On Thursday 3rd December 2020, The British Embassy Bangkok and Urban Studies Lab, with support from depa, hosted the first of three UK - Thailand Smart City Workshops in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
USL led activities together with a large and diverse group of stakeholders across public, private and academic sectors in a workshop designed to envision future pathways for ongoing Chiang Mai initiatives in the Smart City Thailand domains of Smart People, Smart Environment and Smart Economy.
Several specific solutions have been developed to respond to the needs of Chiang Mai city, including a city data hub, air pollution sensors, scaling of EV cars and charging stations, as well as public private partnerships to address Mae Kha housing issues. In addition to discussing and aligning these opportunities, we also worked to identify pain points that are impeding implementation of these smart city initiatives.
We ended the day with stakeholder mapping, ecosystem development and road map activities. These activities will help the British Embassy to match UK partners with Chiang Mai stakeholders that may fill identified gaps and create strong partnerships for more sustainable, livable and inclusive urban development. Hopefully, this is only the start of many more actions to come which will push Chiang Mai towards more innovative solutions for the city.
We would like to thank British Embassy Bangkok, Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa), and our local coordinators. It was a splendid experience for all of us in Chiang Mai. Urban Studies Lab and the British Embassy Bangkok will continue the roadshow in 2021 with 2 more workshops in January and February in Chonburi and Khon Kaen, respectively.
