As the year 2013 draws to a close, it is customary for many to look back at what has transpired in this year. For many, especially us Filipinos, 2013 has been a year of upheavals as the country faced a midterm election, worsening corruption, and the whammy of natural calamities that befell especially in the central part of the country. These calamities, especially that of the wrath of the Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) wrought destruction in proportions that was unprecedented in recent years that it seems that it will take some more time before recovery in this area can be achieved. While Metro Manila was spared of such destruction…
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The Metropolis and its Capital Dreams (Part III)
After the end of World War II in 1945, Manila was in a state of total devastation. With most of the city’s infrastructure in near-complete ruin, the first task at hand for a recovering nation was to start anew, in the midst of meager resources the government faced at that time. Thus, the dream of a national capital had to be put on a wayside. Also as a result of Manila’s destruction, those who were fortunate to survive were too traumatized to continue living in the city premises. Thus the trend was for many families to move away to the suburbs, trying to escape the nightmares of war that still…
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The Metropolis and its Capital Dreams: Part II
With the growth of Manila by the 1930s, as well as the congestion that came along with it, Manuel Quezon made it a priority upon his assumption of office as Philippine president of the self-governing Commonwealth government to establish a new capital city for a soon-to-be-independent state. There were a number of considerations that were factored in for a new capital like the available space for expansion and how the area can be not difficult to defend. (the previously Capitol area near Rizal Park was susceptible to attacks from possible naval attacks at Manila Bay) While there were other locations considered like Baguio (which was the country’s summer capital) and…
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The Metropolis and its Capital Dreams: Part I
Recently, there has been a proposal put forth by Philippine Senator Antonio Trillanes to move the capital of the Philippines to a new location, away from the congested, urban planning-challenged, traffic-infested, flood and earthquake-prone Metropolitan Manila. While this Urban Roamer has his doubts as to whether this proposal will push through, (as with many examples, but I digress) it must be noted that this latest proposal is just part of a long and tangled history we have with regards to planning a national capital. Thus, let this entry tell you the saga of a national capital, a story filled with hopes and plans that have been unrealized and gone awry.