Measuring and monitoring liveability in a low-to-middle income country: a proof-of-concept for Bangkok, Thailand and lessons from an international partnership

Figures & data

Table 1. Examples of Bangkok liveability concepts, indicators, data sources used, and alignment to SDG targets

Themes from BMA liveability workshop	Example indicators	Scale(s) of aggregation	SDG goals (targets)
Healthy population, both mentally and physically	Count of vital diseases* (combined)	District, subdistrict	3(3.4)
High level of local amenity	Count of health centres	District, subdistrict	3, 9, 11
High level of local amenity; quality food	Percentage of residents living 800 metres distance from a supermarket	District	3, 11
No flooding	Count of vulnerable flood areas	District, subdistrict	9, 13
High quality air	Count of days PM 2.5 exceeds WHO standard (25 µg/m^3)	District	3(3.9), 12
Greater tree coverage to provide shade	Annual mean Normalised Difference Vegetation Index	District, subdistrict	11(11.7), 15(15.2), 3

Examples of liveability indicators (above) showed strong alignment with (i.e. are markers of or contribute towards achieving) several SDG targets. *Counts of ‘vital diseases’ are based on outpatient numbers for mental and behavioural disorders, diabetes, and hypertension, taken from 68 health centres in Bangkok.

Figure 1. Measuring, monitoring and translating liveability in Bangkok: project structure

The pilot project established the partnership between scholars and policymakers based in Melbourne and leaders from the BMA in Bangkok. Activities from the pilot project directly informed the major project.

Figure 2. Examples of static maps prepared for three case study sites in Bangkok

Subdistrict boundary data: Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BangkokGIS). Retrieved 25 July 2019. | Subdistrict population data: Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, 2018. Received 22 August 2019. | Vegetation cover data: FCOVER V2 1 km grid 20 December 2018, Copernicus Service Information. Retrieved 13 September 2019. | Nitrogen dioxide data: Copernicus Sentinel Data processed using Google Earth Engine. Annual average total vertical column of NO₂ from 13 October 2017 to 12 October 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2019. | Map tiles: Microsoft; Nokia (9 December 2019). ‘Bangkok, Thailand’ (Map). Bing Maps. Microsoft. Retrieved 9 December 2019.

Data availability statement

Publicly available data utilised to produce the results presented in this paper have been referenced accordingly. Some of the data that support the findings of this study are available from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration but restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for the current study, and so are not publicly available. Data are however available from the authors upon reasonable request and with permission of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.