Land readjustment in Bangkok

Restricted until 12 June 2009.The primary objective of the research is to examine the LR system as a viable alternative for financing urbanization in the case studies of LR projects in the Bangkok Metropolitan Area. The study develops comparative country analysis of different variations of LR schemes in four selected countries using the property rights approach (1960) and framework of transaction costs to examine the establishment and exchange of property rights to the LR system. The main questions are: is there the relevance of the Thai local characteristics that affect the initial distribution of land rights in the circumstances in Bangkok? What are the effects of transaction costs associated with the exchange process?; The study gleans some insight from the survey findings to provide, firstly, that the local characteristics of "blind land" experiencing land-development problem situations affect the demand for LR projects by means of partial land contribution for locating public facilities. Secondly, the findings strongly indicate that potential increase in land value generally motivated most of the landowners in the joint effort of cooperative LR projects. However, the study found it is difficult to proceed with project implementation because landowners were willing to give up in the lower amount (11-20 percent) of land contribution than requirement to make the projects self-financing. This could be explained by the dominance of small plot size and possession of a house somewhere else. Thirdly, under the circumstances of urban development in Bangkok, it appears that high transaction costs associated with the exchange process have resulted in the long delay of project implementation. Fourthly, it seems somewhat skeptical about sound management of the LR Association which is central to the LR system.; Lastly, the research concludes that the LR system attempted to apply in the case studies is very difficult to implement for Bangkok. The main limitations are a lack of legal and procedural bases of LR, lack of financial support, lack of skillful staff and sound management. In addition, it is suggested that policy makers and urban planners consider compulsory land acquisition with risk and reward borne by landowners as one finds in Australia