A LARGE-SCALE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT FOR INFORMAL SETTLERS IN MANILA

Rapid urbanization in Manila is the leading cause of rural to urban migration surges. This form of urbanization has increased the population, generating a growing demand for housing. This demand led to an increase in informal settlements, thus challenging the government to develop low-cost housing. As a solution to this problem, the current government housing developments have demolished informal settlements and built low-cost housing vertically to provide more housing units for people while saving space due to its small footprint. However, this solution led to the construction of an environment that is not suitable for the communities’ typical day-to-day lifestyle. Moreover, it fails to address design factors that create healthy and vibrant urban neighborhoods. This research aims to provide a large-scale housing design proposal for informal settlers, including guidelines and solutions to improve their urban living environment. The goal is to produce different design approaches and typologies utilizing incremental housing principles to meet social, cultural, and economic needs.