TRACING BURNHAM’S MANILA
UNDERSTANDING WESTERN INFLUENCE IN FILIPINO URBAN PLANNING
PLANNING
2017
“The dive into the Orient has been like a dream. The lands, the people and their customs are all very strange and of absorbing interest. It surprises me to find how much this trip has modified my views, not only regarding the extreme East, but regarding ourselves and our European precedents. It will take time to get a true perspective of it all in my mind… We design to produce a condition… which shall make Manila what the Spaniards used to call it ‘The Pearl of the Orient.’” - Daniel Burnham
Comparing Burnham’s Chicago to Manila
Reference Studies (Axial Planning and the Plan of Manila)
A Closer Comparison
The notion of City Beautiful captured the heart of numerous Americans, and westerners alike. It’s implications were widespread in the early 20th century, decorating the east and west coast of the united states--thus acting as the catalyst of a new form of Urban Planning. While cities like San Francisco and Washington D.C were carefully crafted and flourished as prime examples of the movement, Chicago was the pivotal city which redefined city planning, and encapsulated the city beautiful movement. Thousands of miles away, the land of the Philippines experienced the same intrigue. This was no accident.
Manila and Bagiuo were some of the first international cities to be planned by an American. The plan was released in 1905, 4 years before the plan of Chicago, and 12 years after the World’s Fair in Chicago. This paper will trace the physical and theoretical relationships between both cities, proving that Burnham used both cities to test his ideal “city” from the World’s Fair. It will also uncover the imperialist nature of the Philippine Commission and Daniel Burnham, and the ramifications it had on Manila and fellow filipinos across the country.
Contact me for the paper.
Manila and Bagiuo were some of the first international cities to be planned by an American. The plan was released in 1905, 4 years before the plan of Chicago, and 12 years after the World’s Fair in Chicago. This paper will trace the physical and theoretical relationships between both cities, proving that Burnham used both cities to test his ideal “city” from the World’s Fair. It will also uncover the imperialist nature of the Philippine Commission and Daniel Burnham, and the ramifications it had on Manila and fellow filipinos across the country.
Contact me for the paper.