Cultural Housing Preferences in Low-Income Resettlement Communities in Bangkok, Thailand

Abstract

This study examines the underlying factors that determine the type of housing unit generally preferred by low-income residents in Bangkok, Thailand. A comparative analysis is made between two resettlement communities in Bangkok, one with average plot sizes of, 40 m² (square meters) and the other with an average plot size of 60 m². Data were collected using both quantitative and qualitative approaches from 106 families living in the two resettlement communities. Almost 60 percent of the total number of dwelling units on the smaller plots in the Lad Buakao community are single dwellings. All the units on the larger plots in the Bang Bua community are single dwellings. Given the socio-economic similarity between the residents of the two communities, preference for a particular type of housing unit can be attributed to other determining factors. Satisfaction with existing plot sizes and overcrowding concerns do not differ by variation in plot size. There are cultural values acting as determining factors in the choice of house form. The functional, environmental and social consequences of this preference for single- dwelling units built on substandard plots are discussed.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Vimolsiddhi Horayangkura

Vimolsiddhi Horayangkura is Associate Professor, Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. This is an amended and extended version of a paper presented at the 1986 annual conference of the Environmental Design and Research Association in Atlanta, Georgia (EDRA 17).