This book is all about public space and how to share it. The idea of the book may be a bit difficult for most Thai readers of the current generation, who grew up only sharing space among homeowners in their estate, or those they are related to.
Mueang Mee Chewit: Karn Chai Puen Tee Satarana (Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space) by Jan Gehl (translated by Pakhanant Senakhan Roongsaeng) 231pp, 2013 Li-Zenn Publishing Available at leading bookshops, 350 baht In Thai
Written by Danish architect and urban design consultant Jan Gehl, the book was first published in 1970 and has been translated into 22 languages. Gehl studied the habits of people using their public space in different situations.
Sharing public spaces was once (and still is in remote villages) common in Thai society. But the practice has disappeared from most people with modern urban lifestyles; it is available in premium housing estates.
The book describes the safe and convenient common spaces that everyone can enjoy or use in their everyday life, without having to pay extra. The shared space refers to footpaths, community squares or public parks.
Gehl found out the more people share public space, the friendlier a community becomes. If people hang out at the community public space or walk through it, rather than driving, there's a chance for them to meet and get more familiar with each other.
Gehl also found a pattern of people using community squares, which are usually crowded in the afternoon. Then the visitors start to leave, with children as the first group before dusk, then the elderly and the working people, and leaving the space to the youngsters in the late evening.
_ Sirinya Wattanasukchai
Karn Mueang Rueang Siam Square (Politics Of Siam Square) by Pandis Torsuwan 245pp, 2000 Laisen Publishing Available at leading bookshops, 289 baht
The complex history behind Siam Square
The Land Development department published the median land price last month. The property around Siam Square _ for the first time _ is listed as the priciest in the country. The renowned shopping district is owned by Chulalongkorn University, which received the land as a donation from King Rama VI _ for public and educational purposes.
But the story behind Siam Square is more complex, and this book, penned more than five years ago by Pandis Torsuwan, a land developer and son of infamous architect Rangsan Torsuwan, gives readers necessary information and deeper perspectives about the questionable land development.
The book suggests that Chula helps big corporates win land concessions to build commercial complexes. Many small tenants who rented spaces there since the university created the open-air shopping arcade _ turning a former garbage dump into the most famous shopping arcade in Thailand _ have gradually moved out because they can no longer afford the rent.
The book is worth checking out because it is not the story of Siam Square per se, but about the unsightly triumph of big businesses in Thailand and the fall of small entrepreneurs. Last year, Chula hinted that it wanted to end the contract with Lido and maybe Scala, and last month, students at Uthane Thawai Vocational School protested against university's plan to reclaim the property by forcing the vocational school to move out.
The land conflicts between Chulalongkorn University and society will continue to increase, as will the land price.
_ Anchalee Kongrut
