NIGHT OWL
In the Philippines, dignity is treated like a personality trait. If you can endure the commute—squeeze into a jeep, climb footbridges, dodge broken sidewalks, and thread through traffic—you are called “madiskarte.” We celebrate resilience because we have to.
But dignity should not be earned through hardship. In a well-designed place, it is built into the ordinary: curbs without sudden drops, crossings that give you time to walk, buses you can board without a risky climb. It is there when a grandmother can travel alone without asking for help, and when children can be outdoors without adults treating the street like a threat.
“Dignity by design” means infrastructure that does not humiliate people as the price of
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