Making Sense of the City

by Remmon E. Barbaza (Editor)

Making Sense of the City is a collection of essays from scholars in the humanities and the social sciences examining the city within the Philippine context. With Metro Manila bursting at the seams, as tensions continue to intensify and more intractable problems arise than those that are being solved, it becomes a matter of survival for all stakeholders to come together and shape the future of the city.

Online copy: archium ateneo edu/cgi/viewcontent cgi?article=1039&context=philo-faculty-pubs

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays

235 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Enzo Miguel De Borja · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book containing multiple perspectives on how to make sense of the city. The essays are fascinating but I take issue with Gravador-Pancho's use of a dominant masculine-repressed feminine dichotomy in illustrating sex(edness) in the city. Rodriguez and Barbaza's essays, however, are rousing and insightful.

[Ivan Labayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

potentially useful historical tidbits (the first essay and the role of the bases conversion development authority in gentrifying spaces in pampanga; the fourth essay and cabaret and cockpit culture in pre-war manila;) but overall inadequate to compensate for the book's lack of historical-materialist perspective (there were typically, metaphysically vague statements like "the city no longer exists")

[Francie Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good reference on urban studies, specifically in making sense of public spaces. Reading the essays offered a variety of perspectives on Metro Manila's history, culture, boundaries, and even its sex in a democratic light. I especially loved Kaelin's "Struggling for Public Spaces" where we can see physical aspects of the city come to life in its literal meanings of 'public' and emphatic notions of urban planning. Pasco's "Eudomonia in the Margins" also highlights poverty with theories involving Bourdieu's The Habitus. I think most of the topics we (Filipinos) should delve into relies on different contributions from the different social sciences, and even humanities (Film and Novels). It is one method in a way, that allows us to see something in its full form - in this case, Metro Manila.

I would also say that the collection of essays such as these also pave the way for further studies involving our modern times, which is in need of a greater understanding beyond physicality. Furthermore, I think what most of the anthology points out is the importance of more research into public spaces integrating it into the Filipino. Most of the information I read ties back to Filipino values. I honestly think that should we give attention (and notice more) to the reasons behind what makes Manila Manila, it would allow us to come to identity if not, understand.

[Agnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting a book on urban planning but instead found a book about the “city” through the lens of humanities. I learned several fascinating things through the several essay such as Noranian Imaginary, the gendering of characteristics of the city, and how the city and the virtues and vices that lie within it are portrayed in film and other arts.