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Mahanakhon Tower: An example of BKK gentrification

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Mahanakhon Tower: An example of BKK gentrification

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Resentment emerges within the community and conflict can occur between the original inhabitants due to the results of displacement.

In the middle of the city, a new mall was built in 2014 (Siam Square ONE) and in the midst of "renovating" the area by building a new all-in-one shopping centre; old small shops had to make way - these were one-story shops along the streets as well as many extra-curricular activities schools had to relocate or close down. This created friction with the original inhabitants as they had to either move out or move into the will be opened shopping malls with increased rent prices.

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Gentrification is like a double-edged sword.

On one side, it offers lower SES people who own their homes a chance for a financial gain as they sell their homes, and can also offer benefits to the neighborhood like improved job opportunities, increased convenient transport options, shopping options, and public safety. On the other side, gentrification may also disturb existing neighborhoods and can displace low-SES residents, some of whom may have been living in the neighborhood for a long time (Taylor, 2016). This may result in homelessness (especially with inflated house rates).

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Theory of Attachment and Place Attachment (Giuliani, 2003)

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Theory of Attachment and Place Attachment (Giuliani, 2003)

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A theory in environmental psychology which states that:

"humans express affect – feelings, moods, emotions, etc.  – in various ways, forms, degrees, with varying awareness, towards the places in which they are born, live and act."

It is the affective bond, either positive or negative, pleasant or unpleasant, with some place that can be related to our current or past experience (since childhood), sometimes in the future (dream home or dream city to live in), and more or less restricted in scale: the house in which we live or have lived, a certain room in the home, the area around the home, the neighbourhood, the city, the country, any thing of this sort.

This bond defines our identity to a certain extent. UQ defines me as a student. That street in front of my house defines me as a child. My house that defines me as a son.

If this bond is destroyed by means of gentrification or displacement. This may result in emotional breakdown and harm one's psyche. Similar to the way a loved one who shares an affective bond with the person has left us.

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1. Stricter regulation monitoring and enactment. (e.g. All large building must pass EIA).
2. Government informs and notifies laypeople several months before construction to prevent expropriation.
3. Inform developers the percentage left in the green zone to reduce land abuse. This will prevent disorganization of the city plan.
4. Prosecuted developers who construct buildings illegally  (e.g. without EIA or deviate from the city plan).
5. Stop bribery or corruption cycle.

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Impacts of underground transit (MRT) to Bangsue community.

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Impacts of underground transit (MRT) to Bangsue community.

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NB. Bangsue is a small area located in Bangkok. It's a relatively crowded community.
The information below is a study conducted by Waleeporn (2006).

Changes in citizens' behavior.
- The majority of people (69%) using underground transit don't own a personal vehicle while the rest (31%), who own personal vehicles, but are not using vehicles. The latter group get to MRT station by public transportation, such as bus, in order to get to underground transit because there is not enough parking space at the stations and the parking fees are expensive.

Impacts on community
- The underground transit (refers to MRT) extends to Bangsue which the living area where most people have stayed for many years. The area is relatively crowded which contribute up to 1059 households with population of 5946. Most people there have relatively low income. In the past, people would transport either by boat or car. But the canal became degraded which forced people to use car instead. This became issues. The MRT railway runs along with the roads that are for cars. Thus, traffic congestion has been increased ever since which affects not only people living in Bangsue but also Bangkokians.
- Despite, there were positive impacts to the community. People living near MRT have more choice of transportation. Also, the area became more developed, that is, more lights were built which have brought more safety to the neighborhood, especially at night.

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Research study in focus: Positive sides of gentrification and displacement

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Research study in focus: Positive sides of gentrification and displacement

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Balance gentrification was positive for low-income residents also  economically it improved employment opportunities and socially as the populations mix in the streets, shops and other local institutions.
(Byrne 2003)

There is an opportunity to improve the quality of life for long-term residents and society through the revitalisation of neighbourhoods and the mixing of socio-economic groups.
(Freeman 2005)

Visible physical rehabilitation of property occurs as well as higher values of sold property or land providing increased local fiscal revenues. There's also stabilisation of the area by reducing suburban sprawl.
Atkinson and Bridge, 2005)

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Government's Role: Ineffective city plan and low-incomers displacement

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Government's Role: Ineffective city plan and low-incomers displacement

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Every district has its own layout. One thing in common is that 10% of each district is a green zone -- a free space where any type of building can be built anywhere in that district.

At first, this measure seemed to work fine. However, government fails to monitor this regulation and developers were out of control. Every developer knows the 10% rule but they don't know how many percent has been used. Without this knowledge, new-coming developers keep constructing new buildings (mostly condominiums and malls), consuming more than 10% of the land.

The city plan became unorganized. Full of illegally constituted space (e.g. street vendors, markets, etc.)
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Another problem to the city plan is some land plots belong to big-named investors. Initially these investors lease the land to low-incomers for ~30years. If investors see opportunities in the land, the low incomers will be forced to move out after lease ends  because their homes will be demolished and replaced by a tall condo or large mall.

With huge financial support, authority, and some connection with government agent, these big-names can easily build large malls or high-rise condominium without having EIA (environmental impact assessment).

How it causes displacement?
These new facilities are built in the low-incomers' land. Low incomers weren't notified long before enough to prepare moving out. They also cannot afford houses nearby because the prize is too high, so slum appears to be their only possible alternative.

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On going problem: A protest against the "Orange line" skytrain

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On going problem: A protest against the "Orange line" skytrain

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Top left: Newspaper headline about a very short notice by the government for the land expropriation.
Top right: The orange Skytrain line protesters
Bottom: The banner stated: " We will not let the orange Skytrain line track pass our community!"

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Research study in focus: Negative feelings towards the displacement

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Research study in focus: Negative feelings towards the displacement

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Indirect displacement residents' opinion

"It’s expensive around here, I can’t afford it. It’s 2 or 3 million baht, that’s too
expensive for me. I decided to buy at Rama II [another area in the city]. I bought the condo but I don’t want to move. Before they were 1 million and something, but now about 3. After the BTS came, they went up to about 3 million. . . . Things change, it’s very normal to me. They have the BTS, condos, more people, so it’s normal for the price to go up." [Female, 46; renting for nine years]

People with lower incomes see their neighborhood gradually become more expensive, while the neighborhood becomes attractive to new residents with higher incomes.

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Research study in focus: Negative feelings towards the displacement

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Research study in focus: Negative feelings towards the displacement

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Direct displacement residents' opinions

No official notice, only informal letter,
heard by word of mouth, or were spoken to by the owner's representative

They were offered 50 000 baht ($1556) compensation to move early.

Opinions from residents who used to rent the house at the "gentrified" area.

"Did they tell us in advance? Well, they did, but they didn’t ask us to go talk with them first. Instead, they sent a representative. They said to the representative “I give you a total of 5 million and you go and force those that have terminated contracts out of the property . . . and pay them as little money as you can.”

"The contract for 25 years is over now. So after our contract has been completed they would not let us extend the rent contract anymore. Bastards! Instead they sold the land to these two condos here. Such assholes, leaving people around here to suffer"  (Male, 45; renting for 30 years).

"Well I stayed here for a long time. My neighbors and friends, we feel close. If we move apart from one another then we will miss each other, something like that. If we go to a new place we aren’t sure if we will find good people and we’ll not be used to the area. I feel sad because I don’t want to leave this place yet." (Female, 34;renting for 20 years).

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Research study in focus: The rapid growth of condominium in response to the MRT line

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Research study in focus: The rapid growth of condominium in response to the MRT line

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In response to the congestion in Bangkok, the government has developed an elevated mass transit system comprises the BTS sky train and MRT underground train.  This extension of the mass transit system into areas of the city that is away from the immediate center has led to the development of luxurious apartment complexes by corporate developers and their consumption by the professional middle classes.  This indicates the gentrification comes in as condominiums that are built to provide quick access to the mass transit.

BTS: with 36 kilometers of track at present and 34 stations

MRT: with 20 kilometers of track at present and 18 stations

The aim of the research:  to demonstrate that gentrification is occurring as a result of mass transit and to examine the impacts of this on local communities and residents.

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Gentrification is the conversion of socially marginal and working-class areas of the central city to middle-class residential use (Zukin, 1987, p. 129).

Gentrification is "a term used to explain a process of socioeconomic change to a
neighborhood when there is an influx of new, relatively wealthy residents, leading to
the upgrading of the area and displacement of the lower-income incumbent residents" (Moore, 2015, p. 473).

The displacement of people refers to "the forced movement of people from their locality or environment and occupational activities. It is a form of social change caused by a number of factors, the most common being armed conflict. Natural disasters, famine, development and economic changes may also be a cause of displacement"' (UNESCO, 2017).

"In regard to population displacement resulting from development there are typically two types:

direct displacement, which leads to actual displacement of people from their locations

indirect displacement, which leads to a loss of livelihood. For e.g.  increasing rents as the neighbourhood becomes more desirable, or socio-cultural displacement as more affluent incomers take over neighbourhood apparatuses (Davidson & Lees, 2004).

People are forced to leave the home region to which they are attached and for which they have the knowledge to make a living most effectively, displaced populations often become impoverished. The displacement of people as a result of development projects, policies, and processes, therefore, constitute a social cost for development" (UNESCO, 2017).