Urban dominance,ecology and community well-being in a Philippine region

There is a strong difference of opinion concerning whether the effects of urban centers are generally beneficial or deleterious to outlying communities. Based on a sample of seventy-three barrios in Cavite Province, this paper examines several basic features of community organization to determine what effects Manila's dominance exerts. The Manila-Cavite metropolitan region is further complicated by a pronounced highland—lowland division. Land tenure, occupational structure, political activity, indebtedness, and measures of community well-being give evidence of both positive and negative effects. However, Manila's dominance does not correspond to uniform gradient patterns. Due to sharp ecological differences, the impact of the city varies between highland and lowland barrios. The fairest conclusion able to be drawn from the evidence is that contact with the city is indispensible and in many ways beneficial, but these benefits are often counterbalanced by economic and social costs for certain communities.