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The document explores how residents of Metro Manila define being and becoming middle class, highlighting a diversity of markers including employment, consumption, and values. It examines the intersection of social mobility and migration, noting that Metro Manila serves as a hub for internal migrants and a transit point for international migration, with remittances and family support networks playing key roles in achieving middle-class status.

The Manggahan Low Rise Building Project in Pasig City, Philippines, serves as a model for locally led climate resilience. Following the devastation of Typhoon Ondoy in 2009, residents of informal settlements along the Manggahan Floodway formed the Alliance of Peoples Organizations Along Manggahan Floodway (APOAMF) to oppose government plans for forced relocation up to 60 miles away. Through the 2010 "People Plan," residents collaborated with architects and government officials to design a flood- and typhoon-resistant apartment complex on an embankment. The project aims for 15 buildings with 900 units, with 480 families already moved into rent-to-own apartments. The case highlights the importance of co-creating adaptation solutions with marginalized urban populations to build city-wide resilience and avoid climate-induced migration.