Showing 1 - 10 of 28
Put culture first in old town revamps
Oped, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 28/03/2024
» Will Thailand's old towns include their old communities as they are renovated? In many of these important districts, institutional owners of land are apt to evict legacy tenants to make way for redevelopment, threatening vintage architecture and eroding vibrant local cultures and ways of life.
Pedestrians, once again, get raw deal
News, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 24/08/2017
» After watching the documentary Citizen Jane: Battle for the City last weekend, I finally found something in common between New York City and Bangkok -- the obsession with infrastructure development at the cost of local communities. What happened to New York City planning six decades ago reminds me of what's happening to development in Bangkok nowadays.
A city best viewed from street level
News, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 29/06/2017
» Is Bangkok going to be made a "City of Seven Wonders"? After making us wonder with its 8.6-billion-baht riverside promenade, dubbed the "New Landmark of Thailand", the government is initiating a second wonder project as a new landmark for the capital -- the 4.6-billion-baht Bangkok Observation Tower.
Change you can believe in, or pie in sky?
News, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 23/06/2017
» What was seemingly an earnest campaign to illuminate Bangkok in a manner not involving digital billboards or aircraft warning lights has put the spotlight on truth in advertising and the ethics of social campaigns targeting Thai netizens.
Street-food plan starves poor of choice
News, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 20/04/2017
» Soon after being hailed as the city with the world's best street food by CNN, and with the Michelin Guide announcing it will visit Thailand this year, City Hall which is known to have a love-hate relationship with street vendors, yesterday decided to keep street food in certain spots in the capital -- to serve tourists, not residents.
Heritage property owners deserve support
News, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 05/01/2017
» Right before 2016 ended, the owners of So Heng Tai mansion in Talat Noi, a riverside Chinese community in Bangkok's Samphanthawong district, decided to put an end to public access to their majestic private property. The decision came after the Posayachinda family, which inherited the 170-year-old home, had been informed by district officials that their property would soon be charged property tax.
Commuters see red over Purple Line
News, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 24/08/2016
» Reading reports about the two-week-old Purple Line, and how the struggling service is racking up losses of three million baht daily, doesn't surprise me.
Capital tour, fit for a billionaire
News, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 06/07/2016
» I had never considered Bill Gates a wizard in the way the rest of the world sees him until last week when a photo on his Instagram account, showing a pole with messy electrical wiring in Bangkok -- a familiar sight to us all -- led to a lightning response from officials.
Killing off the capital's charm, again
News, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 24/02/2016
» The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's (BMA) latest attempt to ban all street vendors from pavements in Pak Klong Talat flower market under its clean-up campaign ushers in a sense of deja vu.
City's charm vanishes as BMA moves in
News, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 22/10/2015
» Has anyone checked the new app, "Street Food Bangkok" launched recently by the Foreign Affairs Ministry together with the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA)?