Published on June 27, 2005

Chaotic approach may ruin city’s opportunities to grow and prosper

As Bangkok grows from a metropolis into a megapolis in the decades to come, the quality of life for its residents could drop – even plunge – if urban planning fails to provide basic facilities such as transportation and sensible land use, warns architect Frederick M Chan.

The Hong Kong-born Canadian national, who has a master’s in urban design from Harvard and a bachelor’s in architecture from Berkeley, has recently bought several properties in Bangkok and Phuket. He is now contemplating undertaking projects in the Kingdom.

As a buyer, Chan is concerned that Bangkok retains its comparatively better standard of living, which ultimately makes a big difference in whether foreigners will continue to buy real estate in Thailand.

“I recently travelled to Italy on the Orient Express, paid US$2,500 [Bt100,000] a night for a room in a six-star hotel but was horrified to find there was no service. We waited for an hour in the hotel lobby before we were attended to.

“We had to carry our own luggage to our rooms, clear the table at the restaurant as the waiters were too busy doing nothing,” he recalled.

In his view, such tales indicate the new century will go to Asia, where service is still provided. “Thais appear to enjoy serving visitors, while most European workers I encounter go out of their way to show their displeasure,” he adds.

While Chan seemed to be in no hurry to return to Italy, he is quickly making Thailand his second home with plans to semi-retire here when he reaches 60.

But Bangkok – with its monster traffic jams and chaotic town planning – seems to be bursting at the seams. Its sidewalks are hijacked by unruly vendors and its public parks are hijacked by karaoke-crazed retirees.

Already foreign buyers are thinking twice about relocating here as chronic pollution and commuting woes worsen.

“Spending trillions of baht on mega-infrastructure projects such as building new roads is really not the solution,” said Chan, who has worked in several major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

“The new roads will be jammed up in three years,” he says. “It really boils down to one key factor: quality of life.”

Many so-called master plans start with land use, then draw budgets before they think how it affects the environment over 25 years, he says.

“There’s little consideration as to where the green areas should be and how they should be protected. Nor is there a clear idea to prepare for where the new growth areas should be.”

As a result, enormous opportunities in wealth creation are lost.

While the domestic economy can be fuelled by higher productivity because of efficient land use – such as in Hong Kong and Singapore – Bangkok’s growth has been stifled by chaotic wastage.

“To reduce traffic jams, there must be a serious policy to discourage car ownership,” he says. “And before one can do this, a usable mass transit system for the public must be available.”

Current lines serve a portion of the city, yet many people still drive as if they are not connected to mass transit – or the stations are too far to walk to.

Also there needs to be a more determined push to decentralise, such as moving out the port and oil refineries from the inner city.

Though much lip service has been paid to decentralising the port for 30 years, far too little has been done to clear the inner city of container trucks and industrial traffic. Meanwhile, making matters worse is the growth of container yards in inner suburbs such as Sukhuvmit and Bang Na.

Chan says 95 per cent or urban planning is common sense. “The other five per cent is dealing with implementation, which concerns political and other vested interests – as well as legal issues.”

Asked about his proudest achievement, he says: “I don’t care much for buildings per se. What is beautiful to some may look ugly in a few years when trends and fashions change.”

“What I enjoy is to be able to provide space in an urban centre where a multitude of experiences can be shared,” he says. “Such as creating space for a sidewalk caf? where people of different backgrounds can meet

and interact. That’s the enjoyment of living in a city.”

The biggest mistake, he notes, is to forget this organic aspect and “sterilise the property”.

“When planning a commercial project, one has to allow space for small businesses and shops. There also must be low-income housing or low-rent places, even in a high-rent area,” he says.

“If all you have is high-rental spaces,” he warns, “all you will end up with is dull, expensive shops and no human activities. You rob it of life and excitement.”

Itthi C Tan

The Nation

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