Living with Risk: Precarity and Bangkok's Urban Poor

Chapter 3: The Case Study Communities: History and Living Conditions

The Case Study Communities 77 77 Chapter 3 The Case Study Communities: history and Living Conditions In this chapter, I will explain the outline of field survey and specific research. Together with Chapters 4 and 5, which examine the internal structure of these communities in greater detail in terms of occupation and residence, this section provides background information about the analysis of risk response process discussed in Chapter 6 and beyond. I begin by examining the current circumstances, function and mechanisms of these communities in terms of occupation and residence as they existed prior to or were brought about by changes related to various risks (i.e. the fire in inner-city community S in 2004 and mass layoffs in the former-fringe community U that occurred in the latter half of the 1990s). This, then, will serve as a baseline for understanding how these current circumstance and mechanisms change as a result of risk. Overview of the Field Research and Methods The two communities that are the research subjects of my study have been designated as “Congested Communities (slums)” by the Thai government . The first of these is inner-city community S, located near the centre of Bangkok’s financial and business district. The second, community U, is best described as a former-fringe community1 and is located 1 The reason why I use the qualifier “former” is that the location in question, up to the 1980s, was considered the “fringe” of Bangkok. As a result of urban expansion, in present-day Bangkok, the term “fringe” is often used to refer to the area that, at points, extends into the adjacent five provinces. In fact, as presented in Appendix 1, the location in question is officially designated as an “intermediate district”. 78 Living with Risk in Bang Na district, which is situated between Bangkok’s city centre and the current urban fringe. Both communities have been existence for approximately 40 years. The field surveys that form the core of my analysis were conducted during my extended stay in Thailand between 2003 and 2005. Since 2006, I have repeatedly visited the communities for short periods of time to conduct follow-up surveys. Selection of Communities to be Studied In the preparatory stages of my field research, I spoke to community leaders and NGO representatives and then followed up on their recommendations by visiting a number of potential communities. I conducted a simple questionnaire survey of five households in each of ten communities in order to choose the communities to use in the actual study. What became evident through this preliminary survey was the difference in each community’s occupational profile. These differences were closely related to the location of the community and the employment opportunities available in the surrounding areas. Thus, because I am interested in both formal and informal employment opportunities, I eventually narrowed the selection down to two communities: one in the inner city and one located at the urban fringe. preparatory period and Questionnaire Survey: Main Investigation (phase 1) The present research involved multiple methodologies including questionnaires , interviews, participatory observations, business surveys of grocery shops and home-based work (account entries), examination of household accounts, and other approaches.2 After selecting the communities to be studied, I utilized a preparatory period lasting approximately six months, to get to know community residents. Then, between December 2003 and March 2004, I conducted questionnaire-based interviews with 66 and 50 randomly-selected households , respectively in the inner-city community S and the former-fringe community U.3 The primary objective of the survey was to elucidate the 2 For a detailed list of research conducted, see Appendix 2. 3 Because there is no registry of residents, taking a hint from Gallup’s area sampling method, I used a map of houses in each community and, systematically assigning a consecutive identification number to each house, randomly selecting households in which to conduct interviews. The Case Study Communities 79 work and lives of community residents, with particular focus on aspects related to “residence” and “occupation”. Initially, on some occasions, I stayed overnight in inner-city community S with a host family that I had met while conducting interviews. After the fire in that community, however, internal divisions and confusion within the community led me to stop spending nights there. I did continue to make regular visits to the communities to conduct research. Furthermore, with regard to the inner-city community...