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

Abstract

Globally there is increasing interest in making cities more liveable for all, a concept which aligns strongly with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. However, existing tools for tracking progress towards more liveable, equitable cities have been developed primarily for cities in high-income country contexts, while there is little guidance for cities in low- or middle-income country contexts. This partnership project is a capacity-building collaboration between RMIT University (Australia), the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (Thailand), the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (Australia), the UN Global Compact–Cities Programme, and the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (Australia). The project’s aim is to develop a city-wide liveability indicators system for Bangkok for informing urban planning policy. Thus far, over 60 liveability indicators have been generated for Bangkok. Moreover, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has identified three Bangkok districts for deeper interrogation. This project is developing scalable tools for monitoring liveability and strategically informing urban planning policy in a low-to-middle income city context, with relevance to other cities. It has established an international liveability network and deeper understanding of shared challenges and created ongoing opportunities for capacity building and reciprocal learning.