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Case Study Approach in Tackling Environmental, Physical and Social Sustainability in Bangkok

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Tropical Constrained Environments and Sustainable Adaptations

Part of the book series: Managing the Asian Century ((MAAC))

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Abstract

Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, is one of the megacities in Asia, with an estimated population exceeding 60 million people. This chapter provides an overview of the main challenges that planners encounter to address the sustainable development objectives in Bangkok. These challenges are listed as follows. (1) Climate change has been the main drive for stakeholders and municipalities to propose a strategic framework, which can reduce CO2 emissions and increased urban air temperature. These actions consider the existing city infrastructure and the need for community involvement. (2) The economic development and productivity of Bangkok are adversely affected by traffic congestion and poor connectivity in the urban fabric. (3) Poverty, social inclusion and the growing number of slums in Bangkok, accounting for almost one-quarter of the city’s total population. Adopting a case study approach this study reviews the strategies municipalities tackled the above-mentioned challenges considering environmental (climate change), physical (transportation and street systems) and social (slum access to housing) sustainability. This chapter also provides an insight into the planning actions that can be considered to meet sustainable development goals.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The first informal settlement in Thailand is factory slum, located nearby Prem Pra Cha Canal, Bangkok (Na Thalang, 1978).

  2. 2.

    Currently Klong Toey is the biggest slum settlement in Bangkok and in Thailand locating on the 78 Acres of land of the Port Authority of Thailand. Klong Toey slum consists of 31 sub-communities include population around 20,000 households (https://www.ddproperty.com/, accessed 22nd February 2020).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Building Design, Institute of Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Elmira Jamei

  2. Academic Teaching Scholar in Built Environment, Researcher at the Institute for Sustainable Industries & Liveable Cities, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Hing-Wah Chau

  3. Faculty of Architecture, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand

    Kitapatr Dhabhalabutr

Authors
  1. Elmira Jamei
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  2. Hing-Wah Chau
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  3. Kitapatr Dhabhalabutr
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Correspondence to Elmira Jamei .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Science and Technology, James Cook University Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Simona Azzali

  2. JCU Singapore Business School, James Cook University Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    K Thirumaran

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Jamei, E., Chau, HW., Dhabhalabutr, K. (2021). Case Study Approach in Tackling Environmental, Physical and Social Sustainability in Bangkok. In: Azzali, S., Thirumaran, K. (eds) Tropical Constrained Environments and Sustainable Adaptations. Managing the Asian Century. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4631-4_4

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