“Manila: Future Habitations” – Harvard University Graduate School of Design, President and Fellows of Harvard College

Extraordinary cities are diverse in their populations, economic conditions, and opportunities, weaving a fabric of positive conditions holistically. The isolationist gated communities and internal cities of Metro Manila – neighborhoods where independent centers of commerce and population are established – are not sustainable. The trend of Manila developments is increasing the isolation of communities and fostering greater infrastructure challenges realized in elevated traffic and pollution, while increasing the extreme economic conditions that are not resilient. The studio exploration involved the breadth of design disciplines and research, weaving landscape, architecture, and urbanism. Research, ideation, and the resultant publication, Manila: Future Habitations, was shared with Philippine government officials and agencies with oversight in aspiration of positively informing the prospect of change.