Pasig City awarded $1 million grant by Bloomberg Philanthropies for floating parks concept

Pasig City won a $1 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies after its floating parks concept was named one of the winners of the latter's competition aiming to spur the local government to improve lives in cities.

In Bloomberg's announcement, the city under Mayor Vico Sotto was recognized as among the 24 winners of the 2025-2026 Mayors Challenge.

The initiative awards municipalities that have proposed and tested the best breakthrough ideas to bolster essential services at scale—including cooling homes, reducing waste, lowering utility costs, expanding transit, and increasing jobs, among others.

For Pasig City's entry, the government co-designed with residents floating parks in flood-prone waterways to reduce overflow, add green space, and strengthen community ties.

Other winners include As-Salt, Jordan; Barcelona, Spain; Beira, Mozambique; Belfast, United Kingdom; Benin City, Nigeria; Boise, United States; Budapest, Hungary; Cape Town, South Africa; Cartagena, Colombia; Fez, Morocco; Fukuoka, Japan; Ghaziabad, India; Ghent, Belgium; Kanifing, The Gambia; Lafayette, United States; Medellín, Colombia; Netanya, Israel; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; South Bend, United States; Surabaya, Indonesia; Toronto, Canada; Turku, Finland; and Visakhapatnam, India.

According to Bloomberg Philanthropies, the winning ideas were chosen for their "novelty, potential impact, and strength of implementation plans."

In a statement, the Pasig City Public Information Office expressed its gratitude to those who helped make the project possible.

"Ang pagkapanalong ito ay hudyat ng simula para sa pagsasakatuparan ng floating parks sa Lungsod ng Pasig sa tulong ng mga Pasigueño, mula sa pagpaplano, pagbuo, hanggang sa pag-manage at pag-operate ng mga ito, at iba pang sektor ng lipunan," it said.

Bloomberg Philanthropies stated that the $1 million grant will serve as "operational support and additional funding for dedicated staff to bring their ideas to life."

"The most effective city halls are bold, creative, and proactive in solving problems and meeting residents’ needs–and we launched the Mayors Challenge to help more of them succeed," said Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies.

"We look forward to supporting this year’s 24 winners as they bring their innovative projects to life–and to seeing their ideas spread to more cities around the world," he added.

The 2025-2026 Mayors Challenge was launched in October 2024, receiving a total of 630 applications from cities around the world.