CONSIDERATIONS ON THE URBAN FORMATION PROCESS AND SPACE FORMATION OF URBAN CORE OF CEBU (PHILIPPINES)

Abstract

Authors have been conducting the field research on the former Spanish colonial cities under the title ‘Origin, Transformation, Alteration and Conservation of Urban Space of Colonial Cities since 1999. In the Spanish colonial period, cities were planted and established in Philippines. This paper focuses on Cebu city which is the first city established by Spain in Asia. As cartographic database, images and maps from AGI(Archivo de Indias de Sevilla), other archives and libraries in the Philippines are used for analysis. Through the analysis of the colonial maps, authors discuss the Spanish Colonial urban process in the Philippines Island. This paper clarified formation and transformation process of Cebu City and present formation of urban core of the city based on the field survey on the distribution of facilities, building types, and so on, finally discuss the characteristics of early formation and urban planning comparing other Spanish colonial cities like Manila, Vigan and those of Ibere-America.