Somsook Boonyabancha

She has a new idea:

Somsook is developing the methodology for “land-sharing”, an urban land use innovation built around a mutually beneficial deal between urban squatters and the owner of the land who wishes to develop for commercial purposes. The slum dwellers get new, better, if more dense housing on a back portion of the plot in dispute, and the owner gets the street-front portion freed for immediate development. Everyone wins. The slum dwellers get more than quality housing at agreed affordable cost and they become legal and secure. They also emerge, in Somsook’s way of orchestrating such deals, organized and able not only to negotiate but to go on and deal with other problems.

The owners and developers rescue most of the value of their investment opportunity, which otherwise very probably would remain mired in a limitless quicksand of politicized conflict. Such conflict produces only costs and is painfully un-Thai. Somsook’s win-win land-sharing deals also helps the cities: ending the stalemate which has been immobilizing important properties facilitates more rational, efficient urban development.

That is from this Ashoka site, there is a video here, there is an interview here.  For the pointer I thank Janet B.