PLANNING REVIEWER and planning procedures for colonial

settlements.
PLANNING IN THE PHILIPPINES:
- These laws provided guidelines for site
selection, layout and dimensioning of streets
PRE-COLONIAL TIMES:
and squares, the location of civic and religious
buildings, open space, cultivation and pasturing
Like other cities in the world the earliest Filipino
lands, and even the main procedural phases of
communities developed out of the need for
planning and construction.
their inhabitants to band together.
The Plaza Complex:
They were formed for security, or to be close to
- a result of several ordinances of the Laws of
critical resources like food and water. Most of
the Indies.
the earliest towns were by the coast for the
- The plaza is surrounded by important buildings
fisherfolk or were where there was abundant
such as the Catholic church, municipal hall,
agricultural land for the farmers.
Marketplace and merchant’s stores, elementary
school, the homes of the “principalia”, and
The basic socio-political unit was the barangay,
other government buildings
consisting of 30 to 100 families; decentralized;
located along coast lines and riverbanks;
Intramuros - the walled City of Manila
agricultural and fishing villages
- 1.2 sq. KM in area; perimeter is 3.4 KM
- home of the Spanish (except for the friars &
SPANISH COLONIAL TIMES:
the high ranking officials)
- decentralization occurred and settlements
Manila became capital
were built in Malate, San Miguel, and Paco,
among other areas
1573 – Laws of the Indies pronounced by King
Philipp II – Spanish town planning influenced by
early 1600s – Manila became the first primate
the Romans and the Piazza planning of Italian
city in Southeast Asia.
Renaissance
1650 – chapels or small churches in the
1596 – spatial segregation along racial and
cabecera were built to attract tenacious natives
social lines – Indios and Chinese have separate
from the barrios (hinterlands) through fiestas
districts; Parian or market – spatial
and processions
concentration of merchants and artisans to
regulate the exchange of goods
1790s – opening of the Manila- Acapulco
galleon trade; emergence of semi-urban places
1600s to 1700s – process of Hispanization
in the provinces
through the founding of cabeceras
(poblaciones) and visitas (barrios); natives living
1850s-late 1800s – Chinese dominated central
on the unplanned fringes of the neighborhood;
commercial business districts in al settlements;
debajo de las campanas
commercial shops on the ground floors of
centrally located houses; no more spatially
Laws of the Indies:
segregated peripheral clusters of Chinese.;
- In 1573, King Philip II proclaimed the Laws of
decentralized residential pattern for Spaniards
the Indies that established uniform standards

THE AMERICAN PERIOD:
1890s – other port cities continue to become
regional urban centers; bridges were built along
postal routes facilitating transport in Luzon.
1903 – City of Manila was incorporated
covering Intramuros and 12 fast-growing
suburban towns.
The American Agenda:
- guide urban growth and physical development
- put more emphasis on other values such as
sanitation, housing, and aesthetic
improvements.
1905 – Manila and Baguio Plans of Daniel
Burnham introduced the City Beautiful western
type of town planning.
Burnham’s Design for Manila:
- Designed with grand avenues & a strong
central civic core
- Included a civic mall to house national
buildings (only the Finance
&Agriculture buildings were built)
- Fronted Manila Bay like most Baroque plans
fronted a large body of water
1910 – rebuilding of settlements complete with
hygiene and sanitary facilities and drainage
systems called sanitary barrios.
1920s - Barrio Obrero or the working class
district evolved as government response to the
needs of low-income labor families in urban
areas.
1928 – zoning ordinance for Manila
promulgated but took effect only in 1940;
zoning became popular in America in the 1920s.
Manila as the First Chartered City:
- On July 31, 1903, by 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 190,000 people
Growth of Manila:
The Arrabales
Quiapo- the illustrado territory; the enclave of
the rich and powerful. Also the manifestation of
folk religiosity.
Binondo- the trading port developed by the
Chinese and 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 Saint Anthony of Padua). Also
known as the first “University Town”.
FURTHER SUBURBANIZATION:
After the war - RA 333 designated Quezon city
as new Capital and master planning it by the
Capital City Planning Commission.
In 1939, Commonwealth Act No. 457,
authorized the transfer of the capitol to an area
of 1572 hectares
A master plan of Quezon City was completed in
1941 by Architects Juan Arellano, Harry T. Frost,
Louis Croft, and Eng. A.D. Williams
“City beautiful” plan reflected the aspirations of
an emerging nation and the visions of a
passionate leader
Constitution Hill:
- In 1946, a search committee was formed to
find a new site
- a 158 ha area in the Novaliches watershed was
selected and called Constitution Hill and
National Government Center
- The three seats of government were to form a
triangle at the center of the complex
- It included a 20 hectare civic Space referred to
as the Plaza of the Republic

1950s - National Planning Commission (later on

as NEDA) was established.

RA 2264 – local Autonomy Act of 1959

empowered LGUs to enact zoning ordinances
and subdivision rules; all towns and cities
required to form planning boards to craft
development plans under the guidance of the
NPC

1987 Constitution and Local Government Code

of 1991 – devolved powers to LGUs; local
autonomy; developments plans under the
supervision of NEDA.

HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS:

Philippine Homesite and Housing Corporation

- Precursor of the National Housing Authority
- Built homes for the masses (“the projects”, i.e.
proj.4, proj. 6, etc.)

Philamlife Homes
- icon of middle class suburbanization
- Master Plan designed by Architect and
Planner, Carlos P. Arguelles, based on suburban
developments in California with modifications

BLISS (bagong lipunan sites and services)

- Walk-up developments for government sector