Envision the future of Thai Towns

We are what we design. In this spirit, avoiding conflict between the central government and Thailand's towns is crucial to reinventing urban areas as "creative cities" characterised by social connectivity and convenience, a recent seminar heard.

Along these lines, academics have proposed that Chiang Mai be developed as a prototype creative city.

In the country's rapidly growing population centres, strategic city planning is needed. Advanced technology, liveability, safety, convenience and integration with other cities are the elements that define what a "creative city" should be. These ideas were raised by speakers from state and private organisations at a roundtable titled "Reinvent Thailand" held by Krungthep Turakij newspaper last week.

How to implement these ideas is the key challenge. All speakers shared the view that coordination at all levels between state and private agencies, to avoid conflict, was important, along with new ideas.

Teerachon Manomaiphibul, deputy governor of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), believed that Thailand's towns, which are currently run by 7,852 administrative organisa-|tions, would be stronger and bet-|ter developed in the future, as |the number of well-educated local community leaders is growing. Development of "the towns should be put under the responsibility of a deputy prime minister," he said.

According to Teerachon, if the government thought carefully about future development, it would dare to think outside the box, as did leaders in Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo. For example, if Thailand targets hosting an Olympic Games in 2028 or 2032, it should think of submitting a bid on behalf of the nation - including Chiang Mai, Phuket and Khon Kaen - not only Bangkok.

He said that distribution of funds for urban development must extend beyond the BMA to all related private-sector groups including tourism and accommodation businesses in Bangkok and the provinces, including local administrations. Making liveability a priority will create value added for cities, Teerachon said.

"With a joint push by the central government and the towns, we could reinvent our country," he said.

Meanwhile, property developers would be a key driver of urbanisation by spreading development projects to the areas surrounding the country's densely populated cities. These projects will feature better living environments and more affordable prices than those in the cities.

"We have to prepare for urbanisation. There should be no conflicts between the central government and the towns," he said.

Porametee Vimolsiri, deputy secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), said, "What we need is integration and management," adding that at present, provincial governors are used to implement policies drawn up by the central government.

Parnsiree Amatayakul, managing director of IBM Thailand, said that over the next 30 years, the populations of the big cities would double. Thailand's largely unplanned cities must be prepared to deal with changes in technology, infrastructure and the labour market, and to cater to the presence of a growing number of multinational firms, she said.

Technology will increasingly become part of people's daily lives, by managing traffic, for example, or providing disaster reports. Workers - and not only those at the production base - will need to decide where they want to live.

What should a creative city be? Speakers agreed that whatever it is, it should be more than just a liveable place.

Kuldej Sinthawanarong, managing director of the JARKEN group of companies, said the creative city should be a place where it is convenient for people to share information or knowledge. In his experience, he said, new graduates - especially architects - were tempted to work for private companies in Singapore, as they enjoyed an information-sharing environment there.

He proposed Chiang Mai as a prototype creative city. However, good city planning requires sharing. Creativity is not only about making an area liveable, but also about overall environments, he said.

Peeradorn Kaewlai, a lecturer in the Faculty of Architecture and Planning at Thammasat University's Rangsit Campus, said that Singapore took about nine months to develop its approach to strategic city planning.

He said that the towns, which will ultimately have to implement the strategy, would play a bigger role |in developing creative cities over |the next five to 10 years. Now that they have a larger pool of new-|generation leaders who are well educated, the government should encourage this group of people to join in the reinvention scheme, Peeradorn said.

"Information sharing is a key driver to attract people to live in the city," he said, adding that the creative city, "whatever it's about, is a knowledge centre or a place where people can show what they think via convenient connectivity, driven by technology - it's not just a museum".

IBM's Parnsiree said that from a business angle, the liveable city is one that facilitates work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Such cities, she said, should be "branded" clearly. Chiang Mai, for instance, is being developed as a "smart food hub". People's perceptions of a place should be taken into account; when people think "smart food", she said, they'll think of Chiang Mai.