-Level Rise

• Sponge-city retrofits and rainwater detention

• Drainage innovation and pumping optimization

• Coastal resilience: surge barriers, living shorelines, managed retreat

• Subsidence monitoring and adaptation pathways integrated into city planning

Track 3 – Reimagining the Engineering Curriculum

• Epistemic transitions: exploring shifting engineering education and mindsets toward systems thinking and regeneration See www.engineeringforoneplanet.org 

• Artificial intelligence and interdisciplinarity/anti-disciplinarity: equipping future engineers to work with AI in climate modeling, urban design, and community engagement. https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/116989 

• Curriculum reform: embedding climate adaptation, public health, ethics, and sustainability as core engineering competencies.

• University as anchor institution: designing pathways for engineering schools to host Climate Action Labs Chapters and act as knowledge hubs for city governments, regional coalitions, and transnational initiatives.

Confirm your attendance here.

Expected Outputs

• City-Level Initiative Matrix – At least one interdisciplinary project per university, aligned with CLUPs and LCCAPs.

• Metro-Wide Alignment Map – Regional integration of city-level projects into 6–8 workstreams.

• Flagship Projects – Three to four cross-university, multi-sector initiatives bridging engineering, health, and public administration.

• Draft Metro Manila 2100 Engineering Adaptations Agenda (v1.0).

• Deans’ Communiqué & MoU of Intent – Establishing the Metro Manila Climate Adaptation Engineering, Health, and Governance Consortium

Why This Matters

The Metro Manila Climate 2100 Forum is not only a technical workshop but a strategic interface of engineering, health, and governance. By engaging universities and their leadership, the forum creates pathways for integrating climate solutions into city planning, public health systems, and governance frameworks—preparing Metro Manila for the challenges of the next century.

References:

Engineering for One Planet https://engineeringforoneplanet.org/