Beyond the Stalls, Within the Alleys: Socioeconomic Provisions of Biñan Public Market and the Informal Settler Families' Sense of Place

Biñan City contains the largest public market in Region IV-A (CALABARZON), catering to the needs of its growing population. Along with this, the city contains a prominent number of informal settler families (ISF), specifically in Barangay Dela Paz, Ganado, Bungahan, and Loma. In this study, sense of place (SOP) was used to analyze the relationship between the provisions of the Biñan Public Market (BPM) and the presence of the ISF population. Through stratified random sampling, assisted and online survey questionnaires were distributed. it was identified that 1) the market’s competency is the completeness and cheapness of its goods and services, 2) the ISF population has a high place identity, as supported by their long ancestry in the place, 3) access to market goods procures high place dependence and identity, 4) there is a high positive relationship between the market services and the overall SOP of the population, and 5) jobs in the market are anchors of oneself towards the place. The study concludes that interventions to provide more job opportunities to the people, to incorporate cultural and heritage preservation in planning, and to ensure that ISF has access to their needs need to be prioritized by local planners and policymakers.