Sustainable communities and cities have become an important issue that we can no longer ignore like in the past. This is one of the goals of creating sustainability to pass on to our children in the future.
If asked what is the “dream life” like? Having a good life in a livable community or city would probably be one of the top answers. This is also one of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, which is SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities & Community.
Admin had the opportunity to talk with 3 gurus who work on this issue, namely:
- Ms. Uthaiwan Anuchitanukul, Senior Director, Excellence and Sustainable Development, Central Pattana Public Company Limited
- Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pisit Piamnakun, Deputy Dean for Innovation Strategy and Sustainability, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University and
- Mr. Jurit Kanwanphum, Urban Designer and Project Manager of Pan Muang Group
The three of them will update the situation of this issue and search for answers together whether a good life in the city and sustainable communities and cities is a dream or can it actually happen?
4 qualities of a dream city: inclusive-safe-immune-sustainable
We need to start talking about the meaning of sustainable cities and communities to gain a better understanding. Dr. Phisit clarified that SDG 11 according to the United Nations has 3 important keywords:
- Appropriate and sustainable cities and human settlements
- Innovation and management to build on the foundations of cities or communities for sustainability
- Characteristics of sustainable cities in 4 dimensions: inclusive-safe-resilient-sustainable
Dr. Phisit gave information about the current situation in each dimension that if looking at the coverage, Thai society still has a lot of inequality issues. We have condos, skyscrapers, but there are still homeless people or people living in crowded communities. The COVID situation has clearly reflected this problem when social distancing cannot be done in communities with limited space. It shows that the settlement and urbanization of our country are not comprehensive enough.
In terms of safety, large cities in Thailand have improved in this area. This can be seen from the fact that we have Road Safety and Building Codes. However, there are still questions about disasters: do we have a management plan or how much can we cope with them? In terms of immunity, it is found to be a major risk factor that needs to be prepared for, because Thailand’s statistics rank it 9th in the world for being affected by climate change, emphasizing that we may not have sufficient immunity. Finally, in terms of sustainability, which is viewed in 3 aspects: People, Profit, Planet, when city people still have to deal with PM2.5 dust, it can be considered unsustainable.
Join us in dreaming of sustainable communities and cities with Imagining Better Futures for All with Central Pattana.
When it comes to sustainability, Uthaiwan, the executive of Central Pattana, the largest retail and mixed-use property developer in Thailand, which has been a part of Thai society for over 40 years, reflects to us that nowadays, “sustainability” is a trend that every business is interested in. Because when developing, it must go hand in hand with taking care of the impacts, both socially and environmentally, including people’s lifestyles that have changed due to technology and the increasing complexity of social interactions. Central Pattana’s success over the past 40 years is due to its commitment to driving the organization towards sustainable growth.
In the early days, Central Pattana focused on corporate governance and continued to develop it further until it became a member of the DJSI (Dow Jones Sustainability Indices), a global benchmark for sustainable development among leading companies. We have integrated sustainability principles into our business strategies by striving to create the best “Center of Life” in every province where our centers are located.
Central Pattana will be involved with the surrounding communities since the beginning of construction, helping to develop and enhance the potential, prosperity and convenience for the benefit of the surrounding communities, in line with the clear vision and mission of the organization under the concept of “Imagining Better Futures for All: Committed to creating good things for a sustainable future for everyone”, which is in line with SDGs 11, which will drive the country and have an impact on the world as well.
Continuing the mission of sustainable ‘development’ for a better world and environment.
Ms. Uthaiwan continued to tell us that the environment is no less important for the sustainable development of cities and communities. Central Pattana has therefore initiated an environmental project called Journey to Zero, which is an attempt to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by using renewable energy. The goal is to install Solar Rooftop to reduce the use of electricity in every shopping center.
Which is now more than half complete. In addition, there is the use of recycled water by reusing it to water plants around the center and waste management to promote Circular Economy and Upcycling, inviting entrepreneurs in the shopping center and customers to come together to separate PET bottles and plastic boxes for processing. And we are pushing for communication with the community to be aware of the importance of waste separation.
Dr. Phisit shared his views on this matter that the Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, has also driven SDG 11 in the environmental dimension, with 2 important projects: the Sensor for All project that manages PM 2.5 dust, starting from the development of data transmission systems, big data, data analytics, predictions using AI Prediction Model, and using data to develop the webboard and application “Sensor for All” to expand education. This project uses the concept of Collaboration & Co-creation, working with many sectors.
For example, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, the National Housing Authority, GISDA, AIS, TRUE, CAT, and MICROSOFT. Another project is to push the National Housing Authority to promote SSC (Smart and Sustainable Community) with an indicator of Sustainable Community, which will develop an application system and 2-axis indicators from both NHA officials who go down to collect data in the area and from communities in the actual area, such as Bang Chalong Community Housing, which has green space management, waste management, water use, and energy use.
Engagement & Collaboration & Co-creation Developing cities and communities with participation
The approach to working with many sectors and emphasizing participation is consistent with Mr. Jurit , an architect from the Pan Muang group, who raised this issue more clearly from his personal interest and experience working on the revitalization of old neighborhoods, saying that sustainable urban development must not forget communities and traditional ways of life. Participation at the joint decision-making level should be promoted to determine
Development direction because it is believed that participation (Engage), especially having consensus, will be a key to sustainability because it will make the community understand the issues they are involved in, be able to express their opinions (Voice) and connect with the local government sector or policy level that will create change.
Mr. Jurit also shared his experience working with the Talad Noi community in Samphanthawong District for about 9-10 years, where he found that people were gradually moving out of the old area, which was being developed into a new business center, due to various limitations such as building laws, public utilities, transportation, or the new generation who wanted to live with more green space moved out of the city, resulting in a decrease in kinship in the community and a decrease in ownership, while the workplace remained in the same place, so workers had to travel back to the city as usual and had to face the pain of traveling. The problem that arose was the deteriorating neighborhood and the new generation who had responsibilities and used the city in various ways.
Old Town – New Town: The Challenge of Coexistence
Mr. Jurit gave a clearer picture of Samphanthawong District, a very small district on the riverside. It is a historical area that is the center of culture and economy. It is an area that is always growing and is being used efficiently. Every square inch is filled with people and occupancy. However, it has the least green space in Bangkok, at about 3%, and about 31% of the people living in this area are elderly.
New challenges encountered were that the urban structure had changed with the introduction of a rail transport system, which provided better connectivity to the city. Meanwhile, the public sector was not yet aware of the community’s goals or visions for the future. In the first few years when the Pan Muang group went to listen to the community to gain as much information as possible, it was found that there were 5 issues that the community was interested in and could be used as issues to create participation: Culture, which everyone valued and was ready to talk about, such as old buildings that were devalued due to a lack of know-how, capital, or management plans; Physical issues or common areas for living and doing activities together in the community; Economy; Strengthening the community, such as calling a community meeting to set common goals, which, although new to the community, is an important factor leading to sustainability, especially in supporting local people to be stronger in analyzing the area and solving problems by themselves;
And finally, the security of housing, because most of the people in the area are not Thai nationals and the area is rented. If the owner does not rent, it may mean the loss of the community. Even if it is a low-income community, it will affect the loss of know-how, cultural inheritance, or various skills, including the loss of labor, which means that labor costs in the economic center area will be more expensive. Mr. Jurit invites us to think further with the question of how, in this case, the old and new areas can adapt to live together without focusing only on the economic dimension or tourism.
Stepping into the future together, joining forces to create sustainable communities and cities
The discussion, which was filled with both hope and challenge, came to a close. We all talked about future directions and the possibility of joining forces to build cities together. Dr. Phisit emphasized the importance of SDG 11 on sustainable cities and communities being included in the 5th national strategy related to quality of life and the environment, with the goal that in the next 20 years Thailand will be the country with the best quality of life and environment in ASEAN, which has 2 important issues:
- The ecological map is a development that responds to the 4 dimensions of quality of a livable city, which are linked to the following issues:
- The relationship dimension or LEECD is L = Land used, which is how to use the area appropriately. E = Ecology, which is having green space or other living things. E = Environment, garbage, wastewater, various pollutants. C = Culture, which is culture because we cannot develop cities or communities without a cultural foundation. D = Disease, new or re-emerging diseases, which respond to the current Covid situation.
Mr. Jurit gave his perspective on communities that provincial areas will easily be formed because of the close relationships of people in the community. While in urban areas, interest in communities will decrease because they do not feel that they are related to oneself. However, if one considers it, one will eventually see the connections, such as cleanliness and garbage, which affect health. Telling stories about the community’s history will make one more familiar with the community. Improving the area will also be related to safety. He believes that everyone has stories in their hearts, but they have to wait for people to raise issues and express their opinions. The first thing that can be started in creating sustainable communities is to start by inviting people to see small issues close to home, then move on to bigger issues, using the voices of people in the community to set goals for sustainable development, and then connecting with various sectors.
Ms. Uthaiwan concluded by saying that Central Pattana is ready to join hands with all sectors to create sustainable changes at the macro level, starting from small points, starting with ourselves and our partners, to creating networks to drive and elevate sustainable urban and community development in a holistic and comprehensive manner, developing in line with modernization while still maintaining the original Local Essence identity of the community.
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“We Shift…World Change” program
Episode: “Joining forces to create sustainable cities and communities”
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