Defending a Place in the City

Book excerpt: Predatory competition in the land market, the government's inability to provide housing for the urban poor, and the migration of thousands from the countryside have led to the growth of large squatter colonies in Metro Manila. Defending a Place emphatically maintains that, in this context, squatting is a solution rather than a problem. It details the struggle of the urban landless to secure a place in a city that has become an arena of global players and forces.