Urban development discourses, environmental management and public participation: the case of the Mae Kha canal in Chiang Mai, Thailand

This paper discusses issues of political influence and power struggles in connection with environmental projects through the lenses of a low-income settlement in the City of Chiang Mai, North Thailand. That low-income settlement has been an object of intervention in four different projects/programmes in the last five years, namely (a) the Urban Community Environmental Activities (UCEA) project, a community driven initiative implemented with the support of the public organisation Community Organisation Development Institute (CODI) and the NGO People's Organisation for Participation (POP); (b) the Chiang Mai 30 year Master Plan designed by the Lanna Architects Association for Chiang Mai Municipality; (c) the Living City Project elaborated by the Department of Town Planning at Chiang Mai Provincial Government, following an initiative by the Prime Minister Mr. Taksin Shinawatra, who is originally from Chiang Mai; and (d) the Programme for Conservation of Historic Monuments, currently under implementation by the Department of Fine Arts (Central Government).