Promoting a Dual Economy through Mobility Infrastructure: Rethinking Food Production by Zohreh

PROMOTING A DUAL ECONOMY THROUGH MOBILITY INFRASTRUCTURE: RETHINKING FOOD PRODUCTION by Zohreh Ahmad

Tutors:

Alex Warnock-Smith Elena Pascolo Jorge Fiori

Research Team: The following individual research comes from a group study on mobility infrastructure that uses Bangkok as a common testing ground. All studies analyzed the potential of mobility infrastructure and responded to it in different ways. While this work focuses on food production, the others explore other vital urban tools such as housing, the public realm and manufacturing. The background analysis on Bangkok comes from this collective research. The members of the team include:

Diana Sanroman Medina Sigen Margherita Palis Nitisha Popat Teerapat Amnueypornsakul

AA School of Architecture, M.Arch, Housing and Urbanism February, 2014

C O N T E N T S

Introduction

x .

MOBILITY INFRASTRUCTURE: PRODUCTIVITY OF URBAN CENTRES

1 . 1 1 . 2

II.

Importance of Urban Centres Retaining Urban Manufacturing

BANGKOK: CONCENTRATIONS WITHIN A GLOBAL NETWORK 2 2 2 2

. . . .

1 2 3 4

Regional Impact & Inner City Development Critique on Transformation Trends Promoting a Dual Economy Food Production as a Medium

III. INFRASTRUCTURAL URBANISM:

INFRASTRUCTURE AS ARCHITECTURE

3 3 3 3

. . . .

1 2 3 4

Design Challenges: Rereading Mobility Infrastructure through Design Infrastructure as Architecture: Fostering Multiplicity Potential: Systematic and Morphological Approaches Contemporary Work: Infrastructure as a System

IV. STRATEGIC DESIGN INTERVENTIONS:

WORKING ACROSS SCALES

V. CONCLUSION:

RETHINKING DEVELOPMENT THROUGH MOBILITY INFRASTRUCTURE

5 . 1 5 . 2

Intervention Impact: Enabling Production Urban Governance

I N T R O D U C T I O N

This research explores the potential of mobility infrastructure to rethink urban space. Food production is used as a medium to do so. The food production industry is of increasing relevance in cities enabling more sustainable and resilient forms of development. Relying then on mobility infrastructure, enables an impact that can be simultaneously local and widespread. The aim is to challenge the upcoming transformations in a contested, and deindustrializing section of Bangkok. Here, the concentrations of infrastructural and productive forces are underutilized but plentiful, and such is the case for many expanding mega-cities. These features afford it the possibility to rethink possible development combinations, using the conditions of infrastructure and the existing prevalence of the food industry. The following design interventions use the structuring capacity of mobility infrastructure to allow a successful balance of global and local relations to co-exist. These concentrations of productivity, or urban centres, are often homogenizing to a degree that undermines the socio-economic dynamism of cities. The focus elaborates, in particular, on the contrasts that are broadly associated between formal and informal economies. These dualities are an aspect of what makes Bangkok a rich place to experiment, building on its legacy as an infrastructure-led city. Bangkok happens to be a hyper-concentration of these components. Like many other developing cities, Bangkok, with its industrial dynamism and megascale infrastructure, has embedded relationships with productive, and often informal activities. Despite these forces, its physical attributes face a morphological counter, preventing these activities from being incorporated into a broader area of production. This is also a problem of policy and planning that, if thought of more dynamically, redefining the rules of infrastructure could solve. Experimenting with food as â&#x20AC;&#x153;infrastructureâ&#x20AC;? allows it to be a device that works across multiple scales, both within Bangkok and as an element of Thai culture. The industry is both instrumental to Thailandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s export-driven economy, and the rituals that define Thai culture. Through design, the experiments use the physicality of mobility infrastructure to enable food production, ultimately taking advantage of the plethora of unresolved, underutilized space and derelict buildings. In turn, the interventions deal with the physicality of mobility infrastructure in a productive manner that gives back to the city. New ways of development are tested using mobility infrastructure in two ways, one systematic and the other morphological. Systematically, it has the ability to structure relationships. Those that mobility infrastructure can support, and are limitless and irrespective of distance. Morphologically, clear physical challenges define it. These are often left unresolved, hence the underutilization characteristic of urban environments. Together, the coupling of systematic and morphological principles enables the possibility for mobility infrastructure to be a driver of more dynamic urban areas. The aim of coupling systematic and morphological approaches is to enhance production in the city. Using mobility infrastructure, these methods ultimately compress space and time. The design strategy striates multiple forms of activity, providing the needed diversity of functions. Spatially, the accommodation of a multiplicity of sizes and speeds becomes key in allowing a dual economy to thrive. This is of crucial importance for the food industry, being strongly tied to distribution, particularly in the spaces of flow. This series of design tools test food production against mobility infrastructure, challenging both systems to become more dynamic and to be potential drivers of urban development. In conclusion, mobility infrastructures potential considers it not only a driver for industrial and economic transformation, but as a tool for creating urban space.

INTRODUCTION

M O B I L I T Y T H E

T h e

I N F R A S T R U C T U R E

P R O D U C T I V I T Y

I m p o r t a n c e

o f

O F

U r b a n

U R B A N

C E N T R E S

C e n t r e s

Elaborating on mobility infrastructures abilities means considering its widespread role in development, in particular its role in shaping urban centres. With global trends shifting towards larger and more frequent urban centres, mobility infrastructure can be defined as a facilitator. It allows industry and production to be spread across territories, more accessible and expansive than ever before. This means the decreasing significance of national boundaries, and a push for more collective investment. With this change of scales, and emphasis on productivity, the urban centre is often a place requiring heavy access. As a key node, urban centres need to be questioned for future development. How can they develop sustainably yet main their integrity as centres of vitality and culture? The strength of the city is dependent upon connectivity and the ability to mobilize human resource. This makes them a priority for investment. Often, the articulation of competitiveness has led to homogeneous and commercial developments, particularly within megacities. Mobility infrastructure’s capacity to organize industry, and to operate at a territorial scale, means the need to really question the nature of investments. Often the investments create results that are splintering. “The higher value of people and places, the more they are connected into interactive networks. The lower their value…they are bypassed by the new geography of networks, as is the case of depressed rural areas and urban shanytowns” (Castells,4). If the processes of globalization have promoted urban centres with such striking contradictions, what does this mean for the future of mobility? Can the flow of people, labor and goods be facilitated by mobility infrastructure, in a way that does not lead to homogenous and marginalizing city fabric?

D i s s o l v i n g

B o u n d a r i e s

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT: + INDUSTRY GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT: + AGRICULTURE + INDUSTRY

15.3%

Food & Beverages

+ AGRICULTURE 12.3%

Office&&Beverages Computing Food

12.8% 15.3%

Motor Office Vehicles & Computing

12.3%

Radio & Television Motor Vehicles

9.6% 12.8% 8.6% 9.6%

42.6%

Furniture Radio & Television

6.8% 8.6%

42.6%

Machinery Furniture

5.8% 6.8%

44.2% 44.2% + SERVICES

Weaving Apparel Machinery

4.5% 5.8%

Textiles Apparel Weaving

4.3% 4.5%

Textiles

4.3%

+ SERVICES DISTANCE/TIME:

MACAU

HONG KONG

HA NOI

DISTANCE/TIME: 5 Hrs 5 Hrs DAWEI

Bangkok

350 KM

Dawei

Bangkok 350 KM INVESTMENT:

Dawei

BANGKOK

HO CHI

INVESTMENT: 50 Billion - Port + Industry

$ $

8.5 Billion in infrastructure 50 Billion - Port + Industry

Area: 50,675 acres,inr-205 km 8.5 Billion infrastructure Area: 50,675 acres, r-205 km

x 5 (Laem Chabang) Dawei Port

x 5 (Laem Chabang)

KUALA LUMPUR

SINGAPORE

Dawei Port

Dawei Industrial SEZ

x 10 (Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, Rayong) x 10 (Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, Rayong)

Dawei Industrial SEZ IMPACT:

IMPACT:

35,000 People - Relocated 35,000 People - Relocated

MOBILITY INFRASTRUCTURE

C o m p l e m e n t a r y

R e l a t i o n s

Since the global crisis, there has been recognition of the importance of manufacturing and need to strengthen local economies and shape consumer markets. Can the development of infrastructure, free flowing transfer of goods, raw materials, labor, skills and market resources be channeled in the service of a more productive and resilient economy? The import and exports in the ASEAN network, an agency where relations between countries are complementary and strategic, has defined the economic success of its nations. Both highvalue goods like textiles and agricultural products are propelled by the advantageous landscape of the country. Associations, like the ASEAN, work in congress to strengthen economies through integration, linked production bases and expanded consumer bases, reflecting again, the importance of the growth and efficiency of infrastructure. Manufacturing is of increasing importance to the economic success in many of today’s nations, but again with centrality as an indispensible component, the need to rethink infrastructure is paramount.

Bangkok is an example of a city hugely reliant on these incoming investments to organize the greater economy and to maintain competitiveness. With collective investment in Dawei, for the largest port in Southeast Asia, the responses of urban centres like Bangkok become more critical. The inner city is especially vulnerable, in a place like Thailand where industry is extremely diverse and serviced by the urban centre. The transcendence and instantaneous linkage of goods and information today, reflect the use of territory. Despite contemporary digitized economies, territorial centrality seems redundant, however trends still reflect the advantage of colocation and clustering of services. This pattern of concentration is at the heart productive theory for cities. The need for more productive cities means a greater understanding of the region, and the placement of its industry in general. Regional investments impact the movement of industry, and underscore the role of the city as an urban centre.

lao 6,4mi

myanmar 60,3mi

viet nam 87,8mi

$2580mi $742mi

$2072mi thailand

$1346mi

67,6mi

$2135mi

CAPABILITY & PRODUCT SPACE:

1990 agriculture

2006 manufacturing

2012 services

auto textile food processing

$2491mi

logistics marketing publising

$350,3mi $128,5mi

$4285mi 0,4mi brunei $89,5mi

$6794mi singapore 5,1mi $5728mi

map power & agricultural base

natural resource base

cambodia 14,5mi

$6794mi malaysia 28,9mi

$10803mi

$10494mi $7967mi

philippines 95,8mi

$1497mi

indonesia 237,7mi

poultry

auto

food food & textile machinery

eastern seaboard lao 6,4mi industrial capital region viet nam megalopolis & 87,8mi air hub $2580mi $742mi

services &myanmar 60,3mi food processing

bangkok

auto laem chabang

$2072mi

rayong

ﬁsheries

+ INDUSTRY

rice ﬁelds

+ AGRICULTURE 12.3%

GROSS REGIONAL CAPABILITY: 500,00 400,000

thailand

67,6mi

300,000

$1346mi

western - samut sakhon & prakan

200,000

$2135mi

2003 2004

philippines 95,8mi

$1497mi krabi

$350,3mi $128,5mi

Thailand’s advantage of abundant agricultural land and water circuits, allowed the central metropolis to develop. The national economy is fueled by agriculture, with goods like seafood, and frozen poultry, but the shift has been marked by high value export. To remain $10803mi $10494mi competitive innovation is a key component to inner-city manufacturing.

Cen-

2008 Thai-

2010

0 2012

+ SERVICES

15.3%

Food & Beverages Office & Computing

0,4mi brunei $89,5mi

$6794mi

singapore MOBILITY INFRASTRUCTURE

12.8%

Motor Vehicles

rice ﬁelds

$4285mi

$6794mi malaysia 28,9mi

44.2%

Western

cambodia 14,5mi

songkhla

$7967mi

2006

Bangkok Eastern Vicinity

$2491mi

ocean link base

khanom

42.6%

100,000

Over the years, the diversification of Thailand’s economy has led to the inclusion of high value goods such as automobiles and machinery while simultaneously excelling in food production and agriculture. As a result of its political status and economic capability, Thailands strong trade links with Japan, China and the US

Radio & Television

9.6% 8.6%

Furniture

6.8%

Machinery

5.8%

Weaving Apparel

4.5%

Textiles

4.3%

5,1mi

$5728mi

B A N G K O K C O N C E N T R A T I O N S

W I T H I N

G L O B A L

N E T W O R K

C O N C E N T R A T E D F O R C E S

Concentrations of productive and infrastructural forces make Bangkok an apt testing ground. These same features though, have become buried in complexity due to the cities morphological evolution. Marked by hyper-flow, Bangkokâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urban complexities are both a blessing and a curse. The flows are key to the cities urban metabolism, but have led to the development of city fabric thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s often disfigured. Although water catalyzed the cities development, its contemporary growth does not enable the fabric in a projective or productive sense. Rather, the blind superimposition of roads, has led to many disregarded space. Bangkok is divided and disconnected, and harbors a host of other spatial and economic issues. This research argues that rather than thinking of infrastructural repercussions as a left-over void, it should be treated as a concentration of productive forces.

1 9 3 5

1 9 5 5

1 9 9 9 f r o m

BANGKOK

c a n a l s

t o

r o a d s

market on water

high speed

Canal Elevation

storage along rail

settlement under expressway

Canal Elevation

BANGKOK

Road Elevation

BANGKOK

T H E

P U L L

O F

R E G I O N A L S H I F T S : L O S S O F U R B A N I N D U S T R Y

I N D U S T R Y

Ayudthaya Ancient City Electrical Industry

Electrical Industry Food Industry

Don Muang Airport

Nawanakorn Bangkok Port Textile Industry Suwannabhumi Airport

Food Industry

Aom Noi

BANGKOK PORT

Any argument for retaining a production base within Bangkok must consider its diminishing Port, and the implications for the land it has occupied for over 67 years. With the new deep-sea port being built in Dawei, and another already burgeoning on the Eastern seaboard, Bangkok is steadily losing much of what constituted its production base, reflecting the cities shift exclusively towards services and innovation. Although these industries are indispensible as well, manufacturing within city, remains essential, even as a key complement to those industries. Mobility infrastructure has the potential to concentrate the needed industries of Bangkok, back within their given areas. The pulls East and West have meant sprawl for the city at large, hence a loosening of productive forces. Bangkokâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population numbers double in growth when measured at the metropolitan scale. Clearly, infrastructure is used to connect, but in a manner that does nothing for the city and in fact, imperils the fabric at times. The port land immediately faces these regional changes, reducing the primary means of income.

Food Industry

Automobile/Parts Industry

Amphawa Floating Market

Bang Sean Beach

Amatanakorn

Automobile/Parts Industry

LEAM CHABANG PORT

Automobile/Parts Industry

Major Corridor River

Petrochemical Industry

Main Road Expressway

Pattaya Beach

Train Port

BANGKOK PORT

Petrochemical Industry

Train Industrial

Leam Chabang Port

Tourism Air Traffic (Size)

Sattaheep Port

Ship Traffic (Size)

BANGKOK

U-Tapao Airport Maptaphut Port

Samed Island

Maptaphut Port

Evidence of robust investment in [electronics, textiles, food processing] has been enabled by infrastructure, with each industry is strengthened by its strategic position, either to water or major road and rail corridors.

tourism

MRT BLue Cityloop Tha Phra - Bang Khae

leisure

commercial

Commerce Along Transit

BTS Light Green Pran Nok - Samut Prakarn

L I F E I N A C H A N G I N G P O R T D I S T R I C T

A’

BRT Blue Dash Tha Phra - Chong Nonsi

BANGKOK

The declining Port District, Klong Toey, embodies the dynamism of Thai industry while also being emblematic of rooted cultural practices. The controversy lies in the case of the Port Authority releasing this land to a homogenizing master plan, of which many have been proposed. The threat to this dynamism is in the fact that here lies Bangkok’s largest slum and concentration of local industry. The degree to which Klong Toey’s 42 communities are embedded, makes eradication a deeply political issue, again highlighting the need for alternative proposals. Plans for future transport even bypass the district, reflecting the general attitude and complexities in dealing with the area. As the options stand, the Port either adopts one of the many homogenizing financially oriented proposals, or the slums continue to exist in frequently squalor conditions. Fragmented Plan

D E V E L O P M E N T A R O U N D P O R T

L A N D

KLONG TOEY

SRT - SUVARNABHUMI

tourism

SRT - RANGSIT

leisure

commercial

Commerce Along Transit

MRT - PURPLE - BANG YAI MRT - YELLOW - LAT PHRAO MRT - ORANGE - BANG KAPI MRT - BLUE - CITY LOOP CHAO PHRAYA EXPRESS BOAT BTS - SILOM LINE

MRT BLue Cityloop Tha Phra - Bang Khae

BTS - SUKHUMVIT LINE

T r a n s i t

E x p a n s i o n :

B y p a s s i n g

BTS Light Green Pran Nok - Samut Prakarn

P o r t

Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Most of Bangkoks heavy investments have been within the centre of the city. Klong Toey has even been left out of future transit expansion plans. The city has had no set plan, therefore has been developed in swaths of particular functions.

BRT Blue Dash Tha Phra - Chong Nonsi

BANGKOK

Fragmented Plan

P O T E N T I A L

PROPOSED PLAN - A49

F U T U R E

B A

B’

P r o p o s e d

A 4 9

retail + culture

residential

warehouse

mixed use- office

container terminal

BANGKOK

affordable housing

housing

P l a n s

M a s t e r p l a n

SECTION BB’

SECTION AA’

C u r r e n t

C o n d i t i o n

The proposal by A49, consolidates port function to a small area, and removes the settlements. Instead, of retaining the fine grain of the current urban fabric, the change is for much larger blocks, with taller, bigger buildings. Common space here, is designed as large open plazas, which is not favored by Thai, for climate and cultural reasons. The developments, are also largely monofunctional and financially oriented, removing the richness that exists currently in Klong Toey.

P R O M O T I N G

D U A L

E C O N O M Y

Thailand’s economy is not only sustained by high-value exports, but also by the smaller microeconomies that are characteristically rooted within urban centres. There are often negative physical connotations surrounding the space that micro-economies occupy. In Bangkok, they have nevertheless maintained highly inventive methods that provide towards the cities urban metabolism. These resilient mechanisms have been articulated within many cities since the onset of urbanization. Although they continue to persist, it has become increasingly unlikely for them to maintain productive space, with speculation consistently overhauling. This research aims to find spatial strategies that can allow the micro-economy to thrive, perhaps even in conjunction with larger scale developments. The strategies try to intensify some of the smaller activities, by concentrating them and making resource available. The value of intensifying, means addressing the informal1, a condition frequently associated with the success of the activities. Playing a dynamic role in the economy of many (rapidly urbanized) cities, informal production contributes

to various trades with complex understanding and inventive logic. This often highly productive condition, elicits potential in its overlap with formal urban functions. Spatially, this sector is often a segregated element within cities. “Contested and critical thresholds of the current socio-political geography can be found at the edges and borders dividing the world into the ‘functioning core’ and the ‘non integrating gap’ ” (Cruz, 676). Teddy Cruz, an architect specializing on these border conditions, once wrote that, ‘It is at critical junctures such as these that shifting socio-cultural and economic dynamics around the world can be reflected and anticipated, potentially transforming our notions of housing, city, and territory” (Cruz, 676). The intention of this work is to use the structuring capacity of mobility infrastructure, to encourage micro economic activities to coexist and potentially partner with macro economic activity. Given that development consistently undermines the processes of informal production, establishing productive space could assert more opportunity and support to ultimately challenge the way development occurs.

1 1 ILO ‘S DEFINITION OF THE “INFORMAL”: They are private unincorporated enterprises (excluding quasi-corporations)1, i.e. enterprises owned by individuals or households that are not constituted as separate legal entities independently of their owners, and for which no complete accounts are available that would permit a financial separation of the production activities of the enterprise from the other activities of its owner(s).

BANGKOK

E X I S T I N G

D U A L

E C O N O M Y

R e s i l i e n t E l e m e n t s o f K l o n g To e y Within the Klong Toey district, a dual economy has already been well established, despite being undermined by the decline of the district’s port. There is a thriving micro economy that exists amongst the increasing franchises. In fact, this is reason to explore mechanisms of strengthening. Traditionally, Klong Toey’s inhabitants consisted principally of Port workers, but recently, new livelihoods in the wood construction, auto and food industries have emerged as a means of self-sufficiency. The “threshold” of this district as Cruz would define it, or these critical border conditions where production is concentrated, tends to fall within lines of infrastructure. The dividing infrastructure lines also frame the district, providing a condition where the formal meets the informal. The spatial distribution of these urban conditions provides a clue for how the space of mobility can be useful as a design technique. Since this land paradoxically consists of highly concentrated slums scattered amongst huge, derelict plots of Port land, thus raising the question of mediation. What kinds of spatial qualities are needed to retain density, but take full advantage of production space?

INNER CITY

Realizing this mediation begins with the conditions present. Resilience, a product of marginalization, is often generated by the conditions of infrastructure that blight urban fabric. Underneath, and along side these mega-structures, ostracized parts of the city have been able to proliferate in substandard conditions. The murky ownership policies of these patches often enable this aggregation. Bangkok has been continuously adapting to the phenomena of unplanned, mega infrastructures, since it shifted from being water to auto based. These constant adaptations have meant, inherent strategies on the part of urban citizens and the proliferation of resilient mechanisms that are rooted in this undefined space.

PORT

settlements production

RAIL

vendor

motorway

storage

workshop

distribution

canal

BANGKOK

SPACES OF DEPLOYMENT:

F O O D

P R O D U C T I O N

A S

M E D I U M

-rooftop -yard -within housing programs -underused open space -warehouses/ facilities

Food production contains a number of features that lend it to be a possible urban driver for areas on the brink of speculation, like Klong Toey. It has the capacity to accommodate dense activities, to include other forms of production, to organize and distribute people/goods, highlighting its use as a flexible, wide-ranging tool. Within the developing country context, this industry often straddles the formal and informal sectors. In Thailand, it is not only pivotal to the national economy, but an inextricable part of daily life. Widely known for its culture of public eating, Bangkokâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s social and civic character is also defined by these processes of food exchange. The industry has been able to exist as a part of Bangkokâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strength through its impact in both the informal micro-economy, and also the larger, more dominant mega-corporations. This relevance within a dual economy, reinforces this works argument for creative alternatives towards the food production system within cities.

FOOD PRODUCTION CAN: -accomodate dense activities:

it is spatially flexible, horizontally even increasingly vertically.

-include other forms of production:

it can spatially be combined with other industries, such as textiles, but also as a part of micro-economic support

-organize the distribution of people and goods: can be combined with transit, so induce movement

-can be tied to innovation to remain competitive: coupling food production with innovation, and research can help encourage stakeholders and remain competitive

BANGKOK

A. BrightFarms, is the world largest urban farm, in Brooklyn, ,NYC. It takes advantage of warehouse space and the presence of the expressway, to facilitates movement. It is an outlet for other producers and can support up to 5,000 citizens. B. In Caracas, urban agriculture is promoted to become a part of community development. It is coupled with the education system to promote recycling.

I m p o r t a n c e

F i x e d

V e n d o r s

MOBILE VENDOR

V e n d o r s

daily earning < 500 bht 500 - 1000 bht >1000 bht

I n f o r m a l

V e n d i n g

Informal food vending composes a major part of Bangkok’s informal activity, also contributing significantly to the general economy. Even with a booming economy, the local vending traditions play a crucial role in transcending socio-economic background. This capacity to transcend boundaries is widespread. Its products can be nourishment for other laborers, a marvel for tourists and a convenient meal for the formal, working city. The need to support informal food vending lies in the fact that within the last two decades, it has engaged different classes “(a) as a vehicle towards upward mobility of the poor with some capital…and (b) as a social safety net to fall back on for the newly unemployed urban middle class. (Tinker 2003, 13)” (case study Bangkok, document). The demand for diverse commodities and the increase in global competition in the 1980’s resulted in the fact that, “Self-employment became an option for many people (Redclift and Mingione, 1985, pp. 1-11)” The number of street vendors increased thereafter. Not only did their numbers increase, but they did so faster than any employed profession. It started as an outlet for rural-urban migration, but has become a long-term component of individual livelihoods, reflecting the importance in investing here.

FIXED VENDOR

M o b i l e

o f

BANGKOK

21% 33% 18%

41.5%

This adaptable productive space is also a lined with vendor concentrations, providing support to other labor-intensive industries. The duality is reinforced by the adaption of food into a cultural activity “having division of labor and one that is market-oriented” . “Public eating” has become strategic spatially, in how food vendors operate. ILO: The operational logic has key spatial necessities, posing a challenge to designers in providing adequate and legal space for practice and storage.

Despite constituting a high proportion of workers, informal vending faces many laws that undermine its proliferation, raising the question its operation space. Although the city is hugely reliant on the informal food sector, there are still inherent problems of tenure, spatial congestion, and hygiene, among others. The industry happens to be most concentrated in spaces of flow, relying on infrastructure to function. These services are undermined by the legalities that define the spaces, posing a threat to the longevity and success of the informal activity. Underused public infrastructure offers potential for securing spaces, but novel forms of development and policy are needed. The canal is one such integral link that both plays a role in cultural heritage, but is also sometimes still a space for production and movement. The rail line, in operation 4x a day houses wood storage and workshop but flexible enough to move when needed.

39% 45% BANGKOK

MICRO ECONOMY:

FORMAL ECONOMY:

BORDERS: 32

food distribution

auto repair

franchise proliferation

common intersection

under expressway: construction

on rail: wood workshops

BANGKOK

recycling

business district

within street: distribution

F O O D

P R O D U C T I O N

M o b i l i t y

a n d

F o o d

A S

M E D I U M

“SOI”

D i s t r i b u t i o n C

MARKET

“ PAK SOI” VOLUME:

commercial space

Larger commercial elements within the city often impact the organization of surrounding informal activity. This highlights the need to be strategic about the location of these elements, to allow for other activity. The morphology of Bangkok has developed around infrastructure, leading to roads with small alleys. These are called “sois”, and are the location of most micro-economic activity from vending, so moto-taxi stands. They are inherently a space of concentration. The entrance to the soi, or “pak” soi, is an established point for fixed food vendors to set up, due to the large traffic it receives. In an interview with a resident, they mentioned activities at these intersections as the most vital part of public life in Bangkok. This reinforces the need to incorporate these crossovers in any design strategy. These crossovers between transaction and flow and inherently become cultural and need to be retained against larger, massive roads.

VOID:

spaces of concentration

1.5m 6m 2m 6m

BANGKOK

C O N D I T I O N S :

K T

M A R K E T F G

B C

I n t e r i o r

to CBD

C o n d i t i o n s

settlement

u n h y g e n i c

s p a t i a l

c o n s t r a i n t s

mobility

to port

INFRASTRUCTURAL BARRIERS

“SOI” CONCENTRATION

concentrations

connections

The intended impact involves Klong Toey market and the enhancing of this space by having provisions on the other side of the district, which it can partner with.

BANGKOK

FOOD PRODUCTION SYSTEM

farm

I n c o r p o r a t i n g wholesale

processing

cargo

freight

t h e

“ t a l a a d ”

retail

truck

freight

STAKEHOLDERS: farms convenience store markets vendors supermarkets international market

Talad Thai_ 40 m from city

WHOLESALE

The “talaad” is one of these elements that can be part of the redefinition of the system, as it requires a stronger hold within the city. Klong Toey market falls in the same category, as a smaller version of it. Concentrations of informal vending around the entrances to these wholesale markets or “talaads” are characteristic. However, the reality is that these markets are now losing tenure within the city for size and property restrictions. The few remaining “talaads” provide a source for informal vendors to obtain goods to then distribute, making them integral to the urban system. The “talaads” require the space for logistic, but also the small scale ordering for efficient organization within. Despite becoming an increasingly globalized food system, Bangkok remains a backbone for Thai people harboring trusted and “food safe” local products, traditionally sourced from the “talaad”. The benefit of the “talaad” as a tool is in its composition of stakeholders across scale, from vendors, consumers, farms and multinational organizations. If such an element with dynamic representation was to be incorporated into the city, the local scale could have a greater impact, while still allowing the manifestation of international companies and the nations farms.

Klong Toey Market_segregated from city

VERITCAL FARMING: Condensing components of systems, without taking advantage of surrounding conditions

BANGKOK

“Wholesale markets are an essential component for the food marketing system in most developing areas and their continued development is still relevant for most countries. Even in outwardly modern countries, the scale of production and the degree of co-operation of farmers is such that farmers continue to need a direct point of access to the marketing system and a well organised place where they can meet a plurality of buyers” (Siedler, 5).

10% produce-mech

F R A N C H I S E S

O V E R P O W E R I N G

CP GROUP

D Y N A M I S M

10% agri-industry

10%

7-11 MANUFACTURING

10% telecom

COMMERCIAL MARKET

The socio-political entrenchment of the global food system has meant a handful of corporations not only dominating agricultural land, but also determining the spatial patterns of food access within urban areas. Urban development has been dictated by this alignment of corporate and national interest through policies that tend to overlook public interest. However, with an economy based on agriculture, the world depends on Thailand’s crops. Structural changes [years?] have shifted towards high value, export-oriented agriculture, which affects not only distribution in urban areas, but also the patterns of production that are often then, pushed further from city centers. Since multinational conglomerates like Charoen Popkhand (CP) already control significant portions of land, cable networks and other major services, they have also catalyzed the proliferation of over 3,000 7-11’s within the city. Thus, the need for an urban “talaad” is great. Its existence involves a variety of stakeholders that would allow for local development to happen in a more inclusive manner. The case of the 7-11 is just an example of many, of the trends that Bangkok faces in many industries.

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION

WHOLESALE MARKET

With food culture and cooking as common public activity in Asia, the utilization of infrastructural space is inextricable. Klong Toey’s settlements, once devoted to port functions, have enlisted productive processes in response to the decline of the port and presence of other manufacturing activities. This part of the city is where many of activities are synthesized using mobility and the space of infrastructure from recycling, to construction and street vendors. Urban areas usually serve the agricultural market to package, distribute, and consume their goods. This research seeks to find alternative measures for land ownership, restructuring possibilities of the urban impact of food production. Packaging, distribution and export are just as important as produce growth.

7-11 FRESH MARKET

raw goods market all hours morning afternoon

STREET MARKET BANGKOK

night

I N F R A S T R U C T U R A L I N F R A S T R U C T U R E

D e s i g n C h a l l e n g e : R e - R e a d i n g M o b i l i t y

A S

U R B A N I S M

realities often mean marginalization

A R C H I T E C T U R E

I n f r a s t r u c t u r e

Considering mobility infrastructure as urbanism, offers novel opportunities for rethinking development. Mobility infrastructure’s strong associations with speculative development, often leads to unproductive and financially driven urban areas. Mobility infrastructure often is established myopically, resulting in the “systems of environment that envelop architecture” (Lateral Office, 6) being overlooked. This neglect undermines the productive capacity of urban areas by not considering the structuring potential mobility infrastructure holds. By situating infrastructure solely within the paradigm of mobility, connectivity becomes the only incentive. Often seen in this way, the convenience that connections provide means the formation of developments that are homogenizing in nature, alongside. Its presence in cities today, often seems endless. Large pieces stretch to hinterlands, whilst spawning pockets of private, unaffordable development along the way. Given that mobility is implicit in the production of cities, there is a tendency for infrastructural investments to be used in place of a real, dynamic planning. The physical characteristics of mobility infrastructure can often work against it, despite having clear spatial potential. Mobility infrastructure holds an inherent capacity for disregard, with global networks having rendered people in close proximity irrelevant to each other, creating bypass and fragmentation. “infrastructure development – is contrasted with ‘occupancy urbanism’, which imagines the city as an interlocking set of scalar economic and territorial forms rather than as a singular, ‘mega’ entity”(Rao, 682). Subsequent fragmentation is often oppressive to the offset communities and oblivious or disengaging to urban resources that it bisects. Despite the physical detrimentally of generating serious divides, and repellant atmospheric qualities, the sheer size and impact mean a level of potential for rethinking and policy redefinition.

t h r o u g h

D e s i g n

real estate development results in uneven growth

CONDITIONS

CONTRADICTIONS mobility infrastructure connecting urban centres

CONSEQUENCES

INFRASTRUCTURAL URBANISM

P O T E N T I A L

I n f r a s t r u c t u r e a s A r c h i t e c t u r e : F o s t e r i n g M u l t i p l i c i t y This thesis explores mobility infrastructure as a space and as a concept. Conceptually, the ability for it to address multiplicities is indispensible to its value. Mobility infrastructure allows for the simultaneity of scales, allowing both continuity with variation and singular with multiple. The capacity to structure relationships deals directly with resolving speed, time, ultimately compressing the two. As a design tool, this could allow it to unlock relationships between points, alleviating the circuits of goods, people, energy and information that infrastructure harbors. The spatial implications such as, “the transition of architecture as a static, hierarchical enterprise to it operating as a dynamic element, interacting within, and at times, structuring networks” (Lateral Office, 7), magnify its potential as an “enterprise”. By creating networks of pathways and nodes, distinctions between the “hard”2 infrastructure and the “soft”, can be drawn out to highlight overlaps. The duality of “hard” and “soft” infrastructure enables systems to collide. This allows for infrastructure to be conduit for urban life by collaging the urban experience through overlaps of production, of service and of cultural tradition. The combination of “hard” and “soft” infrastructure allows the agglomeration of talent and resource, ultimately unlocking its productive capacity. The production systems which mobility infrastructure enables, brings back the argument to the inherent ties to manufacturing. Even in this age of service and knowledge economies manufacturing is still essential. Cities in the ‘developing’ world have the opportunity to leapfrog straight into an era where local economies are strengthened (both production and consumption), where production can be made sustainable and well integrated with cities and into a post-automobile form of organization. “Furthermore, information industries require a vast physical infrastructure containing strategic nodes with a hyper-concentration of facilities” (Sassen, 55). With the resulting sprawl of cities, services become dispersed rather than concentrated, making them inaccessible. Mobility infrastructure often loses its value at the city scale by not feeding back in. The capacity for movement though, renders the possibility to reconsider spatial organization, a potential benefit for supporting productive activities and configuring new arrangements, and integrating stakeholders.

INFRASTRUCTURAL URBANISM

Combining both systematic and morphological strategies towards mobility infrastructure, can afford it more potential gains. The two components, could together address physical and relational challenges, allowing for more dynamic urban development. The systematic component deals with reexamining the relationships within and between industries. In this case, the food production system, and its chain of production could be rethought. By redefining relationships between stages, speed and time can be compressed, to achieve efficiency. The morphological component addressing the physical conditions, to which they systematic are subject. This means, physically making space more productive, particularly the undesirable pieces of infrastructure. In this case, its important to reclaim the navigability of water in Bangkok, therefore space is stitched together with workspace and the public realm. The combination of approaches, includes testing the impact of a multi-nodal hub that can facilitate food production and distribution, while introducing new mobility such as the canal. Through redefined relations, it is important to encourage synergies. This means physically and systematically reinforcing links between the area’s industries and local institutions. Ultimately, both the systematic and morphological interventions seek to maintain the productive capacity inherent in the area and deeply embedded in Thai cultural practices. It is the coupling of these devices that enables requalification; because it allows for the space of mobility infrastructure to be address in conjunction with what it could do for organizing key industries.

C O N T E M P O R A R Y

“ C o u p l i n g ”

b y

W O R K :

L a t e r a l

I N F R A S T R U C T U R E

A S

S Y S T E M

O f f i c e

INFRASTRUCTURAL URBANISM

BUOYS/ VESSEL PATH

REST STOP/ ROAD

HERD CLUSTERS

Many contemporary projects provide key insights, on mobility as system, space and structure. In “Coupling”, a compilation of infrastructural explorations by Lateral Office’s, principles on mobility relations have been extracted. Their explorations in “Next North” emphasize infrastructure in three ways. The first is an examination of its potential to catalyze networks, through implementing truck stops. Secondly, the interventions explore new public realms through station implementations. And finally an intervention based on the potential of water as a distributor of knowledge, using it to disperse services and goods. These interventions all make “territorial claims” that question the nature of future development, and emphasize the potential of mobility.

S T R A T E G I C

D E S I G N

I N T E R V E N T I O N S

A C R O S S

E n a b l i n g C i t y

t o

A c t i v i t y

S C A L E

S u p p o r t

The design challenge of rethinking the food industry means a consideration of multiple scales for intervention. Strategic design is used to incorporate the potential of mobility infrastructure, particularly its space and movement capacity. Mobility in the food production industry can be used to enhance and restructure relationships. For instance, the renewed emphasis on wholesale, urban growth and innovation can be addressed. Mobility is a starting point to catalyze potential crossovers in a food production system, especially because its increasingly calling for change. Ostensibly, this could create new patterns of investment and coupling of stakeholders. The strategies take advantage of the dualities between the proliferating mega-corporations, and liminal local production systems. Densifying and intensifying activity could happen by implementing points of concentrated distribution (food), leading to new â&#x20AC;&#x153;space of flowâ&#x20AC;?. Multi-scalarity is achieved by implementing new mobility systems, providing secure spaces of production and concentrating activity in a hub and several other smaller points. The architectural tools bring in components of the food production industry back to the city scale. The area has the resources to allow food production to be coupled with other economic and social activities. Spatially, the underused areas, and mega-infrastructure provide a rich setting. Different scales of the system can be applied, including derelict factories for industrial manufacturing, smaller blocks with available rooftops, and space around mobility infrastructure for exchange. Upgraded modes of transport, a canal, rail and road, link directly back to the Klong Toey market, which is in need to additional support. The work at this side of the junction could potentially be a way to provide the needed vocational training, management and surplus space. Together these interventions challenge it to be a more productive and beneficial point of access and service to the local communities and beyond.

STRATEGIC DESIGN

Enhanced Crculation Storage Facilities Vocational Training

institutions

MARKET UPGRADE

institutions

PROPOSED

FOOD PRODUCTION Wholesale Market Aquaponics Innovative Production

CURRENT CONDITIONS Community School

Agri Support Inst. Food Research Lab

BKKHospital

DOMESTIC

MANUFACTURING/LOGISTICS

INSTITUTIONS

SETTLEMENTS

market

REGIONAL

vocational

manufacturing: agri

distribution interchange

STRATEGIC DESIGN

S I T E

C O N D T R A D I C T I O N S :

D E N S I T Y / S P R A W L

BARRIERS

water infrequent rail road

E 2

EXISTING F

1. social/informal housing

2. offices 3. port facilites 4. logistics

STRATEGIC DESIGN

LAYERED INFRASTRUCTURE

UNDERUTILIZED SPACE

STRATEGIC DESIGN

KEY MOVES

S T R A T E G Y :

K E Y

M O V E S

klong toey market

CONCENTRATION:

Intensifying activity of both formal/ informal

NEW MOVEMENT:

STRIATION:

Compressing speed and time with new lines of movement

Varying strips of development according to use/ connected by a roof & ground planes

F G

D EXISTING:

B C

rail

NEW ELEMENTS: interchange

local boat

ENABLING MOVEMENT

rail

a. aquafarming b. market c. commercial d. hub e. reused water treatment f. processing/packaging g. industrial greenhouse

water filtration storage

aquaponics

boat

SITE LOCATION

rail

auto pedestrian/ informal mobility

AGRI: RETROFITTING FACILTIES STRATEGIC DESIGN

T R A N S I T

E X P A N S I O N

interchange UNIVERSITY

INDUSTRY SUPPORT

clusters HOSPITAL

TESCO

KLONG TOEY MARKET

rail road water

Current Condition: There are disconnected and underused lines of transport, that undermine local mobility systems and fragment the areas. The main road is the border of the district, separating the informal settlements from rest of the city. Transit plans bypass the area, so new movement is introduced, upgrading both water and rail. Transit Expansion: 1] Create an interchange that will facilitate new movement, and allow goods to circulate more efficiently around the city. 2] Implement smaller spaces with the capacity for distribution and a connected public realm.

LOW INCOME HOUSING

NATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;L HOUSING

SETTLEMENTS

Impact: -Strengthening the border conditions through by accomodating activities along the lines of infrastructure

STRATEGIC DESIGN

T O

C O N C E N T R A T E

A N D

I N T E N S I F Y DISTRIBUTION

pedestrian vehicle rail

canal INTERCHANGE

commerical

COMMERCIAL

open market AQUA FARMING

civic waterfront waterfront civic canal

moto-taxi

walkway

transverse movement

STRATEGIC DESIGN

Strips of development could help structure growth, across this patch of the site, where only a few blocks exist. Activity is striated by function, and corresponds with different mobility systems, like a new canal network, roof connections, and internal â&#x20AC;&#x153;soisâ&#x20AC;? and external streets. Spanning from the hub to the waters edge, the strips consider the importance of spatial variation to facilitate production and also to maintain the civic base needed for long term sustainability. The value of gradually layering these strips with civic functions that tie to local institutions, addresses Bangkoks need for increased food knowledge, vendor training and research. This transversal civic activity happens across the strips. It uses architectural devices to connect and extend spaces, such as articulated roof top sequences. The importance of this sequence is to enhance a collective public culture that is already already tied to food production and informal production.

E n a b l i n g Interchange

WHOLESALE

A c t i v i t y

Impact:

reconnect

and

distribute

The value of upgrading both high speed and local mobility means efficient circulatoin. The existing boat and rail have been valorized in other communities in Bangkok, but happens at a very small scale. These are both incorporated into the multi-nodal strategy. -This strategy includes the wholesale aspect of food provision. Its included in the space of this interchange, particularly the surrounding logistics and the intersecting expressway.

LOGISTICS

-Considering this larger influx, a balance for the coexistence and absorption of flow, happens through defining and articulating smaller spaces. -This can alleviate movement in the smaller blocks, bring in new canals to provide points for the informal commerce that usually occurs alongside.

pedestrian goods canal auto

CIRCULATION

STRATEGIC DESIGN

E N H A N C I N G

M O B I L I T Y

large scale industry

PROPOSED

logistics

commercial

market

civic edge

STRATEGIC DESIGN

M E D I A T I N G

B E T W E E N

L A R G E

A N D

S M A L L

Proposed: ADAPTATION OF TYPICAL BLOCK: INTERNAL STREETS

canal

COMMUNAL ROOFS

canal vending

recreation

shophouse + street

STRATEGIC DESIGN

EXCAVATED CANAL

PRODUCTIVE ROOFTOPS

STREETSCAPE

pedest

canal restaurant

growth

internal street

open market

C R O S S O V E R S : Chao Phraya

S P A C E S

O F

roof connecton

F L O W

canal

water treatment

shophouse

water treatment

new connection

open market

roof connecton

Chao Phraya

shophouse

canal

new connection

B A

B water farming/ civic

open market

water farming/ civic

open market

rooftop activity

canal vending

station platform

logistics

station platform

logistics

B soi rooftop activity internal st.

soi

internal st.

soi

canal vending canal

A pedest

canal

A pedest

through/ storage

STRATEGIC DESIGN

View of the aquaponic water edge, with street/canal leading to distibution hub

The aim is to establish dynamic urban growth within such a dense city. The research will entail a renewed focus on the canal. Food production takes root here, through aquaponic farming and vending, creating a civic water edge. The canal addresses new appoached to mobility, which once shaped the city.

STRATEGIC DESIGN

S C E N A R I O : C H A L L E N G I N G

INSTITUTIONAL CLUSTER vocational training food waste

INSTITUTIONAL CLUSTER

research/tech SUPERMARKET

vocational training food waste

GOODS PACKAGING

research/tech SUPERMARKET

GREENHOUSE

PRODUCE CLEANING

GOODS PACKAGING

INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING

This scenario tests the duality of the local economy to coexist with larger urban forces. A new system challenges the future development of this area, with food production and manufacturing as a key element. These elements have the resources to support the local. The role of the larger elements is in creating new partnerships, perhaps even with rural links. This would help minimize the dominance of conglomerates like CP, who control the process from food growth to convenience store. This scenario would incorporate more stakeholders. If production in the city could yield both high and low value goods, investment could be reconsidered. Mobility infrastructure provides a mechanism to jumpstart new forms of investment. In this scenario, the sequence starts from the large scale processing/production areas that are enabled by existing water treatment, through irrigation. The manufacturing areas are facilitated by the hub which brings wholesale goods closer to the area, reducing cost and improving efficiency. Simultaneously the smaller scale informal mobility, (mototaxis, tuktuks, canal boats) enables the movement of local production. Enabling this movement could reinforce the links between the local institutions, already established. For instance the recycling food waste to NEW CONNECTIONS hospitals and research centres can occur, enhancing the capability for innovation as well.

restaurant to CBD GREENHOUSE

AQUA FARMING SPACES FOR COEXISTENCE

R E L A T I O N S

PRODUCE CLEANING

INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING

restaurant

AGRO-HOUSING

Mobile Vendor

NEW CONNECTIONS

to CBD

WATER TREATMENT

AQUA FARMING

Fixed Vendor

SPACES FOR COEXISTENCE

AGRO-HOUSING

Mobile Vendor

WATER TREATMENT

PROPOSED Fixed Vendor

REPURPOSE PROPOSED

EXISTING

REPURPOSE

STRATEGIC DESIGN

EXISTING

STRIP: MIXED DEVELOPMENT to Bang NA

STRIP: MIXED DEVELOPMENT

BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) Airport Link

Canal

Water Bus

I N T E N D E D

C O N C L U S I O N R E C O N S I D E R I N G

I M P A C T :

E N A B L I N G

Interchange

P R O D U C T I O N

F O R

D E V E L O P M E N T

BTS (Skytrain)

Airport

MRT (Underground Train)

Park

Main Road Expressway

M O B I L I T Y

This research uses mobility infrastructure to promote a dual economy within the city. The focus is on the local micro-economy to exist in co-operation with larger manufacturing bases. Mobility infrastructure provides the basis for this multiplicity, as it can facilitate production irrelevant of distance or scale. The systematic and morphological capabilities maintain the needed diversity amongst the players, key to dynamic urban design. Larger questions of policy and investment are implicit when dealing with mobility infrastructure. This makes it a key component in questioning the evolution of urban industry. Rethinking the food production system within Bangkok, and even Thailand, is an instance for mobility infrastructure to deploy some of structural changes its capable of.

The encouraged proximities would encourage important crossovers, to allow potential new relationships for funding. In Bangkok, the shift to high-value exports means a greater need for innovation at the heart of the economy as well. This brings in the importance of diversification, and institutional support. The work proposes clear ties with some of the existing institutions, of education and health that can immediately work in conjunction with an enhanced landscape of food production. There exists a great need for informal vendor vocational training at a local scale, but also innovation and research for higher value products at the large scale. By having these in conjunction with the proposals, this is prime encouragement for the needed mix of stakeholders.

Mobility infrastructure is tied to economic development, therefore the consequential sprawl makes it necessary to instead think of the hyper concentrated city centres it can create. Its linear interpretation has inhibited developers, designers, and other stakeholders to consider the impact it can have on structuring relations, by compressing space-time and movement. Physical drawbacks are usually inhibiting, however some of its physical attributes could be designed to foster growth. Morphologically, this doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean blindly inserting a building under a highway, rather considering the dimension, ownership and purpose for underused space. Even in Bangkokâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s case, seeing the canal as a space where water is part of a larger ecology that leads to space and culture, is part of unlocking that potential. Building on the networked nature of urbanism, the idea is to consider mobility infrastructures wider purpose within cities as they transform.

Rethinking the food production industry enables the potential of mobility infrastructure. Mobility infrastructure is used to provide space, but also to provide a new network of economic opportunity for the industry. Food production is of growing importance for cities, considering the potential challenges they may face, including food security, climactic uncertainties, and economic crisis. Due to increasing consumption patterns, urban agriculture has become part of a solution to contribute to dynamic urban areas. It is already, globally, gaining a wider audience and increasing attention because of its attributes. Contemporary solutions still do not challenge the entire system, rethink the economics, or even include the relevant stakeholders, including governments and municipal agencies. This research seeks to take these inhibitions to another level, and question some of the areas that are ripe for development in many cities today, by trying to convince these actors to invest accordingly.

Given the stance of maintaining production within the city, the ability for these smaller enterprises to work in conjunction with larger corporations means thoughtful spatial strategies that allow for the coexistence of the two within an urban fabric. Thus, the spatial strategies included a mixture of large production spaces, striated with smaller, dense activity that is intensified.

River

Train

Industrial

BRT (Bus Rapid Transit)

Housing

Airport Link

High Development

Water Bus

Agriculture

Interchange

Airport Park Industrial Housing High Development Agriculture

BANG KHUN THIAN

BANG NA high tech industry agriculture

rice farms food processing

CONCLUSION

BANG KHUN THIAN

BANGPLEE agriculture

U R B A N

G O V E R N A N C E

Because the research is rooted in deeply political, contested land, challenging the Port redevelopment plans should take fundamental lessons from the surrounding informal processes. This is a space where more inventive strategies for inclusion need to be realized. There is transformative potential in the local logic, however, a series of complementary scales are needed for this challenge to be successful. In gaining secure tenure, and maximizing productivity, other tools are needed and this is where mobility infrastructure can gain traction. “By enshrining the plan as normative, they argue, urbanists miss out the range of everyday practices of place- making, and the different scales of economic activity that substantiate the presence of different groups and communities in the city. “(Rao, 683). The diverse nature of this land needs to address the client and land ownership. The aim is to ideally have existing producers as clients, in conjunction with larger stakeholders in control of national/globalized production. If design theory is to come from the “right to the city”, rather than mega-planned transformations, the focus comes back to the residents of Klong Toey, whose trades have been well established there. Being majorly self-sufficient, can the food production industry at large be a tool for the residents to work in conjunction with larger agents? The proposal for including a “wholesale” setup within the city is an example of how food production can allow the necessary mix of stakeholders, while allowing employment and support to the local community. The design attempts to concentrate manufacturing to involve many kinds of stakeholders, ranging from local to mega-corporations. Food production, in this case, seems to be a key potential driver considering its prevalence. It is important to find mechanisms that have already taken root in the city and can be adapted for future economic purposes. This situates food production, as a key component of Thailand’s economy and Bangkok’s character. To maintain

CONCLUSION

the character of the city in the urban economy, the role of architecture needs to be thought of differently. As Rao states, “ Correspondingly, the role of design has been reduced to a tool of intervention rather than one of innovation - even of disruptive innovation - drawing on the potential to be diagnostic and speculative” (Rao, 683). Ascertaining a creative approach to design is key to change. This work argues that creativity in part, is from space corresponding with the right mix of actors. In changing the way development occurs, mobility infrastructures can be used to rethink relations, and emphasize the notion of dissolving boundaries. If mobility infrastructure has the ability to mix state powers, civil society, institutes and private interests, can these constituents be combined to then promote urban development? The question of land around mobility infrastructure generally has an undefined framework, making it a key area to study. “New thinking and innovative processes are required for creating better resource availability for all levels of government involved in financing infrastructure development” (Haynes, 262). This could enable it to pay for itself, some parts privatized, and others kept public. The uncertainty around mobility infrastructure, offers more opportunities for investigation. New patterns of investment could be constructed, to reevaluate the land around it. Could it provide synergies within urban land to encourage both private and public funding to be combined? Perhaps if the right tools were in play, giving mobility infrastructure a new reading, these creative approaches could be encouragement. This in part happens through urban manufacturing and its implicit concentrations and synergies. The local, in this case is particularly important then, given the high talent and range of the local industries. Their partnership with larger needs to happen in congress with the push towards innovation. The key to mobility is integration, bringing together production, innovation through the readily available resources and untapped potential of land.

B I B L I O G R A P H Y BOOKS Askew, Marc. Bangkok: Place, Practice and Representation. NYC: Routledge, 2002. Bhatia, Neeraj, InfraNEt Lab, Lateral Office. Coupling: Strategies for Infrastructural Opportunism. NYC: Princeton Architectural Press, 2011. Castells, Manuel. Spaces of Flow, Spaces of Places: Materials for a Theory of Urbanism in the Information Age. London: Routledge, 2004. Hall, Peter. Megacities: Exploring a Sustainable Future. Rotterdam: nai010, 2013. Haynes, Kingsley E. Infrastructure: The Glue of Megacities. Rotterdam: na101, 2013. Patel, Raj. Stuffed and Starved. Brooklyn: Melville House Publishing, 2007. Rao, Vyjayanthi. “Slum as Theory: Mega-Cities and Urban Models.” The SAGE Handbook of Architectural Theory. Ed. C. Greig Crysler, Stephen Cairns, and Hilde Heynen. London: SAGE Publications Ltd., 2012. 671-87. SAGE knowledge. Sassen, Saskia. Urban Economics and Fading Distance. Rotterdam: na101, 2013. Shane, David Grahame. Urban Design Sinc 1945- A Global Perspective. NYC: Wiley, 2011.

PUBLICATIONS

GSAPP, Columbia University. The Potential for Urban Agriculture in New York City. Web. Urban Design Lab at the Earth Institute. NYC: Columbia University, 2011. Hussmanns, Ralf. Defining and measuring informal employment. Bureau of Statistics. International Labour Office. Geneva: ILO, 1993. Sassen, Saskia. “Cities Today: A New Frontier for Major Developments.” article. 2009. Seider, Edward. Wholesale Market Development- FAO. Paper. Rome: FAO, 2011.

IMAGES p23: A49, Klong Toey Master Plan, Bangkok, 2013. Received on September 7th. p.29: BrightFarm: BrightFarm, Brooklyn, Web: http://inhabitat.com/nyc/brightfarms-announces-plan-to-build-worlds-largest-rooftop-farm-inbrooklyn, accessed January 22, 2014. p.29 Caracas: http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/polis-blog/137566/urban-agriculture-caracas, accessed February 10, 2014. p.46-47 Lateral Office: Lateral Office, “Next North”: http://lateraloffice.com/filter/Work, accessed January 12, 2014. p. 67 Roof: http://www.sustainablecitynetwork.com/topic_channels/local_foods/article_88c6c4f0-bf46-11df-a051-00127992bc8b.html, accessed February 10, 2014.

BIBLIOGRAPHY