Introduction

This piece is a reflection based on a field visit to urban poor communities in Manila, Philippines—specifically in the former Smokey Mountain and Junkshop Area. The visit was part of the 13^th Asian Regional School (ARS) [a progressive political education programme across Asia], which brought together participants from various progressive political parties and social organisations across Asia. Through direct engagement with the communities, this reflection seeks to highlight the struggles of the urban poor, particularly the central role of women in building collective resilience and asserting the right to the city.

What we witnessed on the ground revealed that so-called “modernisation” often reinforces structural inequalities, neglects the reproductive labour that sustains urban life, and displaces marginalised communities. Drawing on David Harvey’s theory of the right to the city and the framework of social reproduction, this piece aims to show how urban injustice can only be challenged through grassroots solidarity led by women and urban poor residents themselves.

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Reflections on Urban Kampung Communities’ Struggles

We stood in front of the former site of Smokey Mountain, Tondo district of Manila—a name that once symbolised extreme poverty in the capital of the Philippines. Here, in the 1980s, mountains of rubbish towered high, inhabited by thousands of scavengers who survived by picking through the remnants of the city’s consumption. Today, that land has changed: the former “mountain of rubbish” has been levelled, replaced by five-storey vertical buildings constructed in 2004. The thick smoke has long disappeared from Smokey Mountain, but the stench of injustice still lingers.

The former rubbish mountain area in Tondo, Manila, now stands with five-storey concrete buildings—a symbol of the “transformation” touted by the government. Yet, as we walked through the narrow corridors between these buildings, what we found was not a story of success, but a big question: Who truly has the right to this city?

Smokey Mountain, Junk Shop Area and the Irony of Urban Development

The government, with its various scholarship programmes, does offer hope. In 2023, 376 students graduated from schools around Smokey Mountain, many with high honours. But other fundamental problems remain: buildings are starting to deteriorate, the number of families is increasing, and social protection is minimal.

Smokey Mountain is held up as a “success story,” but on the ground, the changes do not address the roots of poverty.

On the other hand, the second community lives in much more vulnerable conditions. They reside in floating houses that are easily swept away by floods and storms, forcing them to rebuild their homes again and again. Local and national governments have not been able to provide safe relocation solutions without sacrificing their main source of livelihood: waste sorting. Their daily income, only around 200–400 pesos [approximately €3.50-7.00], is very minimal, whilst the results of their work—sorting plastics that are then processed into value-added products—mostly benefit large companies. Women remain the leaders of the community, whilst men work at the port, as drivers, waste collectors, or day labourers without job protection and often face intimidation and extortion from authorities.

They are the backbone of the resistance movement against “modernisation” projects that would turn their homes into commercial centres.

Collective Resilience and Women’s Leadership

A visit to the two scavenger communities in Smokey Mountain, Philippines, reveals a stark contrast between collective resilience and the structural vulnerability faced by marginalised communities. The first community is living proof of how solidarity and self-organisation can build stability amid limitations. Over three decades, scavenger families have built a community-managed waste recycling system, constructed homes, playgrounds, and ensured education for their children—all achieved through collective work led by women. Women play a central role in sustaining the economy and organising daily life, strengthening the community’s foundation even as they face challenges of space and growing families.

Structural Injustice and Demands for Justice

The stories of these scavengers underscore the irony that those who manage the city’s waste are themselves treated as if they are disposable. Yet, through their hard work and resilience, these communities contribute to urban sustainability and provide vital services often ignored by the state. Their demands for health rights, housing, and labour protection are fair and deserve to be fought for together. The story of a young leader who has worked since the age of eight illustrates a cycle of poverty that is difficult to break without thorough structural change. However, amid these limitations, the collective spirit and resistance of women become a revolutionary force that deserves recognition and support.

The city is the collective product of human labour, yet it is controlled by a handful of elites who turn it into a machine for capital accumulation. Smokey Mountain and the Junk Shop Area are clear examples:

As Harvey said, A good city is not one that attracts investment, but one that fulfils the basic rights of its citizens. In Smokey Mountain, even though children can now go to school, their parents remain trapped in informal jobs: jeepney drivers [traditional public transport in the Philippines], street vendors, or day labourers.

The City as a Collective Product

Harvey writes that the right to the city is not just about individual access to urban resources, but a collective right to transform and shape the city according to shared aspirations. Urban transformation, according to Harvey, is only possible through the collective power of society involved in the urbanisation process.

Collectivity and Urbanisation: In his works, Harvey emphasises that the city is built by the collective labour of many parties—workers, informal labourers, communities, and other social groups—who together build, maintain, and create urban life. However, the results of this collective labour are often appropriated or monopolised by a handful of elites or capitalists through the commodification of urban space. Harvey also states that the freedom to create and remake the city and ourselves is one of the most precious yet often overlooked human rights. This right is collective, because urban transformation can only happen through collective, not individual power.

Analysis of Social Reproduction and the Struggles of Urban Poor Women in Smokey Mountain and Junkshop Area

The stories of the two scavenger communities in the former Smokey Mountain and Junkshop Area in Manila not only illustrate economic inequality and environmental vulnerability, but also highlight the vital role of women in social reproduction and collective struggle. Social reproduction here encompasses all activities that support the community’s survival, from meeting basic needs, childcare, household organisation, to managing community resources. Women are the main actors in this process, bearing layered responsibilities as household managers as well as community leaders driving solidarity and resistance against injustice.

In their struggle, women not only maintain the physical and emotional survival of their families, but also politically organise the community to demand rights to housing, health, and decent work. Women’s leadership in both communities shows how social reproduction becomes a strategic arena of struggle, where women build networks of solidarity, manage self-help resources, and advocate for structural change. By combining domestic and public roles, women assert the existence of their communities amid the pressures of modernisation that threaten their living spaces and livelihoods.

Furthermore, the struggles of women in Smokey Mountain and Junkshop Area also challenge urban development narratives that often ignore social and humanitarian aspects. They demonstrate that equitable development must recognise and support social reproduction as the foundation of community sustainability. In this framework, women and urban poor residents affirm that the right to the city is not just about physical access, but also the collective right to shape and maintain inclusive and just living spaces. Their struggle is living proof that genuine social change can only be realised through collective solidarity and recognition of reproductive labour that has long been overlooked.

The struggles of urban poor residents are not a phenomenon limited to one country, but occur globally and are interconnected. In Indonesia, for example, urban poor residents in one of Jakarta’s kampung [urban village] communities have built cooperatives and realised collective housing as a form of resistance against eviction and housing injustice. This effort reflects the same spirit as the struggles of scavenger communities in Manila, where solidarity and collective organisation are key to defending the right to the city and creating a more sustainable future. Thus, the movements of the urban poor in various countries learn from and strengthen each other in facing similar challenges, showing that their struggles are part of a global movement for social justice and the right to the city.

Women and urban poor residents in Manila and Indonesia clearly demonstrate how social change and justice must be fought for collectively from the ground up, and that government compassion alone is never enough.

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Afifah is the Coordinator of the Education Department of the National Committee of Perempuan Mahardhika [Indonesian Women’s Liberation Organisation] and was a participant in the 2025 Asian School IIRE [International Institute for Research and Education] Manila.