Informal Settlements in Metro Manila

INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS IN METRO-MANILA:
RELOCATION COMMUNITY PROGRAM AND DESIGN
SAM VALERIANO
MAY 2012
SUBMITTED TOWARDS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DOCTOR OF

ARCHITECTURE DEGREE
SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I
DOCTORATE PROJECT COMMITTEE:

SPENCER LEINEWEBER, CHAIRPERSON
JONATHAN OKAMURA
ROSE CHURMA
Signature Page
INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS IN METRO-MANILA:

RELOCATION COMMUNITY PROGRAM AND DESIGN
SAM VALERIANO
MAY 2012
We certify that we have read this Doctorate Project and that, in our opinion, it is
satisfactory in scope and quality in partial fulfillment for the degree of Doctor of
Architecture in the School of Architecture, University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.
DOCTORATE PROJECT COMMITTEE:
_______________________________________________
SPENCER LEINEWEBER, CHAIRPERSON
_______________________________________________
JONATHAN OKAMURA
_______________________________________________
ROSE CHURMA
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT
1 INTRODUCTION: ADAPTABILITY AND MIGRATION

2 METHODOLOGY
3 METRO MANILA: Development of Hyper-Urban Cities
Metro Manila as Hub of Urban Migration
Population Density
Characteristics of Hyper Urbanization
Metro Manila in the Age of Globalization
Urban Dwelling in Informal Settlements
Concerns and Consequences of Informal Settlements
4 INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS: Ongoing Government Programs
Scale and Scope
The Bigger Picture
5 DESIGNERS & BUILDERS for the Poor
Makeshift Homes
Unofficial Builders
Acceptable Builders
6 The MASSES
Essential Facts
Defining the Masses
Perception of Middle Income Class Growth
Typical Filipino Household
Multigenerational / Multifamily Households
7 APPROPRIATE Urban Communities & Housing
Housing in Social Context
Relocation in Quezon City
Teaching Village
Community and Spatial Program
Community Spaces
Multi-story Family Housing
Community Adaptation
Vertical Village
8 SOCIOECONOMIC Focus in Urban Housing
Urban Farming and Household Food Security
Community Security and Integration
Progress in Urban Planning
Mix-use Communities (Live, Learn, Work)
9 SUSTAINABLE Village
Revitalizing Ecology & Sustainable Communities
Waste Management and Water Capture
10 CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDIX
3
Abstract
This paper investigates the development of informal settlements in Metro Manila, Philippines
within the context of urbanization, globalization and their effects. A relocation strategy for a
portion of urban settlers has recently been initiated and planned by administrators and policy
makers. Relocation site builders have the potential tasks of creating not just homes and
communities, but improved livelihood, lifestyle and societal roles for a marginalized population.
Along with appropriate site and housing design, a community program is rationalized through
interrelated benefits of improved economic, environmental and societal conditions. For a
proposed relocation community in Quezon City, the study focuses on creating collective goals
and conveying associated values to new homeowners and an important segment of civil society.
4
INTRODUCTION: Filipino Adaptation and Migration
The first wave of foreign influence to the Philippines began with the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan
in 1521. Through 300 years of Spanish colonialism, 50 years of American interventionism and
today’s period of globalization, the people of the Philippines have had to become one of the most
adaptable. Today, the Filipino culture has evolved into a hybrid of Eastern and Western value
systems. Having embraced capitalism, the people desire foreign products and styles of living
while still trying to preserve a strong pride for country and what makes them uniquely Filipino.
Plagued by previous bouts of government instability, continuing battles with poverty and its
symptoms, and ever-worsening natural disasters, the country aims to increase efforts to tackle
innate problems and adjust to newfound challenges. In doing so, the country is better able to
present a positive image to the rest of the world and advance the national identity. The
Philippines was once referred to as the poor man of Asia. Today, it has slowly caught up
economically to other developing nations in the region by adapting to the requirements of
globalization, the global economy and the global workplace.
During the last few decades, opportunities to earn higher income and live a better life abroad
have fueled the rise of emigration. This has allowed Filipinos to be well represented in
populations abroad. Whether as eventual immigrants or temporary overseas workers, Filipinos
seek to improve their lives as well as the lives of families back home. At the cost of separation
from loved ones, Filipinos migrate and adapt to new places where a period of higher income
allows them to send remittances home, someday to travel back home or relocate their families
abroad. Being English speakers and having adapted to many cultural infusions in the past,
perhaps Filipinos are the most adaptable global migrants.
Before migration abroad, the initial wave of migration for Filipinos started with the movement into
the cities, specifically the mega city that now make up Metropolitan Manila, better known as Metro
Manila. Traditional agricultural economies and rural lifestyles transitioned into industrial ones
during post colonization. With globalization, Metro Manila increasingly developed into both a
5
national and regional trading center, a magnet for the country’s industrialists, entrepreneurs, and
educators. Labor migrants from the country’s provinces hoping to make a better living in Metro
Manila and/or abroad also joined the movement into the cities. In the last two decades, post-
Marcos, continued economic growth in the country’s capital region has resulted in modernization
of its urban landscape and the accompanying lifestyle improvements for the privileged elite in
Metro Manila. The economic model of capitalism and contemporary culture of consumerism has
been widely accepted. More commonplace today, many privileged Filipinos work abroad to earn
higher incomes and are increasingly employment in multinational firms using Metro Manila as an
outsource service center. The various products of globalization for Metro Manila have not come
without costs, however. A substantial number of city dwellers live in substandard housing in
informal settlements, slum areas. This population contributes as service laborers and, particularly,
to the large informal economy of Metro Manila. In mass, they are not to be undervalued in their
contribution to the cities’ economic growth.
This paper takes the position the economic benefits of industrialization have not been shared
equally by Metro Manila’s inhabitants. Development of a highly urbanized landscape costs all
residents adequate public spaces, a clean urban environment, and satisfactory housing. This
paper discusses the urbanization of Metro Manila and examines its effects as it relates to options
in affordable housing and community living for lower-income residents, specifically those living in
informal settlements. Past and current government strategies to reduce informal settlements are
discussed. Affordable housing strategies and solutions are proposed in the framework of a
relocation community within Metro Manila’s border. A slated relocation community in Quezon City
serves as a community planning and design study. The overall issue is the ongoing issue of
informal settlements and what to do with them, a concern in globalizing cities and amplified in
Metro Manila, one of the largest megacities in one of the most populated places on earth.
6
METHODOLOGY
The methodology of this research study into affordable housing solutions for Metro Manila relies
on information gathered through various sources, a predominant of which will be current
published papers from various Non Government Organizations, academic journals, Philippine
government agencies, e.g. Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Housing and Urban
Development and Coordinating Council (HUDCC), and National Housing Authority (NHA), in
addition to selected case studies of public housing practices in the region. In order to prepare for
a regional specific project study in Metro Manila, a semester of preparatory research into the
development of Metro Manila as an urban center and its current housing strategies was
performed during phase I of doctoral study. Phase II was planned as an observation and
participation period with a firm in Metro Manila. Habitat for Humanity Philippines (HFHP), with
headquarters in Makati, Metro Manila, was chosen for its direct involvement in building relocation
communities. The internship period helped to further evaluate the current model of relocation
plans for Metro Manila’s informal settlers from the perspective of a non-profit, design-build
organization. A planned relocation community to be developed by HFHP was chosen during the
internship period to be the design project. In Phase III, a site design of a four-acre community
was developed in plans, sections, and other various drawings to support the spatial and social
programs adapted for the particular location. The three-phase thesis study combines academic
research, internship experience, and applied community and architectural design as documented
in this paper.
7
METRO MANILA: Development of Hyper-Urban Cities
Metro Manila as Hub of Urban Migration
In the Philippines, urban migration is concentrated towards its largest cities in Metro Manila. It is
the heart of urban life, politics, art, commerce, and religion. It always has been. The City of Manila,
itself, was the historical center of trade, having served as Spanish and American colonial capitals.
Manila Bay served as the main port of trade and entry. It was also the geographic center of
military campaigns. Thus, any infrastructure developments during the colonial periods favored the
central Luzon region, particularly Manila. The geographic basin became a region where water,
people, power and urban life congregated. As the country’s current capital, Manila is today one of
17 cities forming Metro Manila or the National Capital Region (NCR). The largest and best
universities are located in Metro Manila. The bulk of the nation’s economy is derived from the
major commercial industries, shopping malls, financial hubs, and international seaports and
airports all located in a land area just shy of 250 square miles. This is equal in area to the city-
state of Singapore or about half the area of Honolulu County of Hawaii. With the smallest land
area of the country’s seventeen regions, Metro Manila’s vital role in educating and creating
industrial labor for an entire nation helped transform the Philippines from its predominantly
agrarian past and rural lifestyles. The resulting labor migration into Metro Manila has led to
remarkable population shifts for the Philippines.
8
Figure 1: Map of the Philippines
Metro Manila, indicated in red along Manila Bay, is the Philippines’ urban and economic core.
Population Density
Metro Manila is entirely urban. According to a United Nations estimate, Metro Manila is the 15th
most populated urban area in the world with more than 11.5 million people. If adjacent provinces
are included, the Greater Metro Manila population count is over 20 million residents.1 Quezon city
is the most populated city in Metro Manila with over 2.5 million residents. However, the most
densely populated (highest residents per area) city is Manila. With a population of 41,014
residents per square kilometer, the capital city of the Philippines is also the most densely
populated city in the world according to a 2006 survey.2
1
“Demographic World Urban Areas: Population & Projections: Edition 6.1”,
http://www.demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf (accessed 10/09/2010).
2
“World’s Densest Cities”, Forbes Website, http://www.forbes.com/2006/12/20/worlds-most-congested-
cities-biz-energy-cx_rm_1221congested_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=15000 (accessed 10/10/2010)
9
Characteristics of Hyper Urbanization
Urbanization is a process of economic growth and social change. In the context of developing
countries like the Philippines, the process also signifies nation-building and strategic growth as an
emerging participant in a global society. 3 Even with an increasing status as a region for
outsourcing services, Metro Manila lacks a true global identity. The city region is most notorious
for its traffic congestions and poverty stricken urban landscape. Not much different from other
megacities, urbanization has produced growth problems related to supporting larger and denser
populations and its associated requirements for city infrastructure, housing stock, and various
other resources. Metro Manila’s extreme urban population growth in the past several decades
required equivalent capital investments, which its cities did not match. In the Philippines, the
population shift from rural to urban areas has come with much social sacrifice to be discussed in
subsequent sections. These include unmet demands in spatial, infrastructure and housing
developments.
The land composition of Metro Manila has not been modified since it was formed into the National
Capital Region in 1975.4 This means the total land area has not increased during a period (since
1975) when the population more than doubled. Among the various studies describing the
symptoms of population growth over the years, a Philippine government report back in 1999
summarized the major issues accurately. The report identified four of the most critical challenges
facing the city: deterioration of traffic conditions, lack of appropriate flood controls, solid waste
management, along with the interconnected issues in land use, housing, and urban poverty.5
These are the main features of hyper urbanization for Metro Manila. Accordingly, hyper
urbanization is defined in this paper as the process of rapid growth in an urban population with
infrastructure and housing availabilities not able to support the well being of the people, place and
environment of the city.
3
Aprodicio Laquain, The City in Nation-Building. Manila: University of the Philippines, 1966, 3.
4
Philippine Institute for Development Studies, Governance and Urban Development: Case Study of Metro
Manila, Discussion Paper Series No. 99-03, 1999, 9.
5
Manila, Discussion Paper Series No. 99-03, 1999, 20-26.
10
Metro Manila in the Age of Globalization
The Philippines is generally categorized as a newly industrialized country (NIC). A socioeconomic
classification, NICs play the role as outsourcing partners to the developed nations. Through the
benefits of a low-cost labor pool, the Philippines produce goods and services previously made
and performed in the United States and other western nations prior to the age of globalization and
free trade. Primarily within the last two decades, the Philippines’ economic development has
increased substantially through international trade of goods and services. Today, the country is
one of the recognized leaders in call center services within the outsourced industries. As one of
the two official languages of the country, English has benefitted residents looking to work for
foreign corporations with human resource needs in Metro Manila as well as Filipinos looking to
fulfill the need for human resources abroad. The Philippines is famously known for its millions of
residents living abroad as maids, caregivers, nurses and entertainers among other professions.
Filipinos abroad are an important factor in Metro Manila’s economic growth. Overseas Contract
Workers (OCWs) also known as Overseas Foreign Workers (OFWs) regularly send earnings
back to families in Metro Manila and the other regions of the Philippines as cash remittances to
serve as gifts, tuition payments, real estate investments, etc. When Filipinos return as
Balikbayans (Filipinos temporarily or permanently living abroad), they effectively support the
economy by spending their earnings from abroad in the Philippine marketplace. Without the
remittances from OCWs and Balikbayans, the Philippines would lose about ten percent of the
country’s GDP6 If the over 8.7 million overseas Filipinos returned to the Philippines, the total
population of the Philippines would be expected to increase by about 11%.7 Filipinos play a vital
role as laborers well suited in the age of globalization.
6
“Remittances and the Philippines’ Economy: the Elephant in the Room”, World Bank Blog site,
http://blogs.worldbank.org/eastasiapacific/remittances-and-the-philippines-economy-the-elephant-in-the-
room (accessed 10/10/2010).
7
“Stock Estimate of Overseas Filipinos As of December 2007”, Philippine Overseas Employment
Administration. http://www.poea.gov.ph/stats/stats2007.pdf. (Retrieved 10/10/2010).
11
Urban Dwelling in Informal Settlements
A familiar result of globalization, concentrated workforce migration into cities such as Metro
Manila has had a profound effect in the capital region’s socioeconomics of housing. As property
values increase when city centers develop office buildings and shopping malls, low-income
residents find it more difficult to afford rent, let alone purchase, property. In certain areas of Metro
Manila, central Makati and Ortigas, land prices skyrocketed 6 and 8-fold, respectively, between
1987 and 1996. 8 The economic pressure of finding a home close to urban centers limits the
choices of many to informal housing settlements. Those who settle there are better located to be
able to make a living based on the urban economic system bad have to adapt to the living
situation shaped by that same system.
Metro Manila is a microcosm of the global population of urban dwellers. It is estimated one in
three urban dwellers in the world live in insufficient housing with minimal resources.9 The informal
settlements are defined by their lack of basic public services and infrastructure and house the
landless and those who cannot afford the rental prices outside the settlements.11 Overcrowding,
poor sanitation, health and social services plague the resulting disorganized communities. The
unplanned informal settlements add stress to the city’s infrastructure, negatively impact its
surrounding communities and become a hazardous living situation for countless of residents
above all.
What has been described as the “the poverty of urbanization” 12 exists today in developing
countries much in the same way it existed in cities of developed nations during their periods of
industrialization and urbanization. The circumstances of the urban poor today continue to remain
8
Gavin Shatkin, “Planning to Forget: Informal Settlements as ‘Forgotten Places’ in Globalising Metro Manila”,
Urban Studies, vol. 41 no. 12 (2004): 2474.
9
SF Rashid. “Strategies to Reduce Exclusion Among Populations Living in Urban Slum Settlements in
Bangladesh”, Journal of Health and Popular Nutrition. Issue 4 (2009): 574-86.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19761090 (Accessed 10/10/2010).
11
M. Lindfield and F. Steinberg. “Technical Assistance to the Republic of the Philippines for Preparing the
Metro Manila Urban Services for the Poor Project”, Asian Development Bank (2005), 1.
12
Lou Antolihao. Culture of Improvisation: Informal Settlements and Slum Upgrading in a Metro Manila
Locality. Quezon City: Institute of Philippine Culture (Ateneo de Manila University, 2004), 1.
12
the same. People deal with poverty through a “culture of improvisation”.13 People manage life with
little space and material wealth. The urban poor deal with their limited resources by living in
overcrowded housing units and sharing a habitation characterized by physical closeness, intimate
spaces, and compact social spaces mandated by those conditions.14 These spatial conditions
influences social behaviors, accordingly.
Communal relationships and collective affiliations become more important in informal settlements
as both private and public spaces are at a premium. Sharing of spaces becomes a common
strategy. As a result, it becomes advantageous to know neighbors whom you share a common
bathroom. In crowded pathways and alleys, sometimes the only form of public space in informal
communities, social interaction is more common and necessary. Living in crime-ridden areas with
limited police access, residents’ wellbeing and safety relies on social relationships even more.
Communication and close relationships with your neighbors affords informal settlers greater
access to community dialogue, including status updates of neighborhood crime. For Filipino
urban dwellers, particularly those living in informal settlements, information gathering through
social networking and interaction becomes valuable. In these dense communities, they adapt to a
more communal lifestyle in compact, resource-limited spaces.
Concerns and Consequences of Informal Settlements
Hyper Urbanization has changed the urbanscape of Metro Manila from largely open spaces in the
1970s to one dominated by extensive growth in financial and commercial districts clustered along
major roadways with vast areas of low-rise residential zones in between.15 Population growth has
necessitated new or wider roadways and, built in the past decade, elevated rail systems to move
the commuters. During the past decades, public parks and green spaces shrank or were
redeveloped as land became too valuable. Today, there are few open spaces left in Metro Manila.
The University of Philippines campus at Diliman is one of the few urban areas where limits in
13
Antolihao, 2004, 11.
14
Antolihao, 2004, 16.
15
13
development keep the landscape close to the original scenes of the 1970s. However, even on
campus, there is a growing presence of informal settlers.
Many informal settlements in Metro Manila reside on public land, by riverbanks and railroad
tracks, some in parks, playgrounds and cemeteries. 16 Because informal slum settlements are
often located in the most undesirable, infrastructure-less areas of the city, the people who live
there are the most susceptible to the effects of flooding and other natural disasters. Informal
settlers reside wherever they can find a means of living in the city, even if not safe. Often, the
working poor will live and work on sidewalks, by dangerous roadways and train tracks. Unplanned
informal settlements can worsen traffic problems, untreated waste pollution on waterways and
block sewage lines because of deficient infrastructure. Moreover, makeshift houses of informal
settlements are a potential fire hazard. Close and dense living situations can lead to rapid spread
of highly communicable diseases prevalent in the region. Without proper walkways and street
lighting at night, informal settlements have higher risks of criminal activities. Informal
settlements are dangerous places to live, for a variety of reasons.
With widespread pockets of informal settlements having existed for years, some for decades, it
can be argued city planners and administrators have largely ignored informal settlements.
Infrastructure developments in these urban spaces have been insufficient or nonexistent until
there becomes a need to do so when surrounding areas are to be commercially redeveloped, in
which case, informal settlements are demolished. In other cases, it takes natural or unexpected
disasters such as mudslides and fires to observe concerns and substantial actions by planners
and policy-makers. Informal settlements as “forgotten places” by city planners are described as a
result of globalization and the neo-liberalization agendas accepted by the Philippines since the
16
M. Lindfield and F. Steinberg. “Technical Assistance to the Republic of the Philippines for Preparing the
Metro Manila Urban Services for the Poor Project”, Asian Development Bank (2005), 1.
16
14
1980’s.17 While most governments and international aid organizations view free trade, the major
driver of globalization, as having led to improved general economic conditions in developing
nations like the Philippines, the social inequality and “shelter crisis” observed in globalizing cities
like Metro Manila is growing.18 Like marginalized populations in societies all over the world, Metro
Manila’s urban poor require government as well as non-governmental advocates to help organize
and advance their causes, thereby representing them as valuable members and contributors in
society. The following chapters describe the key players and their strategies to reduce urban
poverty through the reduction of informal settlements and increase in legal tenure of homes.
17
Gavin Shatkin, “Planning to Forget: Informal Settlements as ‘Forgotten Places’ in Globalising Metro
Manila”, Urban Studies, vol. 41 no. 12 (2004): 2473-2475.
18
Manila”, Urban Studies, vol. 41 no. 12 (2004): 2470.
15
INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS: Ongoing Government Programs
Scale and Scope
One of the more recent studies in informal settlements completed in 2009 by the Metro Manila
Inter-Agency Committee on Informal Settlers (MMIAC) 19 describes the current condition of
informal settlers with a few central figures. Twenty-one percent (544,609 of 2.6 million) of families
in Metro Manila are informal settlers. Of those families, 13% or approximately 75,000 families live
in areas considered unsafe or hazardous. Furthermore, the MMIAC, established in 2007 to find
housing solutions for informal settlers, estimates 23,000 public housing units per year need to be
constructed over a 10-year time frame to relocate about half of the informal settlement population.
At the current production rate of 7,767 units per year, the government would have to increase its
output by 3 fold to meet public housing requirements as recommended by the MMIAC.20 Viewed
in basic numerical data, the clear and present dilemma facing Metro Manila is an overwhelming
one. In addition and related to planning for the appropriate relocation policy, the minimal cost
estimates of the study must be met if the goals of the public housing sector and the government
is to have a chance to be met.
In the framework of a 10-year resettlement program declared in 2009, the public housing sector
estimate a P3.23 billion (or US$72 million, P45: $1 exchange rate) per year cost estimate. These
costs in land acquisition and subsidized housing programs are estimated to equate to about
P200,000 (or $4,445) per family relocated from Metro Manila to its periphery and adjacent regions
on planned resettlement sites.21 The construction costs of the housing units at the resettlement
sites are variable and depend on the type of public mass housing to be built. Mass housing is
classified into three divisions (Figure 2) by the inter-agency Housing and Urban Development
Coordinating Council (HUDCC) based on the anticipated cost of a housing unit. A unit costing
19
The MMIAC is a government-mandated coalition of representatives from the Metro Manila Development
Authority, Housing and Urban Development and Coordinating Council, National Housing Authority,
Presidential Commission on Urban Poor, Commission on Human Rights, Office of the Undersecretary for
Religious Urban, Caritas Manila, and various urban poor offices in Metro Manila.
20
“10 years, P30-B needed for relocation of Metro squatters,” (2009), http://www.abs-
cbnnews.com/nation/10/18/09/10-years-p10-b-needed-relocation-05-m-squatters (accessed 10/15/2010).
21
16
P400,000 ($9,000) or less is defined as ‘socialized housing’; P401,000 to P750,000 ($17,000) is
‘economic housing’; and P751,000 to P3 million ($67,000) is labeled ‘low cost housing’.22 Another
housing option mentioned in the MMIAC study, medium rise housing will cost between P800,000
to P1 million ($17,778 to $22,222) per unit. Not provided in this government relocation study,
there are likely indirect costs burdened by those relocating that are immeasurable. Costs of new
housewares, additional transportation requirements, and lost economic productivity and other
possible expenses associated with looking for new work are a few of the additional costs for
those transplanted. These financial costs are in addition to the incalculable social and cultural
burdens of a relocation strategy.
Figure 2: Mass Housing Types
Classification Maximum Cost
• Socialized • $9000
• Economic • $17,000
• Low‐cost • $67,000
HUDCC lists 3 levels of government-subsidized housing.
In total, the total government budget for the initiated 2009 10-year relocation program is upwards
of P30 billion (US$670 million). With the estimated GDP in 2009 for the entire country near
US$160 billion, the total budget burden of the relocation program equates to less than 0.5% of
the country’s GDP in one year. As compared to the total economic aid received by the country in
2007, $562 million (Official Development Assistance) is nearly equivalent to the total cost
estimates of the 10-year relocation program. To place the government program’s budget in
context of the country’s yearly production and foreign aid value shows how the cost estimates are
highly achievable yet miniscule in terms of government participation. The financial burden of a
relocation strategy is a shared one. In current public-private partnership efforts, the other
22
Ben Arnold O. De Vera. “Govt to review mass housing policy,” (2010),
http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/business-columns/28734-govt-to-review-mass-housing-policy
(accessed 10/15/2010).
17
participants include Non-governmental Organizations (NGO), Non-profit Organizations (NPO) and
the like, along with corporations and individuals from the private sector.
Further examining the itemized costs associated in relocating and housing the informal settlers of
Metro Manila reveal various social issues in the government’s strategy to greatly reduce urban
slum settlements. For example, the government is relying on a large-scale resettlement site such
as Calauan town in Laguna province to build homes for an estimated population of up to 10,000
families when completed. Usually more than an hour commute into Metro Manila, the provincial
location can accommodate a large resettlement population with available and relatively
inexpensive real estate. But, as past provincial resettlement projects has previously established,
the migration back to Metro Manila is inevitable for many because of greater job and income
opportunities in the country’s urban center of trade and industry. Family breadwinners will likely
choose a work opportunity back in Metro Manila. This could also result in greater familial
separation at relocation sites, a similar experience seen in the country’s paradigm of global labor
migration.
Another issue is fully funding these resettlement projects beyond declaring the program’s
budgetary goals and cost estimates. The 10-year government goal is to arrange public-private
partnerships to finance about 50,000 housing units, about 10% of total housing required. The
private investors are currently relying on generous tax incentives to fund and invest in mass
housing projects. However, despite the high number of potential investor applicants for these
projects, the number of actual completed projects has been falling short of the initial target.
Additionally, with a category of mass urban housing units at the price level between P751,000 to
P3 ($16,667 to $66,667) million, there is credible debate whether this particular category of
housing should be considered low cost and eligible for the tax incentives.23
23
Ben Arnold O. De Vera. “Govt to review mass housing policy,” (2010),
http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/business-columns/28734-govt-to-review-mass-housing-policy
(accessed 10/15/2010)
18
In June 2010, Benigno Aquino III became the 15th president of the Philippines. Like many
administrations before him, promises of poverty alleviation for the country’s poorest citizens were
part of his political platform. Still early in his term, he has increased the portion of government
funding for the relocation of Metro Manila’s informal settlers to P38 billion (US$860 million) over a
5-year span starting in 2011.24 Although this is a significant yearly increase, over 2-fold, from the
previous 10-year budget, it is still far short of the substantial costs estimated to properly house a
majority of the informal settlement population. At the very minimum, a relocation budget of
P200,000 (or $4,445) per family would involve raising closer to $2.5 billion for the estimated
545,000 families living in informal settlements. And even with the appropriate government budget
met, the private-public housing development strategy would have to successfully implement the
relocation plans. Relocation, a planned mix of city and rural resettlement, is not a one-size-fit-all
for all the informal sites in the cities.
In its most current form today, the government strategy is shifting away from rural relocation and
becoming more accepting to in-city relocation. The Aquino administration is closely looking at
relocation strategies that might be most costly, but might to be more acceptable to those affected.
The 5-year goal is to initially focus on housing close to 100,000 families living in so called “danger
areas”, low lying and prone to flooding and natural disasters brought about by climate change.25
Described as the most significant policy change, the administration will also emphasize relocation
to on-site or in-city locations. When housing projects near the original informal settlement site is
not an option, then relocation options away from the urban core will be have to be planned. Still
early in development, whether this pronounced government relocation policy would eventually be
reflected in practice remains to be seen.
24
David Dizon, “Govt allots P38B to relocate informal settlers,” (2011), http://www.abs-
cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/10/24/11/govt-allots-p38b-relocate-informal-settlers (accessed
11/15/2011)
25
TJ Burgonio, “Govt to give in-city housing to over 100,000 urban poor families,” (2011),
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/86099/gov%E2%80%99t-to-give-in-city-housing-to-over-100000-urban-poor-
families (accessed 11/15/2011)
19
An in-city plan to house about a fifth of the informal settlement population does seem to be a
recommitment to cater to the ongoing demands of the residents affected most by relocation.
Informal settlers prefer to be close to their original home and work locations. Moreover, some
families will be financially compensated to choose relocation. In describing the planned relocation
of the North Triangle informal settlers, the Chairman of the National Anti-Poverty Commission,
Joel Rocamora, states there will be payments made to settlers who will be organized to sign a
relocation contract agreement.26 They will be reimbursed for relocation and transportation costs in
addition to a housing improvement budget. And most vital, the goal is to offer settlers preferred
options for an in-city relocation site. Still, this refinement of the government relocation strategy
does face greater costs in the eventual need to purchase urban real estate.
Acquiring appropriate relocation sites in Metro Manila within budget will be the one of the greatest
concerns. Based on recent data, residential real estate prices in the Philippines are back on the
rise after a recent dip the past couple of years and moving to near record levels. 27 The
government, via an increase in taxes, and property investors both benefit from rising levels in the
real estate market. The overall favorable economic conditions present in the country should
respect sustainable growth trends and not allow an artificial bubble and its associated
complications. As importantly, the economic gains of the country should be experienced by most
of citizens. Shared economic development is most sustainable in the long-term.
The Bigger Picture
While attempting to improve symptoms of urban poverty, the government program’s resettlement
plans do not effectively address the interrelated socioeconomic and political issues resulting in
inadequate housing for Metro Manila. The regional and urban planning problems are systemic in
nature and predominantly stem from decades of mismanagement from the highest levels of
26
David Dizon, “Govt allots P38B to relocate informal settlers,” (2011), http://www.abs-
11/15/2011)
27
Global Property Guide “Price rises resume in the Philippine housing market”,
http://www.globalpropertyguide.com/Asia/Philippines/Price-History (accessed 11/18/11)
20
government, which allowed the massive scales of informal housing communities to continue to
grow without an effective solution. The economic development strategy of administrations since
Marcos have relied on “macroeconomic stability and sustained growth of income” within widely
accepted neo-liberalism policies to alleviate poverty. 28 Thus, the strategy effectively transfers
much of the function of poverty alleviation from the central government as public housing creators
to the private sector as improvers of housing market conditions through efficient production and
financing. With decentralization of administration and smaller budgets, the local government,
specifically the elected officials at the city and barangay levels, are today responsible for planning
and executing any efforts in local poverty alleviation including the relocation of informal settlers
from hazardous areas or areas of state-sponsored infrastructure developments. Concerning
private market participation, it seems unlikely developers will choose to focus their products
towards the bottom income spectrum of the housing market with slimmer profit margins. The firms
who do, however, will find a fairly sizable and underrepresented market. The private business
sector, including many international firms and developers, have benefitted greatly from the
economic and real estate growth of Metro Manila in large part due to low cost labor pools of the
region. As the largest benefiters of globalization and hyper-urbanization policies and most able to
financially contribute towards poverty alleviation, they should.
Given the public mistrust of politics and politicians in the Philippines, the more limited and
decentralized role of government today in urban housing is intentional and could be beneficial.
The more facilitative role of central governments in the building of relocation communities will
strengthen the NGOs and other non-profits as participatory decision-makers and builders of not
just housing units but social programs within these communities. In addition, proposed solutions
in urban housing developments, including relocation when necessary, can evolve and be
disseminated not only at the state but also the community level. Community-based organizations
(CBOs), as grassroots representatives of informal communities, should be viewed by the state as
collaborators in the effort of shelter delivery, not as a threat to potential private and economic
28
21
development.29 This new paradigm is evident in other slum upgrading and housing programs in
progress around South East Asia. Thailand’s urban renewal process encourages community
organizations and their local networks to be the primary planners and builders whether on-site
housing improvements or relocation strategies are selected.30 In a case study of Hanoi, Vietnam,
planning and design of public spaces in poor housing communities is described as best
performed with collaboration and support of the residents, the people who will have the most at
stake and will eventually define their local community.31 Collaboration between public entities,
federal and city governments, cooperating and collaborating with local communities and their
advocates is an essential first step in the process of planning and decision making to improve
urban housing settlements.
The current government strategy of relocation when necessary to substantially decrease informal
settlement communities along the Pasig River and its estuaries relies on a public-private
partnership. The government supplies the relocation site along with subsidized financing options
for informal settlers. The informal settlers have little influence on the decision making process, the
timeline for relocation and where to relocate including the design of their new housing community.
The for-profit sectors are relied upon to supply the housing markets with new developments
above the socialized and economic housing levels. Thus, the government, itself, will still have to
be involved in the production of new housing communities for the lower housing stratums. This is
the reality on the ground as observed in the largest relocation site today in Calauan, Laguna. The
state, through the National Housing Authority and its divisions, along with corporates
sponsorships (ABS-CBN and PureFoods), and with a minority role, and NGO (Habitat for
Humanity Philippines) have partnered in the development, planning and building of homes, for a
community of 10,000 thousand families.
29
Gavin Shatkin, “Community-Based Organizations, Local Politics and Shelter Delivery in Metro Manila”,
Kasarinlan: Philippine Journal of Third World Studies, vol. 14 no. 3 (1999): 36.
30
Somsook Boonyabancha. “Baan Mankong: going to scale with ‘slum’ and squatter upgrading in Thailand”.
Environment & Urbanization, Vol. 17 No. 1 (2005): 21
31
Nguyen Thi Hien Nghiem Thi Thuy. “Community Spaces in Low-Income Housing Areas – A Case Study of
Hanoi, Vietnam”. Globalization Research Center – University of Hawaii. (2007)
22
The Calauan relocation site is a study of labor migration outside Metro Manila’s industrial capital.
Informal settlers provide an essential source of low-cost labor in Metro Manila, a driver of
economic growth in globalizing cities. Urban emigration, due to relocation of informal settlers,
performed in large scale should be analyzed in the context of sustainable economic growth. Part
of the study should take into evaluation the income disparity in Metro Manila’s population.
Globalization and its promises of economic growth are supposed to lead to higher standards of
living. However, if high economic growth as measure by GDP is achieved by sacrificing income
for a substantial section of the population widening income and social equality, resettlement plans
and increased housing stocks will never lead to a complete and sustainable solution.
Over the decades of urban housing policy development, the Philippine government has gradually
added more comprehensive programs in socialized housing. For example, the policy framework
of the National Housing Authority now includes language to provide not just shelter, but basic site
services and facilities, long-term financing, access to primary road and transportation services.32
Reducing income disparity and increasing standards of living for all income stratums through
socioeconomic policy reforms and proper enforcement of the policies move toward a long-term
solution. One of the policies is to include as many as possible, small farmers to informal settlers,
in capital asset accumulation, the component required to secure loans for their businesses. One
of the best long-term investments and capital accumulation vehicles is to own your own home.
Housing tenure is a direct pathway to enter capital investment markets. Extending housing
affordability to all follows the same societal context as increasing labor rights, the minimum wage,
and educational opportunities for those disenfranchised. Socialized and low-cost housing options
are an empowerment tool for many in Metro Manila.
32
Enriga, Marguez, Velmonte 1996, 17.
23
DESIGNERS & BUILDERS for the Poor
Makeshift Homes
During a 2010 riot in North Triangle area of Quezon City, urban squatters protested the
demolition of their homes in informal settlements. The city government managed the land and
planned to develop the area, home to 3,000 squatter families, into Metro Manila’s second
financial center.33 The families being relocated to Rodriquez, Rizal are required to move from
homes they have resided in for years. For many, a good percentage of income and time was
invested in building their makeshift homes. It is understandable why they are reluctant to move
and relocate. For the thousands of squatter families, the makeshift homes represent more than
shelters. It’s the place and community they identify as home.
Even with the strong identification of home, the informal settlements are still predominantly
inadequate forms of shelter. The communities lack basic infrastructure, plumbing for every unit
and legal connection to the city’s electricity grid. Makeshift homes express the general lack of
facilities, resources and facilitate conditions of poverty.34 The basic shelters are built from scrap
wood and metal, found and reused objects, and the most economical building materials available.
The relative affordability of the makeshift shelters does make it attainable to Metro Manila’s
poorest population. The makeshift shelters allow the basic necessities of life, a place to sleep and
as much sense of security and privacy possible in an unplanned dense urban community.
However limited the function of a makeshift shelter, they provide the minimum of protection from
the natural elements. When typhoon season arrives, families rely on these shelters to keep them
safe from the threat of high winds and heavy rains. During the hottest months of the year, the
shelters are expected to serve some protection from the heat of the tropics. Nevertheless, the
reality of makeshift housing does not present the ideal concept for housing as home and shelter.
Makeshift houses are inadequately designed for the poorest population of Metro Manila.
Unofficial Builders
33
Jerry Botial. “Squatters shut down EDSA,” (2010), http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleid=614779
(accessed 10/19/2010)
34
Rebullida, Endriga, and Santos 1999, 11.
24
Without a proper background in architecture or engineering, the builders of informal settlers are
people who possess little practical construction experience. Many of the designers and builders of
makeshift homes are unlicensed and unqualified to build safe, reliable shelters. They do not
involve the city planners or trained experts in building housing units and are thus uncertified by
the city. Some informal settlement areas are potentially hazardous locations near rivers and
estuaries, next to busy railroads and roadways. No licensed professional contractor would build
on these lots. There are no design and construction codes to follow in building informal settlement
housing. Building homes is the job of trained professionals working in accordance with city
building guidelines.
Acceptable Builders
There have been a number of approaches to housing the urban poor in past decades. The
government efforts to build public housing have its origins prior and during the Marcos
administration. Natural disasters, major fires, and the increasing flow of new migrants into Metro
Manila hampered any significant efforts. Lessons learned during the Marcos years expanded the
relocation and slum upgrading strategies to incorporate housing loans such as the Community
Mortgage Program (CMP) and other government financial initiatives and developer incentives.35
Subsequent administrations to Marcos experimented with several approaches in relocation and
resettlement, site and service improvements, production of housing units, and housing finance for
land tenure.36 Today, the main strategies are government-backed housing finance and relocation
of informal settlements. Slum upgrading and land banking, World Bank shelter strategies during
the 1970’s and 80’s, are no longer the primary options. 37 When relocation communities are
planned within their border, city administrators act as facilitators, not builders. The governments
are still the primary planners and drivers of housing units for the poor. However, private
foundations and other non-profit entities have taken a larger role in the process of building homes
for socialized housing. Government housing policies today assign itself the role of “enabler”, not
35
36
37
25
“provider”. Facilitating affordable housing options to the lower income population is the guiding
principle.39
Because a major element of the government strategy to reduce informal settlements in Manila is
new housing creation, there is an opportunity to properly design the future homes and
communities of Metro Manila’s lower income population. Various stakeholders in government
administration are actively participating in general urban development to improve basic
infrastructure and vehicular traffic in the cities’ most congested and polluted areas. Today, the
government division of Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is the lead organization for
the government’s development programs concerning relocation and resettlement, housing and
infrastructure improvements, waste management, and disaster prevention. The Housing and
Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) more specifically directs the government
strategies in affordable and sustainable housing settlements working with several attached
agencies including the National Housing Authority (NHA), National Home Mortgage Finance
Corporation (NHMFC), and other finance and regulatory units. The government resources to deal
with the challenges of urban and housing development is not lacking in bureaucracy, policy and
planning.
The National Urban Development and Housing Framework (NUDHF) for 2009 to 2016 is an
updated report on Metro Manila’s urban issues and problems and includes specific
recommendations on poverty alleviation, housing affordability and delivery, and sustainable
communities. The report states the vision of urban development in the Philippines involves a
significant improvement in the quality of life for its residents. This equates to more parks,
promenades, and other pedestrian-oriented spaces. Within the scale of housing and community,
the long-term goal is to increase affordability levels of homes by increasing employment and
wages in the long-term and housing credit and financial resources in the short-term. Another
specific strategy includes incorporation of employment access in local land use plans. In other
39
26
words, mix-use communities are to be considered and integrated, if possible, in new social
housing developments. In the scale of the urban planning, improvements in housing affordability
and delivery are expected to improve poverty alleviation overall. Not to be overlooked, the
planning report also asserts the need of individual neighborhoods and entire cities to be
functionally sustainable in the context of global climate change.40
The overall mission and goals of NUDHF are admirable but lack a detailed pathway for housing
affordability and delivery and sustainable communities, as loosely defined. The policies are still
too broad and do not discuss more specific strategies on local-based employment access in
planned mix-use communities, especially for those in informal sectors. Delivery of low-income
housing has shifted to private markets and NGOs. But, there is still no mention of how community
organizations, specifically informal settlers, will have a role in deciding their own future. If the
vision is more urban parks and public spaces, the planning paper should identify potential areas
for redevelopment including what type of conversion. If Metro Manila is to be more
environmentally sustainable, there should be specific planning focused on bioremediation of not
just its waterways but development of wildlife sanctuaries and open land preservation along the
cities periphery. Lastly, advocates and lobbying groups for this vision needs to be empowered to
successfully execute them in a market-based development system.
In supplementing the government role in urban housing for the poor, local and international NGOs
have become the major advocates, sponsorship organizers, and builders. Habitat for Humanity
Philippines and Gawad Kalinga are two of the largest and most active NGOs involved in
promoting land acquisition and new housing production in various relocation sites in Metro
Manila’s periphery. Urban Poor Associates (UPA) are focused in community organization and
education related to housing rights, serving families facing eviction. Various other non-profits
such as United Architects of the Philippines and My Shelter Foundation play minor roles,
40
Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and Philippine Institute for Development Studies,
National Urban Development and Housing Framework (NUDHF 2009-2016), 2009.
27
increasing social awareness and public engagement in urban housing issues and community
development.
Habitat for Humanity Philippines (HFHP) focuses its mission on housing the bottom thirty percent
(30%) of wage earners in the country. Their principal methods of home building are based
primarily on voluntarism fulfilled through the “sweat equity” requirements for each housing partner
or client in their housing credit program, which enables the housing costs to maintain an
affordable level. The organization also develops cost and regional-appropriate building
technology, concrete interlocking blocks and other pre-fabricated building materials, to reduce the
costs of their single homes, row houses and higher-density projects. More than just home
construction, HFHP also partners with mirco-financing institutions, community groups, and local
government agencies to financially enable delivery of homes to partner families, the recipient of
the homes. In more recent years, HFHP has worked with community leaders to encourage
development of social programs for income generation and entrepreneurship skills building within
housing settlements. However, most of these programs are pilot studies and have not been
scaled to comprehensive use. HFHP nonetheless exemplifies a housing cooperative, whereby
shared home building, skill building and financing for each partner family is integrated into a
social development package to benefit the entire community. Habitat for Humanity Philippines
has become a significant partner in housing the urban poor throughout the Philippines.
Started in 2006, Gawad Kalinga (GK) is a recent entrant as builder of communities and social
programs for the poor. In GK communities, the land and labor of building detached single-family
units are both donated which makes the homes highly affordable. The walls and roof of the
standard Gawad Kalinga home are commonly composed of the most inexpensive and
dependable building materials in the Philippines, concrete masonry units and corrugated
aluminum. The site plans of Gawad Kalinga communities aim to reflect their ideas of communal
living and uniformity, housing units of similar size and style arranged in linear rows. The site
program might include a community center, shared workspaces, and recreational facilities. The
28
overall mission of the organization is the empowerment of the poor through home ownership
rights. The community residents are given a hundred year lease on their property and
employment programs administered by Gawad Kalinga are usually available on-site to improve
the community’s capacity to sustain themselves financially. Similar to program trends of other
NGOs today, Gawad Kainga’s progressive views on poverty alleviation gives most value to a
comprehensive and holistic approach of housing Metro Manila’s poor. [Interview with Sonny
Perez, GK volunteer]41
Individual and corporate sponsorship of NGO’s is a growing and significant trend in Metro
Manila’s relocation programs. The individuals are from the country’s most influential ruling
families operating through their corporate foundations. ABS-CBN Foundation’s Gina Lopez is well
known for her leadership and sponsorship efforts on the Pasig River cleanup projects and the
Calauan relocation site while Fernando Zobel de Ayala leads corporate sponsorship efforts
through his personal involvement with Habitat for Humanity Philippines. Along with numerous
corporate sponsors, these individuals and their corporations donate volunteer time and effort as
well as money in relocation and city rehabilitation programs. Multi-media advertisements,
television, billboards, and websites showcase the partnerships between corporations and NGO’s.
Both benefit from the advertisement and event campaigns in terms of the positive publicity
generated. Among the local population, awareness, volunteerism and activism for ongoing urban
cleanup projects tend to rise along with the increased activities of NGOs working in partnership
with individual and corporate sponsors.
41
Telephone interview with Sonny Perez in Honolulu, (October 2010)
29
Figure 3: Key Players in Housing the Urban Poor
Central Government
(loan financers, policy
creators, and facilitators)
Private Sector Community‐Based

(market‐based Organizations
developers) (Citizens)
NGOs Local Level

(builders, Administrators
sponsorship (facilitators,
organizors) regulators)
The central government has decentralized the process of and minimized their role in building low-
income urban housing. Private developers who wish to take advantage of subsidized loans for
lower income levels are more independent. NGOs and city (or barangay) administrators partner
to develop acquired land, plan and build homes and communities. Community-Based
Organizations representing the residents affected are the supposed intermediary, although their
role is often diminished in the process.
30
The MASSES
Essential Facts:
 60% of Filipinos live in urban areas today. At a rate of over 3% yearly, the estimate is
80% by 2050.42
 About 20% of urban households live under the poverty income line of under $2 per day.43
The average household size ranges between 5 to 7 with 2-3 members employed.
The household income per month is between US$245 to $368. 44
 Today, there are close to 526 informal settlements in Metro Manila housing 2.6 million or
around 1/5 of the population.45
 A majority of jobs in “depressed settlements” are based on self-employment with
half the residents working in the informal sector.46
 Unofficial labor usually consists of domestic help, tricycle drivers, construction,
handicrafts, factory labor and vending while formal jobs include government, factory, and
shipping positions. 47
Defining the Masses
The Masses, as defined is this paper, include Filipinos in the lower income brackets. In terms of
housing, they are the population eligible for subsidized socialized and economic housing. 49 It
comprises those living in poverty and above the poverty level but without land title or tangible
capital asset. They are the uneducated poor living in squatter settlements. They are also the
educated class, those with a college education but do not necessarily have a white-collar job. The
Masses strive to climb the socioeconomic hierarchy in a developing country with relatively few
opportunities. The Masses most represent those who are able to live on the per capita income
42
Asian Development Bank, “Development of Poor Urban Communities Sector: Philippines,” (2008),
http://www.evd.nl/zoeken/showbouwsteen.asp?bstnum=122564 (accessed 12/5/2010)
43
Asian Development Bank, “Development of Poor Urban Communities Sector: Philippines,” (2008),
http://www.evd.nl/zoeken/showbouwsteen.asp?bstnum=122564 (accessed 12/5/2010)
44
Junio M. Ragragio. “Urban Slums Reports: The Case of Metro Manila, Philippines,” (2003),
www.ucl.ac.uk/dpu-projects/Global_Report/pdfs/Manila.pdf (accessed 12/5/2010)
45
46
47
49
Community Mortgage Program eligibility also determined by affordability level or 30% of gross family
income
31
mean of $3,546 (2009 estimate).50 They are the majority of the population who spend nearly all
they earn to acquire daily sustenance, basic shelter and clothing. In a global context, the Masses
in the Philippines illustrate the challenges of a still emerging Asian nation trying to find a true
middle-class as defined by western nations. Metro Manila is the epicenter of urban and
population growth because it offers the Masses the highest possibility of financial prosperity. For
many of the residents in Metro Manila, “urban growth” has come at a price of deteriorating living
conditions and social welfare.
Even though the negative affects of urban growth affects all residents of Metro Manila, the
Masses are distinctly categorized as the lower-income group because they are the vast majority
of the population. Exactly how much of the population is in a lower-income group? The Philippine
government does not officially classify the population in socioeconomic terms. For the purpose of
policymaking, the Philippine government does have a National Statistical Coordination Board
(NSCB). A recent NSCB research study examined over a decade of data and proposes the
“middle-income class” to constitute only 22.6% of the Philippine population in 2006. The majority
of the population, 77.2%, is considered “low-income class” while an insignificant amount, 0.2%,
are in the “high-income class”. The “low-income class” was further divided into a “poor” (26.9%)
and “non-poor” (50.3%) category. In the study, the “middle-income class” is also determined to
significantly possess four socio-economic characteristics. The typical “middle-income class”
family owns a house and lot, a stereo or washing machine, a house made of strong roof and
strong wall, with the head of household or wife being employed. By the NSCB’s proposed
definition of income classes, the vast majority of the Philippine population, over three quarters in
2006, is consequently categorized as “low-income class”. 51 Using the class descriptions offered
by NSCB, the Masses, the majority of the population, are appropriately linked with the lower
income group and their socioeconomic characteristics. The bottom 77% of income earners does
not own their own lot and house nor do they live in properly built houses.
50
World Development Indicators Database, World Bank.
http://databank.worldbank.org/ddp/home.do?Step=12&id=4&CNO=2 (accessed 10/20/2010)
51
Romulo Virola, et al. The Pinoy Middle-Class is Shrinking: Its Impact on Income and Expenditure Patterns,
11th National Convention on Statistics. 2010.
32
Figure 4: NSCB’s Breakdown of “Income Classes”
High, 0.2
Middle , 22.6
Lower Income,
77.2
Defined in this paper as the Masses, the lower-income group, poor and non-poor, is a vast
majority of the country’s population.
Perception of Middle-Income Group Growth
Can the middle-income group someday account for the majority of the population? The status of
middle-income group growth in the Philippines isn’t easy to assess. A 2010 study produced by
the Asian Development Bank55 states Asian countries like the Philippines have a growing middle-
income group due to emerging consumer markets while another study based on local economic
conditions describes a decline due to lower income and expenditure patterns.56 Metro Manila is a
rising regional center of foreign direct investment in South East Asia. The arrival of outsourced
industries during the last decade, most notably business processing and call service centers, has
benefited the highly educated workforce in terms of middle-income wages and lifestyles. As a
result, numerous high-rise condominium projects in the vicinity of the call centers have been built
to accommodate a rising professional pool of workers. Specific examples include condominiums
55
Asia Development Bank. “The Rise of Asia’s Middle Class.” Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2010,
41st Edition (2010): 2.
56
Romulo Virola, et al. The Pinoy Middle-Class is Shrinking: Its Impact on Income and Expenditure Patterns,
11th National Convention on Statistics. 2010.
33
in the city of Mandaluyong, Cityland Pioneer and Gateway Residences in what is known as
Cybergate City are strategically situated next to a major call center. High-rise condominiums
largely built for the middle-income group has been a large portion of new housing supply in Metro
Manila during the last decade. These real estate developments have come during a decade of
relative economic prosperity for the Philippines.
The progress of the condominium developments in Metro Manila can generally be explained by
foreign capital inflows. In the past two decades, the Philippines has been fairly competitive in
attracting foreign investors and the business class looking to develop “world class” globalizing
cities in Southeast Asia.57 The capital inputs are, in part, from the growing population of Overseas
Foreign Workers (OFWs) and local Filipino residents who have gained wealth during hyper
urbanization. Whether as investment vehicle or second residence, the condominium units are the
housing option of choice for urban dwellers not able to afford the higher capital necessary to
purchase a traditional house and lot in the cities. Because of the effects of foreign capital
investments in Metro Manila’s residential industry and the subsequent result on the cities’ skyline,
there is a notable perception of middle-income group growth in the region. In reality, however,
local capital contributes a small portion as compared to foreign direct investments. The wealth
assets of high-rise condominiums and a growing social middle class are foreign-based. Thus, the
perception of middle class income growth is largely a mirage, a phenomenon based significantly
on foreign capital investments made by foreigners and a prosperous Filipino middle class (by
Philippine standard) living permanently or working temporarily abroad.
Typical Filipino Household
In contrast to growing high-rise condominium style of living advertised in city centers, a majority of
urban households still live in crowded 1 or 2 story homes or apartments. The typical Filipino
household can be primarily characterized by its relatively large size. A 2008 government survey
57
Gavin Shatkin, “The city and the bottom line: urban megaprojects and the privatization of planning in
Southeast Asia,” Environmental and Planning A (2008): 387.
34
establishes the fertility rate at 3.3 children per woman.60 The Philippines’ current fertility rate is
higher compared to fertility rates of its Southeast Asian neighbors although it is about half of the
6.0 fertility rate in 1973.61 Government surveys have determined education and earnings affect
family size. The lower the education and wage level of women, the higher the fertility rate and
household size. Fertility rates in the Philippines result in the average size of a Filipino household
at 5 persons, with poorer households averaging higher numbers. In 2000, a household of 4 has a
poverty incidence rate of 24% while a household of 9 burdened a poverty rate of 57%.62 As
proven in various studies looking at indicators of poverty, there is a strong correlation between
larger family size and incidence of poverty or decreased “household welfare”.63
Multigenerational / Multifamily Households
More common in urban areas where space is more valuable, multi-family households typically
include families of siblings living on shared properties. Metro Manila would be an ideal case study
of this urban dwelling experience. The properties are often split from its original lot size and
shared by multiple family units. Elderly parents commonly live with their children and help raise
their grandchildren. Filipino household units can include unmarried relatives and extended family
that have migrated from the provinces. Because of the rise in Overseas Filipino Workers,
households can have a missing parent, child or both. By sharing a communal type of living
arrangement, the modern Filipino family has adapted to the high costs of urban living while
continuing to sustain the traditional close family structure.
60
Philippine Commission on Women “Population, Families and Household Statistics,” (2010),
http://www.ncrfw.gov.ph/index.php/statistics-on-filipino-women/14-factsheets-on-filipino-women/69-statistics-
fs-population-families-household (accessed 11/9/2010).
61
Philippine Commission on Women, “Population, Families and Household Statistics,” (2010),
http://www.ncrfw.gov.ph/index.php/statistics-on-filipino-women/14-factsheets-on-filipino-women/69-statistics-
fs-population-families-household (accessed 11/9/2010).
62
Orbeta 2005, 5.
63
Aniceto C. Orbeta, “Poverty, Vulnerability and Family Size: Evidence from the Philippines,” (2005),
http://www.adbi.org/discussion-paper/2005/07/27/1289.poverty.vulnerability.family/ (accessed 11/12/2010).
35
APPROPRIATE Urban Communities and Housing
Housing in Correct Context
Housing the Masses in Metro Manila is a multi-faceted challenge affected by various factors in
land availability, affordability, infrastructure issues, proximity to jobs, etc. With a housing shortage
in the hundreds of thousands and a 10-year government relocation strategy, there is an
opportunity to redesign an urban housing landscape that reflects sustainable and communal
values of the Masses. In the urban planning scale, specific studies need to be performed to locate
which areas of the cities mass housing projects are most needed. These areas are just not
informal settlements but areas where housing demand is high and continued and future informal
settlements are likely.
Local city governments should make an effort to purchase, reclaim or reserve land to be used as
relocation sites. This can be performed through a community land bank program. Land banks
have been used in the United States to purchase and invest in properties as a way of stabilizing
and revitalizing abandoned neighborhoods.64 In Metro Manila, the government can initiate land
bank strategies by working with NGOs and Community Based-Organizations (CBOs) to purchase
informal settlements that are privately owned to initiate a pathway towards formal tenure as well
as other private lands to be set aside for relocation. In at least one city in the Philippines, land
banking has been a successful method to deter demolition of an existing informal settlement.65 As
shown in this example, securing a relocation site will ultimately be a matter of financial ability
through political will by the government.
In the case when relocation is necessary, the state should start dialogue with potential residents
to make sure the site fits their expectations, e.g. site is in close proximity to existing informal
settlements and their labor centers, clear of environmental hazards, and basic infrastructure is
available. Local administrators, as facilitators of relocation policy, should work with NGOs and
CBOs to determine site-specific design, housing typology based on density requirements, and
64
Genesee Country Land Bank, http://www.thelandbank.org/aboutus.asp (accessed 10/31/2011)
65
“Ilolo City goes land banking for informal settlers”, US News Las vegas,
http://www.usnewslasvegas.com/provincial/iloilo-city-goes-land-banking-for-informal-settlers/ (accessed
10/31/2011)
36
other planning considerations. When relocation is the only option, it should always proceed with
the agreement and consultation of the residents. Forced eviction, without notification to residents,
should never be an option.
Figure 5: Proposed Process Towards Participatory Relocation
Is the informal Independent

settlement experts determine
dangerous? danger level
yes / no
Site Upgrade
Does the
community desire OR
relocation?
yes / no
NGO & CBO
redevelopment plans
NGO & CBO develop

relocation plans
formal tenure
In relocation scenarios due to apparent safety hazards: experts and the community both, not only
administrators and city officials, should assess and provide input in the decision-making process
for relocation. A pathway towards formalizing tenure of land, e.g. via community land banking,
should always be considered.
There is a need to systematically examine the fundamental housing demands of the lower income
market. Informal settlers have the potential, with government-backed loans, to purchase homes in
designated urban relocation sites. Thus, even if relocation is necessary because of potentially
extreme hazards, flooding, disease, etc., the community’s input must be an integral component of
the decision process. Informal settlers should have a say when and how they will be moved. The
settler’s own decisions about relocation will be based on the site facilities in addition to the homes
themselves. The relocation site should have basic plumbing and electrical services, public and
community spaces, site security and lighted pathways, basic essentials common in planned
neighborhoods. At the same time, relocation sites should be within walking distance to public
37
transportation (busses or jeepneys) and be within commutable distance and time to labor centers
within the cities. A mix-use community program of housing, public spaces including parks and
gardens, and live/work spaces to accommodate the needs of a low-income community moves
toward a user-centric design approach. Ideally, the future residents should be involved from the
early phases of community design.
Relocation Site in Quezon City
A relocation site was chosen in Quezon City, Metro Manila as a design study to develop specific
proposals in three areas: 1) space programming 2) site plan design and 3) housing unit design.
These areas cover aspects of social, economic, and environmental sustainability issues. The
following sections introduce the site and discuss specific recommendations specific to the site but
transferable to similar relocation sites in scale and housing typologies.
The site is in Barangay Payatas of Quezon City, an area of Metro Manila characterized by rolling
hills and rich vegetation. With a relatively long wet season and tropical monsoon climate, Quezon
City’s rains come more often than the rest of Metro Manila. About 500 meters away is La Mesa
Reservoir, part of the major reservoir providing Metro Manila’s main source of water. Adjacent to
the site is a public high school, C. Munoz-Palma High. A few blocks away, within walking distance,
is Payatas Elementary School.
38
Figure 6: Maps of Metro Manila and Quezon City66 (site location marked by red dot)
Molave Street, Barangay Payatas B, Quezon City, Philippines
The Department of Education would like to subsidize a relocation community for some of its
teachers. The state has asked Habitat for Humanity Philippines (HFHP) to develop and build the
housing units for a mix community of teachers and informal settlers relocating into the site.
Government subsidized financing along with affordability of the housing units will enable families
to own their homes in this particular relocation community. The government has donated a total
land area of 1.58 hectares (3.9 acres). The site is light woodland and currently vacated. This
general area of Quezon City was known to be a dumping site for residents during the
urbanization of the city. A few kilometers away from the site, there is a large former dumpsite
closed down because of landslides that caused a number of deaths in the past. Makeshift homes
once occupied the dumpsite. Today, informal settlements are kept just outside the perimeter of
the site, which is today partly used as a public park. It is hard to determine the accurate
population of informal settlements living in Quezon City. But, one study estimates more than half
of the city’s total population are informal settlers and characterizes them as “highly organized”
66
original image source: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ph_locator_ncr_quezon.png (accessed
10/3/2011) and Google Maps
39
due to the high number of NGOs and universities in the city.67 In fact, the premier state university,
University of the Philippines at Diliman, is located in Quezon City. Even on campus, there is an
official Barangay composed entirely of illegal settlements.
Figure 7: Project Stakeholders
Major stakeholders are sponsors, builders and users. The Department of Education will provide
the site, the bulk of the investment. The non-profit builder works with private volunteers and
donors as well as home partners, the eventual users of the community.
A Teaching Community
67
Gavin Shatkin, “Community-Based Organizations, Local Politics and Shelter Delivery in Metro Manila”,
Kasarinlan: Philippine Journal of Third World Studies, vol. 14 no. 3 (1999): 44
40
Teaching Village
Proposed for this site, a teaching village is a community where education programs covering life
skills and sustainable systems will be developed in collaboration with residents. The teachers in
residence can be hired part-time to offer the classes. Additional teachers can be hired full-time
and/or can be trained and certified on-site. Informal settlers, some with background experience
farming from provincial areas, can help as trainers in sustainable farming programs proposed on
site. The users are, in principle, education partners. Teachers and settlers share common goals
as first time homeowners, homebuilders in partnership with HFHP, and, as an official community
coalition, developers of a stable relocation community.
Figure 8: Proposed Educational Program
Life Skills:
‐ adult ed
(english, math)
‐ family planning
‐ daycare and
Food and after‐school programs
Sustainability: Economic
Development:
‐ permaculture farming
‐ home financing
‐ nutrition & diet
‐ microfinancing
‐ water catchment &
waste recycling ‐ home building, repair,
and maintenance
Stable and
cohesive
community
Social programs are planned to build a relocation community that is stable and cohesive.
A new relocation community made up largely of settlers dislocated from their former community
and teachers looking to start fresh are faced with the challenge of integrating into not only a
41
relocation community but also the larger community of Payatas, Quezon City. The largest
example of a relocation community currently being established as a peri-urban town in Calauan,
Laguna is designed primarily to become independent from the larger Laguna community with its
own produce market, schools, commercial, healthcare, and sports facilities. With over 10,000
families, 50% estimated to be under the age of 18, expected to move into the relocation
community when complete, there are already some indications the urban migrants will largely be
disconnected physically, economically and socially from the surrounding established
communities. 68 This is partly by design, as Calauan town will have independent facilities and
amenities. However, relocation sites, in whatever scale, need to be integrated economically and
socially in the cities, regions and provinces. New migrants will need jobs outside the relocation
communities. Calauan town residents will need social acceptance by the Laguna community. If
not, the current government estimate of a two-thirds retention rate at the newly established
Calauan town will not improve and will likely get worse. In proposed relocation communities, peri-
urban or urban, integration with the surrounding communities is vital.
There are several arguments for designing relocation communities to be unified and integrated
into surrounding communities. Abandoned neighborhoods, most notably observed in rust belt
cities in the United States, exemplifies disconnected communities which are plagued by social
and environmental problems, criminal activity, environmental hazards, etc. 69 There are strong
correlations between fragmented neighborhoods and weak intercommunity relationships which
lead to social problems, as observed in the United states. In addition, social cohesion in urban
communities are argued to have strong identities of civic and community pride, characteristics of
cities with strong economic stability.70 In theory, populations with shared identities, common goals
and interests along with developed civic values tend to pool resources and support each other in
times of need. The benefits of community cohesion are universal. Civic responsibility is best
68
Personal communication with Ricky Jacinto, CEO of HFHP, 1/22/11, Calauan, Laguna, Philippines
69
Lavea Brachman, “Vacant and Abandoned Property”. Land Lines: vol 17, no. 4, (2011)
http://www.lincolninst.edu/pubs/1057_Vacant-and-Abandoned-Property
70
Ivan Turok, “The Connections Between Social Cohesion and City Competitiveness,” OCED Territorial
Reviews: Competitive Cities in the Global Economy, (2006)
42
cultivated from a comprehensive educational program built on community resource-sharing,
collaborative economic development and environmental stewardship, values that also realize a
form of social safety net at the community scale.
Developing community values for community empowerment are the proposed goals of a teaching
community. The education program proposed is a study on the various ways a new relocation
community of mix-residents coming from economic hardships can form organized and interrelated
functions, from home building, resource usage, food production/distribution. The program design
stresses community interaction in the classrooms, courtyard, and outdoor growing spaces.
Robust collaboration among the residents by having shared goals, functions and common spaces
are interrelated strategies. Ultimately, various relationships, social and environmental, are formed
and play a significant role in the formation of a cohesive and sustainable relocation community.
Figure 9: Elements of Community Cohesion
Shared Shared Community

Shared Goals
Spaces Functions Cohesion
• Home
ownership • Courtyard • pride
• Farming
• Food security • Communal • economic
• Learning
areas stability
As proposed, a community culture and value system that teaches and is derived from sharing of
resources perpetuates a community of the same nature.
Community and Spatial Program
The following discussion and graphics present the site program and their associated spaces,
buildings for the community and housing units for families. The project follows site and housing
design guidelines 71 set forth by the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council
71
Housing Regulation ‘BP 220’
43
(HUDCC) via the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) for the development of
socialized (up to P400,000 or $9,000) and economic housing (up to P750,000 or $17,000) in the
country. In addition, the author has developed community and design goals based on the concept
of a teaching community for the relocation site in Quezon City.
Figure 10: Essential Design Requirements and Associated Project Goals72:
Site Design •prevent erosion and flooding

•preserve trees >200mm diameter
Requirements •>9% of area for parks and playground
Lot and Housing •minimum floor area, socialized: 18 sqm

•minimum floor area, economic: 22 sqm
Requirements •mandatory firewall for duplex and row housing
• community center with classrooms, a church, etc.

Project Goals / • community garden, pig pen and growing systems
• landscape plan for shading and water retention strategies
Site Amenities • 250 housing units (communal option)
• rain capture and waste / nutrient recycling systems
The state regulates site and housing design setting minimum standards. The goals of the project
go beyond these standards to develop a new design standard for a relocation community
designed to instill civic and sustainable values for its residents.
Community Spaces
There are four major community buildings as shown in the site plan (Figure 11a) and more
closely in the rendered plan and elevations below (Figures 11b, 12, 13a, 13b, & 13c). They are
the program offices / family planning center, multifunction hall / sanctuary space, community
kitchen and attached canteen, and four classroom units. The community will require offices where
72
Partial list. See appendix for complete design requirements and program list.
44
hired teachers can develop the education curriculum. Program offices are recommended for a
community and program of this size. In the context of Philippine culture, the family planning
center will be available for those looking for social and life counseling e.g. gaining work abroad
experience, spirituality and moral guidance, in addition to advice of when to have a child. The
multipurpose center is a required building in relocation sites of certain densities. This particular
multipurpose center will also double as sanctuary space. The sanctuary space can be made
available to the general public on the weekend for religious services, a weekly practice for many
Filipinos. A large courtyard encompasses the area in front of these three buildings. The courtyard
will serve as a gathering space flanked by the classrooms and the basketball court below. On the
weekends, the courtyard converts into an open-air market where produce from the site can be
marketed and sold. This is an opportunity for outside visitors from the larger community to interact
with the relocation community and site. A central courtyard is an ideal space to host civic as well
as community events. As designed, the major community program and spaces are physically
linked to the courtyard, the social hub for residents.
The entrance to the community spaces as residents and visitors enter the site and park in the
vehicle / tricycle lot is marked by a distinct vegetative canopy. Bamboo, renewable and
sustainable, will be used as the construction material for this canopy. Growing on the trellis
structure will be tomatoes and other edible climber plants, cucumbers, melons, etc. This entrance
gateway serves as symbol for the food production program of the relocation site and brands it as
such. Flanking the opposite side of the courtyard, below it, is an outdoor playground. Part of the
social and spatial program of community cohesion and participation is a basketball court located
below the plateau area of community spaces. Basketball is regarded as the most popular sport in
the Philippines. And a street playground culture, especially found in lower-income neighborhoods,
has evolved around this phenomenon. All activities in the community spaces engage its residents
to participate and become involved in optional classes and events.
45
Organization and implementation of the social programs can be performed by NGOs as in the
Kawad Kaliga model73 (builder is also community organizer) or through collaboration with other
non-profit advocates, e.g. Nutrition Center of the Philippines (NCP), Springboard Foundation, etc.
These organizations develop customized programs in concert with community leaders, the
representatives for the residents. Because the Quezon City relocation site has an overarching
goal to build community cohesion through a varied educational program, the organizations will
also work closely with the teachers and program coordinators living on site. After initial program
development, with greater independence, the community can eventually run and execute the
community agenda themselves.
73
GK Development Model, http://www.gk1world.com/newCommunity
46
Figure 11a: Site Plan, 1:1000
Figure 11b: Enlarged Plan, Community Spaces
48
Figure 12: Elevation, Major Community Spaces
Adjacent to the community buildings is the central community courtyard where residents meet and gather on the weekday and set up the farmer’s market on the weekends. Each of the major buildings and spaces are
enlarged below.
49
Figure 13a: Elevation, Entrance Canopy
Residents and visitors enter the community space and courtyard through an entrance canopy. The first building includes the program offices and family planning center.
Figure 13b: Elevation, Multipurpose Hall Figure 13c: Elevation, Kitchen & Canteen / Basketball Court
The multipurpose hall can serve as a sanctuary and prayer hall. A community kitchen and canteen sits above a recreational area where a basketball court is located.
50
Multi-story Family Housing
Prelude to the author’s discussions and recommendations on housing typology, it is worth
establishing some key points on appropriate housing density. Similar to the housing requirements
in other high-density cities such as Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong, options for high-density
living are necessary in Metro Manila. Typically, high-density housing units offer less space, are
closer to city centers, and can offer more public services and infrastructure. One high-density
housing option, high-rise condominiums units, is generally too expensive in construction costs to
be offered as socialized or economic housing for the Masses although they are typically more
affordable per unit than single-family homes. In Metro Manila’s urban centers, where informal
residents value their proximity to work, multiple story residential buildings are a valuable option
for most citizens. With the current increase in mid to high-rise developments, Metro Manila
residents who can afford it are choosing to live near their work place to save money and time
commuting to work. In the case of informal settlers who require low-cost rent, housing in 1 or 2-
story makeshift homes is their only option. Clearly, if state intervention is to focus on on-site or
relocation housing in dense urban locations, there is a need to consider increased subsidies, low-
income housing tax credits, for developers offering higher density private developments or social
housing alternatives near city centers.
High-density, low-income housing can also develop from low-rise housing, 1 to 4-story buildings
with no elevators. While high-rise buildings can potentially house more families, smaller scale
housing typologies in compact layouts can generally offer a more affordable solution. Low-rise
apartment buildings requiring less structural support is the main model of housing for Habitat for
Humanity Philippines in Metro Manila. Up to 4 stories high, these multi-family dwellings offer
single room dwellings which can be partitioned and/or allow a mezzanine or loft space to be
added. Certain cost-efficient technologies in steel frame construction and an in-house developed
Concrete Interlocking Block (CIB) system reduce construction costs for the non-profit
homebuilder. Unlike other medium and high-rise buildings in the cities, quality materials,
advanced engineering requirements, and structural steel is reduced to the minimum while
allowing per unit costs to remain eligible for government subsidized housing.
Figure 14: HFHP Housing Types74
Floor Area per

Housing Type Cost per unit
unit (sq. m.)
single, detached (CIB) 31 P220,00 ($5,000)
row house (CIB) 20 P100,000 ($2,300)
row house (pre‐cast concrete) 23 P100,000 ($2,300)
duplex (modified blocks) 20 P150,000 ($3,400)
2‐story walkup 20 P180, 000 ($4,000)
3‐story cluster 20 P280,00 ($6,300)
4‐story walkup 20 P320,000 ($7,300)
Although total floor area can vary with additional floor area (loft space) added, row houses offer
the most cost-efficient typology primarily because of shared walls, which reduces construction
material costs.
In determining the appropriate housing typology to use for the proposed relocation site in Quezon
City, a row housing typology using volunteer and home partner labor is evaluated to be the most
economical and constructible solution. Besides the cost efficiency of shared walls, walls of CIB
use a relatively inexpensive material at P13 or $0.30 per CIB unit. Modular row houses using CIB
technology can be manufactured in various site build conditions using a number of tested soil
mixtures, if needed. Moreover, multiple field-tests by HFHP show the galvanized steel roof
structure is able to stand typhoon scale weather conditions.
74
Source: HFHP internal documents provided to the author
52
Regarding row housing density on the site, it is estimated (see appendix) a maximum of number
of around 360 row houses can fit on the site if all units were built to 2-stories and the row houses
were placed back to back. If single story row houses placed back to back were used, about 270
units would be possible. However, with community space and program the main site design
strategy, approximately 1/3 of the site or around 90 housing units would have to be surrendered
to realize the community spaces. Specifically, an estimate of 58 row houses would be lost to
create the community space and 32 units for the growing space. Sacrificing 90 home units to
produce the community spatial and social program is a decision based on qualitative factors
necessary to attain the long-term goals of a sustainable relocation community. These basic
estimation and decision processes help derive the main housing production goal to be
approximately 250 units. From the total units produced, 4 types of housing typologies are
proposed (Figure 15).
Figure 15: Proposed Mix of Units
120 4‐linked units 64 duplex units

(2‐story) (2‐story)
250 total
units
42 communal housing
24 single, detached
6‐clustered units
(1‐story)
(1‐story)
Breakdown of 4 housing typologies and their associated quantities to produce the total home unit
count of 250. The majority of the units (184 of 250) will be row houses, 4-linked units or duplexes.
42 units arranged into 6-cluster communal living spaces and 24 single, detached units provide
additional options for incoming residents.
Row or linked units are efficient housing types, spatially and economically. However varying the
type of linked units in scale, function and arrangement (groupings) allows more options for the
residents. For example, a more standard duplex will feature 20 square meters of living space in
53
the socialized housing level that can be flexed into an economic model with an additional 8
square meter mezzanine as a bedroom (Figure 16a & 16b). A single story duplex is represented
in this example (Figure 17a & 17b). However, a 2-story option (Figure 17c &d) is proposed for all
duplexes and 4-linked units to increase the density of the site and increase the number of
available units to 250 without compromising the spatial requirements of the community program.
54
Figure 16a: Floor Plan, 1st Floor (scale, 1:100)
Figure 16b: Floor Plan, Mezzanine (scale, 1:100)
2 types of furniture layouts are proposed in

a standard economic home (20+6 sqm). All
amenities described here will be available in
both socialized and economic models.
55
Figure 17a: Elevation, 1-story Duplex with Mezzanine (scale, 1:100)
Figure 17b: Section, 1-story Duplex with Mezzanine (scale, 1:100)
56
Figure 17c: Section, 2-story Duplex with Mezzanine (scale, 1:100)
Figure 17d: Elevation, 2-story Duplex with Mezzanine (scale, 1:100)
57
In a 2 story economic home, the staircase is located at the rear of the building. The mezzanine
space including bedroom and balcony will be accessible through a built-in metal staircase located
by the entrance of the unit. Regardless of model (social or economic), there will be 1.5 meters of
front yard and 2 meters of backyard space as required by low-income housing codes. Minimum
height clearances (2 meters) are met. And to reduce construction material, the split roof scheme
is proposed, which will potentially increase ventilation into the home as well.
As dense housing developments increases in Metro Manila, multi-family housing typologies such
as apartments, condominiums, and townhomes are increasingly becoming the most common
living arrangement for urban dwellers. Filipino multi-family housing arrangements in the cities are
following Western or American standards and moving away from traditional single family homes.
As discussed earlier in this paper, traditional Filipino families live in communal arrangements,
living together with aging parents, grandparents, unmarried relatives, etc. In lower-income bracket
families, where households are larger, former informal settlers should have an option for a home
with a communal layout (Figure 18 & 19). Linked units can be arranged to accommodate a
multigenerational family sharing 3 or 6 units altogether. Former neighbors, friends, and social
networks would also have the option of sharing in a 6 unit communal housing cluster. The
economic savings would not derive just from shared walls but also a shared common space
(central courtyard) and kitchen. Each unit will have it’s own bath. And with lower ceilings and a
lack of mezzanine space, the proposed model type is estimated to fit within the less expensive
socialized housing budget. The space and construction material savings leads to more affordable
homes for multigenerational families. More importantly, by living in units designed for a large
multigenerational family, the preferred living arrangement for a traditional Filipino family clan is
maintained.
58
Figure 18: Plan, 6-unit Communal Complex
The communal complex is composed of 6 units (2 units 5x4m and 4 units 6x3.33m), 2 sets of 3-
linked units connected by a central courtyard space, an entrance corridor and shared outdoor
kitchen. Each unit will have rain barrels for water collection, its own bath and toilet, and a septic
tank for waste filtration.
59
Figure 19: Plan Perspective, 6-unit Communal Complex
The proposed furniture and their layout include a bunk bed, a single couch and counter for dining
per home unit. The central courtyard serves as additional living space for the arranged communal
households.
Community Adaptation
Because of the financial constraints of socialized and economic housing budgets, small-scale
(requires less land and material) and low-rise (less structural material) housing typologies are
made available at various levels for low-income residents looking to make the transition into the
relocation site. Regardless of housing type, each home in the community is supplemented by an
accompanying private front and backyard, a shared courtyard for recreational play or balcony for
clothes drying, in addition to the community and growing spaces allocated for community use.
From the perspective of a new resident relocating from the extreme living conditions of an
informal settlement, a private interior space of 26 square meters (280 square feet) would likely
offer a larger living space than the former home he/she is vacating. However, some larger
families will still find it a challenge to share a compact space (Figure 20). As the community
60
establishes itself, some families will want to expand their homes. House expansions, as learned
from HFHP, should be restricted mainly because it is often impossible to regulate properly,
besides the fact that these houses are not designed to be vertically or horizontally expandable.
61
Figure 20: Building Section
A typical settler household of 4-5 people will have basic housing and upgraded site amenities not usually found in informal urban settlements. Private indoor spaces (indicated by 1 and 4), rain barrel for water collection,
and tree-lined pedestrian pathways are depicted by this image.
For those who desire a smaller housing footprint or cannot afford the top range of socialized
housing units, e.g. young couples or singles, a Starter Home75 is designed to offer a smaller yet
less expensive version of the standard 20 square meter socialized unit. The minimum
requirement for socialized housing in terms of enclosed floor area is 18 square meters. With
bamboo walls serving to partially enclose an semi-outdoor kitchen area, an additional 6 square
meters of space is added to 12 square meters of CIB-enclosed living/bath/bedroom space to
bring the total square meters of a Starter Home to 18 as required (Figure 21a & 21b).
Figure 21a: Floor Plan, 1-story Starter Home
75
Starter Home concept is derived from Habitat for Humanity Philippines
Figure 21b: Elevation, 1-story Starter Home
Designed as low cost alternative to standard socialized housing, the Starter Home features a
compact interior space and outdoor kitchen.
In terms of adapting each home to the aesthetic taste of the household, each unit’s interior living
area would be customizable as desired, a similar strategy used in HFHP homes. However, the
aesthetic qualities of the exterior of buildings and community outdoor spaces including
landscaping should be regulated in the framework of a community design program. Planners and
architects can initiate a set of design guidelines. The community, its residents, can participate in
aesthetic improvements and alterations within these guidelines.
Easy adaptation of residents to their new urban environment is an objective of any relocation
community. Some migrating informal settlers would have an entirely urban living experience and
would need to adjust to life in a community with green outdoor spaces for the first time while
incoming migrants from the rural provinces would be able to adapt more easily to a community
with abundant outdoor spaces, gardens and parks. For many settlers not used to living in multi-
level residential buildings, there is a choice to choose a ground floor level home. Thus, incoming
residents should be allowed to choose their preferred unit by type and site location. There is
much a new community of settlers will need to adapt to when relocating homes, neighborhoods,
and even cities. Accordingly, minimizing relocation uncertainty and living adjustment for new
residents is part of an important community orientation program.
64
There will also be necessary adjustments for new community residents. As the social program of
the Quezon City relocation community is designed to attain economic stability, housing tenure
and poverty alleviation, broad collaboration and unity among its residents will be required. A good
example is the food production program’s cooperative requirements during its planning and
implementation. Maintenance of outdoor spaces, landscaping and buildings will also have to be
performed within the framework of a cooperative. Discussed in subsequent sections, the
community waste recycling program, community food banks and kitchen will only run with
community effort. The educational programs, teaching and sharing of various skills, along with the
civic values they create is the main driver for keeping the goals and activities communal. The
community is a teaching village in as much as the concept is practiced and developed during a
relocation site’s progress towards stabilization. The following sections further discuss these
concepts of developing community cohesion and productivity through civic services.
Vertical Village
Developing a relocation community is comparable to replicating a village atmosphere in a city.
This urban or Vertical Village is where similar values and experiences are shared, a contributing
factor to strong community pride. Where the traditional rural village represents a community of
shared skills, economic activities, festivals, recreational habits, arts and culture, the relocation
community envisions to become one in its own way, self-sufficient and independent. In the case
of the Quezon City relocation community, it becomes close to a district or barangay unit with
close to an estimated population of 1,200 people. Barangay residents living in a Vertical Village,
living in shared lands and buildings with common architectural themes and activates, hopes to
produce social unity. Similar to a fishing village whose residents share a common way of life, the
Quezon City relocation community is designed and developed for a particular lifestyle, urban
farming in a teaching village.
65
SOCIOECONOMIC Focus in Urban Housing
Urban Food Production and Food Security
The recent economic crisis originating in the United States in 2008 has had a global impact.
According to a United Nations (UN) report, the urban poor, particularly those in developing
countries, has been one of the worst hit.76 With the addition of rising food and energy prices
worldwide, the UN report estimates the number of people with chronic food insecurity has
increased by 10% or 100million people in just two years (2007-2009). In response to the global
food crisis most observed to be most intense during this period, another UN report makes the
recommendation of promoting sustainable urbanization through the model of “local food
production... within city boundaries” by way of improved incentives and reduced barriers for the
development and growth of the urban agricultural industry.77 78 In cities such as Metro Manila, the
incentives could come in the form of reduced taxes for new agricultural businesses within city
boundaries. A government investment can also be made through a community cooperative model.
An unproductive urban lot owned by the city can be transferred to a non-profit organization that
will coordinate and develop the urban land for community food production. Urban agriculture, the
integrated practice of growing, processing and marketing the plants and animals grown and
raised within urban or peri-urban areas, has the potential reduce food prices for urban consumers.
In Metro Manila, the local food market consists largely of open-air pelengkes or “wet markets”.
This barangay (local district) market affords the masses produce close to their homes for meals
normally prepared and served the same day. In contrast to Western markets, pelengkes do not
freeze or refrigerate their vegetables, meats, and fishes. Usually fresh, the food supply for Metro
Manila arrives daily from farms located outside the cities, usually through brokers and middlemen
who transport and distribute the goods. Although becoming more popular among the more
76
UN FAO. Follow-up to the high-level conference on world food security: FAO contribution to the
implementation of the comprehensive framework for action, Document for FAO Council 136th session, 15-19
June, Rome 2009b.
77
UN FAO. State of Food Insecurity in the World 2008: High food prices and food security – threats and
opportunities, Rome, 2008a.
78
Henk de Zeeuq and Marielle Dubbeling. Cities, Food and Agriculture: Challenges and the Way Forward.
RUAF Foundation, 2009, 10.
66
affluent communities in and around Makati, organic and other sustainable farming practices and
their resulting products are not marketed for Metro Manila’s common consumers. The higher
priced, organic products are reserved for air-conditioned marketplaces inside malls for the few
who are able to afford them. A substantial collection of small community cooperative farms has
the potential to change this, to allow greater access to organic and fresh vegetables to the
masses.
Agricultural farming (crops, aquaculture, livestock, and poultry) has a long tradition in rural
Philippines. In relocation sites with ample numbers of former rural migrants, urban agriculture is a
functional strategy to make productive use of new resident’s skills. With potential use of
approximately 2000 square meters (half an acre) of urban space for food production in the
proposed Quezon City relocation community, there can be a shift in how an urban population
sources its food and nutrients. The overarching goal of an urban farming program is not
necessarily to gain a for-profit business but an investment in people. Local community-based
farming will develop values in civic cohesion and collaboration. Farmers learn to share resources
in a cooperative farming model. Also, consumers of an ecologically sound farming model will
benefit from fresh and more nutrient vegetables harvests grown on site. Urban farming in
relocation communities with designed growing spaces will initiate a city movement and consumer
demand in locally produced food and quality nutrition where it is most needed. An urban farming
movement and its resulting social benefits to relocation communities is the focus for the Quezon
City site. However, there is a conceivable economic benefit for a new local grower industry
leading to increased food security within the context of Metro Manila.
Developing a community farming movement for economic aid and food security can start at the
household scale (Figure 22). Various models of small scale or “backyard farming” can then be
developed at various stages (Figure 23). At the backyard scale, initial investment is kept to a
minimum. Backyard farming can introduce beginners to farming, growing relatively low-
maintenance vegetables (tomatoes, squash, eggplant, spinach, pechay or Chinese cabbage),
67
herbs, and mushrooms in their own backyard. At the community scale, a farming cooperative can
be formed to supply members with everything they need to obtain a small community lot, required
farming tools, start faming, harvest the food for consumption and eventually bring surplus to the
public via the weekend farmer’s market or distribute the produce to the community food bank in a
non-profit manner. Initially, residents can form partnerships with surrounding farming associations
in the periphery of Metro Manila, including NGOs specializing as urban agricultural advocates
and/or agri-business promoters such as Univet Nutrition and Animal Healthcare Company
(UNAHCO). For example, UNAHCO has a program of teaching piggery operations to returning
overseas workers and other similar groups. In addition to these non-profit models, micro-financing
opportunities for households can be created for those who desire to produce and harvest in a for-
profit model. Starting with the backyard production model, the community, working closely with
urban farming promoters, can subsidize financing efforts at various scales of developing an urban
farming operation.
68
Figure 22: Vertical Garden as Urban Farming Tool
A low-cost, low-tech tool to grow vegetables using a vertical garden solution: tomatoes and other
crawler plants are able to grow on “chicken wires” from a soil substrate. The ground space
required is reduced to a minimal.
Figure 23: 3-Tier Urban Farming Model
Production Food Bank Consumption Recycle

Home / Farmer's
Backyard Household level Home Compost
Market
Community Kitchen / Community Recycling

Farming Cooperative Community
Farmer's Market Facility
Community Recycling
Small Business Community Farmer's Market
Facility
Supporting urban farming at the three proposed community scales has multiple byproducts
beneficial to society as well as the environment. Farming on community lots as a non-profit
cooperative encourages community participation and collaboration. A non-profit food bank has
the potential to secure a percentage of food produced for charitable use and distribution to the
69
community kitchen and needy families. The general public benefits indirectly from locally sourced
food by increasing competition with commercially processed foods, which can lead to decreased
food costs at the neighborhood scale. Wastes from food consumption activities are highly
recyclable and can be utilized as compost at all levels of a farming model. The proposed system
of permaculture farming can minimize the negative impacts of production activities to the
environment by reducing chemical use while increasing the function of natural soil processes. By
growing food locally, the use of carbon producing transport systems is also diminished. In general,
homegrown products can be better controlled for quality and nutrition, a direct benefit to
household growers. Each food farmed, from vegetables to fruit trees, pigs to chickens, can be
specifically tailored for each community. Urban farming for local food production and distribution
is a path towards self-sufficient communities. The Local urban agriculture system is not a new
concept. However, recovering domestic food security by establishing sustainable food systems
and eliminating poverty is an integrated effort79 and is exactly what a lower-income relocation
community requires.
In the context of cities, various levels of urban farming models and its associated social
movement has the potential to benefit food consumers who are living near the poverty level and
without access to basic levels of nutrition in their diet. The creation of these local mini-economies
can create jobs at various skill levels. Instructors and support staff will be needed to organize,
teach classes and develop the collective vegetable gardens. Ground maintenance for the entire
site will also be necessary. A core kitchen staff will run the food bank and community kitchen. And
a recycling team will need to be hired to teach residents about the site and household programs.
In each process of the sustainable farming model, there is a chance for community participation
whether as growers, consumers or recyclers. Resident and public consumers and growers will
meet directly at the farmer’s market and reduce the middlemen, food brokers and distributers. In
a newly established relocation community, community food banks and kitchens will offer a direct
79
Mustafa Koc, For Hunger-Proof Cities: Sustainable Urban Food Systems. (IDRC Books, 2000), Netlibrary
ebook, 225.
70
way to benefit those temporarily suffering from financial hardships and related nourishment
poverties. Urban farm programs are initially developed as backyard gardens in its smallest scale
and can eventually scale up to create social movements in a citywide scale. The primary goal of
urban farming communities is the social movement itself, a lasting social benefit that outweighs
its initial financial costs.
Community Security and Integration
In any proposed relocation site, there is a need to consider site security. With the Quezon City
relocation community, the proposed perimeter fence should prevent physical access but not
visual access into the site. The site should be largely accessible to invited guests and the general
public, those who live in surrounding areas and want to take advantage of site amenities.
However, the residents themselves can limit access to the greater community at night or as
needed to secure particular site areas and community buildings. As in the case of the Calauan
town relocation site, site staff can be hired during the day to primarily check in guests and visitors
into the site. Regardless the level of security at certain closed hours, the site is proposed to be
accessible to the outside community who desire to enter the site to view the demonstration farms,
purchase products at the weekend farmer’s market, enroll in educational program on site, etc.
Greater community immersion and integration is one of the primary goals of the newly relocated
population. Keeping the site gated and secured from the outside community diverges from this
goal. A relocation site should not follow the existing trend observed in Metro Manila and other
highly urbanized cities in Asia, private communities catering to higher income populations.
The increase in private communities around the world has been discussed by research studies as
an interrelated function to the globalization process80 81. In the globalization of American culture
and real estate models, current global expansion of private communities has been attributed to
the American model of privately managed and enclosed housing developments. There is a
80
G. Glasze et al., Private Cities: Global and local perspectives. New York: Routledge (2006).
81
J Grant and L. Mittelsteadt, Types of Gated Communities. Environment and Planning B: Planning and
Design (2004).
71
standardization of private development strategies in a flattening world where markets, consumer
tastes, and lifestyle also become more homogenized.82 This is the specially the case in a hyper-
urbanized city like Metro Manila.
Largely observed in the high end of the housing spectrum, opposite of informal settlements,
Metro Manila’s desire to become globalized or Americanized has led to what has been referred to
as edge-city mega-projects83. These exclusive private residential and commercial developments
(Eastwood, Global City, Rockwell) are marketed towards the higher income consumers and
designed to be independent communities with their own shopping malls, restaurant corridors, and
private schools. Even though most of the shopping centers are supposedly accessible to
everyone, public transportation into these private developments is limited. With most of the
general population relying on buses and jeepneys to get around the cities, most of the public is
effectively excluded and economically hindered from entering these highly secured
neighborhoods. With 7 luxury residential towers in the Rockwell development, jeepneys and
busses are not allowed to enter its private neighborhood at all. Travelling by roadway, residents
must have a private car or ride a taxi to enter the high-rise neighborhood and its high-end
commercial center.
Closing community amenities and resources to the many for the security benefit of the few is an
urban planning scenario that should not be replicated for relocation communities. While the
political class, the city administrators, have accepted this common development scheme, the
citizens should not. The case of community integration and inclusion needs to be made to private
developers and the government that regulates them. Especially in the case of mega-scale
projects, new community development should offer mix-housing options for lower-income groups.
The amount of new affordable housing units in Metro Manila’s cities can be increased through
highly controlled mix-housing policies and tax incentives targeted for private developers of
82
G. Glasze et al., Private Cities: Global and local perspectives. New York: Routledge (2006).
83
Michael Douglass and Liling Huang, Gobalizing the City in Southeast Asia: Utopia on the Urban Edge –
the Case of Phu My Hung, Saigon. International Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies, 3:2, 1-41 (2006).
72
affordable housing. In cities where informal settlers are above a fifth of urban households, it
becomes necessary to do so.
Progress in Urban Planning
Metro Manila’s housing issues is attached to its socioeconomic challenges. Housing opportunities
for the Masses cannot be fully attained, even with enough housing stock, without socioeconomic
progress. Similarly for the country and its cities, poverty alleviation is not achieved through Gross
Domestic Product or wage increases alone. In mathematical terms, poverty alleviation is a
function of economic, social and environmental conditions. Thus, comprehensive societal
progress, which results in less poverty, is best produced by improved livelihood as well as the
urban environmental condition, not at the cost of it. Urban policy makers, planners, designers and
developers can start by focusing on neglected neighborhoods, in and around informal settlements,
to provide clean, safe, and convivial living conditions for the Masses.
Residential neighborhoods with proper infrastructure and maintenance, open landscaped spaces
for parks and recreation, and secured neighborhoods are essentials in livable hyper-urban cities.
Successful communities in Metro Manila require upgraded and more commuting options in order
to reduce traffic congestion and the travel time to work, shops and schools. From public
transportation hubs, residents need walkable neighborhoods to reach their homes. Homes can be
a sanctuary from the traffic, noise and air pollution of congested cities. As it exists today, the
environmental illness of hyper-urbanism is inescapable for urban dwellers. The constant noise
and air pollution from motorized vehicles reach the living rooms of most homes. Brownouts, a
result of deficient infrastructure maintenance is all too common. Flooding throughout the cities is
a seasonal problem. There is an alternative future.
For the elite few who reside in the most desirable districts in Metro Manila, gated private
neighborhoods called subdivisions exist to create a sanctuary from the traffic and congestion of
the cities. The streets of these neighborhoods are lined with trees and proper pedestrian
73
sidewalks. The large properties still maintaining open green spaces in these private homes show
the excessive inequality just outside its walls. For the Masses, the subdivisions’ high walls
represent the socioeconomic gap between income groups and social classes. To realize a sense
of progress, Filipinos in mass must attain a sense of these characteristics in their own
communities. A vision and motivation must exist to enable urban development of similar quality
for public streets and spaces, fair access to basic infrastructure and amenities, and the
perception that livable and walkable neighborhoods are attainable to everyone.
Mix-use Communities (Live, Learn, and Work)
Integral in mix-use communities is a strategy to include schools, employment, recreation, and
shops within the scope of the community program. Likewise, diversity in income levels, as well as
age, ethnicity and other demographics define mix-use communities. For Filipino residents
requiring affordable housing, mix-use communities are a desirable option. It allows them to save
on transportation costs, in addition to the time and effort involved in commuting in Metro Manila. A
mix-use community model is thus the basis for a prototypical relocation community program and
design.
Current housing communities in low income neighborhoods of Metro Manila are by and large
shared live and work spaces. In some communities, residential spaces, usually on the ground
floor adjacent to major streets, are often used as eateries (carenderias), small markets (sari-sari
stores), cell phone retail and repair shops, and other home-based businesses. In some cases, the
homes are used to produce food goods sold on the streets and public busses or as storage for
various products sold informally to the public. Street vending is commonplace in the Philippines.
The human services that enable these markets derive from lower-income households. A vendor
in a small market could eve make due with a sleeping area built above their store. Today, a home
business is often a necessary way of life when it is the only source of income for families. Mix-use
live and work spaces are an integral part of low income communities and planned relocation
communities.
74
A prime example of a successful community where community and entrepreneurship intersects is
a Gawad Kalinga community. Gawad Kalinga’s housing program is based on financial
sustainability and social entrepreneurship. The organization views business enterprises as a
valuable resource in their communities. They encourage private-public business partnerships to
employ residents and include communities in the supply chains. “GKonomic products”, as the
village products are called, are developed, produced and even marketed within the communities.
In one entrepreneurship project, Gawad Kalinga residential units are used as tourist home-stays
within the village community. The village, having various volunteer opportunities, is the tourist
destination. In Gawad Kalinga’s website, residential communities are being promoted as both a
living community with commercial potential.84
Inspired as mix-use community developments, planned relocation communities have to be
planned and designed as permanent long-term housing, not as transitional ones. In creation of
mix-use relocation communities for Metro Manila former settler population, economic
independence though personal development and education is key. Relocating families can realize
their role in the new community by becoming involved in its programs. Thus, site program
requirements, community center for education, job training, family planning and personal
development programs, exist for the household. Investment in socioeconomic programs makes
the effort to improve the person through livelihood and lifestyle training which also benefits the
community as a whole.
84
“Tourism – GK Mabuhay”, Gawad Kalinga, http://gk1world.com/newGKTourism
(accessed 10/29/2010)
75
SUSTAINABLE Village
Revitalizing Ecology & Sustainable Communities
According to Habitat International Coalition (HIC), an international, non-profit alliance of
organizations with a shared goal to secure and improve housing for those with inadequate
housing conditions, about one fifth of world’s population today live in inadequate and unhealthy
housing.85 HIC states stat populations in Third World cities are impacted most by environmental
degradation caused by the urbanization process.86 In highly urbanized regions such as Metro
Manila, diminished and limited access to safe drinking water is a factor in unhealthy housing
conditions. This is most evident in informal settlement areas where drums of potable water are
delivered to homes regularly because city plumbing is not available. In worse case scenarios,
resettlement sites are situated on or adjacent to natural waterways, estuaries of the Pasig River.
Without proper waste sanitation options, household waste exhausts directly to the waterways and,
eventually, Manila Bay. As much affected by inadequate housing is marine life living in the
various waterways of the cities and Manila Bay. Another contributing factor to city pollution, noise
and air pollution from industries and motorized vehicles are hazardous to all living species. Those
affected include both human and animal populations, including birds and land animals populating
the woodland periphery of the cities.
Ecological degradation affects the entire spectrum of society but not equally. Highlighted by a
Philippine Environmental Monitor report highlighting air pollution in Metro Manila, it is estimated
5000 residents per year are killed by way of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. There is
clear evidence air and water pollution, poor sanitation and hygiene in the cities have a direct
affect in the people’s health.87 While the same report mentions air quality has improved over the
previous decade prior to 2007, low-income groups, with increased exposure to air and water
85
“Habitat International Coalition (HIC) Perspective,” (1992), http://www.hic-net.org/document.php?pid=2706
(accessed December 2, 2010).
86
“Habitat International Coalition (HIC) Perspective,” (1992), http://www.hic-net.org/document.php?pid=2706
87
TJ Burgonio. “Air pollution kills nearly 5,000 Metro residents yearly,” (2007),
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20070904-86654/Air_pollution_kills_nearly_5%
76
pollution, were more susceptible to these health risks.88 This is one more evidence urbanization
unfairly harms the portion of society who are already benefiting the least from it.
Because much of the Metro Manila region is basically built on a natural basin with low-lying areas,
environmental management strategies should address inadequate drainage systems, a form of
flooding and pollution control. In 2009, Metro Manila suffered severe Metro-wide floods from
tropical storm Ondoy. Blame on the lack of proper infrastructure to deal with the floods was
focused on long-term environmental degradation along with climate changes. 89 The disaster
prevented most public movement across most of Metro Manila. It closed schools, commerce and
financial activity for days. Clearly, natural disasters and pollution have potential to reduce
economic activity in Metro Manila, including foreign investment input, a large driver of economic
growth for the region. Moreover, pollution and rising temperatures in the city being attributed to
the urban heat island effect90 hurts tourism, business and all forms of economic activity further.
There is a large opportunity to revitalize the ecology of Metro Manila in the mold of sustainable
ecosystems by way of permeable pavements, reforestation and landscape preservation, green
roofs, etc. It benefits the cities’ people and wildlife, prevents health and economic disasters while
improving urban living conditions overall.
Metro Manila’s major estuary running through its cities, the Pasig River is an integral component
of urban ecology and an important indicator of the health of the environment and the wellbeing of
its surrounding human communities. The Pasig River’s riverbanks and estuaries are also home to
a significant population of informal settlers. Without plumbing and proper sewage, the informal
settlers have contributed to the polluted state of the river. However the current condition of the
88
TJ Burgonio. “Air pollution kills nearly 5,000 Metro residents yearly,” (2007),
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20070904-86654/Air_pollution_kills_nearly_5%
89
Ellalyn B. De Vera, “Environmental Degradation, Climate Change Blamed for Massive Flooding,” (2009),
http://www.mb.com.ph/node/222382/environmental-degradation-climate-change-blamed-ma (accessed
December 2, 2010).
90
Alfredo Mahar Francisco A. Lagmay, “UP Study Confirms Metro Manila Getting Hotter,” (2007),
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/metro/view/20070503-
63824/UP_study_confirms_Metro_Manila_getting_hotter (accessed December 2, 2010).
77
river and its surrounding communities has been most affected by industrialization of Metro Manila,
itself. With increasing population and an inadequate waste collection system the river was used
as an informal dumping site for decades.91
Once considered a “biologically dead” river in the 1990s, a recent study has shown evidence the
water quality of the Pasig River has improved by recordings of numerous aquatic plants and a
handful of fish species now thriving in the river. There is an interesting indication of “urban-
adaptable species”, flora and fauna that have adapted to the urban ecology of the river even with
past increases in chemical and waste pollutants.92 This is a strong sign of nature’s perseverance
to adapt through changing microclimates and serves as a notice to us. Urban dwellers, humans,
plants and animals, have adapted through the worst consequences of hyper-urbanization and,
today, continue to adapt to challenges of global climate changes. Metro Manila, with its low-lying
coastal cities, is a region most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, strong typhoons,
earthquakes and other natural disasters. Beyond adaptation, humans can actively reduce
environmental degradation they have caused by increasing the efficient use of the abundant
natural resources available in the environment utilizing nature and natural systems, the most
sustainable systems available.
Waste Management and Water Capture
Rainwater is the ultimate form and resource of a cleaning solution for cities. Rains clean our
streets by moving motorized and bio wastes to sewers and filtration systems. As the medium of
cleaning agents, bacteria and other organisms, water enables bio-filtration. In urban wastewater
management, the manmade structures are part of the filtration system. Metro Manila’s roadways,
buildings, roofs and open spaces are all integral components of a drainage system that could be
harmful or beneficial to the main water collection depot, Manila Bay. While nature cleans city
91
Alcuin Papa. “Pasig River Not Dead-DENR,” (2009),
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view/20090814-220302/Pasig-river-not-deadDENR
92
Alcuin Papa. “Pasig River Not Dead-DENR,” (2009),
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view/20090814-220302/Pasig-river-not-deadDENR
78
wastes through natural processes within waterways, bacteria-filled soil, rocks, and vegetation,
humans have the ability facilitate filtration through mechanized and chemical filtration systems.
However, it is important to value nature as the most efficient filtration system. By covering open
green spaces with asphalt parking lots and roads, removing natural estuaries and trees, humans
disallow the natural ability of our environment to clean itself. The natural environment is our most
valuable resource.
Rainwater collection was an important legacy in the Philippines’ past. Not long ago, when city
plumbing wasn’t commonly and consistently available, Filipinos would collect rainwater for
bathing, cleaning dishes, etc. Raw rainwater was more valuable at a time when citywide
infrastructure couldn’t yet provide the convenience of potable water. Today, rainwater collection is
a lost tradition. Municipal and private vendors have made filtered water relatively inexpensive.
However, with increasing costs of everyday commodities including filtered water, rainwater
collection could become more common and important in urban dwelling. In low-income
communities where small decreases in household expense has more significance; rainwater
collection becomes a valuable community activity.
During the author’s internship at Habitat for Humanity Philippines (HFHP), sustainable systems
were being developed to make efficient use of natural site resources. A basic rain harvest system
was designed and built at the Calauan town relocation site. For each home, rainwater collected at
each backyard was to be used by families to water their garden, wash their clothes, and flush
their toilets (Figure 24 & 25). At the same time, a natural waste filtration system was developed
with HFHP consultants to look at how grey and black water can be utilization in front-yard food
production. These are essentially efforts to start closing the ecological loop in which humans are
a large factor. The following schematic drawings and concept renderings (Figure 26, 27, 28, & 29)
in front-yard food production describe progressive ideas of how man-made systems can begin
bio-mimic what is already existing in nature.
79
Figure 24: Household Benefits of a Rain Barrel
In Calauan, Laguna, the estimated volume of rainwater that can be harvested per row house is
7,749 liters per month. A 200-liter rain barrel can be effective in reducing household potable water
usage by substituting it with, essentially, a free resource.
80
Figure 25: Components of a Backyard Rainwater Collection
Material specifications describe a rainwater collection system customized for a relocation

community. The materials are cost efficient, highly available, and make use of bamboo, a
naturally grown material in the provincial region of Laguna.
81
Figure 26: Schematic Design for a Reed-Bed Waste Filtration System (dimensions in meters)
Grey and black water (post septic tank) is processed through a bio-filtration chamber composed
of Philippine reed (Phragmytes spp.) The reed bed reduces the pathogen load of water waste
enough to be used as a nutrient source for a growing chamber shown in this case to be a “living
wall”, food production on a vertical system. From the growing chamber, water is processed in a
second bio-filtration chamber before distribution to the storm drain for subsurface irrigation further
down the site.
82
Figure 27: Rendered Plan for Front Yard of Row Houses
For each row house at the Calauan town relocation site, the design called for efficient use of the
front yard space to produce food crops using a bio-filtration system (reed beds), vertical trellis and
canopy made of bamboo in addition to conventional planters. Each family would be responsible
for growing and maintaining the food crops produced in their front yard.
83
Figure 28: Perspective Rendering of Household Food Production
From rainwater collection to reed bed systems, natural site resources are used to grow food.
Figure 29: Perspective of Front Yard
Food crops identified to best tolerate treated wastewater irrigation include banana, papaya,
sugarcane, ginger, and rosemary among others.
84
CONCLUSION:
This research study starts with a background study into the current development of Metro Manila
as a highly urbanized region. The 17 cities of the region heavily influence the country as the
center of industry, education, and administration. Metro Manila represents the country as the
dominant role player in globalization, as a source of labor migration and an emerging market for
foreign direct investment. The same development that has translated into increased Gross
National Production has provided minimal benefits for the Masses, the state-classified “lower-
income class” both poor and non-poor. The promise of development through globalization is still
an unkept one for most of the cities’ households working but living in poverty. In particular, the
extensive informal settlement population has been largely unchanged through various federal
government interventions since the initial efforts of the Marcos administration. Past large-scale
relocation sites outside the cities have been under-planned and underfunded leading to low
retention rates for those forced out of their urban communities. Nevertheless, with still growing
populations in urban areas leading to extremely dense living conditions, unhealthy pollution and
unsafe housing conditions in informal settlement areas, greater and renewed efforts must be
made by those involved in planning and developing a more convivial urban landscape.
The recent decision from government administrators to step up their dedication to increase
socialized and economic housing options has joined with increased contribution by non-profit
builders and corporate sponsors alike. This is the silver lining in the story of urban redevelopment
for Metro Manila. While relocation sites outside the cities are still an option, in-city relocation sites
will now be the preferred strategy. And while a billion US dollars of relocation funding is a
considerable budget to relocate the most flood-prone informal settlements in the cities, it is not
extensive enough to be a comprehensive solution to the sizeable shortage in affordable housing
stock. The implementation of a new urban relocation strategy transfers to the developers and
builders of relocation sites. The planning and design of these relocation sites will dictate how
efficient the relocation budget will be spent. If the goals of relocation will be to provide decent
shelter alone, then builders are on a clear and efficient path. However many considerations are
85
necessary in building relocation sites, which may not only serve as places to build shelters but to
rebuild lives and livelihood. This concept is exemplified in Habitat for Humanity Philippines’ new
motto to build communities, not just houses. This transformation strategy is the most effective
way to use limited funds and sustain a new population through the initial challenges of relocating
families from their uprooted communities. Community relocation and rebuilding, specifically
through a comprehensive program that cultivates civic values, leads to sustained community
cohesion.
In the Quezon City relocation site chosen for the design component of this research study, a
community program was developed from the skill sets of incoming residents. With a proportion of
teachers moving into the site along with the potential farming skills brought in by informal settlers,
there is potential to harness and utilize the experience pool by the residents themselves. In
creating the appropriate social program to develop community participation and civic values, an
urban farming program was described to supplement the core educational program. The goal of
the community thus becomes more about housing. The relocation community goals revolve
around and urban society’s desire for economic equity and social and environmental
sustainability. These goals would be achieved by advancing job skills, sharing in community
resources and successes, specifically in food production and increased food security on site. An
urban agriculture movement enables advancement in various aspects of communities, land
utilization, labor production, diet and nourishment along with food production and its associated
economic benefits. Connecting all these goals and objectives expresses the overall mission of a
relocation community, to create civic oriented values and unify a dislocated community.
Communal values within Filipino households are already highly expressed. When this communal
circle is expanded to the community scale, the mission and vision of a relocation community
becomes accomplished.
In addition to the relocation community’s program and design, housing design focuses on
providing cost-efficient ways families can live in a compact but highly practical and functional
86
home. Additional living space is made possible with a mezzanine or loft space as bedroom. On
the same level, a private balcony can serve as areas to dry clothes. Moreover, various housing
options are offered for larger families desiring communal living spaces and new families looking
for a more inexpensive starter home. In every housing typology, passive, low-energy buildings
characterize the Quezon City relocation site. With rainwater collection and reed beds as resource
and waste management strategies, respectively, natural site assets add economic value to the
household by decreasing potable water consumption and increasing food production in a family’s
own front and backyards. These sustainable strategies start to close the site loop on resource
utilization and integrate related environmental, economic, and social benefits. This comes at the
core of development challenges and hints at improved resolutions for Metro Manila’s urban
issues. When the informal settlement and housing issues are confronted with the belief and
strategy that gives value to these interconnected concepts, solutions become complete and more
effective.
Economic progress doesn’t require social progress. But social progress is achieved when
economic and environmental developments are integrated appropriately. In Metro Manila where
close to a fifth of urban families live in informal settlements, empowering this marginalized portion
of society correctly prioritizes societal progress. This is the definition of true progress for Filipinos,
the conditions that allow the Masses to actively participate in civil society and shared in its
benefits and resources.
87
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90
APPENDIX
Vicinity (above) and Location Map (below):
91
Vicinity Description
92
Site Description
93
Design Requirements
94
Site Plan and Program
95
Spatial and Social Program
SPATIAL PROGRAM SOCIAL PROGRAM
Community Spaces Community Scale

Courtyard Market Farmer’s Market – Weekend event will
Daycare / Classrooms allow food grown on site to be sold by
Offices / Family Planning residents to visitors and the rest of the
Function Hall / Sanctuary community
Kitchen / Canteen Pre‐school – Daycare and daily lunch

meals
Basketball Court / Seating
Community Garden Adult classes – Resident and public
Pocket Parks offering of certification classes
specializing in food production &
Site Facilities nutrition, waste recycling, community
Pig Pen organization, and English
Cisterns
Rain Gardens / Bio‐retention On‐site food production – Vegetables,
Reed Bed / Bio‐filtration fruits and pigs will be grown and raised
Compost / Permaculture on‐site
Material Recycling
Sports – Organized sports competition
Housing Units held on basketball court
Starter House
Socialized / Economic Community Interaction – The community
Upgraded Socialized / will be a demonstration and teaching site
Economic for the surrounding community and a
Living tourist visitor’s destination as a prototype
Kitchen relocation community
Bedroom
Bath / Toilet House Scale
Rain Collection Homegrown vegetables and herbs in the
Laundry / Clothes Hang backyard
Filtration Bed / Garden
Rain Barrel program will supplement tap
water
Gray‐water will flush toilets and water the

garden
Black‐water will be bio‐filtered post septic

processing
96
Estimation of Appropriate Housing Density:
97

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INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS IN METRO-MANILA:

RELOCATION COMMUNITY PROGRAM AND DESIGN

SUBMITTED TOWARDS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DOCTOR OF

DOCTORATE PROJECT COMMITTEE:

INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS IN METRO-MANILA:

DOCTORATE PROJECT COMMITTEE:

1 INTRODUCTION: ADAPTABILITY AND MIGRATION

interrelated benefits of improved economic, environmental and societal conditions. For a

economically to other developing nations in the region by adapting to the requirements of

globalization, the global economy and the global workplace.

populations abroad. Whether as eventual immigrants or temporary overseas workers, Filipinos

perhaps Filipinos are the most adaptable global migrants.

contribution to the cities’ economic growth.

on information gathered through various sources, a predominant of which will be current

Metro Manila as Hub of Urban Migration

remarkable population shifts for the Philippines.

populated city in the world according to a 2006 survey.2

environment of the city.

The Philippines is generally categorized as a newly industrialized country (NIC). A socioeconomic

role as laborers well suited in the age of globalization.

situation shaped by that same system.

influences social behaviors, accordingly.

more communal lifestyle in compact, resource-limited spaces.

Concerns and Consequences of Informal Settlements

campus, there is a growing presence of informal settlers.

settlements are dangerous places to live, for a variety of reasons.

there becomes a need to do so when surrounding areas are to be commercially redeveloped, in

driver of globalization, as having led to improved general economic conditions in developing

Scale and Scope

Inter-Agency Committee on Informal Settlers (MMIAC) 19 describes the current condition of

is to have a chance to be met.

burdens of a relocation strategy.

Figure 2: Mass Housing Types

Classification Maximum Cost

HUDCC lists 3 levels of government-subsidized housing.

for all the informal sites in the cities.

reflected in practice remains to be seen.

of citizens. Shared economic development is most sustainable in the long-term.

The Bigger Picture

from hazardous areas or areas of state-sponsored infrastructure developments. Concerning

financially contribute towards poverty alleviation, they should.

(CBOs), as grassroots representatives of informal communities, should be viewed by the state as

urban housing settlements.

community of 10,000 thousand families.

are an empowerment tool for many in Metro Manila.

shelters. It’s the place and community they identify as home.

Subsequent administrations to Marcos experimented with several approaches in relocation and

communities of Metro Manila’s lower income population. Various stakeholders in government

administration are actively participating in general urban development to improve basic

recommendations on poverty alleviation, housing affordability and delivery, and sustainable

functionally sustainable in the context of global climate change.40

for redevelopment including what type of conversion. If Metro Manila is to be more

environmentally sustainable, there should be specific planning focused on bioremediation of not

successfully execute them in a market-based development system.

scaled to comprehensive use. HFHP nonetheless exemplifies a housing cooperative, whereby

well as money in relocation and city rehabilitation programs. Multi-media advertisements,

with individual and corporate sponsors.

Private Sector Community‐Based