Making Bangkok greener
Big parks are welcome, but smaller green spaces scattered across the capital are also needed. By Natchaya Promsuwan
Tangling and looping electrical wires, uneven footpaths and the lack of easily accessible green space are some of the things Bangkok residents almost see as a norm in our lives.
Yet, we are seeing improvements, such as the plan to move electricity lines underground along 39 major roads in Bangkok, the new smart bus shelters, and the recently announced expansion of Benjakitti Forest Park on Tobacco Authority of Thailand property.
At present, there are three large public parks in Bangkok. The oldest is Lumpini Park, located in the city centre, with a total area of 360 rai. In the Mor Chit area, near the PTT head office, is Vachirabenjatas Park or Suan Rod Fai, converted from a 374-rai golf course. The third is Suan Luang Rama IX, covering 500 rai in eastern Bangkok, serving residents in areas from late Sukhumvit, Sinakarin, Pattanakarn and Ramkhamhaeng.
The extension of the original Benjakitti Park will be known as Benjakitti Forest Park and will become the fourth largest public park in Bangkok. The central government will invest over 650 million baht to develop and turn 259 rai of land into a public park with space for a trade show pavilion and museums to attract more visitors.
A public park or urban green space is designed to be compensation to bridge the gap between the urban and natural landscape for people in a city. Apart from being recreation areas and absorbing a city’s air pollutants, public parks also increase the property value of nearby developments, based on statistics showing the pricing of buildings surrounding Lumpini Park, attributable to unobstructed views of the park.
According to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), green area per capita in Bangkok was about 6 square metres in 2020, well below the World Health Organization (WHO) standard of 9 sq m. Even in 2022, when the new Benjakitti Forest Park will be completed, the proportion of urban green space to Bangkok’s population would still be lower than the global standard.
Urban planners in Bangkok should consider promoting green space by offering more attractive incentives to property developers and others who provide green space that is open and accessible to the public, apart from the existing floor area ratio (FAR) bonus regulations.
The scale of a public park might not be the most crucial factor if it is large and located in the middle of a city, and it is not convenient for people from the outer areas of the city to access daily to exercise. The idea of pocket parks or small-scale public parks scattered around the city to support individual communities might be one of the solutions to make public parks more accessible.
Pocket parks can come in different sizes and forms, depending on the needs of each location or neighbouring community. In addition, large tracts of underutilised government-owned land should be considered to be developed into parks to provide more public green space.
As maximising the buildable area in a megaproject could prove to be too massive and dense, the inclusion of a public park could increase the uniqueness and value of a development while creating a sense of community within the project.
‘‘ Green area per capita in Bangkok is about 6 square metres, well below the WHO standard of 9 sq m.