Before going into Nuvali’s master plan, I think it’s important to study its location and topography first. Knowing these will indicate why Nuvali was master planned the way it was.

The following are Google Earth images that I edited to represent Nuvali. They are far from being complete and accurate and are only meant to facilitate the succeeding discussion. The outlines were based on available materials about Nuvali and plotted according to the visible images in Google Earth.

The green lines are creeks. Note that in many parts, the creeks are so deep that they form ravines. The image above shows the outline of the creeks but it shows neither their source nor the direction of their flow. Needless to say, water flows with the help of gravity and follows that path of least resistance.

Tilting the same map to make it appear as if you are looking at it from the ground level, reveals part of its topography.

The image above shows the flat/ground level view of Nuvali and the creeks (orange and green) from the south. Nuvali sits on a valley east of the slope of the Tagaytay Ridge and north-west of Mt. Makiling. The development has moderate rolling terrain with a gradient that descends gently to the north-east in the direction of Laguna Lake.

Below is how Nuvali looks from the opposite side, north.

Again, it clearly shows the gradient with the terrain descending to the north-east. Note that Tagaytay City is just a part of the entire Tagaytay Ridge which is a long chain or series of several hills and mountains. And the ridge starts west of Nuvali.

The image also indicates the source of the water that form the creeks; they come from the Tagaytay Ridge and follow the path of least resistance to the north-east and drain at Laguna Lake.

Below is a lengthwise image of Nuvali viewed from the east.

This image shows that from the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road in Sta. Rosa, Nuvali gently ascends to the south in Calamba. That’s why developments south of Nuvali like Montecito, and now Venare, may be relatively distant from the current commercial and office components, but they offer the best view of Tagaytay Ridge, Mt. Makiling and Laguna Lake. This is especially true for Venare. Below is its location plan.

Note also that past the southern end of Nuvali, the ground starts to descend towards Taal Lake.

After studying its location and topography, it’s now clear to me why Nuvali was not in any way affected by typhoon Ondoy when my friends and I visited it last October 1, just 5 days after Ondoy hit.

Realtors would like to say that there are three rules when choosing a property: location, location, location. After Ondoy, they added three more: terrain, terrain, terrain. Given its location and terrain, Nuvali should be flood-proof. But why leave everything to chance when it’s a virtual city, a 1,840 hectare development worth billions of pesos that is at stake that the Ayalas are fast converting into the most important Central Business District south of Metro Manila? Besides, nature has recently been giving us back the bitter fruits of our years of disrespect for it; natural calamities like Ondoy are predicted to become more frequent and more severe.

Real estate developments are subject to the ravages of time. If and when Nuvali actually becomes the next Makati CBD, how will it be sustained for the next generations to come?

Thank you so much.