Faced with Forced Relocation, the People of One Philippine City Designed Their Own Climate-resilient Neighborhood

This case study describes the Manggahan Low Rise Building Project in Pasig City, Philippines, where residents of informal settlements collaborated with government and NGO partners to design and build climate-resilient housing to avoid forced relocation following Typhoon Ondoy.

• Following the devastation of Typhoon Ondoy in 2009, which brought a month's worth of rain to the Manila metro area in under 24 hours, the Philippine government sought to relocate 40,000 people living in informal settlements along the Manggahan Floodway, with some destinations up to 60 miles away from Manila.
• The Alliance of Peoples’ Organizations Along Manggahan Floodway (APOAMF) responded to eviction threats by launching the 'People’s Plan' in 2010. This participatory process allowed residents to collaborate with an architect and government officials to design a housing alternative located on an embankment to mitigate flood risk.
• The resulting Manggahan Low Rise Building Project utilizes specific design features to resist floods and typhoons, including thick walls and ceilings, strong materials, elevated water tanks, and strategic structural beam placement. Construction began in 2017, with a goal of 15 buildings and 900 units; 480 families have already moved into rent-to-own apartments.
• The project serves as a model for locally led climate resilience for the approximately 1 billion people worldwide living in informal settlements. It demonstrates how partnerships between governments and urban poor communities to co-create adaptation solutions can prevent forced climate migration and build urban resilience.

APA

World Resources Institute (2020). Faced with Forced Relocation, the People of One Philippine City Designed Their Own Climate-resilient Neighborhood. https://www.wri.org/insights/faced-forced-relocation-people-one-philippine-city-designed-their-own-climate-resilient

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Faced with Forced Relocation, the People of One Philippine City Designed Their Own Climate-resilient Neighborhood. 2020. https://www.wri.org/insights/faced-forced-relocation-people-one-philippine-city-designed-their-own-climate-resilient.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Faced with Forced Relocation, the People of One Philippine City Designed Their Own Climate-resilient Neighborhood |date=6 January 2020 |url=https://www.wri.org/insights/faced-forced-relocation-people-one-philippine-city-designed-their-own-climate-resilient |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2020faced, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Faced with Forced Relocation, the People of One Philippine City Designed Their Own Climate-resilient Neighborhood}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2020}, month = jan, url = {https://www.wri.org/insights/faced-forced-relocation-people-one-philippine-city-designed-their-own-climate-resilient}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }