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20110322

Urban Planning in the Philippines

[Written by K. Delgado Cameña for DURP class P201]

Introduction 

The problems confronted by planners today are still basic. One begs the question: can we actually breathe cleaner air; can we live and work in more comfortable communities; or can we have more pleasant communities? Can all these issues in fact be addressed by thoughtful and careful planning?

Cities in the Philippines developed without taking full advantage of their environmental assets. Urban centers along the sea, bay, or any body of water would have been terrific hubs for the Philippine archipelagic republic. On the contrary, the cities grew without the benefit of proper urban and regional planning.

This paper will discuss the history of planning in the Philippines from the pre-colonial age up to the period immediately after the Second World War. The current national planning environment will also be discussed including its organizational framework and the laws and statutes that affect spatial planning in general. Prominent figures and policies throughout Philippine's planning history will likewise be reviewed.

A History of Planning in the Philippines 

Pre-colonial Age

Some scholars believe that the pre-colonial inhabitants of the Philippines exhibited some degree of settlement planning [Reed and Arguilla in Ocampo, 1992]. Old world explorers from the West noted the uniformity of the pre-Spanish Filipinos' dwellings. They have further observed that the natives' communities were either near the bodies of water or dispersed around the land they cultivated for farming.

According to history there existed a kingdom of Moros located along the banks of the Pasig 200 years prior to the coming of the Spaniards. This group of people which was later headed by Sulayman established the city of Manila and protected it with fortifications against the foreign invaders. When the Spanish armada came, the Moros resisted but were overwhelmed by the power of the former's forces.

When rebuilding the city after the ravages of war, the Spanish colonists employed local materials, technology, and craftsmen. Some of the known geniuses in their craft were Panday-Pira and "El Admirante." The former was a cannon-maker while the latter [a relative of Sulayman] was a master builder. El Admirante was commissioned to undertake the construction of the walled city of Intramuros [Shepherd in Ocampo, 1992].

Other groups of people around the archipelago displayed their own distinctive patterns of planning their settlements. Mountain dwellers in Cordillera believe that territory should be institutionalized by the atu or ward. There were also native folks who resided along bodies of water. The Tagalogs were taga-ilog [river dwellers] while the Maranaws were lake dwellers. These groups were perhaps the descendants of the earliest sea coast communities known as the barangay [also balanghay].

Spanish Regime 

King Philip II promulgated a code that served as guide to all colonized territories of Spain. This code, which was applied successfully to the Spanish colonies in the Americas, was known as the Laws of the Indies. The law provided guidelines for site selection; layout and dimension of squares, streets and other land uses; and the main phases of planning and construction. Details were also written pertaining to the location of the principal buildings, recreation spaces, cultivation and pasture lands, and sites for garbage-producing uses. Also prescribed within the code is the relationship protocol between the Spanish and the natives [Ocampo, 1992].

The royal ordinances dictated that each town should be located on vacant and high ground, properly oriented to sun, wind, and water areas. The site should also be on or near fertile land and accessible to sources of fuel, timber, and water. Because the law is based on the Greco-Roman Renaissance design principles, it favored the use of the gridiron pattern in the establishment of roads and blocks. The plaza was the starting point of the construction, around which were the important buildings like the church, casa real, town hall, bandstand for zarzuelas and other edifices for health and defense. Other lots surrounding the area were reserved for merchant shops and prominent family [or principalia] dwellings. The code also specified that there were to be as many farm lots as town lots. The law likewise states that each house should have stockyards and courtyards. This could have been the Philippines' earliest land use and zoning law and building code.

The instruction of the Laws of the Indies further aims at providing health, safety, order, and beauty. The design and execution of the plans should be implemented by architects or other "executors" so ordered by the colonial governor. The final product—i.e. the town—served as the instrument of colonization and the staging ground for exploiting mineral and land resources [Ocampo, 1992].

French version of the Law of the Indies: Town plan for Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic








































In the late 16th century the Jesuits established the reducciones policy, which was aimed to gather dispersed communities "under the bells." The policy created the "plaza complex" with its town residents [taga-bayan]. Within the town [or pueblo], people lived around the plaza with the ilustrados located closest to the center and the lower classes living at the periphery but still "within the sound of the bells." The taga-bukid constituted a small minority who had to be in the fields or rural areas attending the agricultural activities.

This Philippian principle of planning is perhaps best exemplified by the city of Manila. After all, "all roads lead to Manila and Madrid." The city of Manila became the colonial Capital during the time of Legaspi. Although Spanish architects and engineers envisioned Manila as a city of stone, she rather was developed into a city of fortification. The Manila Bay was palisaded to protect the city from Chinese pirates [led by Limahong] and other foreign invaders as well as the Muslim and Japanese inhabitants. This was the precedent of the construction of Intramuros, which was a self-contained city "within walls."

Despite the shortcomings of this primate city, Manila expanded partly due to the success of the galleon trade. The city’s population was racially and culturally diverse. The Tagalogs were the majority. A small [more than 800] but powerful group was the Spanish. The Spanish friars who were considered the "masters of the city" owned all but five or six of the city dwellings [Gentil in Ocampo 1992]. Indian and Chinese residents who are merchants and traders lived in the areas of Binondo and Sta. Cruz [Ocampo, 1992].

Thriving industries during the mid-19th century were in the production of cotton, silk, dairy and cigar. This was the same time that the Philippines became a player in the world trade. Some industries like the cigar-manufacturing in Binondo were so huge that it employed 9000 workers [Ocampo, 1992].

Plan for Intramuros
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Intramuros-1898.jpg 


































The population of Manila hit the 300,000 mark at the turn of the 20th century. Almost five percent of the population were living in Intramuros while others were living in the suburbs. Technological advancements in utilities were introduced at the time which include waterworks and telephone systems. Transportation systems like railroads and streetcar railways were likewise introduced.

Urban design by the Spaniards left a lasting physical mark in the landscape of Philippine cities [as there was an emphasis on the use of stones for building]. However, efforts to address the economic and social issues for the natives was lacking. This was further aggravated by the encomienda [300 in all] system imposed in the time of Legazpi, which was nothing more than a revival of the medieval serfdom. Although King Philip II had better intentions in his edict, Spanish town planning was principally done "first for the purpose of defense and second for grandeur…. Housing was not considered at all, as a public responsibility… The badly-housed were not the concern of the municipality" [Arguilla in Ocampo, 1992]. Regional planning was nonexistent. What only has been done was the establishment of hierarchy of the political territories: the country is divided into provinces [or alcaldias]; the province is divided into pueblos; and the pueblo is further divided into barangays. The Maura Law of 1893 extended autonomy to the provinces. It established a municipal tribunal or council for each town with at least a thousand taxpayers.

American Era

Unlike the Spaniards, the Americans gave greater emphasis on other social values like sanitation, housing, and other aesthetic improvements. Some of these values, however, were not American in origin. The ideas of urban development through sanitation practices and mass housing were born as a reaction to the ills of industrialization in Europe [Benevolo in Ocampo, 1992].

Planning under the influence of the 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, he envisioned the city manifesting aesthetic elements such as wide boulevards, public edifices and landscaped parks. In the United States, Burnham draw plans for cities like Chicago, Washington, Cleveland, and San Francisco.

Burnham was not only a man of artistic talents. His successor in the Philippines named William E. Parsons described him as a man of "sound business judgment and experience," a man who can convince practical of business to "make no little plans." Burnham’s objective was to make cities "convenient for commerce and attractive and healthful as a place of residence [Parsons, 1915]." His plan for Manila provided for the rapid increase of the population and the explosion of the city’s industries.

Burnham prescribed the grid pattern for the city of Manila. However, the gridiron was interspersed with the circumferential and diagonal arteries, which was reminiscent of his designs for San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington. He proposed that the Bay areas would be extended through reclamation and a new port would be constructed. True to his City Beautiful principles, he further proposed the development of nine parks, two new playfields, and fountains throughout the city for public leisure.

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.

Burnham's plan also called for the development of Binondo as the center of business and merchandising. Improvements were to be made in the area’s wharf, warehouse, and other port facilities. In addition to extension of the port along the Pasig, it would also be linked to railroads extending to north and south provinces. The plan served as a proposal to the private sector. Burnham hoped that through private action the expansion and developments in ports and roads would be expedited.

Burnham's plan for Manila
Source: http://www.essential-architecture.com/ARCHITECT/BurnhamPlanOf-Manila.jpg 





































In 1905, six months after he visited the Philippines, Burnham sent back the preliminary plans back for Manila. However, another architect was to implement Burnham’s plan. William E. Parsons was appointed Consulting Architect to the Insular Government.

City planning was beginning to get institutionalized during Parson's time. The Consulting Architect post occupied by Parsons was considered the nucleus of the Division of Architecture in the Insular Bureau of Public Works. However, the position of City Architect was created not until 1920, long after Parsons left the post in 1914.

Why Parsons left the post was not clear. Some observers said that it apparently was due to political reasons. But before Parsons left, the Governor General made sure that general plans for the cities of Cebu and Zamboanga and master plans for cities like Iloilo were prepared. Among the successors of Parsons were Doane and Arellano [the latter was a contemporary of Tomas Mapua].

Other city planning issues were tackled later. Different interest groups attended to matters like sanitation and mass housing. These concerns were neglected by the architects and engineers. In 1908, Insular Health workers introduced the concept of "sanitary barrios," which were exemplary in the sense that they reflected the new sanitation and building standards. Other sectors like the labor group established their own barrio obrero even without the benefit of the aid of the city government.

Post-War Period

In 1936, the Interior Department created local and planning commissions composed of the Provincial Governor, district engineer, and other local officials. The work of the new body included the survey of local conditions and the preparation of plans to be proposed to the Director of Public Works. Although town planning was given a boost during this period, the practice was yet to be established as a discipline. The problem during this pre-war period was that there was a limited pool of trained city planners both in the local planning commissions and the Bureau of Public Works.

The Office of the President created in 1950 the National Planning Commission [NPC]. The NPC prepared and helped administer plans and regulations for the local government. After 1959, however, some powers of the NPC like zoning, subdivision, and building regulation were devolved to the city and municipal governments.

Philippine Planning Environment 

Global Context

The Philippines is emerging as a "resident" of the "Global Village." The country, as all other developing nations, is affected by technological advancements in communications and transportation. The state is also affected by social phenomena such as world trade, capitalism, and international laws. The Philippines, as an arm of this "supraterritory," has been an extension of the American Hollywood and a patron of the World Bank. Filipinos eat in McDonald's and pay with their hard-earned Dollar or Euro. Needless to say, the implications of globalization to the country are virtually infinite.

The Filipinos use the modern "Shared Technology." The fact is that these technologies are not shared but bought. Advancements in telecommunications and information like the Internet are in fact very useful, but they come with a price tag. One could predict that the country would be crippled without such technologies. Ten years ago, the use of computers and cellular phones were reserved to corporations. Now, almost every Filipino urbanite uses these electronic devices. In addition, developments in aerial transportation have made the countries virtually borderless [Scholte, 2005].

The Philippine economics is also affected by international covenants. International trade influences the political machinations of the country. Take for example the trading of oil in the world market. Every time the price of oil increases, the Philippines experiences turmoil: the private transportation sector reacts and the whole country gets disturbed.

The observations stated above affect planning in general and the people’s perception and use of space in particular. Globalization does not only affect a developing country economically but spatially as well. National and local planners and leaders must appreciate this fact.

National and Local Framework

Because planning is considered a regular government function, its existence is asserted in both the national and local bureaucracies. In the years immediately after the war, the government formed the National Urban Planning Commission [NUPC]. Thereafter, another body was created: National Planning Commission. This new organization combined the functions of the NUPC and the Capital City Planning Commission. Within ten years, some powers of NPC were devolved to the local government. Successive reorganization led to the formation of the following planning bodies: Ministry of Settlements, Task Force on Human Settlements, Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, and Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Even before the provisions of the Local Autonomy Law were passed, the local government enjoyed planning autonomy as early as 1959. Powers like zoning, subdivision, and building regulation were devolved to the cities and municipalities from the NPC. Later, legislations like the Local Government Code [RA 7160] and the Housing and Urban Development Act [RA 7279] further developed the capabilities of the local government units [LGUs]. Although the transition was not smooth, the LGUs exercised their powers as exemplified by the cases of University of the East versus the City of Manila and of Far East Bank versus Ortigas.

Of Land and Laws

There are other covenants affecting the planning process in the Philippines in general. The Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board has a manual that complements the Local Government Code [LGC] of 1991. Others like Executive Order 71 [1993] seeks to ensure the efficient devolution of powers to the local government units and provide for an orderly and smooth transition as well as definition of future relationships between the national and local governments. Passed almost simultaneously with EO 71, Executive Order 72 provides for the preparation and implementation of the Comprehensive Land Use Plans [CLUP] for the Local Government Units. These two executive orders aim at complementing the Local Government Code of 1991 and other pertinent laws. In addition, the local government can also reclassify agricultural lands to other uses by virtue of Memorandum Circular 54 of 1993.

The Philippine Constitution of 1987 is also a source of planning ideals regarding urban land reform and housing. In Section 9, it declares that "the State shall, by law, and for the common good, undertake, in cooperation with the private sector, a continuing program of urban land reform and housing which will make available at affordable cost, decent housing and basic services to under-privileged and homeless citizens in urban centers and resettlement areas. It shall also promote adequate employment opportunities to such citizens. In the implementation of such program the State shall respect the rights of small property owners." In Section 10 it continues that "urban or rural poor dwellers shall not be evicted nor their dwelling demolished, except in accordance with law and in a just and humane manner. No resettlement of urban or rural dwellers shall be undertaken without adequate consultation with them and the communities where they are to be relocated."

The Urban Land Reform Law [PD 1517] was passed during the administration of Marcos. With its impressive rhetoric, it states that "it is the policy of the State to liberate human communities from blight, promote their development and modernization, and bring about the optimum use of the land as a national resource for public welfare." Although not clear if it repeals PD 1517, the Urban Development and Housing Act, otherwise known as Republic Act 7279, was passed in 1992 before the term of President Corazon Aquino ended. However, the spirit of this law is too philanthropic as it basically promises provision of housing for the homeless citizens.

One of the basic urban planning problems is housing. For the past decades, legislators formulated and accumulated laws regarding the provision of one of the basic human needs that is housing. For one, there is the Presidential Decree 957 of 1976, which mandates the protection of subdivision and condominium buyers. Two years later, another law [PD 1344] was enacted empowering the National Housing Authority[NHA] to regulated and police the real estate trade and business. In 1982, Batas Pambansa 220 authorized the Ministry of Settlements to urge the private sector to provide "economic and socialized housing" for the middle and lower income earners.

Land use is one of the concerns of urban and regional planners. Issues pertaining to land use include the land reclassification and conversion to other use. Executive Order 124 of 1993 serves as a guide to the procedure of land evaluation for conversion. Aside from reacting to the issues of land of land use, the Congress was also quick to answer the problems posed by the real estate developers. The response was the Executive Order 184, which is a directive to create socialized housing center one-stop processing centers to facilitate the processing and issuance of permits, clearances, certifications, and licenses appropriate and necessary for the implementation of socialized housing projects. The same law also orders all government agencies concerned to support the operations of the said centers.

The problem of squatting or the unlawful occupation of land duly owned by another person or organization is another problem faced by city planners. This problem has been in existence in the cities of the country since after the War [Tiglao, 2002]. In 1997, Republic Act 8368 repealed Republic Act 772, which is entitled "Penalizing Squatting and Other Similar Acts." The new law, which was passed during the Ramos administration, decriminalizes squatting in all its forms.

A strategy for building up capability for regional planning and development is the establishment of an authority that will administer the development of a special region [e.g. a component city]. This idea is exemplified by Republic Act 7924, which is "an act creating the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority [MMDA], defining its powers and functions, providing funds therefore and for other purposes." The powers of the MMDA include development [physical] planning, transport and traffic management, solid waste disposal and management, flood control and sewage management, urban renewal and zoning, health and sanitation, and upholding of public safety. The territory of the Authority is comprised of the cities of Caloocan, Manila, Mandaluyong, Makati, Pasay, Pasig, Quezon, and Muntilupa as well as the municipalities of Las Piñas, Malabon, Marikina, Navotas, Parañaque, Pateros, San Juan, Taguig, and Valenzuela.

Conclusion 

Social Planning

Pre-colonial communities in the Philippines were dispersed, and as such, there was no real planning that is comparable in scale to Ancient Greece or Rome. Their small settlements were only knitted by kinship rather than explicit codes. Issues like health and sanitation were probably never thought of in relation to their use of space.

During the Spanish regime, some principles of Renaissance Europe were applied in laying out the Philippine cities. The reducciones policy gathered the dispersed communities "under the bells." But in principle, the policy only aimed at putting the natives under the control of the Church. In this respect, the Spaniards were successful as the same policy was employed to the American colonies.

The Americans were the ones to import the concepts of sanitary living at the turn of the 20th Century. Mass housing ideas were manifested in Burnham's plan for the city of Manila. It was also during this time that local labor groups established their own barrio obrero after their request for worker's housing was ignored by the city government.

After the Second World War, there was a population explosion in the urban areas. As a result, demand for housing rose. The city government, however, failed to provide decent and affordable housing for the workers. There were laws that addressed the issues of housing and urban planning, but they all fell short of providing real reforms in the physical as well as social structures of the city.

With the continuous growth of the cities in the Philippines, other problems like environmental pollution, congestion, and garbage are faced by the planners in the national as well as the local level. Laws like the Clean Air Act and others were passed to answer these problems, but there has been a lag in their implementation. It is a common observation that Filipinos are only good at presenting solutions on paper.

Physical Planning

It is indeed a tragedy that the cities across the Philippine archipelago developed in a random and haphazard fashion. Typical planning displayed by the government is not predictive but rather remedial in approach. If the opposite is true, problems like housing, traffic congestion, water supply, electrification, sanitation, sewerage, flooding, and urban dilapidation among others would have been addressed to punctually.

In the cities of other countries, rivers and other bodies of water were an important element of the city. What is common with New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Sydney, Hong Kong, Singapore, and other cities in the Scandinavia and Southwestern Europe is their brilliant exploitation of the bodies of water in planning of their cities. Had the Filipino planners and leaders possessed and understood the same vision, the cities across the archipelago would have been developed into urban satellites enjoying commercially viable ports. What happened to a city like Iloilo is worth the historical review. It the first half of the 20th Century her port was second to Manila's in terms of earnings [Madrid, 2002]. Like Manila, the city was inhabited by a diverse population of businessmen and merchants who are Spanish, American, British, Australians, Swiss, German, Indian, Chinese, and Japanese. The title of "Queen City of the South" was rather short-lived. The city experienced an economic decline after the industries of textile and muscovado died down.

Urban Development Theories

Source

Modernization Thesis

Third World scholars of the 1960s and 1970s advocated that the values and institutions of the developed Western nations are replicable templates for underdeveloped nations, especially those in Asia and Africa. The thesis embraces the idea that all nations should gear towards the goal of universal development. This thought of global progress arranges the societies of the world in a scale that shows the level of development of the nations—i.e. from least to most developed. The vision of the proponents of the modernization proposal was that through international public actions the standard of living that the more affluent Western nations have achieved in three to four generations will be realized by the developing countries within one generation without paying the same magnitude of social cost.

Modernization theory pioneers like Ragnar Nurske, W. Arthur Lewis, and Walter Rostow defined development as a matter of departure from the economic, social, political and cultural backwardness of the traditional societies. Using the prosperous and expanding urban-industrial sector of richer countries as template the theorists proposed the structural transformation of the societies from an underemployed rural tradition to a productive urban-industrial order. Other proponents of the idea were also positive about the modernization scheme as it was proven successful by the precedents like the state-led economic planning demonstrated by the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union.

Dependency Theory 

Some scholars however expressed dissent over the idea of modernization. These contemporary opponents of the modernization theorists who were mainly Marxists arrived at the formulation of the dependency theory. The core idea of the dependency view is that Western capitalism cannot be entrusted with the advancement and industrialization of the poor countries.

The relationship between the West and the Third World is not at all beneficial to the latter. Evidence of this obvious asymmetry is the Third World's persisting underdevelopment and reliance on the capitalist giants for capital, technology, and export product market. Other antagonists of the modernization proposal like Andre Gunder Frank went even as far as rejecting capitalism in all its forms. All scholars however agree to the fact that Third World integration to the West's market has serious consequences on the former's urban hierarchy and function.

Migration Model 

Other sets of theory investigate the workings of internal migration. Two factors are observed to affect internal migration. The push dynamic encourages people to look for more promising areas of abode and work. This rural-to-urban migration cause is often related to the wish to escape poverty.

The pull dynamic is generally associated with voluntary migration. People are attracted to the city's promise of better living condition and more job opportunities. Early philosophers like Aristotle even observed that people came to the city to live the good life.

Rural-to-urban migration also has its adverse consequences. One of the obvious effects on the urban landscape that can be observed is over-urbanization. This phenomenon is characterized by proliferation of slums, inadequate water supply, uncontrolled land use and problematic waste collection and disposal. The challenge to Third World planners and government is to make policies that will reduce internal migration to a more manageable scale.

Urban Bias Theory 

Another theory related to urban development looks into poverty. Advocates of the theory argue that the physical structure for national development favor the urban area. Developments in the urban area further attract poor groups from the countryside. As a consequence of the distorted hierarchy this group of people becomes the informal sector in cities.

Studies show that one of the causes of continued poverty in the developing nations is the Western countries' excessive consumption of raw materials and natural resources of the former. This perhaps is also true with the rural-urban relationship. Rural economy is devastated by the exploitative workings of urban economy, thereby displacing more and more folks in the countryside.

Poverty breeds poverty. Social problems like criminality and unemployment can be attributed to the inequitable social and spatial structures of contemporary Philippine society. Some people are driven to exploit natural resources in an unsustainable manner. These activities have serious environmental and economic repercussions. Others consequences of poverty are malnutrition and higher infant mortality rates among the informal sector. This may be due to the fact that this group of people has limited access to medical services.

Social Darwinism 

Proponents of the urban ecology perspective suggest that the spatial structuring of the city is comparable to nature's process of invasion and succession. People likewise engage in the process of competition and adaptation. This idea perhaps sounds familiar because it resonates from Charles Darwin's idea of "survival of the fittest."

Social Darwinists believed that people, like other organisms in nature, compete for survival. And those who survive also succeed in life. One the one hand, individuals who become rich and powerful are the "fittest." On the other hand, lower socio-economic classes are the least fit. Social Darwinists came to believe that human progress depends on competition. According to the urban ecology theorists, the advantaged—i.e. the rich and strong—tend to occupy the better locations while the poor and weak settle themselves in disadvantageous sections of the city.

Neo-classical Equilibrium Theory 

Among mainstream perspectives is the neo-classical equilibrium theory. The theory attempts at explaining the structuring of the urban space in relation to market processes. The main idea behind this capitalist perspective is that the market allocates resources, including land. Another assumption is that every individual participates in the market with the sole objective of satisfying his own tastes and preferences. The same drive is inhibited only by his capacity to pay for the goods and services he wants.

The urban landscape is structured as a result of individuals and firms competing for particular sites, motivated by personal satisfaction and profitability. However, some status quo favors business firms' higher purchasing power. It is a fact that land rent is inversely related to its distance from the city center. Consequently, the firms pay more for the central locations in exchange for profitability. Because of firm preemption of more favorable locations and lower purchasing power households settle for lands in the outskirts with lower rents. This they do even it means increase in the travel distance from the work place.

The two mainstream theories—i.e. urban ecology and equilibrium—displays some important concepts related to urban development. However, both views failed to emphasize the importance of State in the urban development process. Third World trends of development exhibit State as an initiator and leader.

Historical Materialism 

Historical materialists like Castells view urban development parallel to the logic of capitalist economy's need to reproduce capital and labor. Capital is reproduced by the accumulation of profits. This is done by firms through maximum exploitation of advantageous locations that they occupy. Production space is consequently created. Creation of the consumption space is similarly done. Increase in consumption reproduces labor accordingly.

The third space created serves as a link to the production and consumption spaces. This is known as the circulation or exchange space. Some theorists propose the existence of another space, which is somehow similar to circulation or exchange space. The administrative space subsumed under circulation or exchange space accommodates the mechanisms of the State.

Circuits Theory 

Another radical theory is proposed by Harvey. In Harvey's circuits theory the built environment of the city is a direct effect of accumulation of capital which runs through the primary circuit. Investment is then switched to secondary circuit—i.e. housing, health, welfare, etc. Capital is then siphoned through education, culture, technology and defense. This tertiary circulation is encouraged through expanded policies and infrastructural development program.

Land Nexus Theory 

A different theory of radical fashion is the land nexus theory. According to A. J. Scott, problems like poverty, unemployment, criminality, etc. are not urban development problems unless they affect the spatial structuring process. Considering the limitations of previous theories Scott conceptualized the urban land nexus, a theoretical space which links the decisions and actions of firms, household and state to the spatially oriented events.

The abstract phenomenon that is land nexus is further described by Scott. He said that it is a complex dynamics that is composed of two phases: household-firm actions and State response. The theory's author also identified the main elements in this dynamic order.

The first important constituent in the spatial structuring is the private component. The main players in this component are the capital and the labor. Their economic actions lead to the allocation of land in respect to their private activities.

Conversely, the public component also helps the urban development materialize. Activities of the private sector are regulated by the State to ensure the general welfare of the former. The State develops fundamental spatial structures from which both the firms and households could benefit. Apart from this reactionary role of the public sector, the State also deals with the projections of the future. That is why the State-led urban planning as a form of intervention is justified.

Urban land nexus is further shifted by the private-public interface. This third component of urban development is what makes the process take the form of an expanding spiral. Private actions lead to State intervention, which in turn cause another set of private actions. The process is not only cyclical but also cumulative.

Serote's Framework 

Ernesto Serote tailored a framework for analyzing urban development process in the Philippines. In contrast to Scott's land nexus theory, however, Serote injected the informal sectors as important players in the built environment organization. His premise is that the inclusion of the informal sectors paints a perhaps more realistic principle of the Philippine setting.

Using Scott's outline Serote divided the firm into formal and informal sectors. Informal business firms are commonly small-scale. Most of them have inadequate permits to operate. Moreover, many of these businesses conceal the secret operations behind the haphazardly constructed buildings and spaces. There are also informal businesses perceived to be benign. Examples of these "sub-markets" are sari-sari stores and sidewalk vendors.

An equally potent sector that is a sub-sector of household is the "squatter." Unlike formal property development this "pirate urbanization" proceeds in the reverse order—i.e. occupation first, planning second. Their shelters in these communities are characterized by simple structures of light and temporary materials. Utilities like water supply, sewerage and drainage are generally considered rudimentary.

The public sector is likewise subdivided by Serote. The State is divided into the national and the local government. The former devolves its powers and resources to the latter. The local government in turn intervenes in the private economic activities in the form of town planning and urban management. The built environment consequentially feeds back operational issues to the local government and strategic issues to the national government. The national and local governments then in response reprogram their respective implicit and explicit policies.

20110304

Lullaby

There are nights where you could use a lullaby, when you wake in the middle of the night and couldn't return to sleep. Like what happened early this morning, hating breaking slumber, but a bladder call. Returning to bed I couldn't doze off anymore. Entertaining random thoughts like work, family, the future. Well, maybe not that random. And I kept hearing a Bob Dylan song over and over again.

Make You Feel My Love
Bob Dylan

When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I could offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love

When the evening shadows and the star appear
And there is no one to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love

I know you haven't made your mind up yet
But I would never do you wrong
I've known it from the moment that we met
There's no doubt in my mind where you belong

I'd go hungry, I'd go black and blue
I'd go crawling down the avenue
There ain't nothing that I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love

The storms are raging on rolling sea
And on the highway of regret
The winds of change are blowing wild and free
You ain't seen nothing like me yet

There ain't nothin' that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends of the earth for you
Make you happy make your dreams come true
To make you feel my love

20110302

UME 22






















Editor Jackie Cooper's statement:

"This edition of UME is the outcome of chance encounters across time and place: Brit's and my meeting; Brit's partnership with Peter O'Gorman; Haig's and my coming full circle back to Queensland after an absence of 30 years, building a house on North Stradbroke Island [not the most obvious location]where Brit and Peter were also building. And later, through chance, we would undertake to publish this Andresen O'Gorman oeuvre complete."

Read more...

Download part A of UME 22 here, part B of UME 22 here, and part C of UME 22 here.

UME 22: 40.3 megabytes

UME 21

Diebedo Francis Kere's Primary School in Gando, Burkina Faso























Architect's statement:

"Guided by sustainable principles, Kere stressed the importance of using clay as one of the main building materials. Clay is considered the material of the poor. It is cheap and readily available, but used in traditional building methods it is unstable and performs poorly compared to more expensive, imported materials."

Read more...

Download the complete issue of UME 21 here.

UME 21: 32.7 megabytes

UME 20

Pugh + Scarpa's Solar Umbrella House






















Architects' statement:

"Nestled in a neighborhood of single-story bungalows in Venice, California, the solar umbrella residence boldly establishes a precedent for the next generation of California modernist architecture. Located on a 441 ft wide x 100 ft long through lot, the Solar Umbrella addition transforms the architect's existing 650 sq ft bungalow into  a 1900 sq ft residence equipped for responsible living in the 21st century."

Read more...

Download the complete issue of UME 20 here.

UME 20: 28.5 megabytes

UME 19

Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall























Architect's statement:

"The exterior of the concert hall is clad in stainless steel panels. The building's orientation and the curving and folding exterior walls present highly sculptural compositions as viewers move along adjacent streets and through the surrounding gardens and plazas."

Read more...

Download the complete issue of UME 19 here.

UME 19: 31.0 megabytes

UME 18

Sean Godsell's Peninsula House






















Architect's statement:

"A 30 meter x 7.2 meter oxidised steel portal structure has been embedded into the side of the sand dune. This structure forms the 'exoskeleton' of the house, onto which the weather-controlling outer skin--operable timber shutters, glass roofs, and walls--is mounted."

Read more...

Download the complete issue of UME 18 here.

UME 18: 28.4 megabytes

UME 17

Romaldo Giurgola's RG House






















Architect's statement:

"The building consists of one square room surrounded on the south and west sides by alcoves containing a studio, two bedrooms, bath, and kitchen. On these two sides, sliding panels dressed with felt of different colors [ranging from grey to orange, red, brown] lead to the various rooms. On the other two sides of the square room are large laminated glass windows and sliding doors to the outside."

Read more...

Download the complete issue of UME 17 here.

UME 17: 28.5 megabytes

UME 16

Rick Joy's Casa Jax






















Architect's statement:

"Each box is framed and clad in steel on the exterior and maple veneer on the interior. A ventilated air space behind the steel skin allows heat to be exhausted via natural convection currents. Panels are articulated and fasteners exposed, asserting the applied-skin nature of the elevated box. Interior partitions are translucent glass, and the kitchen island is plate stainless steel. Flush wooden sleeping deckscap each form. A small carpot constructed of steel grating is tucked into a small depression in the entry above the hill."

Read more...


UME 16: 27.1 megabytes 




UME 15

Kengo Kuma's Great [Bamboo] Wall Guest House






















Photograph and drawing above is of Kengo Kuma's Great [Bamboo] Wall Guest House.

Architect's statement:

"We used bamboo as much as possible, since it's considered to have significant meaning in Chinese and Japanese cultures. Depending on the density and diameter of bamboo, it offers a variety of partitioning space. Making the most of that, we decided to locate a bamboo wall, a layer of bamboo, along the site's inclination, just like the Great Wall. The Great Wall historically partitioned off two cultures, but this bamboo wall not only demarcates but also unites life and culture."

Read more...

Download the complete issue of UME 15 here.

UME 15: 26.0 megabytes

UME 14

Chris Clarke's Clarke MacLeod House



Architect's statement:

"The house sits in a backyard site, accessed down a steep shared driveway. The suburb, 7 kilometers away from the city center, is undulating terrain with dense subtropical vegetation. The large overhanging roof provides deep shade, like the local timber Queensland houses with their transitional veranda spaces. Vernacular attributes are strongly expressed, despite the selection of different materials for strength, durability, and precision."

Read more...

Download the complete issue of UME 14 here.

UME 14: 31.0 megabytes

UME 13

Shigeru Ban's Wall-less House























Architect's statement:

"The house is built on a sloping site. In order to minimize the excavation work, the rear half of the building is dug into the ground, creating a level floor. The floor surface of the embedded rear part of the house curls up to meet the roof, naturally absorbing the imposed load of the earth. The roof is flat and fixed rigidly to the upturned slab, freeing the three columns at the front from any horizontal load. As a result of bearing only vertical loads, these columns could be reduced to a minimum of 50mm in diameter.

"In order to express the concept as purely as possible, all the walls and mullions have been purged, leaving only sliding panels. Spatially, the house consists of a universal floor: on it, the kitchen, bathroom and toilet are without enclosure, but the space can be flexibly partitioned by the sliding doors."

Download the complete issue of UME 13 here.

UME 13: 25.3 megabytes

UME 12

Contents of the 12th issue of UME include the architecture of Denton Corker Marshall, Frank Gehry, Mario Botta, and UN Studio [Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos].

The photograph below is of DCM's Beach House in Cape Schnack, Victoria, Australia. For some reason the steel cladding reminds me of a toilet paper core.

Download the complete issue of UME 12 here.

UME 12: 27.5 megabytes


Denton Corker Marshall's Beach House in Cape Schnack

UME 11

UME 11 contents include Hitoshi Abe's YG Ribbon House in Miyagi, Japan, Enric Miralles' and Benedetta Tagliabe's [EMBT's] House in La Clota, Barcelona, and Rem Koolhass' [OMA's] Dutch Embassy in Berlin.

The photograph and drawing below is of Abe's rather muted YG Ribbon House. I remember this house from my issue of Architectural Record.

Download the complete issue of UME 11 here.

UME 11: 26.4 megabytes


Hitoshi Abe's YG Ribbon House

UME 10

The highlights of the 10th issue of UME include the architecture of Denton Corker Marshall, Zaha Hadid, Glenn Murcutt, and my favorite self-taught American architect, Will Bruder [See photograph and drawing of Byrne House below.].

Also particularly interesting is the Two Houses by David Langston-Jones, who is clearly an offshoot of the Murcutt approach to design.

Download the complete issue of UME 10 here.

UME 10: 27.0 megabytes


Will Bruder's Byrne House

UME 09

The ninth issue of UME highlights the works of starchitects including Alberto Campo Baeza, Renzo Piano, Morphosis, and TEN Arquitectos [I'd like to remind myself the firm is not composed of ten architects, but named after the Mexican principal Enrique Norten].

The photograph below, lifted from the issue, is of Baeza's very serene Center for Balearic Innovative Technologies. A great backdrop for supermodel photoshoots I might add.

Download the complete issue of UME 09 here.

UME 09: 23.9 megabytes


Alberto Campo Baeza's Center for Balearic Innovative Technologies

UME 08

The 8th issue of UME features Steven Holl's Chapel of St. Ignatius and Wiel Arets' Pension Fund Directional Centre.

Another highlight of the issue is Pete Bossley's House in the Bay of Islands [See photograph below.]. I would not mind living in this house with its captivating view of the sea. Al fresco dining with family and friends with starry skies above. Shaded lawns where the kids could play, or bathe under the warm sun every morning. Ah, this is the life. Or maybe not.

Download the complete issue of UME 08 here.

UME 08: 31.4 megabytes


Pete Bossley's House in the Bay of Islands


UME 07

UME's 7th issue features the architecture of Glenn Murcutt, Bolles-Wilson, Alsop & Stormer, Denton Corker Marshall, Bernard Tschumi, and Engelen Moore.

The photograph below is of the House in the Adelaide Hills, designed by Australian Pritzker Prize winner Glenn Murcutt, whose approach to design and building always follows the Aborigines dictum to "touch the earth lightly."

Download the complete issue of UME 07 here.

UME 07: 28.9 megabytes

Glenn Murcutt's House in the Adelaide Hills

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UME 06

UME's 6th issue is packed with architects like Jean Nouvel, Richard Rogers, Enric Miralles, Steven Ehrlich, and Donovan Hill.

The photograph below is of a scale model for Richard Rogers' Bordeaux Law Courts. I can only guess the inspiration for the building's design is Hershey's!

Download the complete issue of UME 06 here.

UME 06: 29.6 megabytes


Richard Rogers' Bordeaux Law Courts

UME 05

Okay, so I know nobody in this 5th issue of UME, except for Zaha Hadid [She can draw, if she draws at all. Look at drawing below], and I'm not even a fan of her work.

But what I found interesting is the project of Elio Di Franco, the House in Blera, Tuscany, with its timber-and-brick-in-rural-context architecture.

Download the complete issue of UME 05 here.

UME 05: 30.2 megabytes


Zaha Hadid's Habitable Bridge

UME 04

UME 04 features Eric Owen Moss' Cineon Kodak Office Building, Waro Kishi's House in Nipponbashi, and Patkau Architects' Barnes House.

The Barnes House I'm quite familiar with, first saw it in an issue of World Architecture or Architectural Record in the college library about ten years ago. What I realize is that the design looks as new now as it was then.

Download the complete issue of UME 04 here.

UME 04: 30.4 megabytes


Patkau Architects' Barnes House


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