Urban Planning Challenges in Metro Manila and the Philippines

Manila, Philippines Real Estate

Urban Planning Challenges in Metro Manila and the Philippines

Let's face it. Manila is one of the last things that comes to mind when we talk about the world's most organized cities. This metropolis of nearly 20 million (daytime population) is the stereotype of a Third World city, where there are slums everywhere and issues like garbage disposal and traffic are poorly addressed. As the country's capital, it's such a shame that we only have this to show to the world. It smacks right against the good image that the Philippines is trying to project.

Every time I see slums situated just beside giant shopping malls, high-rise condominium units sticking out like a sore thumb amidst a small-rise middle-class neighborhood, and traffic mayhem along EDSA during the rush hour, I can't help but ask where the urban planners were when Metro Manila was being planned out. What the hell were they doing with the design?

A closer inspection, however, will tell you that the Philippines, and Metro Manila in particular, does not lack the necessary documents and blueprints. Every city and municipality, after all, are required to come out with land-use plans and development blueprints such as zoning guidelines, waste disposal designs, and such. However, like so many things in this country, there is a vast discrepancy between what is on paper and what is practiced.

The number one reason? Funding. Budgetary limitations at both the national and municipal levels put constraints on otherwise seemingly effective designs, forcing planners and leaders to cut ends and inhibit urban development. That is why it is part of an urban planner's job to set out realistic expectations in what will be actually implemented in the masterplan.

Bureaucracy is another cited reason. When there are so many government agencies working to implement an urban development plan, there is overhead for communication lag. There have been cases when the implementation is very far from what is set out in the design due to miscommunication between concerned government agencies. It seems that the Philippine government still has a lot of problems in this area and there have not been to much effort to streamline bureaucracy.

There are certain cities, however, in Metro Manila and elsewhere that are heading in the right direction. Marikina, for example, is often used as an example of a city that its residents can truly be proud of.

As more and more people in the Philippines migrate to cities and live an urban lifestyle, the important of effective urban planning becomes even more pronounced. Hopefully, something can be done about this.

For a good read on the problems of urban planning in the country, a good read would be this article from the UP Forum (http://www.up.edu.ph/upforum.php?issue=15&i=117)

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