L’habitat spontané comme un outil de développement urbain. Le cas de Bangkok

Abstract

In Thailand, despite some public policies, spontaneous settlements spread all over the city. Closely related to the city’s history and identity they are nowadays real dynamic neighbourhoods. The opposition between spontaneous housing and “formal housing”, common in both the scientific publications and representations, is yet to be questioned in Bangkok. Through an architectural and spatial analysis, we approached the spontaneous settlements as a construction process based on appropriation : at least three forms of spontaneous housing (pure, ancient and “grafted”) integrate progressively the urban fabric and ensure by its flexibility its continuity. If, for local authorities, slum communities remain a sign of underdevelopment, some architects and actors see it as a source of inspiration and a popular heritage to preserve. In this context, the growing metropolization and the globalization of economical, cultural and political exchanges bring new ways of negotiating urban space, redefining the status of the settlements. With the emergence of new professions (community architect) and directions in urban planning projects (in particular the participatory process) informal settlements gradually become a tool for the development of the capital.

Keywords

• spontaneous housing
• slum community
• public participation
• Bangkok
• urban development
• incremental architecture