Pre-colonial Planning

- Spanish colonial T own Planning

- Planning and Development of Spanish Manila
- The Spanish Legacy

The American Period

- Burnham’s Plan
- Implementation of Burnham’s Plans
- Civic Architecture and Policy Issues
- Plan Implementation and Institutional Form

The Commonwealth and the Immediate Post war Period

Post Script and Reflections

The American Period

The Americans were initially impressed by their predecessors' achievements

in Manila. The Philippine Commission's first reports spoke of wide streets, houses

of solid construction, elegant suburban residences, and modern facilities. An

American scholar, however, later remarked that the Commission wrote its reports

without proper study or, for the benefit of the public back in the United States,

made Manila out to be a better prize than it actually was (Shepard 1937).

Subsequent reports struck a different note, describing the city as a "pest-hole"

whose salvation required the American equivalent of Spanish missionary zeal

(Daniels 1905)

In their own efforts to guide the growth of Manila and other Philippine cities

and towns, the Americans gave greater emphasis on other values, on sanitation,

housing, and aesthetic improvements. By the close of their own direct rule, they

had introduced "radical departures" in social policy as well as urban planning and development.

These derived part of their impetus from municipal and social

reform movements begun in the US in the late 19th century, which in turn may be
traced to European antecedents. Sanitation legislation in Europe had supplied
"the direct forerunner of modern town-planning" (Benevolo 1967), and European
socialists had experimented with utopian communities on American soil: Some of
these influences were transmitted to the Philippines via the US.

The Americans, however, did not develop and apply their own "master plan"
such as was codified in Philip II's edict on colonial town planning. Nor did they
completely break away from Spanish antecedents in the Islands. There were
several strands in the just-emerging American practice of city planning. Of these,
the clearest was, as in the Spanish tradition, architectural in expression and
European in origin. Civic architecture only gradually flowered into a comprehensive
design profession and institution. Nonetheless, American-style city planning had
important social as well as physical dimensions, not least because its aesthetic was
imbued with secular and functional values, especially those of commercial efficiency.
Like the economic interests that colored (or marred) Spanish policy, these values
curbed the "radical" pretentions of American policy and practice.

American city planning was brought to the Philippines by exponents of the

"City Beautiful" movement in the US shortly after army and civilian engineers had
begun physical improvements in Manila. We will first describe the efforts and
ideas of architects, then those concerned with sanitation, housing, and social
development.

Burnham's Plan

In December 1904, the famous architect, Daniel H. Burnham, together with his associate Pierce
Anderson, came to the Philippines at the invitation of War Secretary William H. Taft and
Commissioner W. Cameron Forbes. They were to prepare plans for the growth of Manila, whose
jurisdiction had been extended beyond the city walls, and for a new city in the Baguio mountains up
north. After a briefsurvey of these places, Burnham and Anderson returned to the US and sent back
their preliminary general plans in June 1905. Later that year, a consulting architect, William E.
Parsons, was appointed to "interpret" the Burnham plans and to provide architectural supervision
over all public buildings and parks in the Islands.

"Make no little plans," was Burnham's famous motto

Burnham thus sought to make cities "convenient for commerce and attractive and healthful 8S a
place of residence ...." From a focal concern with government bqildings, his plan for Manila soon
expanded into a broader scheme anticipating its growth. It sought to preserve the city's heritage,
such as Intramuros, and to express its natural qualities including those in its waterways. But there
was no evident desire in his plans to return to medieval picturesqueness, nor did his highly formal
lines betray subservience to nature (Parsons 1915). The plan for Manila provided for a population
expected to increase rapidly and "eventually scatter" with the development of industry, agriculture,
and transportation.
An integrated spatial pattern was prescribed by Burnham for the city, with classic long, straight lines
and rectangular units and, on top of a basic grid, a circulation system radiating from a government
building site near Intramuros. Circumferential and diagonal arteries and parkways would link this
and another building group to the northeast with parks and different sections of the city

Intramuros moats would be converted into greenswards, and Bay areas reclaimed for the extension
of the Luneta park. There would be a new port area and a boulevard along the south shore. Manila
was divided by the major arteries into five broad sections with rectangular street and block
arrangements. The formal lines, especially the diagonals, recalled Burnham's plans for San Francisco,
Chicago, and Washington, DC (Parsons 1915; Shepard 1937)

The plan envisioned colonial comfort in the grand style, for both visitors and residents. Sites were
set aside for national and municipal buildings near'Intramuros and for a group of hospitals, sanitaria,
asylums, and college buildings. Spaces were also allotted for a new residence for the Governor-
General, a potentially "worldfamous" hotel (Manila Hotel), city clubs, a country club, a casino, small
boat clubs, and public baths. (The Army and Navy Club had been built by Admiral Dewey almost as
soon they landed.) Resorts accessible to Manila should be developed, Burnham indicated, but
Baguio City would be the ultimate escape from lowland discomforts as the summer capital and
equivalent of India's Simla.

Implementation ofBurnham's Plans

Parsons viewed Burnham's plans as preliminary. Since Burnham and Anderson stayed in Manila for
only a few days, the plan for Manila "had been drawn from general impressions, rather than from
accurate and detailed surveys." Burnham intended his plan "to be adjusted to meet the developed
real estate and other controlling conditions. However, it is remarkable how closely the executed
work followsthe plan" (Parsons 1915). Burnham incorporated specific projects that had already been
in the works. He had brought to the US detailed plans, descriptions, and sketches for the conversion
of the Intramuros moats, the Luneta extension, and the Bayshore boulevard construction. Surveys
ofcity streets had been completed for the purpose of establishing building lines and expropriating or
extending rights-of-way (Manila·MB 19~5).

Work on the Manila plan began three days after its approval. (Rebori #11 1917). In June 1905
provisions were made by the Philippine Commission to continue harbor improvements, to begin the,
Luneta extension, and set aside a site for the Manila Hotel. Additional park areas were allocated in
1907 and 1908, the city subsequently acquired extensive suburban areas, and reclamation for the
port area began in 1913 (Shepard 1937; Parsons 1915; "The New Manila" 1911).

The years up to 1914 were ones of rapid achievements for Parsons. By then, much ofthe arterial
framework had been built with public and semi-public buildings. Large moat areas had been
converted, and land reclaimed for the Luneta, Manila Hotel (completed in 1912), and the Bayshore
boulevard. According to one observer, Manila was among the first cities under American rule to
systematically develop and execute comprehensive plans. (Parsons 1915;"The New Manila" 1911).
 On the other hand, Baguio had the distinction of being the first new city planned by Burnham and of
being built within eight years.

Departures from the plans were made in both Manila and Baguio City. For example, the number and
alignment ofrailway lines in Manila were altered, and a station instead of a terminal was built in Paco.
Changes were also made in the zoning of Pandacan from residential to industrial and park uses.
(Arellano 1919; Mapua 1920:21).

Construction activities in Manila levelled off during the second decade, but most improvements that
occurred followed Burnham's plan as closely as possible. Upon the Governor General's urging, general
plans for Cebu and Zamboanga cities were prepared before Parsons left, and master plans for others like
Iloilo were made in the third decade. A "Metropolitan Plan" for Manila was also prepared by the Division
of Architecture, Bureau of Public Works, but its outcome is unknown (Rebori #11 1917; BPW 1929). '
Despite the preparation of other plans, city planning was only gradually institutionalized. Parsons'
Consulting Architect post was apparently the nucleus of the Division of Architecture in the Insular
Bureau of Public Works. It was not until 1920 that the position of City Architect was created in Manila
(Shepard 1937; Governor General 1920). The private sector also seemed slow to organize. A park
committee was created in 1908 and reconstituted in 1911, but a "Manila Beautiful" movement was
organized by a citizens committee only in 1925 (Shepard 1937)

Civic Architecture and Policy Issues

Apart from the departures from the Burnham plan, controversies closer to their professional interests
exercised the architects. These pertained mostly to the design of public buildings, but raised issues
ofprinciple and policy regarding public and private places. The Americans were appreciative of their
"acquired architecture" in the Philippines, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Honolulu. They particularly valued the
adaptations discernible in both the native constructions and the architecture brought by the Spaniards.
On the other hand, "architectural Americanization," as in Honolulu; was criticized.

Parsons encouraged similar adaptations. The Normal School, built in 1914, had projecting upper stories
and continuous window surfaces. The Manila Hotel also featured horizontal lines of wide, canopied
windows and small concrete wall surfaces. The Philippine General Hospital was likewise "designed to
meet tropical conditions by means of pavilions connected on both floors and open arcades," with
extremely simple exterior and depending alone on arches and tropical foliage for effect

Parsons introduced changes in building materials. The colonial government had started to use Oregon
pine and GI sheets. The pine attracted anay, and GI sheets were viewed as an abomination. Instead, for
greater durability, especially against earthquakes, Parsons used Philippine hardwoods and reinforced
concrete in all public buildings. Reinforced concrete had the added advantage of being amenable to
unskilled labor. (Rebori #1 & #11 1917; "TheNew Manila" 1911). The architecture espoused by Parsons
was viewed as both characteristic ofthe Philippines and based on classic traditions. It was strictly
functional; even the colonnades ofthe Paco Station (1914), with its garlanded American eagle, were put
in "for circulation and not mere decoration." Provincial capitols, public markets, and schools were
likewise premised on relations between openings and solids, not decor and color, and were uniformly
elegant (Rebori #11 1917). Parsons' architecture, however, was criticized by his 'successor, Ralph fii'
Harrington Doane (1916-1918) as too severely bare for a people so long exposed to Latin influences

The Philippine government, Doane believed, could embark on a new architectural era since its coffers
were full from the economic prosperity that the colony was enjoying at the time. It had in fact begun to
do so with a number of structures (PNB, Insular Government Building, Jones bridge, Post Office,
Malacanang Executive Building). The Division ofArchitecture was staffed by only 50 employees, and only
five Filipino architects were trained abroad. With staff expansion and more training, Doane argued, it
could meet growing demands for service and get away from the tender mercies of inept maestros de
obras and monotonous architecture (Doane 1918).

Plan Implementation and Institutional Form Architecture under the American regime was expressive
enough of the prevailing culture, but not of Filipino culture. Burnham and his successors articulated
values that were American in crucial respects and yet retentive of the

Islands' colonial past. These were supported by a basic consensus at the social, professional, and
institutional levels. Top officials shared the planners' solicitude for businessmen, colonial careerists, and
"Manila society," for whose comfort and convenience all manner offacilities and a" whole new mountain
city were provided. However, there were debates and divergencies on matters of both minor and major
importance. Here'we will be concerned with the institutional as well as professional aspects of urban
planning and implementation.

The implementation of plans for Manila was facilitated by several factors. One well-noted factor was the
bond between the city and national governments. The new charter granted to Manila (Act No.
183,1901) provided for a board ofthree members appointed by the Governor General, along with an
advisory body representing eleven districts. The national government controlled the city budget and
accounts, and supplied health services to the city. In 1916, the municipal board, now with ten members,
was made elective, but the mayor remained .- appointive. In 1927, a metropolitan Manila structure and
the centralization of certain municipal functions were proposed, but this move did not prosper (Shepard
1937; Plehn 1901).

The Commonwealth and Immediate Postwar Period

When the Commonwealth was inaugurated, Manila had been far from being' the only concern ofthe
national planners. "Town planning" throughout the country was given a boost by an Interior Department
order in 1936 to create local planning commissions composed of the Provincial Governor, district
engineer, and other local officials. These bodies were to survey local conditions and submit tentative
plans to the Director of Public Works. Town planning, however, still had the flavor of recency

City planning experienced even greater centralization toward the 1940s - no wonder under a
Commonwealth President who brooked no "democratic nonsense" by appointing city mayors. By 1940,
city planning had shifted upward to Malacafiang, with the arrival of another foreign expert, Louis P.
Croft. Croft prepared a reconstruction plan for a burned area in Tondo, but this was overtaken by the
war. In 1945, Croft reemerged as head of a City Planning Office in Malacanang, With Filipino planners
and US military architects, he prepared a metropolitan thoroughfare plan and, later, a downtown Manila
plan (Arguilla 1950). Just what happened to these plans is unclear to us. The next few years of the
postwar period would see rapid changes in the institutional framework for urban planning.'The City
Planning Officewas converted into a national Urban Planning Commission in 1946, some of whose
functions in turn were shared by a Real Property Board created in 1947 and a Capital City (Quezon City)
Planning Commission in 1948.

t pre-Spanish Filipinos had any tradition of urbanism, community design, or monumental architecture
(Reed 1967; Arguilla 1950). Their settlements, however, followed discernible patterns that hinted of
planning. A Spanish chronicler had noted in 1609 that their dwellings were "built in a uniform manner"
and their settlements were always located on seashores or between rivers and creeks. Dwellings were
typically dispersed, their concentration depending on ecological and economic conditions, including the
prevailing mode of cultivation. Due to their relative economic sufficiency, wet-rice cultivators showed
greater latitude in their settlements and architecture (Keesing 1962). An American observer went so far
as to say that pre-Spanish Filipinos "built and lived in planned houses (and) dwelt often in ordered cities
and towns...." (Russell 1922). No evidence was cited to support the latter assertion, but Manila supplied
some of it. The original settlement, which existed before the 13th century, was situated on the south
bank ofthe Pasig. This bank was mostly mangrove swamps. A larger island closer to the river's mouth
was created by filling and there a village and trading post set up in 1500

Spanish Colonial Town Planning

According to the royal ordinances, each town should be located on vacant and high ground, properly
oriented to sun, wind, and water areas, and on or near fertile land, sources of fuel, timber, water, and
means of access. It should have a grid layout, with the main plaza as the starting point for construction.
The main and smaller plazas should be surrounded by the principal buildings - the main plaza by the
principal church, Royal and Town Council House, Custom-House, Arsenal, and the hospital adjoining the
church.

Planning and Development of Spanish Manila Whether Manila and other cities conformed strictly with
anyone "Hispanic masterplan" is an interesting question. According to one author, the plaza complex
was a 17th century invention transmitted to the Philippines via Mexico. But Philip II's ordinances,
following 15th and 16th century Italian urban ideals, did prescribe a uniform style for construction,
street width, cornices and moldings, and town plazas. Towns and cities throughout the empire followed
a standard gridiron layout (Reed 1967).

The city was made the colonial capital in 1595. Legaspi marked out its perimeter and main public places,
and left further subdivision to the city council, Despite his town planners' "broad vision," the original city
was crudely constructed. When he died in 1572, only a small section (Fort Santiago) had been enclosed.
A palisade was built around the city in 1574, after a nearly successful attack by Limahong, the Chinese
pirate. In subsequent decades, architects and engineers were brought over from Spain to plan a Manila
of stone and thus correct the city's "poor impression on pagan Indians and Chinese." It was completely
enclosed by thick stone walls only after 1600,.followinga local Chinese uprising and a damaging fire.
With Manila's reconstruction, stone came in more frequent use in new buildings, fortifications, and
other structures.