Alternative Planning Initiatives (ALTERPLAN)

ALTERPLAN is a technical service NGO that promotes popular participation in planning. We have been around since January 1990, starting with a group of young women architects striving to contribute to the vision of a just and democratic Philippines with a nurturing built environment. Our work concerns space and the built environment as focal points for community organizing and development. Partnering with people’s organizations and NGOs in various parts of the country, we came to realize that the role of architects and planners was not only, and in some cases not so much, to design and build structures, as to help ensure that the conditions in the natural and built environments of people and communities were supportive of their aspirations. We support the efforts of underserved communities, their organizations, and other civil society groups in expressing those aspirations. We advocate a planning attitude and planning processes that recognize the ability and right of people to make informed decisions for themselves. We also work with local governments and national government agencies that animate participative processes in urban planning and management.