Opportunities and Insecurities: Globalisation, Localities and the Struggle for Urban Land in Manila

Abstract

Globalisation is a contradictory process: integration on a global scale is connected to processes of fragmentation within world cities. The juxtaposition of global and local, rich and poor, skyscrapers and squatter shacks is characteristic of Manila as of every other metropolis. Based on an empirical study of squatter areas, the research found that everyday life in the locality is the major basis for the emergence of organised groups. Local associations form alliances with NGOs, mobilise the support of the media and church, and force politicians and land developers to take their existence into consideration. The paramount goal of squatter organisations is habitat defence and security of tenure. Despite many setbacks, they have made considerable progress in recent years.