Negotiating informal housing in Metro Manila : forging communities through participation

This research project examines socialized housing programs available to informal settlers in the megacity of Metro Manila, Philippines, and the socio-political and institutional relationships that enable or impede access to housing. Megacities are urban agglomerations with populations of over 10 million inhabitants and Asia and Africa contain some of the fastest growing cities in the world. The challenge of Southern governments to meet the housing needs of hundreds of thousands of urban poor is exacerbated by the influx of migrants into these economic hubs, the scarcity of land for low-income housing and the inequalities and infrastructure deficiencies in developing countries’ cities. The study takes a three-pronged thematic approach to understanding the complexities of organizing housing for squatter communities. The core of the data forms the first focal point around the analytical concepts of access, participation and community building, and is drawn from 20 interviews with community members, NGO staff and state housing program coordinators. The second focal area cover examines the social programs in light of housing rights and urban governance. The third thematic focus is poverty and megacities. The study confirms challenges faced by poor families living in slums while at the same time highlights the relevance of viewing informal settlements as communities where resources are shared through informal associations. These associations are essential for gaining access to housing of both NGOs and government, but their roles are different for the two types of housing providers. The issue of professional squatters is examined, as their presence in squatter communities poses considerable concern and mistrust. The requirements of the housing programs are considered to be unique due to the formalization of “values formation” and “social preparation” as participatory actions for community building. The concept of urban disconnect is introduced to demystify the urban governance challenge. Finally, the thesis proposes that the increased application of community- level participation for housing access, especially by government agencies, have transformed power structures in ways that are reflective of a social movement.