Under President Benigno Aquino III's leadership of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), the study was done from 2013 to 2014 with a grant from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in cooperation with the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), Department of Public Works & Highways (DPWH), Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the private sector, and various organizations.
[1] Sector integration refers to an approach that views various problematic aspects of Metro Manila's urban development as interrelated, and addressing them as such.
"[1] Spatial integration refers to an approach that expands the search for solutions to Metro Manila's problems to integrate areas outside its current boundaries - looking towards creating new centers of urban growth and linking them efficiently, allowing for the management of population growth and urban expansion in a sustainable manner.
[1] The Metro Manila cluster would be formed by the existing NCR,[1] plus nearby urban centers such as Antipolo, Bacoor, and Imus.
[1] Development efforts in this area would be focused on planned urban expansion in the form of affordable housing for informal settlers.
[2] The South Sub-regional Growth Center cluster would be formed by new urban development[1] in Cavite, Laguna, and some parts of Batangas.
[2] Development efforts in this area would be focused on planned urban expansion in the form of affordable housing for informal settlers.
The plan also calls for a transport backbone in the form of intra-city expressways that would connect NLEx with SLEx, decongesting traffic on non-toll highways in the existing metropolitan area by allowing north–south travel without having to pass through Manila streets, and by creating alternative routes for travelers who are willing to pay for faster flow of traffic.
Also critical is the connection these expressways would create between the new gateway ports of the North and South Regional Growth centers proposed by the plan.
[2] Prominent projects under this component include:[1] The North-South Commuter Rail proposed by the dream plan will be a 180 km (110 mi) railway line with high capacity trains serving a route initially from Malolos City, Bulacan in Central Luzon to Calamba, Laguna, in Calabarzon.
[2] The plan calls for the rail to have no level crossings at main roads, and for at-grade freight long-haul trains be developed beneath the elevated railway.
[9] The 33-kilometer railway system's initial phase will encompass eight local government units in Metro Manila and traverse three central business districts.
[4] Projects under the short-term program (2014–2016) of the dream plan's expressways include:[4] It also calls for a "Metro Manila Central Business District Transit System Study."
Projects under the short-term program (2014–2016) of the dream plan's road-based public transport component include:[4] Specific aspects to be improved under the short-term program (2014–2016) of the dream plan's traffic management strengthening component include intersection capacity, traffic control centers, pedestrian crossings, intelligent parking, incident detection, signal control systems, travel time prediction, road maintenance schedule and monitoring, transport priority, bus schedule assistance.