Urban development discourses, environmental management and public participation: the case of the Mae Kha canal in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Abstract

This paper discusses issues of political influence and power struggles in connection with environmental projects, in the context of a low-income settlement in the city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. This low-income settlement has been included in the interventions of four different projects/programmes in the last five years: a community-driven initiative implemented with the support of a public organization and an NGO; the Chiang Mai 30-year master plan designed by architectural consultants to Chiang Mai municipality; a project undertaken by the Department of Town Planning within Chiang Mai provincial government, following an initiative by the prime minister, Mr Taksin Shinawatra; and an historic preservation project being implemented by the National Department of Fine Arts.