Communities’ Environment Improvement Network: Strategy and Process toward Sustainable Urban Poor Housing Development

Abstract

“Baan Mankong” program is presently the government’s major policy in urban poor housingdevelopment in Thailand, undertaken by Community Organization Development Institute (CODI). The mainstrategy of the program is to upgrade living conditions, secure tenure as well as community capacitybuilding through communities’ self-proposed projects and people participation process. This paper isderived from the experience in the development practice of a case study on Bang Bua canal in Bangkok,where on both sides of the waterfront are presently illegally occupied by a group of neighborhoods. Thesecommunities have invaded into public land and settled their housing trespassing into the canal. Theprevious attempts by the local authority to evict the waterfront urban poor communities, for being thecause of water pollutions and other associated environmental problems, had led to a long conflict in urbandevelopment.
 To achieve the goals of sustainable community development, it is vital that not only the coreproblems of urban poor housing such as the lack of secure tenure and development funding are systematicallysolved, but also to evoke residents’ participation and people awareness on environment related issues.The Bang Boa community development scheme under the “Baan ManKong” program is expected to highlightinitial guidelines and strategies for urban poor settlements’ redevelopment of other waterfront area ofBangkok. This paper will discuss how the process of community capacity building and empowerment havebeen undertaken and will be initiated, particularly in establishing various networks as a significantdevelopment strategy.