The Urban Poor of Uttaradit

 Located in the northwestern part of the Thailand, the city and its people are energetically taking steps to make the development  slogan “healthy cities for all” a reality for the relatively small city’s 1,000 poor families. They are creating a working partnership between the municipality and the urban poor which can make it possible for everyone in the city - everyone! - to live in healthy, secure, affordable houses within 3 years!

With support from the municipality, the Urban Community Development Office, the National Housing Authority, a pair of young architects from Bangkok, and the city’s energetic and visionary new mayor, Ms. Prakaykeaw, the Uttaradit community network is surveying the city’s poor settlements, starting savings groups, organizing exposure visits to other projects and has launched pilot redevelopment schemes in 4 settlements. 

 To find truly “sustainable” solutions for the city’s 1,000 squatters and  families with housing problems, they’re looking at the city as a whole and finding ways to make room for the poor right in the fabric of the city.  To do this, they are exploring options on:  land-sharing, re-blocking, relocation, employment generation, urban regeneration, canal-cleaning, wasteland reclamation, park-development, etc.