The Mae Kha canal flows through Chiang Mai’s historic centre. It has deteriorated over time and is badly polluted. But its great old trees still function as a green lung for the fast-developing city.
Several informal settlements along the canal are home to some 2,500 urban poor families. Twenty years ago, facing repeated evictions, these communities came together as a network.
They initiated savings groups, mapped their settlements, organised canal cleanings and undertook settlement and housing upgrading projects – all to improve their living conditions, bolster their right to stay and show the city that they were vital partners in looking after the Mae Kha canal.
For several years, my architectural practice, Jaibaan Studio, has worked with the Mae Kha communities to revitalise the canal and develop housing planning and settlement-improvement projects. In the process, these…
