A report created upon our return from the fieldwork in Bangkok, our findings from across the various sites were corroborated, and proposals were made on ways to scale-up the Baan Mankong program we had integrated ourselves with for three weeks.
Completed at University College London.
Analysis of the six sites visited in the (greater) Bangkok area.
Over the course of our fieldwork we identified multiple boundaries in place that were inhibited the growth of the Baan Mankong program. We devised a series of catalytic interventions that would cause a ripple effect at various points in the city, breaking down these barriers and forming a cohesive whole
Examples of strategic interventions and their outcomes, which could break down the inhibiting barriers.
Below: our final proposed strategic interventions.
Common Spaces: Children's playground.
Building the Common: Cleaning up the canals.
Construction Fair: bringing awareness of building methods and materials to the communities, demonstrating what is available and possible.
Festivals: Could be a market, could be a holiday, could be a picnic, could be a gathering for a sporting event. The idea is to gather members of communities together who normally would not have an opportunity to interact, and start the communication and networking process going
Illustrating the possibilities of urban commons across the city
One of the main physical barriers within the city is its massive raised concrete infrastructure, which serves to divide and separate sections of the city in a very real way. Our proposal is to build a literal bridge over the infrastructure, built in local and vernacular materials, to link all the isolated communities to form a larger and more cohesive whole
Most of the entrances to the communities of the urban poor are already colorful and decorative, but we proposed taking it one step further and enlarging them to a scale at which their presence and inter-connectiveness with the city fabric cannot be ignored
Taking advantage of the massive infrastructure that dominates the city, portraits of members of the slum communities are rendered across the concrete, bringing awareness to this large percentage of the population, and highlighting the role they could, and should, play in the urban stage.
A land bank, where all the land with possibilities for development is mapped out and highlighted, allowing those communities with perilous land tenure to become aware of the options for re-settlement if staying in their current location is not a possibility.
Another proposal is creating shared amenities (community halls, libraries, rental housing, commercial space), which can be supported by multiple communities instead of being the fiscal responsibility of just one, thereby allowing their existence and maintenance
Simulation Camp: A training exercise for groups and individuals (NGOs, local government officials, academics, architects, students, etc) who will be participating in participatory community meetings and negotiations. Simulating possible scenarios such as land tensions and conflicts of interest, attendees learn about the realities of those living in these settlements, and can better understand how to help and empower them.
Student and Affordable Rental Housing: Currently the Baan Mankong program does not include provisions for temporary or rental housing. We proposed a caveat to the process that would take these more transitory needs into consideration. These types of accommodation have the possibility of being shared amongst adjacent communities.
Variable Housing Typologies: Depending on who or which organization the community members were collaborating with, housing design options could be slim. The idea is to more fully incorporate architects and engineers from the beginning of the participatory process, to let the urban poor know they have a choice in the matter and better align the end product with the needs of the community members.
The outcomes of all the strategies: a cohesive and wide-reaching breaking down of barriers across the city, empowering the urban poor and providing them with a larger platform for debate and discussion in the development of Bangkok
