in the country. Food Haven of the Philippines, a new tagline declared by the city council and supported by the Department of Tourism (DOT) in 2021, recognizing the city as a gastronomic hotspot with its dozens of popular local cuisines and dishes, including the La Paz Batchoy and Pancit Molo. Cityscape The city's modern-day appearance is shaped by the key role it has played as a trading hub for centuries. Iloilo City has a multitude of districts, each with its distinctive character and representing colonial influence. Iloilo's other distinctive features include its cityscape surrounded with water features such as rivers and is bounded by a sea; bicycle paths and ornamental trees that line most city streets; and its many open spaces, gardens and parks. Iloilo spreads out with its location in a plain land in south eastern side of Panay Island. It is bounded in the south east side by Iloilo-Guimaras Strait and Guimaras Island which makes the city as a natural harbor for ships. The two main rivers of Iloilo and Batiano snakes through the city and empties out of the Iloilo-Guimaras Strait. Iloilo is a conglomerate of former separate towns which includes the former city of Jaro established during the Spanish colonial times, thus the layout of the towns civic centers follows a typical Spanish colonial town center composed of a Plaza (Public Square), church, municipal hall and other religious, academic and government instrumentalities offices. A modern development is clustered in an organized form in the city's premises but is strongly concentrated in the Mandurriao district to protect the city's initiatives in protecting the city's skyline, heritage zones and environment. Present modern developments spread out outside the city in neighboring towns that are a part of Metropolitan Iloilo. Architecture Iloilo City's urban planning and architecture reflect the plans of the Spanish and the American colonial administrations. Since Iloilo City is a conglomeration of towns, the districts have their own plazas which are surrounded by establishments of political and ecclesiastical influence, such as churches and old administrative halls. In 1930, Juan M. Arellano of the Bureau of Public Works designed the schematic plan for Iloilo City, which was influenced by Ebenezer Howard's "Garden City." The Spanish colonial influence is strongly imprinted not only in Iloilo's history and cultural background but also the architectural perspective. The city's regaled status during the Spanish colonial era until the turn of the 20th