Examining Dwelling Interior Conditions for Informal Settlement Upgrading Along the Mae Kha Canal, Chiang Mai

Main Article Content

Issue Vol. 7 No. 2 (2024)
Published Jul 30, 2024
Section Articles
Article downloads 466
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7454/in.v7i2.483
Submitted : Feb 16, 2024 | Accepted : Jun 4, 2024


Abstract

This article delves into the internal features of habitat in slum-like informal settlements, focusing on the challenges faced by the locale in the Mae Kha Canal informal settlements in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The study aims to clarify the dwelling characteristics as well as understand the interplay between housing and the living circumstances of the occupants. A mixed-methods approach was utilised, primarily employing field surveys, house investigation including arrangement and utilisation of space, and in-depth interviews with residents. A total of 80 households were sampled and analysed. The findings reveal that the previous relocation plans made by local authorities, which offered only a single room per family as a one-size-fits-all strategy, are not suitable for the current inhabitants' living conditions. Consequently, this article concludes with alternate suggestions for the forthcoming practical Mae Kha Canal Housing Upgrade project. It emphasises the potential of applying the idea of interiority to examine the distinctive interior conditions, thereby contributing to better dwelling design for the locals.

Keywords: housing and slum upgrading, dwelling, room arrangement and layout, inhabitant conditions, informal settlements

Article Details

How to Cite
Duangputtan, P., & Mishima, N. (2024). Examining Dwelling Interior Conditions for Informal Settlement Upgrading Along the Mae Kha Canal, Chiang Mai. Interiority, 7(2), 223–250. https://doi.org/10.7454/in.v7i2.483
Author Biographies

Patcharaporn Duangputtan, Saga University, Japan

Patcharaporn Duangputtan is a PhD student from Thailand at Saga University, Japan. She holds a bachelor's degree in architecture from Chiang Mai University’s Faculty of Architecture and a master's degree in architectural and urban design from Saga University. Her research interests include architecture design, participatory community-based approaches, as well as informal settlements and local dwellings. She is currently investigating low-income living conditions and housing characteristics in informal settlements adjacent to a city’s canal in her hometown of Chiang Mai.

Nobuo Mishima, Saga University, Japan

Nobuo Mishima is a Professor of Architecture, Urban Design, and Planning at Saga University. He studied at Vienna University of Technology as an exchange student and then completed a PhD in urban engineering from the University of Tokyo in 1995. He is a member of the Japan Institute of Architects (JIA) and has previously worked as a technician at Eto Shinchi Architect Atelier in Vienna and Osaka. His research interests include regenerative conservation design for the historic environment, and one of his important urban design works involves preserving and regenerating a traditional town with a local heritage called Hizenhama-shuku in Kashima City, Japan.

References

Aryani, N. P., & Jen-Tu, K. (2020). Environmental behavior analysis of social housing units in Surabaya, Indonesia. Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 20(4), 398–413. https://doi.org/10.1080/13467581.2020.1799796

Atmodiwirjo, P., & Yatmo, Y. A. (2022). Responsive interior: Tactics for adaptation and resilience. Interiority, 5(2), 133–136. https://doi.org/10.7454/in.v5i2.238

Bruyns, G. (2018). Tactical interiority; Hong Kong's "lived" interiors as praxis for tactical living in High-Density landscapes. Interiors, 9(3), 346–371. https://doi.org/10.1080/20419112.2019.1642571

Charoenmuang, D. A. (2007). Sustainable cities in Chiang Mai: A case of a city in a valley. Urban Studies Section, Social Research Institute, Chiang Mai University.

Chiang Mai News. (2019). Baan Kon Thai Pracharat Chiang Mai [Thai people's house, Chiang Mai]. https://www.chiangmainews.co.th/page/archives/916126#

Chiang Mai Provincial Treasury. (2020, February 19). Bpra chaa sam pan krong gaan Baan Kon Thai Pracharat Chiang Mai [Project of Baan Kon Thai Pracharat, Chiang Mai]. https://chiangmai.treasury.go.th/th/thai-people-s-house-project/

Cities Alliance. (2021). Slums and slum upgrading. https://www.citiesalliance.org/themes/slums-and-slum-upgrading

Dan, N. H., & Shiozaki, Y. (2011). A study on upgrading projects of public housing in Hanoi, Vietnam. Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 10(1), 69–76. https://doi.org/10.3130/jaabe.10.69

Davis, M. (2006). Planet of slums. Verso.

Fuchs, R. J. (Ed.). (1994). Mega-city growth and the future. United Nations University Press.

Gooding, T. (2016). Low-income housing provision in Mauritius: Improving social justice and place quality. Habitat International, 53, 502–516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2015.12.018

Guntamueanglee, A. (2022, January 20). Yaan settagit meaung Chiang Mai yuu tee nai? [Where is the economic district of Chiang Mai?]. The Urbanis. https://theurbanis.com/insight/20/01/2022/5783#

Killemsetty, N., Johnson, M., & Patel, A. (2022). Understanding housing preferences of slum dwellers in India: A community-based operations research approach. European Journal of Operational Research, 298(2), 699–713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2021.06.055

Mahabir, R., Crooks, A., Croitoru, A., & Agouris, P. (2016). The study of slums as social and physical constructs: Challenges and emerging research opportunities. Regional Studies, Regional Science, 3(1), 399–419. https://doi.org/10.1080/21681376.2016.1229130

Meidwinna, V. M. (2019). Study on physical improvement strategy for deteriorated riverside settlement in developing country [Doctoral dissertation, Toyohashi University of Technology]. CiNii Research. https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/500001364260

Nuanla-Or, S. (2016). Creating sustainable future of a degraded urban canal: Mae Kha, in Chiang Mai, Thailand (Publication No. 784) [Master's thesis, Louisiana State University]. LSU Scholarly Repository. https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/784/

Ongsakul, S. (2005). History of Lan Na (D. W. Millar & S. Barron, Eds.; C. Tanratanakul, Trans.). Silkworm Books.

Padawangi, R. (Ed.). (2019). Routledge handbook of urbanization in Southeast Asia. Routledge.

Paramita, K. D., & Schneider, T. (2018). Passage territories: Reframing living spaces in contested contexts. Interiority, 1(2), 113–129. https://doi.org/10.7454/in.v1i2.34

Purwanto, E., Sugiri, A., & Novian, R. (2017). Determined slum upgrading: A challenge to participatory planning in Nanga Bulik, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Sustainability, 9(7), Article 1261. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9071261

Ribeiro, G., & Srisuwan, A. (2005). Urban development discourses, environmental management and public participation: The case of the Mae Kha canal in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Environment and Urbanization, 17(1), 171–182. https://doi.org/10.1177/095624780501700116

Rigon, A. (2022). Diversity, justice and slum upgrading: An intersectional approach to urban development. Habitat International, 130, Article 102691. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2022.102691

Saiyudthong, C. (2019). Social housing design: Low-income community along Mae-Kha Canal [Undergraduate thesis, Chiang Mai University]. Chiang Mai University Library. 

Satayanuruk, A. (1999). Wiwattanaagaan chumchon ae at lae ong gon chumchon ae at nai meaung: Gorranee seuksa meaung Chiang Mai [Evolution of slum communities and urban slum organisations: Case study of Chiang Mai city]. In A. Rabibhadana (Ed.), Slum communities: Knowledge and reality. The Thailand Research Fund.

Sattayakorn, S., Sinuraibhan, S., Ramasoot, S., Wungpatcharapon, S., Hadjri, K., Durosaiye, I., & Huang, J. (2023). Live-work interior quality for older people in low-income housing in Bangkok. Interiority, 6(2), 225–248. https://doi.org/10.7454/in.v6i2.301

Srisuwan, A. (2005). Negotiating for squatter housing adjacent to the historical site: A case study of Kampaeng Ngam Community, Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai University Journal of Natural Sciences, 4(2), 199–205.

The Citizen Plus: Thai Public Broadcasting Service. (2022, April 11). Bprachaa sangkom Chiang Mai kor chalor Baan Pracharat rim Doi Suthep chee baan peuua kon jon kao mai teung [Chiang Mai civic society suggested delaying Baan Pracharat near Doi Suthep by highlighting low-income people's houses that are unsuitable for them]. https://thecitizen.plus/node/55411

UN-Habitat. (2003). The challenge of slums–Global report on human settlements 2003. Earthscan Publications. https://unhabitat.org/the-challenge-of-slums-global-report-on-human-settlements-2003

UN-Habitat. (2015). A practical guide to designing, planning, and executing citywide slum upgrading programmes. https://unhabitat.org/a-practical-guide-to-designing-planning-and-executing-citywide-slum-upgrading-programmes

Viratkapan, V., & Perera, R. (2006). Slum relocation projects in Bangkok: What has contributed to their success or failure? Habitat International, 30(1), 157–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2004.09.002

Wang, Y., Hu, Y., Niu, X., Yan, H., & Zhen, L. (2022). Land use/cover change and its driving mechanism in Thailand from 2000 to 2020. Land, 11(12), Article 2253. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11122253

Wekesa, B. W., Steyn, G. S., & Otieno, F. A. O. (2011). A review of physical and socio-economic characteristics and intervention approaches of informal settlements. Habitat International, 35(2), 238–245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2010.09.006

Wijitporn, T. (2020, November 4). Reimagining new city development in Maekha. The City at Eye Level. https://thecityateyelevel.com/stories/reimagining-new-city-development-in-maekha/

Yang, S., & van Oostrum, M. (2020). The self-governing redevelopment approach of Maquanying: Incremental socio-spatial transformation in one of Beijing's urban villages. Habitat International, 104, Article 102235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2020.102235