Title: The Building Together Project in Bangkok: Erecting a New Neighbourhood on the Principle of Mutual Aid
Article in: Peter Swan, editor, The Practice of People’s Participation: Seven Asian Experiences in Housing the Poor, Human Settlements Division, Asian Institute of Technology
Authors: Shlomo Angel, Paul Chamniern Vorratnchaiphan
First published: July 1980
Pages: 147-183
Overview: For people’s participation to be a success, a structure is necessary in which people’s efforts will be channelled and coordinated to produce results. Experiences with people’s groups trying to organize themselves to perform complex agricultural or building activities have been, on the whole, discouraging. There is therefore, a significant role for intermediary organizations that can provide the initial stimulus for organizations into meaningful action programs, and that can provide the necessary access to technical and financial resources. However, in Bangkok, in the field of urban housing construction no such voluntary non-government organization exists.