Opportunity and risk from urban planning policy relating to real estate development and preservation of rural and agricultural areas at the present in Mueang Chantaburi of Thailand

Abstract

Chanthaburi’s comprehensive plan was compared a skim plan, with the town plan that specific in land use, and issued in different period of time, investigating the current extent of new development’s area and preserved green area. The 5 year town plan issued in 2002, the comprehensive plan issued in 2012 and the drafted town plan issued in 2018 indicated the differences of rule and regulation regarding allowable types and details of land uses. These differences created opportunity that could allow much rooms for land owners to develop their estates in the case that the plans favor on the development of the lands, but somehow could add more risk in the case that the lands were restricted and not allowed for new development. The differences could also create more risk in reduction of the green areas of the town in the case that the plans favor more on the development and attract new developer to develop the area. In the opposite way, these could also create the opportunity for preservation of the green areas of the town with the proper planned policy.  Additionally, to illustrate this concern, Google Earth was used to capture the satellite photos of the new development being built in the selected areas from 2007 when the 2002 Town Plan expired to analyze the extent and distribution of the urban and green areas around the town.  Furthermore, interviewing relating government agencies and new developers revealed the risks of new development in various aspects involving, i.e., lack of knowledge for project feasibility study, urban plan regulation and relating laws. In turn, being able to gain this valuable knowledge, new developers could have advantage for making profitable investment decision. Additionally, integration of ideas and resources from various new entrepreneurs and public agencies could make the new development, sustainable and fruitful, for example, introducing and implementing the concept of urban green space into the urban planning policy in Chanthaburi.