Planners Look Back as Another Burnham Centennial Approaches

Besides Chicago, another Daniel Burnham-planned city is turning 100. Baguio City in the Philippines will turn 100 in 2009, and local planners are trying to apply urban reform elements from Burnham's original plan in time for the celebration.

1 minute read

November 15, 2008, 9:00 AM PST

By Nate Berg


"This city, the country's undisputed summer capital, was designed by Chicago-based architect Daniel Burnham to host 25,000 residents in 1906."

"Officially chartered in 1909, Baguio will celebrate its centennial next year. The city achieved its maximum population in less than 50 years, from 489 residents in 1903 to 29,262 in 1948."

"Almost 100 years later, local architects and urban planners have been busy studying how much of the city's development template could still be applied to an urban renewal campaign for a city population that reached 183,000 in 1991."

The population of the city is now more than 300,000.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 in Philippine Daily Inquirer

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

October 28, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

A car drives through a puddle, making a large splash. Rain pours down.

California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour

If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.

October 28, 2026 - Grist

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

: Construction of massive Samsung semiconductor fabrication plant

In Texas, data centers are swallowing promised parkland

Residents who moved to Taylor, Texas for a rural community now have to contend with three data centers in their backyard.

7 hours ago - Inside Climate News

A construction crew working on SunZia.

How a Chicago-sized wind farm beat the odds and powered on

The project spanned five presidential administrations and a standoff with a U.S. military base.

November 3 - Grist

A rendering of the basketball court, a green court under a blue sky.

MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court

The site has been under construction since 2022; the city originally estimated it would finish the court in 2024.

November 3 - Gothamist