The fight to stay green

The fight to stay green

Makkasan Hope is a small group of people fighting for a public park

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE
The fight to stay green

'If you could design Bangkok, what would it be," asks Jatuporn Tansirimas, campaigner of Makkasan Hope, a group advocating for a new public park. He's open to every resident's opinion.

The Makkasan Hope petition urges the State Railways of Thailand to turn its almost 500-rai unused plot into a park and museum.

Bangkok in your dreams could be a greener city or a larger concrete jungle, but Jatuporn wants everyone to have his or her version of Bangkok.

The thought-provoking question is part of his Makkasan Hope (or We-Want-A-Makkasan-Public-Park-And-Museum, in Thai) campaign, which, in joining hands with www.change.com makes use of social media to petition the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) to turn a vast unused plot in its possession into a public park. The campaigners are at odds with an SRT plan to develop the site for commercial use, with skyscrapers, shopping malls and high-end accommodation.

The Makkasan Hope campaigners comprise 10 members from various backgrounds, each with a strong passion for a city park. Each member can post information about a park on the relevant Facebook page, or may discuss the accuracy and detailed information in their closed group, also on Facebook, before making it public.

Initially, it was a candid picture of a green Makkasan captured from Google Earth in November by Facebook user Punlarp Punnotok that inspired others to join the group. Punlarp also stressed the improvement of the quality of life if the area was turned into a park.

The post was then shared 900 times by his friends, and friends of his friends, in 24 hours. Jatuporn, whose wife is Punlarp's Facebook friend, decided to created an online group to campaign for the land in December last year.

So many "shares" on Facebook in a short period means a large number of people "desperately need a new park", explained Jatuporn. With old but eye-catching buildings on the abandoned site, the area is ideal for a museum and a learning centre surrounded by trees.

Since December, the Facebook fanpage has gained more than 19,000 likes and has been sharing statistics, facts and information about parks, museums and the environment in general. The posts also feature other green topics, including a heat island, climate change and the substandard ratio of green space for Bangkok residents, which has 4.1m2 per person instead of the international standard of 9m2.

In a bid to push their idea, the group kicked off an online petition. As of last week, about 23,000 people joined the campaign online, with 5,000 offline. The group is compiling the signatures into a book and will submit the list to the SRT, Ministry of Land Transport and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

Around 30,000 people attended the ‘For Makkasan’ concert held by Makkasan Hope on May 25 in Lumpini Park.

Last month, the group organised a "For-Makkasan" concert in Lumpini Park with performances by independent bands and artists.

"The trees couldn't cry, so we pleaded on behalf of them," said Chaibandit Peuchponsub, another member, who initiated the concert that attracted a large audience.

Jatuporn added: "The group has no intention to instigate a street protest or a incite hostile sentiment on the page against the landlord.

"It just wants to encourage people to express their views about the development of a city they live in, rather than being submissive and accepting everything handed down by the state.

"Every Bangkok resident should have a say in a project to be developed on a state-owned plot, as a city's development affects the next generation."

Jatuporn said that a park benefitted everyone. Big trees in a park help absorb the carbon monoxide in the air for a city. He said it was not acceptable that the SRT clear debts from its poor management with a plan that compromised the quality of life of Bangkok's residents. Instead, the root problem, which is the organisational mismanagement that caused the losses, should be fixed, not covered up.

"[If the SRT can go ahead with its development plan], imagine how many air-conditioners will be installed and how many more power plants we will need for the project?" said Jatuporn.

The SRT governor last month insisted with that the park must be developed commercially, to generate enough income to cover accumulated debt.

Roongrot Ratanapichetkul, another member, pointed out such a decision would not only cover up short-term problems, but also lead to a never-ending problem in financial management.

"The [SRT] is acting like farmers coming to their wit's end," said Roongrot, citing the case of farmers who lack financial management ability often sell their land to write off their debts.

Although the increasing number of petitioners can never be a legal force that can put the Makkasan Complex project on hold, Roongrot said the long list still means something.

"The [SRT] knows we exist," he said. That meant the SRT couldn't just bulldoze without listening to the public, he said.

But at the end of the day, Jatuporn and his friends don't know if they can really save the land. And they aren't even sure if any of them would start a demonstration like the Turkish for their Gezi Park in Istanbul if the landlord were to bulldoze the trees in Makkasan.

"But who knows? By that time, there might be more people," said Jatuporn.

The photo taken from Google Earth, which was shared 900 times in 24 hours after Facebook user Punlarp Punnotok posted it on his page.

MAKKASAN TIMELINE

- The vast 500-rai plot in Makkasan is owned by the debt-ridden State Railway of Thailand (SRT). It is unused and comprises shunting yards and train repair workshops that were built in the early 1900s.

- The SRT drafted a development plan in 2005 to turn the plot into the Makkasan Complex, an ambitious 200 billion baht project for commercial use. The plan was to maximise land use, with a set of tall concrete buildings. The plan, however, was shelved and then dusted off last year.

- Late last year, the plan drew criticism from the civic sector whose members want to keep the area as a public park, exhibition centre and a museum.

- The Big Trees Project and Association of Siamese Architects earlier this year approached SRT governor Prapat Chongsanguan with a multi-purposed development plan that accommodate a public park.

- Makkasan Hope was formed on Facebook with 10 active members last December. Their plan was to update the more than 19,000 supporters about environment information.

- A music concert was organised by Makkasan Hope at Lumpini Park on May 25. The concert was a symbolic cry by the musicians, who pleaded on behalf of the trees in Makkasan for their lives.

- Last month, Prapat stressed the need to develop the area for commercial use to ease the agency's debt. The SRT has never made public a new term of reference, which was supposed to be released in mid-March.

- Despite his agreement in maximising the plot commercially, land evaluation expert Sopon Pornchokchai does not agree with the SRT to minimise accumulated debt caused by organisational mismanagement with income from land development. The land can be maximised commercially with Sopon's suggested options: a man-made park wrapped by skyscrapers.

- Pakorn Nilprapunt, full-time law counsellor at the Office of the Council of State, cited a resolution by the Committee of National Resources and Environment that required a government entity, under a new land development project, to include 50% of the plot to be a sustainable green area with big trees. However, if the land has already been developed, only 30% is required. Land owned by the private sector is required to use 30% as an empty space, half of which must become a sustainable green area. But in this case, the land is considered unused.

- The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration expressed interest in the civic group's park plan a few weeks ago. It may seek the SRT's permission to temporarily turn the plot into a public park if the agency has no plan to use it in 10 year's time.

- An architecture studio, attended by seven students at King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, worked on a multi-purpose development plan on Makkasan Park.

Displayed at the recent Architect Expo 2013, the plan featured a combination of 60% of green space and 40% of highrises in the area without big trees.

- Duangrit Bunnag, a famous architect with numerous successful design projects for boutique hotels in Thailand, claims that Transport Minister Chatchart Sitthiphan seem interested in combined use of the land.

After hearing public disapproval about the land development plan by the SRT, both online and offline, Duangrit said he was surprised that nobody officially proposed an option to the government.

Although the Big Trees Project and Association of Siamese Architects had earlier approached the SRT governor, Duangrit said. Transport Minister Chatchart offered to bridge the gap. Duangrit claimed Chatchart seemed interested in his rough draft plan submitted in May, which featured multi-purpose use for the land.

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