Love in the Afternoon

There's something magical about  the afternoons, be it a sunny afternoon or a rainy one.The wind blowing, the people walking and the trees dancing- these are just some of the elements of my ideal afternoon.Two people meeting for the first time and realizing that they are perfect for each other is a story that comes into my mind when I think of a perfect afternoon.  This ideal story is despite the fact that Manila afternoons, the same goes with Manila mornings,  mean traffic and pollution. Sometimes, I wonder what Manila would be like if traffic doesn't exists. It kind of looks like my way of escaping from the horrible reality of traffic/ urban problems that most cities experience, but I can't help it. 

Growing up in a city surrounded by buildings and cars constantly questioned my idea, not just of an ideal afternoon, but also of an ideal city. Do cities really have to be full of high-rise buildings to be called progressive? Do cities really have to cut trees  to make way for road widening projects, etc? That sounds like I'm against modernity, but it's just sad to think that the lack of spaces (by spaces, I mean parks or open areas) for people to relax and communicate can affect them holistically. 

Now, the challenge to rethink of our cities is not just a task left to those who are knowledgeable about it. Ordinary citizen are part of the solution to make our ideal afternoon/ ideal cities come into existence.