Sustainable Housing in Navotas, the Philippines - A Minor Field Study on Low-income Housing in Disaster Prone Areas

Abstract: The study is about the housing situation of the urban poor in Navotas in Metro Manila, the Philippines. It is a field study carried out in Manila, a city with 13 million inhabitants, where people live in an already congested area and at the same time people from the provinces move there to pursue jobs and the promise of a better life. Unfortunately, the people often first end up living on the streets or in slum areas. During the field work several housing improvement organizations, both governmental and non-governmental, were contacted and their work was studied. The field study made it apparent that improving housing conditions is a complex issue and that not only technical assistance that is needed but that there are deeper rooted problems as well.