Locally appropriate sustainable urban form: the case of Sukhumvit Superblock

Futurity and equity are the complementary concepts of sustainability in which global ecological sustainability and local environmental quality and basic needs ought to be integrated to achieve sustainable urban form. A specific framework for defining global and local sustainability and ways in which they can be accommodated and delivered through locally distinctive patterns of form is central to the current research. The aim of the research is to develop a conceptual framework and appropriate methodology for identifying locally acceptable sustainable urban form by synthesising global and local perspectives of sustainable urban forms, perceptions of sustainability, capacity for change and modification of forms in terms of sustainability. A series of conceptual frameworks are formulated and tested in a cyclical process in order to ascertain comprehensive answers to the question of sustainable urban form. The methodology for identifying locally acceptable sustainable urban forms was established by using a multi-method approach for analysing a particular location (Sukhumvit, Bangkok). Morphological and typological analytical methods were used to study its socio-spatial patterns. Qualitative and quantitative methods were applied for assessing perception-based data of form-adaptations reflecting capacity for change. To investigate the global and local sustainability of a location, methods of physical evaluation in relation to sustainable urban form and methods of perceptual evaluation in relation to acceptable sustainable urban form were devised. The establishment of global indicators and the modification of local indicators were substantial in evaluating levels of sustainability. Enquiry by design methods was applied to illustrate locally acceptable sustainable urban forms. By analysing Sukhumvit, the research suggests that both modern and local settlements are socially and culturally constructed within a superblock land structure and road development. Multilayered socio-spatial patterns are defined from the superblock typology, which are a foundation to interrogate aspects of sustainability and to interpret acceptable degrees of sustainable development which varies between the patterns of form. Design principles for achieving locally acceptable sustainable urban forms were developed to sustain and encourage identified sustainability features and tested and refined in the field study. The research suggests that the capacity to deliver local sustainability is constrained by individual interpretations and social evaluations of choice. Political negotiations for suitable modification of forms are required to achieve the best solution in which both global and local sustainability can be accommodated. The interchange between choice and aspects of sustainability between the morphological layers is crucial to deliver locally acceptable sustainable urban forms. The conceptual framework, together with the proposed methodology identifies locally acceptable sustainable urban forms. The study provides the way in which local capacity for change, local indicators and local sustainability can be investigated and refined further in other locations. Once a locally acceptable sustainable urban form has been identified it fosters design change and alters processes in order to deliver a local sustainable urban design in a broader context