Articles
Small-scale Property Entrepreneurship in Bangkok Soi Affordable Housing Provision for Expatriate and Local Migrants
Authors:
K. A. M. De Wandeler ,
Faculty of Architecture, KU Leuven, Leuven, BE
C. Thanmarom
Abitek Design and Consultant Co. Ltd., Bangkok, TH
Abstract
This paper presents a research study conducted in the Ban Soi Sukhon neighbourhood in Bangkok. The study relied on archival research, longitudinal observation, and participation in the everyday life of the neighbourhood. It examined how the lack of a comprehensive master plan and planning controls triggered private land development patterns characterised by interconnected side-streets or “soi”. Owner-occupants who settled on the residential parcels along these side streets subsequently used their property to engage in petty entrepreneurial activities that helped provide affordable housing for successive waves of settlers who migrated from upcountry or from abroad. The paper illustrates this practice by discussing two small-scale housing projects created to accommodate newly arrived migrants. The first project is a “boutique” apartment building in 1988 built to accommodate expatriates and SMEs; the second is the 2007 conversion of educational and home-industry buildings into a residential development that caters for lower-income residents of the soi.
How to Cite:
De Wandeler, K.A.M. and Thanmarom, C., 2022. Small-scale Property Entrepreneurship in Bangkok Soi Affordable Housing Provision for Expatriate and Local Migrants. Bhumi, The Planning Research Journal, 9(1), pp.35–44. DOI: http://doi.org/10.4038/bhumi.v9i1.87
Published on
20 Dec 2022.
Peer Reviewed
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