The following are studies done by TAO-Pilipinas staff:

Living With Water: Formal Models of Settlements in the Vietnam Mekong Delta
by Arlene Christy D. Lusterio, Executive Director, TAO-Pilipinas

The study looks at sustainable settlements development in river basin and coastal environments. It examines three rural settlements in the Vietnam Mekong Delta: one in the Mekong River basin affected by periodic inundation; and two in the coastal area bordering the South China Sea affected by coastal erosion, storms, and salinity intrusion.

Settlements development in the Delta is anchored on the following policies: to live with and control water; increase agricultural productivity; and alleviate poverty. In line with the above policies, the selected settlements have implemented four main measures: water control system and disaster considerations in planning; compensation and rehabilitation measures for the affected households; poverty reduction; and environmental protection. Environmental protection is mainly focused on the protection of human life, crops and property but misses out on the protection of the natural environment on which the overall survival of the Delta is hinged.

This study was completed through a Research Fellowship given by the Asian Scholarship Foundation. Email the author to request for a copy.

Enhancing the Role of Technical Assistance NGOs in Housing the Poor: A Case Study of TAO-Pilipinas, Inc.
by Faith Varona, Program Coordinator for Research and Publications

The past decades have shown the increasing role of civil society in filling the housing and basic services gap in the Philippines. Technical assistance (TA) NGOs are a recent phenomenon in development work. This study aimed to: identify, understand, and analyze the roles as well as potentials and limitations that TA-NGOs play in facilitating access to housing by the poor in general, by looking at the experience of TAO-Pilipinas in particular; assess the institutional framework affecting the relationships among various actors involved in housing particularly the NGOs, and examine how these actors interact to address the housing needs of the poor; and review selected international experiences and case studies where NGOs play an active role in housing to see to what extent they can be compared to the Philippine situation and analyzed in the thesis.

This study was the author’s thesis for a Masters in Urban Management and Development from the Institute of Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)-Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, funded through a fellowship from the Netherlands Fellowship Program of NUFFIC (The Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education). It is available at the IHS-Rotterdam and HDM-Lund University resource center/library. Email the author to request for a copy.

Integrating Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in Site Planning and House Design of Resettlement Projects
by Geraldine Matabang, Rosalyn-Frances Marcelo, and Beryl Baybay

Albay province in the Bicol region is still in the process of recovery after mudflows at the height of typhoon Reming (Durian) last November 30, 2006 flowed from the slopes of Mayon volcano burying surrounding villages and rendering thousands of families homeless and displaced. The urgent need to provide relocation for displaced families resulted in rapid reconstruction work in areas with less than minimum site development.

The purpose of the study is anchored on “the use of knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience,” as outlined in the Hyogo Framework of Action 2005-2015. Its overall objective is to enhance the disaster resilience of communities through the integration of disaster risk management considerations in the physical (site) planning and design of houses in the resettlement areas. It looked into the post-disaster rehabilitation processes taking place in Albay particularly in the resettlement sites more than a year after typhoon Reming struck, as the local governement has yet to fully re-settle all displaced families. The research output can serve as a guide for stakeholders in developing relocation sites into more disaster-resilient areas for human settlement.

This study is an action-research project funded through the Applied Research Grants for Disaster Reduction Programme by the ProVention Consortium and with support of TAO-Pilipinas, Inc. as host organization. It has been recently published as a monograph and is now available at the TAO office for 140 pesos per copy. For further inquiries, you can call 441-0998 and look for Ms.Geraldine Matabang.

Searching for the Genius Loci: San Juan City Pride of Place
by the Research and Publications Program of TAO-Pilipinas and the UP College of Architecture HTC Laboratory

The process of determining the genius loci of a place is not new. Since the early 80’s efforts have been made, although mainly in Europe and North America, by people in their desire to preserve their sense of place amidst urban development and globalization. In the Philippines, this kind of research is not new although fairly young. A few similar researches have been done in provinces outside of Metro Manila.

In an urban setting, changes brought by rapid urbanization and uncontrolled developments impact on the cultural fabric of a city. In a small city like San Juan that continues to compete with its neighboring cities for development, the danger of losing its unique cultural character and identity and just be swallowed up by the much larger neighboring cities in Metro Manila is always there.

This project wanted to find the city’s uniqueness by identifying and establishing its genius loci or spirit of place. For the city of San Juan, finding that pride of being called “taga-San Juan” and to have one’s roots traced with the first inhabitants of the city. In this age of globalization and information technology, it is always important to know where one’s roots are, like being distinctly a Filipino even in a foreign land. It aimed to get the perception of residents about their town  in socio-cultural and physical aspects, identify and document relevant landscapes, structures, architecture with cultural significance, and raise awareness of people by disseminating information and advocating for the preservation of the town’s unique character, sites, and cultural identity.

This study is a research done by Faith Varona and Angelus Sales of the Research and Publications Program of TAO-Pilipinas, Inc. in collaboration with Arch. Emilio Ozaeta and Arch. Rene Luis Mata of the UP College of Architecture – History, Theory, and Criticism (HTC) Laboratory. The project was funded by the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and was done in 2010.