URDANETA CITY UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

Course Code: Q104

PLANNING 02

Requirement No.: 01

Requirement Title: "Exploring Urban

Identity: A Study of Kevin Lynch's
Five Elements in Laoac, Pangasinan"
A Case Study

Date Due: Nov. 09, 2024

Submitted by:
Name: ORTEZA WENDEL R.
Student No.: 20212202

Submitted to:
ARCH. Maydickson A. Cruz, UAP, MMEnp
CEA- Instructor
 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Laoac, Pangasinan a growing municipslity in the Philippines situated at a juncture between
rural and developing urban development. Agricultural by characteristic, this small town has
been city-bound in shifts of infrastructure, commercial activities, and land uses. These new-
coming aspects within a little town bring new dynamics into the spatial organization of the town
and thus may have impacts on its identity and on how residents and visitors perceive the
environment.

Urban identity is described as the summation of peculiar characteristics that constitute a place
and distinguish it from others. It shapes the experiences and perceptions of all residents and
visitors in important ways. Urban identity mediates how people navigate and relate to their
environment and how they develop attachment and a sense of belonging to it. Kevin Lynch, in
his book "The Image of the City" (1960), propounded a conceptual schema on how cities are
seen and oriented. He specified the five elements that are the paths, edges, districts, nodes,
and landmarks which, together create the mental map people have of a city. In essence, these
may be regarded as the fundamental building blocks through which the individual makes
sense of his environment at both the individual and the collective level in developing a notion
of urban identity.

Laoac is a municipality in Pangasinan that provides a peculiar case for the study of urban
identity using Lynch's framework. Being an area with a mix of rural and urbanizing features,
Laoac is currently undergoing developmental changes that influence its spatial organization,
architecture, and community spaces. These changes present a very interesting context within
which to analyze how residents and visitors perceive and interact with the urban environment-
and hence have glimpses of the evolving identity of Laoac.

This study, therefore, analyzes Laoac's urban structure by applying Lynch's five urban
elements in search of the factors that would contribute to Laoac's identity. This paper will
deeply provide insight into the spatial character of Laoac, showing enduring elements and
areas where significant change is taking place. These may be useful in a more wholistic
approach to urban planning in the Municipality of Laoac, focusing on how the same can
preserve its identity despite development. In the end, the research will try to add to broader
discussions on how urban identity can be nurtured in a rapidly changing environment, so that
growth truly aligns with the community's cultural and historical values.
 HISTORY

Laoac is the youngest town of Pangasinan. The barrios constituting Laoac were all part of the
town of Manaoag. The town was created by virtue of a Republic Act on March 5, 1980. The
Municipality of Laoac got its present name from Ilocano expression “Nag-la-oa daytoy nga tay-
aken”, which, in English, means “How wide this plain is!”

How this happened is a matter of conjecture. Elders have it that when the first wave of Ilocano
settlers arrived in the late 1800’s, they were greatly astonished by the immense, flat terrain
with lush vegetation, and one of them loudly exclaimed in his native tongue,“Nag’la’oa daytoy
nga tay-aken!”

The Ilocano word “laoa” means “wide”; and so, from that day onward, the settlement came to
be known as “Laoac”. The name has been retained and now refers to the present Laoac
Municipality.
HISTORICAL ROLES AND EVENTS

The four years immediately preceding the township of Laoac were significant; for it was during
these years that then Municipal Mayor, Hon. Westrimundo Tabayoyong, seriously began
considering a plan for the multi-sectoral development of the 20 barangays which were to
constitute the would-be municipality of Laoac.
While it is true that only a few events took place with far-reaching historical significance;
the 1980 local elections, during which Hon. Westrimundo Tabayoyong and his entire Kilusang
Bagong Lipunan (KBL) ticket ran unopposed, impressed upon the people the leadership
qualities that were to guide the newly-founded municipality in its trek towards progress and
development.
This political phenomenon – indeed a rare one in democratic elections – received popular
mandate and the people rallied solidly behind the new local administration; enabling it to
undertake projects without financial assistance from either the provincial or national
government, namely:

1. Construction of the Municipal Auditorium amounting to Php180,000.00;

2. Construction of the Municipal Park amounting to Php150,000.00;
3. Construction and establishment of a Telecommunications Office costing Php20,000.00; and
4. Acquisition of the 17-hectare Town Site at Php1.00 per square meter.

The creations of Laoac into a separate town has, naturally, changed the political map of
Pangasinan. Not only that, but, the role played by the municipality in the institution of peace
and order has helped maintain a semblance of orderliness in the province.
 SOCIO-CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
ETHNIC ORIGINS OF THE RESIDENTS

Ethnologically, the present population is predominantly of Ilocano stock, with around 89% of
the original residents coming from the Ilocos Region, notably Ilocos Sur, La Union, Ilocos
Norte and Abra.

With the passing of years and in the course of development, many people from other
provinces and even from other countries have come to reside in Laoac by virtue of their
marriages with local residents.

Because of their ethnic origins, majority of the residents still embrace and practice their ethnic
culture of thrift, industry and clannishness. This character of conservatism,however, has slowly
been tempered by the influx of modern-day settlers having different cultural orientations.

LOCATION MAP

PHILIPPINES

PHILIPPINES

LUZON

REGION 01

LUZON REGION 01
PANGASINAN

PANGASINAN LAOAC
LAOAC
 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ( LOCAL OR FOREIGN)

LOCAL LITERATURE
This paper explains the evolution of the metropolitan organizations that have been established
to oversee the development of Metro Manila, provides a survey of their responsibilities,
authorities, organizational structure, financing, institutional relationships as well as briefly
assess their strengths and weaknesses. It then discusses the major management challenges
in Metro Manila at present and how they are being addressed under the current set-up. Under
the present decentralized framework, governance of Metro Manila becomes more challenging
as cities and municipalities that compose it have political legitimacy and significant powers and
authorities relative to the Metropolitan organization. However, the paper has emphasized that
with proper allocation of powers, authorities and financing, the metropolitan body can take on
a more important role in terms of actual delivery of metro-wide services. While the present
metropolitan body appears to have taken on more responsibilities in the delivery of services
transcending local boundaries, still a large part of these metro-wide services still remain with
the national government agencies. This is primarily explained by the fact that while the
national government has continuously provided subsidies to the metropolitan body, it still
allocates a sizeable portion of the budget for metro-wide services to the national government
agencies. These agencies, being line departments, are inherently concerned with their own
sectoral priorites rather than serving the needs of the metropolis per se. Consequently, the
metropolitan body is left with very difficult task of having to orchestrate the sectoral programs
of various national government agencies, including metro-wide services. This situation not only
makes government effort almost intractable but also increases costs in terms of both
manpower and financial costs. The advantage of metropolitan governance under a
decentralized framework is that it allows the local government units within the metropolis to
respond directly to the priority needs of their respective constituents by seeking creative
means to deliver urban services. This is attested to by the innovative programs and projects
some cities in Metro Manila have implemented which have been included in this paper under
the discussion of models of good city governance.