History of Planning Settlements in the

Philippines

PRE-COLONIAL TIME
- like other cities in the world, the earliest Filipino
communities developed out of the need for their
inhabitants to band together

- they formed security, or to be close to critical resources

like food and water.

- most of the earliest towns were by the coast for the

fisher folk or were where there was abundant agricultural
land for the farmers

- the community unit was the barangay, consisting 30 to

100 families

THE SPANISH COLONIAL TIME

...
A. THE LAWS OF INDIES
- in 1573, King Philip II proclaimed the Laws of Indies that
established uniform standards and planning procedures
for colonial settlements.

- these laws provided guidelines for site selection, layout

and dimensioning of streets and squares, the location of
civic and religious buildings, open spaces, cultivation and
pasturing lands, and even the main procedural phases of
planning and construction.

- The Plaza Complex was the result of several ordinances of

the Laws of Indies.

- The plaza surrounded by buildings such

1. Catholic church
2. Municipal or town hall
3. Marketplace and merchant's store
4. Elementary school
5. The homes of "principalia"
6. Other government buildings

B. INTRAMUROS

- known as the "walled city of Manila", Intramuros was

the home of the Spanish (except for the Friars and the
high ranking officials

- the city was 1.2 sq. km. in area, containing the large
churches, plazas, offices and residential buildings,
housing 700 residents surrounded by high walls

- B. DANIEL BURNHAM because of the physical limitations in growth, decentralization

occurred and settlements were built in Malate, San Miguel and Paco, among other areas

THE AMERICAN PERIOD

...
A. THE AMERICAN AGENDA
- the Americans gave greater emphasis on other social
values like sanitation, housing, and other aesthetic
improvements.

- Americans is typified by the Daniel H. Burnham's plan of

Manila. In December 1904, Burnham was commissioned
to prepare the physical development plan for the cities of
Manila and Baguio

- Trained as an architect and guided by the principles of

the City Beautiful Movement, draw plans for cities like
Chicago, Washington, and San Francisco
- He proposed that the Bay areas would be extended
through reclamation and a new port would be constructed

C. BURNHAM'S DESIGN FOR MANILA

- he envisioned the city manifesting aesthetic elements

such as wide boulevards, public edifices and landscaped
parks
- In Burnham's plan, there were sites allotted for national
and municipal buildings near Intramuros, hospitals, and
colleges.

- Spaces were also set for a world-class hotel, city and

country clubs, a casino, boat clubs, public baths, and the
new residence for the Governor General.

- Resorts were also to be developed near Manila but the

ultimate escape during the summer season would be the
city of Baguio.

- However, another architect was to implement Burnham's

plan, William E. Parsons was appointed Consulting
Architect to the Insular Government

D. MANILA AS THE FIRST CHARTERED CITY

- On July 31, 1903, by the virtue of Act No. 183, the city of
Manila was incorporated

- Manila encompassed Intramuros, and the towns of

Binondo, Tondo, Sta. Cruz, Malate, Ermita, Paco, and
Pandacan
- the population then was 1901000 people

GROWTH OF MANILA
...
A. THE ARRABALES
- Quiapo - the illustrado territory; the enclave of the rich
and powerful. Also the manifestation of folk religiosity

- Tondo - coastal city adjacent to Manila

- Binondo - the trading port developed by the Chinese and

the Arabs

- Sta. Cruz - the main commercial district with swirls of

shops, movie houses, restaurants, etc.

- San Nicolas - also a commercial town built by the

Spanish with streets of "specialized" categories (i.e.
ceramics, soap, etc,)
- Sampaloc - centered on two churches (Our Lady of
Loreto and St. Anthony of Padua). Also known as the first
"University Town"

B. LATER SUBURBS
- San Miguel (Malacanang) were rest-houses were built for
the Spanish government

- Malate - the early "summer resort" of the wealthy

Filipinos

- Ermita - tourist belt (red-light district)

- Paco - first town built around a train station

- Pandacan - town built by the Americans for oil depots

C. FURTHER SUBURBANIZATION
- Quezon City - land of 15,000 has., was projected to be the
capital of the Philippines where the three main seats of
the government would be housed

- it was the location of Constitution Hill, envisioned to be

the National Government Center, but the destruction of
WW II interfered

- was revived as a capital in 1949 and remained until 1975

- Philippine Homesite and Housing Corporation - built

homes for the masses ("the projects", i.e. 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8)
with urban design principles adopted from the "Neighborhood Unit" of Perry and Stein

- Philamlife Homes - the first of the Quezon City

subdivisions along Highway 54 was the icon of middle
class suburbanization

- today QC is one of the few areas in MM with an

abundance of of green and open space
D. PRESENT DAY METRO MANILA
- Metro Manila Cities and Municipalities
City Of Manila
Kalookan City
Las Pinas City
Makati City
Mandaluyong City
Marikina City
Muntinlupa City
Paranaque City
Pasay City
Pasig City
Quezon City
San Juan City
Valenzuela City
Malabon
Navotas
Pateros
Taguig City

METRO MANILA CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT

- Manila CBD
- Makati CBD
- Ortigas CBD
- Cubao CBD
- Fort Bonifacio Global City
- Boulevard 2000
- Filinvest Corporate City

PLANNING ORGANIZATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

...
Regional Planning
- NEDA (National Economic Development Authority)
- NLUC (National Land Use Committee)
- RDC (Regional Development Council)
- PDC (Provincial development Council)
- PLUC (Provincial Land Use Committee)
- Sanggunihan Panlalawigan
Urban Planning
- HUDCC (housing and Urban Development Coordinating
Council)
- HLURB (Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board)
- RLUC (Regional Land Use Committee)
- M/CDC (Municipal / City Development Council)
- BDC (Barangay Development Council)
HLURB
- the planning regulatory and quasi-judicial
instrumentality of government for land use development
PLANNING
- the key to orderly and rational land development in any
local government unit
- example, a city or municipaltiy