ABSTRACT

Metro Manila 1 is a large polycentric megacity with a population of more than 12 million people, currently growing at around 1.5 per cent per annum, and with a land area of 636 square kilometres. By 2020 the population of the metropolitan area, also known as the National Capital Region (NCR) of the Philippines, is expected to reach 13.4 million (City Mayors, 2009). Metro Manila is located in the southwest of the island of Luzon, on an isthmus bounded by Manila Bay to the west, a large shallow lake (Laguna de Bay) to the southeast and the Sierra Madre Range of hills and volcanoes to the east and northeast. Most of the city lies on a large, wide flood plain, divided by the Pasig River. In reality the metropolitan area spreads beyond the seventeen cities that make up the NCR to include also adjoining urbanized areas in the surrounding provinces of Bulacan (north), Rizal (east) and Cavite and Laguna (south). The population of this Greater Manila area is close to 18 million, making it the seventh largest megacity in Asia (Laquian, 2005).