The current estimated population of the Metro Manila area is a little over 13 million. Of course, that number is only a guess, especially when you try to define “Metro Manila” beyond simple legal terms. For those of us that live here, Metro Manila can mean almost everywhere, from Bulacan to Cavite. Actually, if you include that big Greater Metro Manila, the population number rises to 24 million.
Even forgetting about the daily population surge of workers that swell the numbers, help clog the transportation and put a strain on both infrastructure and services, it will only get more crowded.
Metro Manila is officially—by the UN’s definition—a megacity, along with such diverse places as New York City and Dhaka, Bangladesh. In 1950 only 30 percent of the global population lived in cities. Since then, the percentages have reversed now with only 30 percent living in what are considered rural areas. This has created new economic opportunities, along with the new problems those massive amounts of urban dwellers face.
The Brookings Institution—a century-old American research group—has tried to make some sense of all this and project some sense of order into this migration. It has identified seven general types of cities, which include the megacities. The designations tell an interesting story. In no particular order are: Global Giants, like Tokyo, Japan; Emerging Gateways, such as Warsaw, Poland; Asian Anchors, led by Sinagpore; and Factory China, with Dalian, China, on top.
San Jose, California, with its Silicon Valley, is at the top of the Knowledge Capitals. Medium-sized American cities, such as Sacramento, California, have their own classification: American Middleweights. International Middleweights include Perth, Australia, and Munich, Germany.
The Giants are economic and financial centers. The Asian Anchors get the most foreign investment. Gateways are regional centers of commerce, while Factory China speaks for itself. The Knowledge Capitals are centers for learning and innovation, while the Middleweights will probably always be in the “middle” economically.
Brookings points out that these designations are not any sort of “ranking” in terms of quality of life or whatever. They are simply a way to describe and lump together different global cities.
Manila is currently considered the fourth-largest Megacity behind Tokyo-Yokohama, Jakarta and Delhi. So, by now, you are probably asking the same question we are asking: Where do we fit in the Brookings Institution classifications?
Nowhere, and we don’t.
There are 125 cities in those seven categories, and they cannot find a spot that Manila would fit into. Either we are so diversified that we defy a single definition, or we are so confusing no one can figure out what or who we are.
But never fear. The International Monetary Fund does have a spot for the Philippines. We are only one of five “Key Emerging Markets of the Future”. By 2030 the Philippines is expected to have shown one of the highest growth rates of the middle-class economic group in the world. By then, Brookings may have to make a new category just for us.
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Mega Manila(Bulacan,Rizal,Metro Manila,Laguna,Cavite and Infanta(Real,Infanta,Gen.Nakar),Quezon. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4e17912cf6768c730ecbddd195c1a9fbddfbabbe566db84b2d9e7042c80fb9ad.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a0ea8b144c3fc0f109a56601608634fcd5be953dda962aa46fcd8b1d2df9a29e.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/26ca893d29f0393b169afe6c2cfd13beaa9a457eb0486367379c0117a3391099.png
By 2030 we should already have Mega Manila. An agglomeration of provinces with continuous urban area which include the provinces of Bulacan,Rizal,Manila,Laguna,Cavite and Infanta, Quezon. It will be the solution to the congestion problem of Metro Manila. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/87c4a3acd0c1a53b4e57a73262015af7f7feefdc92fcc28e8f4a38d08f673653.jpg