Making Informal Settlement Upgrading Plan to Action: A Comparative Analysis of Slow-Changing Community

Abstract

Informal settlement upgrading has always been a crucial element of urban planning and developmentmissions, particularly in a rapidly changing population and economic environments. Despite having beenassociated with planning process of national slum upgrading/prevention, it could hardly be accomplishedunless some threatening catalysts upon housing security are triggered. The researchers studied two suburbcommunities on the Crown Property Bureau’s lands: The Second Phuddhamonthon Road Community (SPC) and Wat Indrabanjong Community (WIC). Both are recognized as ‘slow-changing communities’. The research waschronologically conducted during 2009-2012 by abductive approach. Hence, the paper aims 1) to elucidate themechanism of planning platform and dialogues under a specific context to generate mutual consensus amongstakeholders; 2) to identify a series of neighborhood qualifications, limits, and potentials under a diverse livingambience that frequently impede actual changes; and 3) to extrapolate some mechanisms and conditions,bringing about a ‘critical point’, which ignites the settlement to a radical change. The key failure and successare 1) community leader and leadership, 2) the status of individual economic burdens, and 3) ad-hoc planningtactics.