Metro Manila is the capital region of the Philippines, composed of 16 cities and one municipality covering an area of 636 square kilometers. It has a population of over 11 million people and is the center of political, economic, social and cultural activity in the country. The region has experienced rapid urbanization and population growth since the mid-20th century, resulting in high population density and traffic congestion challenges. Traffic congestion costs the Philippine economy over $3 billion annually and results from an imbalance between private vehicle usage and limited road infrastructure in Metro Manila.

1. Metro Manila
URBAN SOCIOLOGY
Jomari L. Gavino
Metro Manila
 A metropolitan region composed of 16 cities and 1 municipality
 Political, economic, social, cultural, and educational center of the Philippines
 Area of 636 sq. km., less than .5 % of the total land area of the Philippines
 25 kilometers from north to south and 12 kilometers from east to west
 Bounded by Manila Bay on the west, Sierra Madre mountains to the east, plains of Central Luzon to the North and Laguna Bay to the
South
 Located along flat alluvial and deltaic lands and extends to the higher rugged lands surrounding Marikina valley in the east
 Population: 11.6 million (2007 census), 13% of the Philippine population
 20 million if including outer suburbs
 11
th
most populous city in the world
 Population density of
 18,650 persons per sq.km
Origins
 Originally a tribal village at the mouth of the Pasig River
 In 1521, Spanish came to the Philippines
 Became a capital of Spanish colonial rule centered in the walled city of Intramuros
 As early as 1571, the roots of an urban form were established
Growth
1950-1970
 Private sector development in Makati in the late 50s and early 60s
 Infill development on open lands
 Industrial and residential development intensified eastwards & southwards
 By 1975, 17 distinct and separate cities and municipalities have spatially merged
1980-1990
 Contained 50% of all large industrial and service establishments and 45% of all medium-sized industrial and service establishments in the
country
 Accounted for nearly half of the industrial output of the whole country and contributed 31% of the national GDP.
 Urbanized area occupied over 700 sq.km. and extended beyond its geographic-political boundaries
Population growth
1875 – 150,000
1900s – 328,939
1948 – 1.6 million
1975 – 4.9 million
1995 – 9 million
2007 – 12 million
Between 1948 and 1966 urbanized area increased by 260 percent
Traffic Congestion
 when vehicles travelatslower speeds because there are more vehicles than the road can handle. This makes trip times longer. This is also
known as a traffic jam.
10 Alarming FactsAbout Traffic in Metro Manila:
1. In 2013, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) listed a total of 2,101,148 motor vehicles registered in NCR or 27% of the country's 7,690,038 total
registered motor vehicles. In 2015, the total motor vehicles in Metro Manila has already peaked at 2.5 million.
2. Metro Manila has only 1,032 kilometers of roads or 3.5% of the total 39,370 kilometers of roadsnationwide. The National Capital Region has only
one kilometer of road per 424 vehicles.
3. The traffic demand in Metro Manila is at 12.8 million trips. 69% of these total trips are done using public transport yet only 22% of the road space is
occupied by public vehicles. The other 78% of road space is taken by private vehicles.
4. A study by the National Center for Transportation Studies saysthat the heavy traffic in Metro Manila cost the country 137.5 billion pesos in 2011.
5. The total population of Metro Manila as of 2010 is already at 11,855,975 which is almost 12% of the total population of the Philippines. The total
land area of Metro Manila (638 square kilometers) is only 0.21% of the total land area of the Philippines (300,000 square kilometers).
6. Manila, Paterosand Caloocan are the top 3 most densely populated cities in the world. Manila has a population density of 42,857 people living per
square kilometer.
7. As of 2010, the number of informal settler families in Metro Manila is already more than half a million. This number is already 20% of the total
number of household in Metro Manila. 41% of these informal settlers are located in government owned lands while 34% are in privately owned lands.
8. 20% of the total income of the poor in Metro Manila is spent on transportation. This percentage is more than what they spend for rice (15% ),
utilities (6.97% ), health (2.99% ), clothing (2.96% ) and education (3.37% ).
9. 85% of air pollution in Metro Manila comes from vehicles.
10. According to a COA report, a P1.314- billion allocation from the Disbursement Acceleration Programfor the rehabilitation of Light Rail Transit1 and
2 was released in full by the Aquino’sadministration in January 2014. However, the rehabilitation projects have not yet been implemented due to
severalproject revisions. In the same month, the MMDA has launched a new traffic signalling system worth P290 million.