A central business district, as the researchers have discussed, is full of benefits.

Due to
the fact of it being the center point of activities and services, the researchers determined that
there are some gaps found in the Angeles City Central Business District that poses problems
which needs to be eradicated or at least be lessened. These problems threaten the efficiency and
effectiveness of the Angeles Central Business District. But problems like this is a sign that
something needs to be improved which means that the district is still developing and is not
stagnant.
Some of the problems that the researchers identified are: first, the Angeles City Central
Business District may increase traffic congestion; second, the Angeles City Central Business
District may cause environmental issues; third, the Angeles City Central Business District may
pose an increase in crime rate. In this paper each problem stated will be discussed about why it
exists and how can it be solved or lessened.
First, to understand about why the Angeles City Central Business District may increase
traffic congestion, generally, road congestion exist due to certain reasons. Some reasons are,
according to economies online: The real cost of driving has fallen because motor cars, and even
petrol, are relatively cheaper than they used to be - taking inflation into account; Public
transport is seen by many as an inferior good; Roads are a common property resource, and as
such, people are free to use them with little restriction (economies online).
Road congestion is the main problem of the Angeles City Central Business District, for it
is evident throughout the district, namely, the Santo Entiero Street and San Nicolas Rotunda. The
Angeles City Central Business District experiences traffic congestion especially during peak
hours, namely 7 am till 9 am, as people go to work or school, and 4 pm until 7 pm, as office and
school hours end, according a researcher's personal experience. Vehicles and people tend to

accumulate that causes the traffic situation, it would take an hour what would take a 15 min
drive. The traffic situation being felt affects the efficiency of businesses, government and private
services and even personal endeavors. It prevents the efficient allocation of time and effort,
especially during peak hours. An example, an office worker whose shift ends during the peak
hour, wanted to go home early so that he or she could do house work or prepare for his family
time, but the traffic situation prevents him or her from doing so. A lot of time and effort goes to
waste thanks to the congested roads. Another reason the Angeles City Central Business District is
congested is due to the district lacks parking space. Motorist occupies a side of a road as a
parking space which was supposed to be as a driveway going to and fro inside the district. In
deeper sense, the economic theory of traffic congestion, according to Triple A learning, is
based on the fact that, when making a journey by car, a motorist only considers
the marginal private cost. This is the cost directly attributable to him/herself, such as time, fuel
and the maintenance of the vehicle, rather than the full cost of the journey, which may include
costs imposed on society such as pollution, noise and time lost due to congestion (sanandres).
Traffic congestion creates externalities. These externalities can be prevented if the traffic
congestion is solve immediately or at least lessened. Here are some plausible solutions for the
Angeles City Central Business District traffic congestion problem.
First, reduce the demand for road consumption. By decreasing car ownership or by
decreasing car usage. These could be obtained by: one, raising car taxes, which will offset the
relative low-cost of driving; two, improving public transport, which is cheaper compared
to driving a car; three, impose a plate number coding that will surely vehicles driving through
streets of the district. Second, a public "multistory" car park, which will not only remove
vehicles park on the road but also provide a sense of security to these car owners knowing that

their vehicles are well guarded and away from danger. Three, road widening on major road going
to and from the CBD. These solutions are not the only solutions to these problems. Traffic
congestion in the Angeles City Central Business District will not alleviate if the people or rather
car owners themselves doesnt consider that cost they implicate to society.
Now, to understand how the Angeles City Central Business District may cause
environmental issues, first, we must identify that there is a trade off between economic
development and environment quality. This is best explained by the Environmental Kuznets
Curve. According to David Stern, the EKC is a hypothesized relationship between various
indicators of environmental degradation and income per capita. In the early stages of economic
growth degradation and pollution increase, but beyond some level of income per capita, which
will vary for different indicators, the trend reverses, so that at high-income levels economic
growth leads to environmental improvement (Stern, 2003). Applying this hypothesis to the
Angeles City Central Business District, by the current state of it, the researcher concludes that
the district is still in the early stages of development. That being the case, the district is currently
experiencing environmental degradation.
Obviously, pollution is evident in the district. The pollution being the experience in the
district is caused by two main factors, traffic congestion and concentration of people. The traffic
situation as discussed earlier, can cause externalities. These externalities come in two forms, one
as air pollution and two as noise pollution. The accumulated amount of air pollution caused by
the vehicles, especially during rush hours, is alarming. Especially the old public
utility jeepney that black smoke already comes out of their vehicles exhaust pipes and other
vehicles, which is stuck in traffic thanks to the congested road, that also releases gases, like
Nitrogen Oxides, which can cause acid rains, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, which are

poisonous gases. The noise pollution provided by the vehicles is alarming. During the day,
especially during rush, the noise pollution can irritate a person to a point where people will
prefer to use earphones or headphones just for them not to hear the loud honking sound, about
85 decibels, two units above permissible amount which 0 to 83 decibels. Businesses choose to
have closed doors just to impede the noise coming inside the establishment.
The concentration of people is also a main factor. People themselves can cause
externalities. Their externality comes in two forms, land and water pollution. People in the
district creates land pollution in a way, during day, trash like plastic bags, food wrappers, and
plastic cups can be seen everywhere. People knowing and seeing that there are trash bins or
containers, they still chose to just throw their trashes on the ground or when riding
the jeepney just out of the window. Then at night, when street sweepers done their jobs, the
amount of trash collected is way beyond the amount seen during the day. Due to the staggering
amount of trash about 386.65 cubic meters per day, it is only a matter of time for the waterways
within the district to be affected. The water creek that runs through the district, is also polluted.
People walking by it, can smell the intense foul odor, which can force a person to not breathe as
long as he or she is near the creek. The foul odor may include hydrogen sulfide, ammonia,
methane, esters, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides which explains why it
smells that way. The waterway become more like a canal for solid and liquid waste to be drifted
away.
These environmental problems can be solve by correcting the root cause of it the
attitude of people towards the environment. But that solution will only be effective the people
themselves choose to change their attitudes. For now, there are other ways of solving these
environmental problems. One, the local government can engage in tree and shrub planting, which

help reduce the air and noise pollution. Two, the local government can impose fine or
punishment to people who just throw their trashes anywhere. Three, the local government can
have an activity or program clean the waterway that runs through the district. Lastly, the local
government solve the traffic congestion problem.
Lastly, to understand as to why the Angeles City Central Business District may pose an
increase in crime rate, issues of safety and security will always exists. It is inevitable. Being with
a stranger imposes risk of the unknown. When face with an unknown, humans common reaction
is fear. Fear that their lives are in danger, fear that their possessions might get stolen, and fear
that they might get involve into something that meant nothing to them. This fear causes people to
seek safety and security from the governing body.
The Angeles City Central Business Districts is no different. It being the center of
businesses, schools or colleges, entertainment and health services, poses an increase in crime
rate. The way it magnets diverse people is enough reason for issues about security and safety to
be resolve immediately. The complex social environment constitutes the underlying causes for
the relatively high crime incidence. Car accidents, theft and brawls are often seen, among the list
of accidents and crimes that threatens and safety and security. Solutions to this problem
is simple. The local government should assign police officers or barangay officials in areas in the
district where crime is prominent to happen. This act will impose a stricter security measures, so
that the people will no longer have to fear that much. But with the current state of affairs in
Angeles city, crime rate is down 46%, that is a 3,941 total crime volume for the period of
January to August 2014 down to 2,130 crimes in January to August 2015 according to an article
of Sunstar, a local newspaper.

In this section, as the researcher has discussed, the Angeles City Central Business District
does not only experience benefits but also problems that can prohibit or rather off sets the
benefits being and will receive. Also the researcher has also mentioned two economic principles
that defines as to why these problems exists in the first place. The congestion theory explains as
to why road congestion and the Environmental Kuznets Curve explains about why environmental
issues are inevitable. These problems wont exist in the first place if people themselves take into
account the social cost that are neglected.

http://www.economicsonline.co.uk/Market_failures/Road_Congestion.html
http://www.sanandres.esc.edu.ar/secondary/economics
%20packs/microeconomics_sl/page_108.htm
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/local-news/2015/09/08/angeles-crime-rate-down-46429101
Stern, David I., 2003 June, the Environmental Kuznets Curve, Department of Economics,
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA