We live in the developing world where urbanization means the shopping malls and highrise condominiums which cater to aspirational lifestyles proliferate our landscape. For the majority of city dwellers, however, urbanization means living in the favelas of Brazil, the kampungs in Indonesia, katchi abadis in Pakistan, and in dense squatter areas of Metro Manila. For millions, life is devoid of basic human services. Inventoried and zoned according to access (or lack thereof) to basic services, quality of life in the Iskwater settlement is defined in terms of degrees of deprivation household size potable water, power supply, length of paved roads and sewage infrastructure.

This book, Lungsod Iskwater, began as an analytical exercise. Its principal focus was the most sustainable urban form in history -- the informal settlement. Despite its enduring presence over time and across cultures, the urban and architectural elements of Iskwater settlement are among the least studied, let alone the least understood. Thus, this effort attempts to provide an in-depth analysis of the relationship between built form and open space within selected informal settlements in Metropolitan Manila, and correlates specific cultural, socio-economic, political, and environmental factors. We build on the premise that informal settlements are organic combinations of interrelated and interdependent factors which may be decoded only when understood within certain cultural and historical contexts. - from Amzon