Why Land Economics Must Anchor Urban Planning
Urban land use planning in Cebu City cannot be treated as a purely local spatial exercise. As the primary economic anchor of Central Visayas (Region VII), Cebu City performs metropolitan and regional functions that extend far beyond its administrative boundaries — economically, socially, and spatially.
Cebu City in the Regional Economic Structure
Central Visayas remains one of the fastest-growing regional economies in the Philippines. In 2024, the region’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) reached about ₱1.28 trillion, expanding at 7.3 percent — higher than the national average — and maintaining its position as the largest economy in Visayas and Mindanao.
Within this context, Cebu City continues to serve as the regional engine:
- In 2024, Cebu City’s economy expanded by about 7 percent, with a total output of roughly ₱334.48 billion, driven by trade, finance, and professional services.
- According to recent Provincial Product Accounts, Cebu City accounted for about 22.6 percent of Central Visayas’ regional economy in 2023, second only to the entire Province of Cebu.
Cebu City’s economic footprint is not contained within city boundaries: it affects employment patterns, investment flows, infrastructure utilization, and land markets across multiple provinces and cities in the region.
Zoning as a Regional Economic Decision
Urban economic theory explains that development rights — created and modified by zoning — are capitalized into land values and development incentives.
In Cebu City:
- The IT Park–Lahug corridor drives strong agglomeration effects.
- The CBD–Port core remains a critical commercial and logistics hub.
- The South Road Properties (SRP) influence is reshaping coastal development patterns.
- Fringe and upland barangays are facing conversion pressures with implications for peri-urban growth.
These dynamics produce a complex land value gradient that must be recognized and regulated in the CLUP.
Regional Spillover Effects
When land values in Cebu City rise due to zoning changes, the pressure is felt in neighboring LGUs:
- Housing demand spills over into Consolacion, Lilo-an, and Talisay.
- Commuter flows cross city boundaries, stressing transport corridors.
- Agricultural land conversion accelerates in fringe municipalities.
This illustrates that Cebu City’s land use decisions are not isolated. They shape regional patterns of growth and require a planning perspective consistent with broader regional development strategies — including the Central Visayas Regional Development Plan.
Why RLUC and DHSUD Review Cebu City’s CLUP
The institutional review structure reflects this regional reality.
The Regional Land Use Committee (RLUC), operating within the regional planning structure of the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev), conducts technical assessment of CLUPs to ensure consistency with regional spatial strategy and economic coherence.
Meanwhile, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) serves as the national approving authority — guaranteeing alignment with national urban development policy, hazard integration, infrastructure standards, and housing obligations.
This layered review is not bureaucratic duplication. It is recognition that Cebu City’s land use decisions have regional repercussions, and thus must be evaluated not only for local coherence but for their impact across the metropolitan and regional system.
Infrastructure and Fiscal Discipline
Allowing density increases without aligning them with infrastructure capacity produces:
- Higher capital expenditure demands
- Road and drainage system overload
- Greater disaster risk exposure
A responsible CLUP must factor in not just spatial demand but also infrastructure load-testing and projected fiscal impact. Growth may increase revenue — but it may also create unfunded liabilities if infrastructure and risk costs are excluded from the analysis.
Climate Risk as an Economic Variable
Hazard-prone areas — floodplains, landslide slopes, coastal lowlands — are not merely environmental concerns. They are economic risk multipliers that, if developed without restraint, impose long-term costs on public budgets and private livelihoods.
To address this, the CLUP must define:
Net Developable Land =
Gross Land – Hazard Constraints – Easements – Protected Zones
This adjusted baseline must inform density decisions.
Housing Affordability and Land Cost Capitalization
In high-demand corridors of Cebu City, land cost often represents a major portion of overall housing price. If land value increases faster than housing supply expands, zoning changes alone will not yield affordability — they may worsen it.
This underscores the need for inclusionary mechanisms and spatial strategies that place housing close to jobs, infrastructure, and hazard-safe areas.
Cebu City as Metropolitan Steward
The CLUP of Cebu City must operate as:
- A regulator of land value winds
- A coordinator of infrastructure investments
- A climate risk filter
- A promoter of equitable housing outcomes
- A mediator of regional economic stability
When Cebu City adjusts density and land use rules, the regional economy adjusts with it.
Planning for Value and Region
Cebu City’s CLUP must transcend the narrow framing of zoning colors on paper. It must be anchored in land economics and regional economic logic — because spatial decisions in this city do not stay within its borders. They shape the future of Central Visayas and influence conditions well beyond.
Real LexEcon 