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Bangkok GoodWalk

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"A GoodWalk city is a way to upgrade the urban environment to avoid the middle-income tourism trap”

The GoodWalk Project Phase 3 is a continuation of Phases 1 and 2 of a research project advocate walkability in pilot areas in Bangkok.  UddC uses a participatory design process to propose ways to promote and support the creation of neighborhoods with a pedestrian-friendly physical environment which improves the quality of life, stimulates the local economy, and preserves the cultural heritage and the environment at both the local and city levels.

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UddC believes that any city whose residents and visitors are not encouraged to walk does not bode well for that city’s future viability.  This principle further underscores the importance of developing and promoting a pedestrian-friendly city, and Bangkok is one of the larger cities in Southeast Asia which urgently needs to improve its walkability. However, there are formidable obstacles to this movement which can be attributed to the uncontrolled rapid expansion of urban areas, intractable transportation problems, grid lock, etc., and this reduces Bangkok’s ability to compete with other cities to attract visitors, tourists, and its own citizens.

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Thus, the concept of a GoodWalk city is considered an important strategy for Bangkok’s development in order to revitalize and drive the economy at the local level, promote tourism activities, improving the physical environment of the city, and creating awareness -- both at the individual and the social level -- of the importance of walking

 

However, advocating Bangkok to be a GoodWalk city is a big challenge, given its vast area of ​​over 1,500 square kilometers. Clearly, it would not be feasible to address the problem for the entire area at once. Therefore, the UddC strategy is to begin with pilot sites which are amenable to developing their Walkability Index.  The sites include ​​Bangkok's Ari-Pradipat zone, Thonglor-Ekkamai, and Kadeejeen-Khlongsan. These are all neighborhoods that have the potential to be pedestrian-friendly and serve as prototypes of what more areas of Bangkok could achieve.

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In addition to proposing physical design guidelines, another strategy of the project is to coordinate stakeholders representatives from all levels of the area, including the host community, Civil Society, the private sector, investors, the public sector, decision makers, and area managers to embrace a common vision of walkability.   This is an important strategy for the development and improvement of the physical and administrative environment at the urban level to lead to the birth of a sustainable GoodWalk city.

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PROJECT FACT

Project Name : A project to study the potential of access to public facilities/amenities that promote walking and the project to study the Walkability Index Phase 3
Client : Thai Health Promotion Foundation
Year : 2017
Status : Studies Research and Design 
Program / Role : Research and Pathway design

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