Teams of the youth-led projects “Tactical Urbanism for Safer Streets” and “Sárigan sa Kalye” with Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo (frontmost, fifth from left), representatives of the Naga City Government, and the S²Cities local implementing partner WeSolve Foundation during the announcement of winning projects after the second Youth Innovation Fellowship Demo Day, last February 9, 2026. (Photo from the S²Cities Naga Facebook page).
The streets of Naga City, Philippines are slowly being transformed through youth-led innovations that aim to make the city a safer, more inclusive place for diverse communities.
Two projects received seed funding from the Safe and Sound Cities (S²Cities) programme in February 2026 after they were chosen from nine projects developed by Naga City youth, who presented their projects in the second Youth Innovation Fellowship Demo Day last January 28-29, 2026 at the PAGCOR Multipurpose Evacuation Center, Naga City.
Since then, the projects “Tactical Urbanism for Safer Streets” and “Sárigan sa Kalye” have been gradually implemented in the city.
Members of the teams that developed “Tactical Urbanism for Safer Streets” and “Sárigan sa Kalye” during the announcement of winning projects after the second Youth Innovation Fellowship Demo Day, last February 9, 2026. (Photo from the S²Cities Naga Facebook page).
S²Cities is a global programme led by the Global Infrastructure Basel (GIB) Foundation, hosted by the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, with the support of Fondation Botnar. It aims to improve young people’s safety and well-being in urban environments. Naga City is one of the eight programme cities of the S²Cities, and one of the two programme cities in the Philippines aside from Baguio City.
The Youth Innovation Fellowship is part of the programme’s implementation in Naga City, which was first held during the programme’s initial phase from 2023 to 2024.
“Tactical Urbanism for Safer Streets” is a project that employs tactical urbanism to redesign a critical school zone, transforming a vehicle-heavy road into a people- and pedestrian-centric street.
As of May 2026, a pedestrian lane on Mt. Villanueva Ave. has been enhanced with a community-created street mural—one of the project’s first street improvements.
Meanwhile, “Sárigan sa Kalye”—which translates to “To lean on the streets” in English—is an initiative that aims to establish mobile and accessible safe spaces for the queer community through modular, collapsible booths that provide a variety of services on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), ranging from health clinics to cultural exhibits.
The S²Cities Youth Innovation Fellowship encourages local youth aged 14 to 30 years old to develop project ideas that aim to address the issues, concerns, and suggestions related to the safety and security of the youth in their city or community. Youth fellows will then undergo capacity building and mentorship to further develop their ideas through research and coordination with the local government.
“[Through the help of S²Cities], we were able to have a conversation with the various sectors and the community, and identify [their] needs,” said Samantha Fullante, City Youth Development Officer at the Naga City Youth Development Office
ICLEI SEA supports the S²Cities’ implementation in the Philippines by facilitating engagements with local governments.
Currently, S²Cities is in its second phase of implementation.
Youth fellows who presented their projects during the second Youth Innovation Fellowship Demo Day last January 28-29, 2026 at the PAGCOR Multipurpose Evacuation Center, Naga City. (Photo from the S²Cities Naga Facebook page).
