Governor Chadchart Sittipunt’s Vision: Bangkok’s Ambitious Green Transformation by 2026

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As global sustainability efforts pick up steam, Bangkok is taking strides in redefining its environmental agenda under the stewardship of Governor Chadchart Sittipunt. Shifting focus from the Green Bangkok 2030 initiative that his predecessors initiated, the governor is now pushing forward with an even more ambitious vision.

Mr. Chadchart aims to create what he calls a “15-minute city” where residents can access green spaces within a short stroll. This plan involves adding 130 parks and doubling the original tree-planting goal to two million trees by 2026, a significant leap after Bangkok successfully hit its initial target of one million trees within just two years.

“The first thing he did when he came into office was he went to a park and planted the first tree,” says Pornphrom Vikitsreth, the BMA’s Chief of Sustainability and advisor to the governor.

Thailand faces a slew of environmental problems, including rampant deforestation, diminishing biodiversity, and escalating soil erosion. Urban centers like Bangkok also battle severe air pollution due to traffic congestion and industrial emissions, severely impacting residents’ health. The waste management system is under immense stress, with increasing plastic waste further polluting land and water ecosystems.

With a population of 10 million and some of the smallest per capita green spaces in Asia, Bangkok often struggles with the perception of being overcrowded. Enhancing green spaces is crucial to making the city more appealing to expatriates and competitive against neighboring cities like Singapore.

Transitioning from Green Bangkok 2030, which aligns with the Paris Agreement’s emission goals, the governor now aims to champion the “15-minute park” concept—creating pocket parks in underserved areas to guarantee that every resident has equitable access to green spaces.

“Parks are a smaller investment with big gains,” Mr. Pornphrom notes.

The “15-minute city” concept ensures that residents can walk to essential amenities like schools, malls, restaurants, and, of course, green spaces within a quarter of an hour. Parks are the linchpin of this vision in Bangkok. Instead of creating one or two large parks annually, the plan now prioritizes numerous smaller pocket parks to ensure fair distribution and access.

Mr. Pornphrom elaborates that selecting a new park’s location involves a meticulous process:

1. Analyse the Need: Conduct a thorough analysis to determine if a new park is needed, especially in densely populated areas near community centers.
2. Engage the Community: Set up a circle of chairs on the identified land and invite residents for a discussion on their needs, asking them, “What do you want?”
3. Design Based on Input: Tailor the park’s design based on community feedback, incorporating features such as playgrounds, trails, outdoor gyms, or benches to meet local needs.

“We want to get them to come and be a part of the process from the beginning,” he says. “And then once the park is open, they feel like they are the owner.”

The work doesn’t stop once the park opens. These green spaces need regular users to help maintain them and ensure their security. Mr. Pornphrom hopes locals will view these parks as extensions of their own backyards.

“We have to be more inventive when we don’t have the land,” he adds. Finding space for pocket parks in a city teeming with condominiums has been a challenge. Creative solutions include reimagining areas under expressways, converting concrete spaces into greenery, repurposing parts of parking lots, and partnering with local schools to open their grounds to the public after hours.

Trees and green spaces are vital for physical and mental well-being, enhancing air quality, aiding in carbon sequestration and drainage, providing shade from the intense heat, and most importantly, making cities more livable for everyone, Mr. Pornphrom says.

Ensuring the survival of trees has been bolstered by a new policy to introduce 50 arborists to the city. These specialists, also known as tree doctors, focus on assessing and maintaining the overall health of trees instead of just performing routine maintenance. In 2022, Bangkok had only one such arborist, but the current administration has boosted this number to 15, with plans for ongoing training and certification to expand the team further.

To ensure the parks are of high quality, they have implemented quality checks to assess the vitality of these green spaces. “People are very happy they voted for the new governor,” Mr. Pornphrom says. “They feel more free.”