reporter2
02-03-18, 19:42
The rise of private 'utopias' in mega cities across Asia
Tan Hui Yee
Indochina Bureau Chief
Mar 2, 2018
Growing cities need to find new ways to protect public interests as developers see potential in creating huge private enclaves
On a plot two-thirds the size of Singapore's Botanic Gardens, in the eastern Bangkok district of Bangna, there will soon be a cluster of homes, shops, offices, a pre-school and a hospital. Apartments there will be cooled by chilled water instead of air-conditioners and electric vehicles will ferry residents back and forth. Waste water will be treated and recycled for use, in a forest that will be recreated from derelict land.
"Imagine happiness", says Magnolia Quality Development Corporation (MQDC), when describing its 90 billion baht (S$3.8 billion) development called The Forestias.
It is one of the latest projects by private firms in Asia trying to fashion their own utopias within metropolises where urban planners cannot keep pace.
"Even people who are hired by the government cannot tidy up Bangkok," says Kasetsart University eco-designer Singh Intrachooto, who is advising MQDC on its research. "(But) if we own this whole area… we have full control of creating a quality development."
The Thai capital is both delightful and maddening. Its faded shophouses line up against posh condominiums that race to the sky. Long, snaking lanes connect choked streets to pockets of tranquillity. While the government is extending the city's metro lines, some stations along the elevated track running through its most expensive districts remain inaccessible to wheelchair users.
Other Asian cities with populations upwards of 10 million, like Jakarta and Manila, face similar problems. They are car-centric environments where poor sewage and pervasive littering exacerbate seasonal flooding. Their greenery is steadily being replaced with concrete landscapes which can be punishing for the elderly.
As their populations surge, the all-important mass transit networks require years - and perhaps foreign loans - to come about. In the meantime, middle-class urban families have to choose between cramming into small apartments to be near their school or workplace, or making daily commutes of two hours or more.
Enter the big developer. It builds a whole district from scratch, laying neat roads and landscaped walkways more typical of Europe or North America.
In Metro Manila, the home of numerous outsourcing firms, entire housing and retail developments have been built around their offices.
Ayala Land, a subsidiary of one of the biggest conglomerates in the Philippines, is developing a 74ha plot south of the capital. It features homes, offices, a hotel, as well as a mall. Next to it, Ayala will also fund, build and operate a 5.2 billion pesos (S$133 million) bus terminal designed to ease the inner city snarl, under a government concession.
Soft focus commercials play up the good life in these enclaves. One can head to work, school, the shops and the gardens without having to dodge uncovered manholes or low-slung telephone cables, or encounter a street vendor. The air is fresh and the streets are safe.
Scholars argue that such mega private developments - in essence mini self-contained districts - worsen segregation. Rising land prices make their properties affordable to the middle class at best. While not all enclaves have walls or gates, "they are already gated by the price", argues Chulalongkorn University urban planner Apiwat Ratanawaraha.
"If these kinds of development spread to other parts of the city, you automatically exclude the little people, the shophouses, the small markets," he says. "The traditional fabric of the city would be destroyed."
MQDC's development, set to officially open in 2022, will have a forest with more than 160 species of plants and animals that will be open to the public. The developer promises that there will be homes for lower-income groups, even though its targeted profit would not veer much from the industry's standard. No price details are available at this point.
The firm has deep pockets. It is owned by the Chearavanont family, which controls the Charoen Pokphand Group, a conglomerate with vast interests in the kingdom's agriculture, food, telecommunications and retail sectors. Last year, the clan was ranked fourth on Forbes list of Asia's richest families, with a net worth of US$36.6 billion (S$48.5 billion).
Yet, the questions remain: Does the profit motive dampen or accelerate urban innovation? Will the proliferation of such enclaves help or harm a city's development?
Private companies, after all, are more nimble than bureaucrats in adopting new ideas and technology.
Over in Canada, Google's sister company Sidewalk Labs last year won a competition to redevelop up to 324ha of waterfront Toronto with the government, starting with a 4.8ha site. Early reports say Sidewalk Labs, harnessing technology and data, plans to deploy self-driving buses and robot vehicles tasked with moving garbage through tunnels underground in its mixed-used development.
Its vision statement describes it as "a place that encourages innovation around energy, waste, and other environmental challenges to protect the planet... A place that's enhanced by digital technology and data, without giving up the privacy and security that everyone deserves".
Despite that pledge, Sidewalk Labs' involvement has sparked controversy. Critics fear that city officials are surrendering deep data generated by the future district's sensors and cameras to a powerful company, with little guarantee of privacy.
MQDC declares it is ready to share the knowledge gained from The Forestias, which it calls a prototype.
Both developments in the making could yield blueprints for the future.
It is far too early to pass judgment, just like it is hard to imagine how a private forest might take shape in Bangna in four years.
As more huge mixed-use enclaves take root across Asia, we need greater discussion about how they can be used to improve the larger urban environment. How can inequality be narrowed, for example, or waste reduced?
A city at its best is an agglomeration of people and ideas, guided by a steady - but not stifling - hand. It is strengthened by diversity. By finding new ways to protect public interest even in private enclaves, cities can enhance this very texture of urban life.
Tan Hui Yee
Indochina Bureau Chief
Mar 2, 2018
Growing cities need to find new ways to protect public interests as developers see potential in creating huge private enclaves
On a plot two-thirds the size of Singapore's Botanic Gardens, in the eastern Bangkok district of Bangna, there will soon be a cluster of homes, shops, offices, a pre-school and a hospital. Apartments there will be cooled by chilled water instead of air-conditioners and electric vehicles will ferry residents back and forth. Waste water will be treated and recycled for use, in a forest that will be recreated from derelict land.
"Imagine happiness", says Magnolia Quality Development Corporation (MQDC), when describing its 90 billion baht (S$3.8 billion) development called The Forestias.
It is one of the latest projects by private firms in Asia trying to fashion their own utopias within metropolises where urban planners cannot keep pace.
"Even people who are hired by the government cannot tidy up Bangkok," says Kasetsart University eco-designer Singh Intrachooto, who is advising MQDC on its research. "(But) if we own this whole area… we have full control of creating a quality development."
The Thai capital is both delightful and maddening. Its faded shophouses line up against posh condominiums that race to the sky. Long, snaking lanes connect choked streets to pockets of tranquillity. While the government is extending the city's metro lines, some stations along the elevated track running through its most expensive districts remain inaccessible to wheelchair users.
Other Asian cities with populations upwards of 10 million, like Jakarta and Manila, face similar problems. They are car-centric environments where poor sewage and pervasive littering exacerbate seasonal flooding. Their greenery is steadily being replaced with concrete landscapes which can be punishing for the elderly.
As their populations surge, the all-important mass transit networks require years - and perhaps foreign loans - to come about. In the meantime, middle-class urban families have to choose between cramming into small apartments to be near their school or workplace, or making daily commutes of two hours or more.
Enter the big developer. It builds a whole district from scratch, laying neat roads and landscaped walkways more typical of Europe or North America.
In Metro Manila, the home of numerous outsourcing firms, entire housing and retail developments have been built around their offices.
Ayala Land, a subsidiary of one of the biggest conglomerates in the Philippines, is developing a 74ha plot south of the capital. It features homes, offices, a hotel, as well as a mall. Next to it, Ayala will also fund, build and operate a 5.2 billion pesos (S$133 million) bus terminal designed to ease the inner city snarl, under a government concession.
Soft focus commercials play up the good life in these enclaves. One can head to work, school, the shops and the gardens without having to dodge uncovered manholes or low-slung telephone cables, or encounter a street vendor. The air is fresh and the streets are safe.
Scholars argue that such mega private developments - in essence mini self-contained districts - worsen segregation. Rising land prices make their properties affordable to the middle class at best. While not all enclaves have walls or gates, "they are already gated by the price", argues Chulalongkorn University urban planner Apiwat Ratanawaraha.
"If these kinds of development spread to other parts of the city, you automatically exclude the little people, the shophouses, the small markets," he says. "The traditional fabric of the city would be destroyed."
MQDC's development, set to officially open in 2022, will have a forest with more than 160 species of plants and animals that will be open to the public. The developer promises that there will be homes for lower-income groups, even though its targeted profit would not veer much from the industry's standard. No price details are available at this point.
The firm has deep pockets. It is owned by the Chearavanont family, which controls the Charoen Pokphand Group, a conglomerate with vast interests in the kingdom's agriculture, food, telecommunications and retail sectors. Last year, the clan was ranked fourth on Forbes list of Asia's richest families, with a net worth of US$36.6 billion (S$48.5 billion).
Yet, the questions remain: Does the profit motive dampen or accelerate urban innovation? Will the proliferation of such enclaves help or harm a city's development?
Private companies, after all, are more nimble than bureaucrats in adopting new ideas and technology.
Over in Canada, Google's sister company Sidewalk Labs last year won a competition to redevelop up to 324ha of waterfront Toronto with the government, starting with a 4.8ha site. Early reports say Sidewalk Labs, harnessing technology and data, plans to deploy self-driving buses and robot vehicles tasked with moving garbage through tunnels underground in its mixed-used development.
Its vision statement describes it as "a place that encourages innovation around energy, waste, and other environmental challenges to protect the planet... A place that's enhanced by digital technology and data, without giving up the privacy and security that everyone deserves".
Despite that pledge, Sidewalk Labs' involvement has sparked controversy. Critics fear that city officials are surrendering deep data generated by the future district's sensors and cameras to a powerful company, with little guarantee of privacy.
MQDC declares it is ready to share the knowledge gained from The Forestias, which it calls a prototype.
Both developments in the making could yield blueprints for the future.
It is far too early to pass judgment, just like it is hard to imagine how a private forest might take shape in Bangna in four years.
As more huge mixed-use enclaves take root across Asia, we need greater discussion about how they can be used to improve the larger urban environment. How can inequality be narrowed, for example, or waste reduced?
A city at its best is an agglomeration of people and ideas, guided by a steady - but not stifling - hand. It is strengthened by diversity. By finding new ways to protect public interest even in private enclaves, cities can enhance this very texture of urban life.