INTRODUCTION

In some countries, most large cities are experiencing urbanization problems

that are similar to those found in the rest of the developing world, where townscapes
are disfigured as a result of rapid and uncontrolled growth, primarily due to a mass
rural exodus. We therefore witness the co-existence of a variety of housing
production modes, a phenomenon worthy of closer examination. The expansion of
informal settlements on the fringes of important urban centres. This paper will focus
on the architecture of mass housing in its more organized and, above all,
institutionalized expressions.
This subject could be approached from different angles, ranging from the study
of income groups and population densities to construction techniques and climatic
zones. However, the present analysis will distinguish three main phases in the
process of housing supply: decision making, generating capital and organizing
construction. These will in turn be viewed through three different perspectives,
namely building initiatives arising respectively from the public and private sectors
as well as cooperatives.

DEFINITION
Housing generally refers to the social problem of ensuring that members of
society have a home in which to live, whether this is a house, or some other kind
of dwelling, lodging, or shelter. Many governments have an administrative section that
deals with housing
The Housing and Urbanism Program engages architecture with the challenges
of contemporary urban strategies. Todays metropolitan regions show tremendous
diversity and complexity with significant global shifts in the patterns of urban
growth and decline. Architecture has a central role to play in this dynamic context,
developing far-reaching strategies and generating new urban clusters and types. The
program focuses on understanding important changes in the contemporary urban
condition and showing how architectural intelligence can support constructive
responses to these trends. We combine cross-disciplinary research with design
application, and students work is divided among three equally important areas:
design workshops; lectures and seminars; and a dissertation or design thesis which
allows students to develop an extended and focused study synthesizing design and
urban research.
The program is closely allied with both research and contemporary
architectural practice. Current themes include the urbanism of the innovation
economy, with special attention given to the changing patterns of workspace; the
transformation of housing strategies and their emerging role in urban intensification;
and the exploration of an urbanism attentive to urban irregularity and informality.

In each of these themes there is emphasis on the integration of spatial strategies

and urban social practice. What these themes have in common is that they each
expose the limitations of prevailing practices in urbanism and urban design and call
for a revision of architectures role in the design of cities. The design workshops
explore these themes in real urban situations in London and abroad, collaborating
with local stakeholders.

FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHT TO HOUSING

Everyone has a fundamental human right to housing, which ensures access to
a safe, secure, habitable, and affordable home with freedom from forced eviction. It
is the governments obligation to guarantee that everyone can exercise this right to
live in security, peace, and dignity. This right must be provided to all persons
irrespective of income or access to economic resources. There are seven principles
that are fundamental to the right to housing and are of particular relevance to the
right to housing:
Security of Tenure: Residents should possess a degree of security of tenure that
guarantees protection against forced evictions, harassment, and other threats,
including
predatory
redevelopment
and
displacement.
Availability of Services, Materials, Facilities, and Infrastructure: Housing must
provide certain facilities essential for health, security, comfort, and nutrition. For
instance, residents must have access to safe drinking water, heating and lighting,
washing
facilities,
means
of
food
storage,
and
sanitation.
Affordability: Housing costs should be at such a level that the attainment and
satisfaction of other basic needs are not threatened or compromised. For instance,
one should not have to choose between paying rent and buying food.
Habitability/Decent and Safe Home: Housing must provide residents adequate
space that protects them from cold, damp, heat, rain, wind, or other threats to health;
structural
hazards;
and
disease.
Accessibility: Housing must be accessible to all, and disadvantaged and vulnerable
groups must be accorded full access to housing resources.
Location: Housing should not be built on polluted sites, or in immediate proximity
to pollution sources that threaten the right to health of residents. The physical safety
of residents must be guaranteed, as well. Additionally, housing must be in a location
which allows access to employment options, health-care services, schools, child-care
centers,
and
other
social
facilities.

Cultural Adequacy: Housing and housing policies must guarantee the expression of
cultural identity and diversity, including the preservation of cultural landmarks and
institutions. Redevelopment or modernization programs must ensure that the
cultural significance of housing and communities is not sacrificed.

HOUSING QUALITY
Good-quality housing is a key element for ensuring a healthy village. Poor
housing can lead to many health problems, and is associated with infectious
diseases (such as tuberculosis), stress and depression. Everyone should there- fore
have access to good-quality housing and a pleasant home environment that
makes them happy and content. Specic aspects of housing quality are described
in the following sections.
Problems associated with poor housing
Cramped and crowded conditions give rise to poor hygiene by providing
places for vermin to breed and transmit diseases via eas, ticks and other vectors.
Poor household hygiene leads to food and water contamination within the
home.
Poor indoor air quality leads to respiratory problems and inadequate lighting
leads to eyesight problems.
Stress is higher for individuals living in poor housing and poverty.
Ventilation
Adequate home ventilation is particularly important where wood, charcoal
and dung are used for cooking or heating, since these fuels give off smoke that
contains harmful chemicals and particulate matter. This can lead to respiratory
problems, such as bronchitis and asthma, and make tuberculosis transmission
easier. Women and small children are particularly at risk from poor ventilation
if they spend long periods within the home or in cooking areas. Where cooking
is done indoors, it is essential that smoke and fumes be removed from the house
quickly and efciently.

Lighting
Poor indoor lighting can have many harmful effects on health and wellbeing. A poorly lit working environment in the home can lead to eyesight
problems, for example. This is a particular concern for women working
in indoor cooking areas. Poor lighting within the home can also make
people feel more depressed. These problems can be remedied by adding
windows to the house to increase the amount of natural light, which is much
stronger than light from candles or lamps, as shown in Figure 7.1. In
communities where it is important that privacy within the home is
maintained, windows can be located where it is difcult for people to see
into the house, or constructed with a mesh or lattice work which allows
light to enter while guarding privacy. Increasing natural light is also
important for home cleanliness: if a house is dark, it is more difcult to see
dust and dirt and thus more difcult to clean properly.

Disease vectors in the home

Unless homes are kept clean and steps taken to prevent insects from
entering, the homes can become infested with disease vectors. In eastern
Mediterranean areas, for example, sandies thrive in the dirt inside houses
and transmit leishmaniosis; and in Central and South America, triatomid
bugs live in the cracks of walls and in thatched roofs and transmit American
trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease). Insect disease vectors can be reduced by
keeping food covered and properly disposing of waste. If mosquitoes or ies
are a problem, windows and doors should be covered with mesh screens and
kept shut at night, and mosquito nets placed over beds. Cleanliness within
and around home areas signicantly reduces the risk of disease transmission.
Examples of bad and good household hygiene.
Example of a house with unhygienic practices

Overcrowding in Homes
Overcrowding in homes causes ill-health because it makes disease
transmission easier and because the lack of private space causes stress.
Overcrowding is related to socioeconomic level, and the poor often have little
choice but to live in cramped conditions. In principle, increasing the number of
rooms in a house should improve the health of the people who live there, but
increasing house size is often difcult. Careful planning of family size can also
help to reduce overcrowding. If community members feel that overcrowding is
a problem, they can take the initiative and press landlords to provide more
space for tenants at affordable prices. This may necessitate working with local
government and pressure groups to ensure that the housing laws and tenancy
agreements are revised, and that everyone has access to houses adequate for their
family size.
People use lots of different terms to describe housing or housing programs.
Sometimes they even use more than one term to describe the same housing program.
It can get very confusing! Here are some definitions and ways to think about housing
and housing programs.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF HOUSING

Public Housing Governments are still considered to be responsible for
providing housing for the population at large. In actual fact, and for a number of
reasons, they fall short of these expectations and even fail to effectively manage or
control the various public bodies acting on their behalf. Notable exceptions are the
Singapore Housing and Development Board and the "Million Houses Program"
launched in Sri Lanka; otherwise, in this domain, success is limited to relatively
wealthy states such as Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries, where large amounts of
money can be devoted to housing schemes. In these few rich countries, the provision
of new housing by the respective governments is still mainly under the control of
state bodies. There are nonetheless examples of governmental institutions handing
over their prerogative to the private sector when the scheme on hand is technically
feasible, and all the more so when it is profitable.
Private Sector Housing Most Muslim countries accord private companies the
right to participate in building activities. These range from the construction of a
simple block on a plot duly registered in a city master-plan to developments of virgin
land extending beyond the outer limits of urban centres into "new territories".
Although not a widespread phenomenon, high-rise, clandestine constructions on the
peripheries of towns have been built in total disregard of any legal framework or
technical control. Examples can be found in capital cities such as Ankara and Cairo.
This points to a logistic vacuum in the enforcement of law and, more dangerously,

threatens the inhabitants' safety, as only a bare minimum of technical standards and
precautions are taken in the construction of such structures. These cheaper flats are
put on the market by contractors determined to make maximum profits.
Cooperative Housing supplied through cooperatives has proven to be the
most effective and socially relevant way to generate dwelling units. Cooperative
enterprises organize the demand and combine the economic means of small groups,
in order to increase the negotiating power of individuals and reduce the final cost by
supplying for many. This type of initiative involves projects ranging from the
construction of IS-30 dwelling units to the creation of new satellite settlements. The
smaller schemes are generally carried out by building companies, and the
cooperatives are entrusted with raising and distributing the necessary funds. Such
projects do not fall within the scope of a study on "mass housing".

Types of Housing - by Length of Stay

Type of Housing

Description

Permanent
Housing

This just means that there is no time limit on how long you can reside in
the housing or receive the housing assistance. It is meant to be longterm. Permanent supportive housing (or PSH) is just permanent housing that
makes support services available to help you maintain your housing and access
community resources.

Transitional
Housing

This means that there is a time limit on how long you can stay in the
housing or receive the housing assistance. HUD defines transitional
housing as stays of up to 24 months (but stays can be shorter).

Short-Term
Temporary
Housing
Emergency
Shelter

or

This means that the housing situation is intended to be very short-term or

temporary (30, 60, or 90 days or less).

Provides a place to stay or bed to sleep in overnight if you become

homeless or otherwise experience a housing crisis and have no place to go.

Types of Housing - by Level of Support

Type
Housing

of

Description

Independent
Living

This means that you are able to live on your own without help with daily
living. Most housing is designed for independent living.

Assisted
Living

This type of housing provides on-site services to help people with their daily
living when they are not really able to live on their own. It can be permanent
or for a period of time.Examples include: nursing homes, long-term care facilities,
assisted living facilities, special care facilities, and hospice/respite care facilities.

Types of Housing - by Type of Assistance

Type
Housing

of

Market
Housing

Rate

Description

Refers to properties that are rented or owned by people who pay market
rent to lease the property or paid market value when they bought the
property. There is no subsidy for the housing.

Affordable
Housing

Refers to properties that were originally built using a tax subsidy and are
now required to provide below-market rents for low-income people, persons
with disabilities, and/or seniors.Examples include: Low-Income Housing,
Disabled Housing, and Senior Housing.

Subsidized
Housing
(Tenant-Based)

Provides a voucher to you to choose where you want to live in the

community and lease from a private landlord that will accept the voucher.
The program then pays an ongoing monthly subsidy to help you with your
rent and utilities. You are usually required to pay at least 30% of your
income toward your rent and utilities, and usually your subsidy is limited
by fair market rent (FMRs). Since it is tenant-based, the assistance is tied to
your voucher. So, if you move, the voucher typically moves with you to another
property.

Examples include these subsidy programs:

Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher
ESG Rapid Re-Housing
HOPWA Tenant Based Rental Asst
Shelter Plus Care TBRA
SHP TBRA
HOME TBRA
Subsidized
Housing
(Project-Based)

Project-based housing assistance requires you to live in a housing unit at

the property that is being subsidized. You are usually required to pay at
least 30% of your income toward your rent/utilities. Since it is project-based,
the assistance is tied to the property. So, if you move, you lose your housing
assistance.
Examples include:
Section 8 Public Housing
Homeless Project-Based Units
HOPWA Facility-Based Housing

Homeless
Prevention

Provides assistance for persons who have their own apartment or house to
prevent them from becoming homeless. This type of assistance helps with past
due rent, mortgage, or utility bills.
Example include:
ESG Homeless Prevention
HOPWA Short-Term Rent, Mortgage, and Utility Assistance (STRMU)
Other Financial Assistance or Temporary Financial Aid Programs (e.g., assistance
provided by churches and other faith-based organizations)

Housing
Placement

Provides help for you to get into new housing (when you move-in). This
can include things like rental application fees, security deposits, first and
last months rent, utility connection fees, and utility deposits. Depending
on the program, it may or may not include moving costs (like moving
company, truck rental, storage costs, etc.)

Types of Housing - by Design

Type of Housing

Description

Multi-Family
Dwellings

This housing is designed for many families to live on the property

where each family only has exclusive use of the portion of the property
(unit) that they are leasing or own (for example, apartments,
condominiums, lofts, and co-ops).

Single
Dwellings

Family

A single family dwelling refers to a dwelling (house) on a property

designed to be occupied by only one family.

Single
Room
Occupancy (SRO)

An SRO unit is a single room designed to house only one person at a

time. It may be smaller than a typical bedroom, and may only include
a bed and storage space for personal belongings. An SRO unit
provides living and sleeping space for the exclusive use of the tenant,
but requires the tenant to share bathroom and/or kitchen areas.

Manufactured Home
(or Mobile Home)

A manufactured home is a mobile home that is connected to permanent

utility hookups, is located on land is owned by the home owner or on
land at which he/she leases a space (such as a mobile home park), and
is attached to real property (with a permanent foundation). This
includes mobile homes, but excludes motor homes, trailers,
recreational vehicles or RVs, and other like vehicles with wheels on
the ground.

Boarding
Homes,
Rooming Houses, or
Group Homes

A boarding (or rooming) house is an establishment primarily engaged

in renting rooms, with or without board, on a long-term basis.
A rooming house typically provides only for the rental of rooms, while
a boarding house provides meals and may offer such amenities as maid
service and laundry service. A boarding or rooming house may be a
single family dwelling or a larger structure in which the owner rents
out rooms to multiple families. They may be a lease. Group homes tend
to look like boarding homes, but they are typically a state-licensed
facility intended for occupancy by elderly persons and/or persons
with disabilities.

Hotel
or
Motel
(including extended
stay)

A hotel or motel is an establishment primarily engaged in renting

rooms for overnight stays for a short period of time, but can be
extended stays. The customer typically does not have a written lease

or occupancy agreement for the space.

Shared Housing

People who have a roommate are said to be living in shared

housing. For example, if you share your 2-bedroom apartment with
another person who is not part of your family, then you are living in
shared housing meaning there are two families living there, you and
your roommate. This is important because, if you seek help with your
housing expenses, a program will likely only assist you with your part of the
expenses, not your roommates part.

ISSUES REGARDING HOUSING

The Philippines has an estimated housing backlog of about 3.9 million housing
units. Professor Enrique Soriano III, who made the estimate, said the demand is also
growing at 3 to 5 percent annually. He further predicted that if we keep on adding
only 200,000 units every yearthe current rate new dwellings enter the market
annuallywell have a housing backlog of 6.5 million units by 2030. In addition,
there are approximately 22.8 million informal settlers, according to UK-based nongovernment organization Homeless International.
Why is this issue on the backburner of the current presidential electoral
campaign? I think that peace and order, Mindanao peace, the dispute in the South
China Sea and the insurgency are key issues but housing is a topic that directly
relates to what we all consider as the root cause of our national malaisepoverty.
Having known the kind of life in which you struggle to make ends meet and
live a decent life for your family, I understand the dreams of the common tao: roof
over their head, food on their table, education for their children. These are the basic
ideals of the common people.
After trying out a number of corporate jobs and after I earned a college degree,
I decided I wanted to enter business and become an entrepreneur. I decided to go
into real estate.
I have always believed that being in real estate does not only mean we provide
houses to our clients. It also means we are helping in realizing the dream of Filipinos
to own their own houses. For every Filipino, calling a house his own is a fulfillment
and a tangible fruit of his hard work. It is something that is very close to my heart,
and it gives me pride to have the ability to help fulfill one of those dreams. But
beyond helping Filipinos realize their dreams, our task is to build communities, and
beyond that to contribute to building a nation.

The German sociologist Ferdinand Tonnies defined community not just as a

collection of individuals living in a particular territory, but as an organic social
group whose members are bound together by the sense of belonging, created out of
everyday contacts covering the whole range of human activities.

ASSESSMENT, ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

The National Urban Development and Housing Framework (NUDHF) 20092016 finds the housing problem to be serious and is a largely urban phenomenon.
The magnitude of housing need, defined as the housing backlog plus new
households, is enormous and is estimated to reach about 5.8 million housing units
in 2016 (Chapter on Social Development).
In Metro Manila, the total backlog has been projected to reach 496,928 housing
units. Innovative and high-density housing strategies are required if the housing
deficit is to be effectively addressed.
Beyond the public sector providing housing and the auxiliary services, new
approaches are needed in the face of continuing rural-urban migration that is
bound to exacerbate the housing problem. The affordability of and access to
government housing programs by the poor will also continue to pose a major
challenge in the near future.
The housing problem is evident in the proliferation of slums and informal
settlements in the urban areas. Recent estimates show that more than a third
of urban populations are slum dwellers. In Metro Manila there were about
581,059 informal settlers (data from HUDCC as of July 26, 2010). These
communities are characterized by unsanitary conditions, congestion, and limited
access to basic urban services (e.g., health centers, schools, waste disposal, safe
water supply). Resettlement and relocation programs have been implemented but
have attained limited success in providing employment, livelihood opportunities,
and adequate services to many of the relocatees.
Government has allocated less than 1.0 percent of the total government expenditures
for the housing sector in recent years, or less than one-tenth of a percent of GDP on
the average. This makes Philippine public spending on housing one of the lowest in
Asia. (Habito, 2009).
The role of government in providing access to housing opportunities and services
must be clarified. In the last four decades, government response to the housing
problem has failed to rectify the fundamental issues of providing shelter, especially
for the poor.

STRATEGIC PLAN AND FOCUS

The housing sector is guided by the theme: Gaganda ang buhay kung may
bahay at hanap-buhay (Life will improve with housing and livelihood.) The vision
is to provide a holistic framework of a home and eventually a harmonious
community through provision of housing infrastructure, integration of basic
services, and implementation of appropriate housing/construction standards. It
targets the provision of some 1.47 million housing units for the Plan period 20112016.
To address the housing needs and gaps in basic services, especially for the
poor and marginalized:
Accelerate mass housing programs with alternative housing technologies,
schemes and approaches to ensure decent and affordable homes. In relation to
this, the following will also be undertaken:
Employ labor-intensive method in the implementation of housing projects
wherever feasible to generate employment in the beneficiary communities;
Develop and implement the appropriate standards in the construction of
the housing units to incorporate DRRM and CCA;
Explore vertical expansion in the construction of housing units taking into
consideration the basic geographical location, soil quality and other environmental
considerations; and
Explore the use of indigenous and recyclable materials as environmentfriendly alternatives to reduce cost in building houses.

Integrate basic infrastructure support to resettlement sites and emerging regional

sustainable communities, such as provision of potable water, safe and sufficient
electricity, access roads to the nearest commercial centers, and ICT, among others.
b.
Ensure that all government infrastructure projects integrate the
relocation and resettlement requirements of affected families into their plans
and costing in collaboration with other concerned agencies;
c.
Develop a financing framework for relocation and resettlement,
including workable PPP schemes for socialized housing development; and
d.
Support LGUs efforts to develop a system of land inventory to better
identify areas for urban growth and planned areas for human settlements
through their Comprehensive Land Use Plans (CLUPs).

HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT AND

CHALLENGES
With an enormous total housing need of 3.7 million as of 2010, a total of
812,463 housing and shelter security units (i.e., house and/or lot) were provided
from 2004 to 2010.
Indirect housing assistance, such as provision of retail and developmental
guaranties, issuance of licenses-to-sell, and assistance in comprehensive land use
planning, delivered mixed accomplishments. Against a target of 115,556 retail
and developmental guaranties, the Home Guaranty Corporation (HGC) only
guaranteed a total of 62,418 housing loans (54.01%). However, the Housing and
Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) issued a total of 767,872 licenses-to sell,
indicating a robust construction and completion of housing units. The HLURB
also provided assistance to 419 LGUs in updating and formulating their
Comprehensive Land Use Plans (CLUPs) against a target of 432 LGUs (Table 8.4).
The government provided housing tenure assistance through the following
reform measures: (a) loan interest-rate reductions that brought down the lowest
socialized housing package to 3 percent per annum; (b) extension of payment terms
for all housing loans from 25 up to 30 years; (c) reduction of loan requirements from
15 to eight; and (d) reduction of loan processing time from three months to seven
working days for developer accounts with buy-back guarantee, and 30 days for retail
and developer accounts without buy-back guarantee.
The housing sector, however, confronts the following key challenges:
Meeting the enormous housing need and demand
Total housing need, which includes housing backlog and housing for new
households, is estimated to reach about 5.8 million units by 2016 (Table 8.5).
The National Urban Development and Housing Framework (NUDHF) 20092016 indicates that Regions 3, 4B and NCR account for about half of the total housing
need.
Rapid growth of informal households and settlements
Informal settlements have grown by leaps and bounds. In Metro Manila,
households in informal settlements increased by more than 81 percent between 2000
and 2006. With rural urban migration expected to continue, and six out of ten
Filipinos living in urban areas, addressing the housing problem must be
embedded within a larger urban development framework for environmental
sustainability. While the MDGs on access to safe drinking water and sanitary
toilets have already been achieved, land use and green technology for housing
construction have can be tackled only within an action plan for climate change
adaptation including disaster risk management.

Strained basic shelter, and urban services and fiscal constraints

The phenomenon of urban slums and informal settlements have been
characterized by unsanitary conditions, congestion and limited access to basic
urban services, like health centers, schools, waste disposal and safe water supply.
While the housing sector is expected to contribute in attaining the MDG target on
improving the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers worldwide by 2020, the
formulation of the National Slum Upgrading Strategy and the setting of national
targets for urban renewal and slum upgrading efforts should allow a more
systematic and detailed assessment of the Philippines contribution to the global
goal in the coming years.
The annual public expenditure for housing in the Philippines, which is
approximately less than 1 percent of the total government expenditures, accounts for
less than 0.1 percent of GDP, which is one of the lowest in Asia (Habito, 2009). The
limited budget, unclear compliance of the provision of the Urban Development and
Housing Act (i.e., allocation of at least 20 percent of total project cost in every housing
development for socialized housing finance), and reliance to the social insurance
system to finance housing needs effectively limit the access of the poor to housing
assistance. Government shelter strategies are focused on increasing housing
production either by direct provision of housing units/loans or by giving incentives
to developers who cater mainly to the formal sector and the middle/ high- income
households. These approaches do not address the fundamental issues of land supply
constraints and financing weak institutional mechanisms in housing construction
and the financial environment, and unclear focus on poverty reduction (Ballesteros,
2010).
The HGC must be strengthened through equity infusion from the government
to establish a stronger guaranty system that will encourage the funding of
socialized and low cost housing projects by the private sector and housing
developers. Funds for housing can be secured and sustained, only if there is a
viable system of guarantees for both the government and private financial
institutions that cater to the funding requirements of housing production and enduser financing. The HGC can guaranty loans granted by financial institutions and
developers for housing up to 20 times its net worth.

Housing and Urban Development Target

The housing sector targets the provision of 1.47 million units of direct housing
assistance from 2011 to 2016. This target for direct and indirect housing provision
is identified in Table 8.10.

The global MDG on ensuring environmental sustainability aims to achieve

significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers worldwide
by 2020. This will guide the plans and programs on urban renewal or slum
upgrading, which is a key component of the socialized housing program. The
identification and development of new relocation/resettlement sites for the
marginalized and vulnerable sectors will be adopted, and program targets will
likewise be set. The National Slum Upgrading Strategy that will be formulated will
identify the national targets for the programs addressing the needs of slum dwellers.

HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

To rapidly address the housing problem, particularly the proliferation of
slums and informal settlements, the government shall formulate a National Slum
Upgrading Strategy that will set the targets for slum upgrading programs.
Expanded slum upgrading, onsite upgrading or in city resettlement shall be
pursued as strategies by government and stakeholders.
Government shall pursue the following reforms to scale up and sustain slum
upgrading: (a) supporting other forms or modalities of security of tenure such
as usufruct and lease rights; (b) developing PPPs for onsite upgrading and
resettlement; (c) stimulating housing micro finance for end-user financing; and
(d) strengthening community partnerships and stakeholdership through capacity
development. Through the PPPs, urban renewal shall also be promoted for
sustainable urban development, to ensure balanced provision of revitalized
infrastructure that would support social sectors, including socialized housing.
LGUs shall lead the efforts in shelter planning, since housing and human
settlements will be localized in terms of identifying solutions and programming.
Thus, LGUs shall develop a land inventory system to identify areas for urban
growth and planned areas for human settlements through their Comprehensive
Land Use Plans (CLUPs).
The following policies and strategies shall be pursued:
Housing
Create alternative funds and mobilize resources, to spur housing production
through the revival of the SSS, GSIS and GFIs contribution in the housing sector
pool; reinstate the entitlements of the housing sector under the Comprehensive
and Integrated Shelter Finance Act

(RA 7835); involve rural banks, cooperatives and microfinance institutions in

implementing a housing micro-finance program, catering to the marginalized sector and
rural homebuyers; and develop an effective and viable secondary mortgage market
and rationalization of the guarantee system;
Engage NGOs (e.g., Gawad Kalinga, Habitat for Humanity, ABS-CBN Foundation)
and the private sector in building and scaling up socialized housing projects;
Promote the use of green technology and materials in housing construction and
in building disaster resilient homes; and develop a strong, cohesive and responsive
shelter team (e.g., key shelter agencies and stakeholders) to bring significant
changes and institutional reforms, including simplifying loan application processing
for development and homebuyers loans, and reducing red tape in the issuance of
land titles and housing and development permits, at the national and local levels;
and ensure transparency and good governance in the housing sector

Urban Development
Formulate an action plan implementing the National Urban Development and
Housing Framework (NUDHF) 2009-2016, to achieve urban competitiveness and
sustainability, housing
affordability, poverty alleviation, and effective and
performance-oriented governance through a participatory process; and
Prioritize slum improvement under a policy of maximum retention and
minimum dislocation; and vigorously implement the National Slum Upgrading
Strategy through a National Slum Improvement Action Plan for 2011-2016 that
comprise specific targets, programs and activities to provide secured tenure to urban

Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council

Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB)

Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund)

Home Guaranty Corporation (HGC)

National Housing Authority (NHA)

Government Service Insurance System (GSIS)

Social Service System (SSS)

TREND AND TECHNOLOGY IN HOUSING

Multi-family housing construction
More people (especially those from the millennial generation) are moving into the city
because of their proximity to their places of work all around the world. And these have
propelled architects and planners to design developments that would answer the projected
saturation of the housing market. A direct result of the changing family size and dynamics have
spurred developments in multifamily housing in the Philippines. Multifamily housing ranges
from low-rise apartments to high-rise condominiums, and they will continue to be a popular
choice for consumers in the next decade.
Based on the data provided by Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) on
the number of under construction and proposed buildings in the Philippines, the number of
residential and office/residential buildings still dominate the list and all of them are
conveniently located in the cusp or within walking distance from each of the major central
business districts in Metro Manila. Efforts made by private developers to help proliferate
vertical urbanism in order to minimize suburban sprawl, decrease the countrys carbon
footprint, and save more space for the development of green open spaces hopes to inspire future
developers and leaders to help shape a more conducive cityscape.
Sustainable, resilient architecture will be a big thing
New York, Singapore, Hong Kong, and other progressive cities are adapting sustainability and
resiliency into their future plans, now that climate change has made its presence felt all around
the world. Typhoon Haiyan was a grim reminder that the countrys existing crisis management
systems and adaptive capacities is in dire need of re-framing to generate new and long-term
alternatives. Each city varies enormously in terms of adaptation and vulnerability, two
important factors that determine a citys resiliency. Just like societies, a citys adaptive capacity
is dependent on governance, institutions, technology, wealth and the propensity to plan. A
citys resilience must be looked at from the business context and the human context.
Retail-tainment will remain a big real estate player
Increasing spending power equals to more diversified choices. Thus, expect more retail
developments in the Philippines that will cater to an overall retail experience. Our
commercial centers and shopping malls are slowly turning into small cities with integrated
mixed-use and multi-use developments. Shopping malls have now expanded to include
hotels, offices, residential spaces, and bridges to transportation

More focus on health and wellness

Walkable cities are livable, healthier cities. This has become a global advocacy by
architects, designers, and planners. The US, for example, have taken the issues on health and
wellness to a macro scale through infrastructure developments, improvements and government
policies that promote people to walk, bike, or take the public transit. However, there is a
knowledge gap between research on human health and wellness with implementation in the
built environment. Well-designed and well-planned buildings and spaces lead to better health
outcomes elsewhere in the world and the principles that the Philippines can adapt to.
3D printing will change how designers and clients see their designs
3D printers have revolutionized how we view tangible things. It makes an architect and
designers visions one step closer to reality and in turn, help clients better visualize their visions
that computer renderings and animations might not be able to convey accurately. Architects
and designers can now test each structural element of their designs and improve design
efficiency early in the design process. This significant advancement in technology will drive
the practice and change the design process for the better as 3D printers continue to evolve in
size and capacity. Down the road, we might be able to print building components to scale.