Urbanism and Settlements in Mindanao: Centering the Built Environment in Mindanao History, Culture, and Society
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2022
Abstract
The Philippines stands as an excellent example of how the local and the everyday operate symbiotically with the global and the hitherto faraway. the coming together of East and West by way of trade; migration; colonization; globalization; and the subsequent creation of new and distinct cultures as manifested in the built environment. A preeminent display of this case is Mindanao; the region with by far the highest ethno-linguistic; religious; and cultural diversity in the country. Apart from the vast number of non-Christian and non-Muslim indigenous tribes; also known as the `Lumad`; Mindanao culture and settlements patterns today have been heavily shaped by indigenous Muslims; communities of Christian converts; the imprint of Spanish and US-American colonization and capitalist expansion; pre-war Chinese and Japanese immigration; and systematic settlement by Filipinos from all over the archipelago since World War II. Recent patterns of migration by Koreans and Chinese add to the colorful kaleidoscope of people and cultures that is Mindanao today. These waves of mobility are reflected in its diverse settlement patterns that form its built environment; defined as the organization of space; time; cultural landscapes; and systems of material settings and social institutions. The built environment embodies the history of society as the locale where the flow of products ; people; ideas; and relationships take place. An analysis of any society will be incomplete without emphasizing its material and physical setting which; along with actors and their competencies; and institutions and norms; supports and shapes the bioecological and sociocultural character of everyday life. Hence; this chapter’s emphasis on the built environment as an adaptation to the social; physical; historical and institutional context of city centers; registers the various impetus for urban transformation. This applies especially the intentional and unintentional shaping of the material world and resources in order to achieve particular goals. Some of the imperative functions of the built environment are meeting needs for optimal protection from natural elements and hostile groups; access to food and the essentials of life; integration of social groups; and the creation and transmission of culture.
Recommended Citation
Akpedonu, Erik and Czarina Saloma, (2022), “Urbanism and Settlements in Mindanao: Centering the Built Environment in Mindanao History, Culture, and Society”. Canuday, Jose Jowel and Joselito Sescon (eds.), Transfiguring Mindanao: A Mindanao Reader, n/a, 85-112.
