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Bangkok reaches urban greening milestone as Jakarta shambles along
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People play a match at a mini soccer field in a pocket park as vehicles pass the adjacent busy thoroughfare during the evening rush hour on April 26, 2024 in Bangkok. (AFP/Manan Vatsyayana)
W
hile Jakarta continues to struggle in addressing perennial problems related to the limited green spaces in the city, its Thai counterpart has reached a milestone in adding more natural areas to Bangkok by bringing to life thousands of mini parks, a strategy that experts say can be adopted in the Indonesian capital.
Bangkok Deputy Governor Tavida Kamolvej told The Jakarta Post in an interview on July 4 that the Thai capital had developed more than 2,000 pocket parks across 50 districts to provide accessible greenery for its 11 million residents.
Pocket parks, as the name suggests, are simply small public parks created among concrete structures, sweeping highways and other urban areas with limited space.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt initiated the project in 2022 following his inauguration to fulfill his pledge to improve the situation in the city, where greenery was exclusively available for the wealthy, AFP reported.
To reach the extensive target for the verdant parks, existing parks and sports fields were revitalized with improved garden landscaping, while vacant spaces were developed into neighborhood parks accessible within a 15-minute walk or located around 800 meters from homes, Bangkok Post reported.
Aside from these mini parks, Tavida said Bangkok had at least 35 large parks featuring running tracks, bicycle paths and free drinking water stations, and had halved its target to plant 1 million trees from initially four years to just two years.
Read also: Bangkok on track for more green spaces with park on old train line
