While urban renewal has modernized parts of Metro Manila, it has also deepened social and spatial inequalities, according to state-run policy think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).

In a Dec. 16 discussion paper titled “Urban Revitalization and Shelter Inadequacy: A Geospatial Analysis,” PIDS research specialist Jenica A. Ancheta, vice president Marife M. Ballesteros, and supervising research specialist Tatum P. Ramos said that although revitalization improved housing quality and increased residential supply, affordable housing remains concentrated in peripheral areas, reinforcing geographic disparities and gentrification pressures.

PIDS highlighted that revitalization projects have reshaped Metro Manila’s urban landscape, fueling high-density, mixed-use developments and driving up land values. However, the think tank stressed that the benefits of urban revitalization are not evenly distributed, noting that “gains are spatially uneven,” with areas adjacent to redevelopment zones constrained by limited improvements and ongoing environmental risks.

“While affordable housing developments are pushed beyond the peripheral boundaries,” PIDS said, “we note pockets of urban poor areas interspersed between hotspot areas and core districts, indicating market dualism, whereby a housing market in poor or undeveloped settlements coexists with speculative markets from business development firms.”

The think tank added that land values in revitalized Metro Manila areas have surged by an average of 500 to 600 percent within three kilometers (km), with even higher increases closer in, highlighting the gap between low-income communities and those near redevelopment zones.

The PIDS paper warned that despite the wealth generated by urban revitalization projects, benefits for public interest and equitable housing remain limited, with low-income households facing significant displacement.

To address these challenges, PIDS emphasized the importance of inclusive urban planning, recommending policies such as mixed-income zoning, transit-oriented development (TOD), and community land trusts to ensure more equitable growth in Metro Manila.

It urged the government, both national and local, to actively allocate land for affordable housing, including through expropriation and zoning regulation, instead of relying on land revenues.

PIDS added that national and local governments should require mixed-income planning in urban revitalization projects, including infrastructure initiatives such as TOD. Funds from balanced housing regulations could be used to co-finance these projects, it noted, emphasizing that urban revitalization must include existing low-income communities, ensuring they benefit from, rather than are excluded by, development.

The think tank further recommended that the government implement ownership expropriation for community land trust housing programs, where land remains in trust and is managed according to corporate guidelines rather than market forces.

The PIDS paper also called for further studies to prompt government action on the country’s housing crisis. Recommended research includes examining the links between housing inequality, socio-spatial polarization, and public health; estimating the wealth generated by urban revitalization projects and how much of it benefits the public; and analyzing how urbanization and economic agglomeration contribute to city and regional development, it said.