Metro Manila, City of Man: Fifty Years of Grandeur, Excess, and the Forging of Arts and Culture
Conference: Metropolitan Manila @50: Narratives, Connections, Relevance UP Manila CAS Manila Studies Program November 7, 2025 - GSIS Building Pasay City INTRODUCTION The formation of Metro Manila as a consolidated urban region in the 1970s was both a political maneuver and a cultural aspiration. Before metropolitan reorganization, the Greater Manila Area was defined among multiple cities and municipalities. The move established a central metropolitan authority that became a vehicle not only for administrative coordination but also for ambitious urban planning and cultural endeavors. The newly formed region became the stage for a vision christened by Imelda Marcos as “Metro Manila: City of Man,” a concept that incorporated ideas of order, progress, and beauty. Public spending in monumental buildings, reclaimed land, park beautification, and major cultural venues was promoted as a means to uplift national pride, modernize the city, and present the Philippines as culturally sophisticated,...