Metro Manila has had many nicknames over the years, with people calling her the Pearl of the Orient, the Rome of the East, and the Paris of Asia. It’s the latter that I think could become a reality if we took a long, hard look at the original Paris, and studied how one mayor turned this once car-loving capital into a human-centric transport heaven.

It has been 10 years since Anne Hidalgo not only became the first-ever female mayor of the French metropolis, but also started to transform it in a big way. In just one decade, she changed the automobile-dominated city into a place that has embraced cycling, banished cars from many central areas, and even punished dangerous and polluting SUVs by tripling the parking charges for these metal monsters. The result is a 40% reduction in air pollution since 2014 in a city that has taken spaces away from cars and given them back to humans.

A recent trip to the City of Love gave me a completely new understanding of how much Paris has transformed in recent years, and the place is far from done yet. The center feels more like Amsterdam than France now, with cycle lanes everywhere and pedestrianized areas inviting you for a stroll. Then there’s the subway system that quickly gets you from A to B, as well as good bus connections. The only people I can think of who may not like the current Paris transport mix are film directors tasked with shooting epic car-chase scenes.

Racing through Paris like de Niro in Ronin, chasing Grace Jones along the river Seine James Bond-style, or trying to escape the bad guys the way Jean-Paul Belmondo did in The Professional wouldn’t really work anymore these days. Never mind reshooting the famous Claude Lelouch film C’etait un Rendez-vous. Many of the roads and the thoroughfares used in these and other productions have long been closed to cars or redesigned to integrate bus lanes, cycleways, and other traffic-calming infrastructure.

These days, Roger Moore would be better advised to grab one of the thousands of shared bicycles and e-scooters that are parked around the city, and can be rented at the press of a smartphone button. The number of people—locals and tourists—zapping by on two wheels really amazed me, and it feels like Paris is now snapping at the heels of Amsterdam and Copenhagen when it comes to the title of being Europe’s cycling capital. Granted, it may still have some way to go, but Anne Hidalgo also has some more changes in the pipeline.

Her 2021-2026 cycling plan is set to transform Paris into a 100% bikeable city, with even more new infrastructure (on top of the over 1,000km of cycle paths), extensive development of secure parking solutions, and an enhanced cycling ecosystem. It even goes as far as taking into account the bigger cargo bikes that are being used by private individuals and businesses, ensuring that cycle paths and parking spots can accommodate them.

Crucially, the leaders of the city of light have realized that it takes more than just a few cycle paths to get people to leave their cars behind. The whole supporting infrastructure is equally important, as are other steps that show people how moving away from cars improves things. The city is investing in more than 400,000sq-m of new green spaces by 2026, and has already created countless new parks and even urban forests.

So, how is this relevant to Metro Manila, you ask? Well, my thinking is that if you can get Paris to change its ways in such a radical way, then changing the capital of the Philippines should be easy (or at least, possible). Paris, like Metro Manila, implemented many cycle paths during the pandemic, and is now building up on them (instead of removing them again). The result is a massively increased quality of life for residents.

Mayor Anne Hidalgo is also getting politicians in the surrounding areas to cooperate. Similar to Metro Manila, Paris also has various local government units in its 20 municipal arrondissements and in the wider area that makes up the greater Paris region. Getting everyone to sing from the same hymn sheet ensures that strategies across the region align—something that still needs to be improved upon in Metro Manila.

While some mayors around here are progressive and are doing the right things (see Joy Belmonte in Quezon City), others still leave a lot to be desired. I just wish there was a way to show these people just how good Metro Manila could be if it followed in the footsteps of Amsterdam or Paris.

These cities were once as car-crazy as the Philippine capital, but now lead the way when it comes to being clean, livable spaces. Metro Manila can’t risk being left behind, and it seems we are still waiting for enough politicians to see the light.