The Patchwork City: Class, Space, and Politics in Metro Manila

by Marco Z Garrido

In contemporary Manila, slums and squatter settlements are peppered throughout the city, often pushing right up against the walled enclaves of the privileged, creating the complex geopolitical pattern of Marco Z. Garrido’s “patchwork city.” Garrido documents the fragmentation of Manila into a mélange of spaces defined by class, particularly slums and upper- and middle-class enclaves. He then looks beyond urban fragmentation to delineate its effects on class relations and politics, arguing that the proliferation of these slums and enclaves and their subsequent proximity have intensified class relations. For enclave residents, the proximity of slums is a source of insecurity, compelling them to impose spatial boundaries on slum residents. For slum residents, the regular imposition of these boundaries creates a pervasive sense of discrimination. Class boundaries then sharpen along the housing divide, and the urban poor and middle class emerge not as labor and capital but as squatters and “villagers,” Manila’s name for subdivision residents. Garrido further examines the politicization of this divide with the case of the populist president Joseph Estrada, finding the two sides drawn into contention over not just the right to the city, but the nature of democracy itself.

The Patchwork City illuminates how segregation, class relations, and democracy are all intensely connected.  It makes clear, ultimately, that class as a social structure is as indispensable to the study of Manila—and of many other cities of the Global South—as race is to the study of American cities.
 

Genres: Sociology, Nonfiction, Urban Studies

288 pages, Paperback

Published August 5, 2019

Reviews

[rafael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterclass in spatial, social, and political ethnography. I was blown away by the depth and quality of reflection, storytelling, and analysis. Certain parts of the book also made me feel "seen" (as the more hip and youthful among us would say).

Garrido's study of spatial inequality and urban fragmentation informs current debates on populism and class relations. I won't get into the meat of his argument; you'll have to read the book yourself. Suffice it so say that this study provides a much-needed rebuttal to the privileged upper-middle class notion that all the poor need is "voter education" and they will vote for the "right" people.

Borders imposed by the affluent are experienced by the urban poor as discrimination. At the same time, the wealthy feel a distinct sense of "electoral siege" against masses of people they consider to be devoid of civility and education. The result is disillusionment with the democratic process. Insightful as well is Garrido's use of the concepts of interspersion, dissensus, and categorical inequality to weave a sociological narrative that is at once incisive and harrowing.

This should be required reading for every urban dweller, especially in the Global South. One thing I feel might work against the book's favor is that it is decidedly Filipino. There is much to be learned here about cities and democratic dynamics in the developing world, but if you cannot bring yourself to care about the Philippines, this book might not be for you.

[Arianna Lim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this ethnography should be required reading in Manila schools! Great to have the social, spatial, and political nuances of your own city so clearly articulated to you.

[Samuel Kalergis]

¿Cómo se origina y qué consecuencias políticas tiene la desigualdad categórica? Este libro responde de la siguiente forma:

Primero, en Metro Manila (Filipinas) la intercalación entre condominios y poblaciones en el espacio urbano produce un sentimiento de hostigamiento en las clases medias-altas, lo que los motiva a imponer barreras sociales y físicas. En consecuencia, generan una sensación de discriminación en las clases bajas.

Segundo, esta discriminación, producto por el trato desigual, tiene consecuencias en la forma en que las clases interpretan la política – eventos, actores, etc. En determinados momentos, esta situación puede llevar a periodos de disenso: cuando actores observan el mismo fenómeno pero lo interpretan de forma opuesta. Equivalente a cuando Sebastían Piñera dice que "Chile es un verdadero Oasis" dentro de América Latina y una semana después Chile estalla. Precisamente, esto fue lo que pasó con EDSA 3, una movilización, por parte de actores de clase baja, para prevenir que el presidente Joseph Estrada, un populista bastante incivil, sea puesto en prisión. Esta movilización ocurre tras EDSA 2, otra movilización, esta vez por parte de actores de clase media-alta, que tuvo como consecuencia la destitución y enjuiciamiento de Estrada.

En política, la forma de manejar estas situaciones de disenso, lo cual coincide (según el autor) con la clave del éxito de Joseph Estrada en clases pobres, es el respeto, la negación del estigma, no instrumentalizar a las clases bajas sino que intentar comprender su interpretación de la política.

Es un libro interesante, que permite introducirse a la sociedad y política de Filipinas, sin embargo, tengo los siguientes resquemores: (1) ¿qué tanto este sentimiento de intercalación (interspersion) es relevante para explicar el sentimiento de desigualdad categórica? El autor no presenta una comparación entre casos con mayor o menor intercalación social y, pensando en Santiago de Chile, donde hay una fuerte separación urbana de clase, este sentimiento está presente. (2) en la conclusión menciona una idea que me hubiera gustado que la profundizará más en la segunda mitad del libro. Según el autor el compromiso con la democracia de las clases sociales es bastante débil, pero por diferente razones. Mientras las clases medias-altas no están dispuestas a sacrificar la civilidad (prefieren un "buen" dictador por sobre un Joseph Estrada), las clases bajas tienen un compromiso instrumental con la democracia.

[Hopie · Rating 5 out of 5]

great, well-sourced ethnography on urban structure + politics in Metro Manila. learned so much!!! big thanks to Professor Garrido for an excellent two quarters :)

[K1c · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the sharpest, clearest and most urgent applications of bourdieu in social analysis, masterstroke after masterstroke

[jc 🥣 · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was fine; the writing in the beginning is so dry, it feels like scaling up a stony temple in the desert when i’m reading it, and unfortunately this stretches out through the book. but i think the author’s heart is in the right place. to invoke a much more poignantly written book that meditates on the same concerns as this one, the patchwork city, to borrow the words of andre ortega in his Neoliberalizing Spaces in the Philippines, deals with how the urban poor are caught in the eyes of the middle-class gaze—they are unwanted bodies that must be moved somewhere. but these bodies are still bodies, able-minded, agent, and are put thru the ringer of survival, and they make decisions they think (incorrectly, of course) are best to serve them. hence the political dynamics of the philippines casts them a scornful eye, as erap and even duterte are sources of spectacle that seemingly, and again, incorrectly, champions the urban poor. i love ortega’s book so much more because it deals with the theory of space head-on, detailed accounts later. this one wants to weigh in affect, and i think that’s noble, but a degree of good writing should be able to match that. the political circus in this country is doomed anyways; one should always look on to the horizon of the revolution

[Tito Quiling, Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a strong work on urban studies, histories, and sociology that details the social and class inequalities between the Philippine middle- and working-classes. Framed by the political strategies of two main Philippine presidents (Estrada and Macapagal-Arroyo), the historical references are also grounded by the presidencies of Corazon Aquino and Duterte, which foregrounds the populist appeal across their public personae. The highlight of the work is the immersive quality of ethnographic analyses that engages with the two socioeconomic classes and their social spaces. Garrido allows their voices to be represented, apart from his own insights as an urban sociologist.

[WJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Urban Ethnography of Asia

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Such an interesting theme butchered by a small mind and its petty agenda!

[szymborskalyte · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enjoyable read but can’t say I learned anything from it.

[Bryan Thomas Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning and insightful study of relations between the middle class in the poor in the largest city in the Philippines. Well, researched and documented with plenty of citations, and a very good bibliography, this is also a very good read, unlike others can be with such academic themes. Thoroughly compelling. Highly recommended.