The brownfield revival: experts’ perceptions on the decommissioning of San Juan Memorial Park, La Union, Philippines

Abstract

The public’s demand for more open spaces as brought about by the effects of the pandemic has resulted in increased interest in an existing brownfield in La Union. The San Juan Municipal Cemetery is located along the National Highway, near the existing tourism destination of the municipality. Its presence has raised concerns about it being a visual blight as it is visible from the highway. According to the Comprehensive Land-Use Plan (CLUP) of the Municipality of San Juan, La Union (SJLA), the existing Municipal (People’s) Park is 11,500 square meters (sqm). The 2022 Area Requirement for SJLU’s recreational spaces is estimated at 30,907 square meters (sqm). However, the lack of recreational function and facilities of the San Juan Municipal Cemetery may lead to its removal from the total open space for recreational spaces, resulting in the reduction of the total area to only 19,407 square meters (sqm). This may affect the capacity of the municipality to provide for the residents’ recreational needs, forcing the residents to travel to other cities for their recreational needs. This leads to the examination of the function of memorial parks in their everyday function, their significance in the economic development, environmental risks, and tourism value for the residents. Using a descriptive methodology in gathering insights from the relevant Experts on culture, environment, culture, and tourism, the research found the necessity of converting this memorial park into a culturally-relevant space that reflects the identity of the residents while at the same time improving the tourism image of the municipality.