Survival Stories from Above: Small Businesses in Forgotten Spaces

Overview

The stalls in these photographs are still standing, but the city has moved on without them. Newer developments and the gentrification of downtown Bacolod pulled the crowds elsewhere. Now, what used to be busy trading floors now sit mostly empty. The businesses that remain are the ones that struggle to follow the money out.

I photographed them from the floors above, looking straight down. From that height you see how much space surrounds each vendor, and how each of them tries to stay afloat with the resources they have.

These places are not ruins. The people in them show up every day and keep their businesses running, even as the economy that once supported them gets rebuilt for someone else.