Gentrification, Urban Informality, and Displacement in Bangkok

Abstract

This study analyzes the recent complex dynamics of urban transformation and spatial exclusion affecting the urban lower class. Emerging cities such as Bangkok experience rapid and compressed development in which the characteristics and challenges of both developed and developing cities co-occur. While Bangkok invests heavily in urban redevelopment projects to become a global city, it also continues to exhibit extensive urban informality. Recent redevelopment projects have displaced some informal settlements, intensifying competition over urban space. These transformations should be understood in relation to the broader context of Bangkok's changing role in a highly interconnected Asian economy, the “real estate turn” in economic development, and the city's evolving socioeconomic conditions. Unlike in the 1960s–1980s, when slum evictions were widespread, today the driving forces and actors are more diverse. Although gentrification-oriented case studies have increased, analyses focusing on the livelihoods of affected populations remain scarce.