Local Capital and Samut Prakan Driving to be the Livable City

Abstract

The purposes of this qualitative research are listed as follows: 1) to observe the context of Samut Prakan as a livable city, 2) to analyze local capital in accordance with the power of local capital to drive Samut Prakan to a livable city, and 3) to provide guidelines for building Samut Prakan to be a livable city.

The research is conducted by examining the papers and in-depth interviews with 16 participants. According to the results of the research, the characteristics of Samut Prakan’s livable city consist of 1) having proper public utilities, convenient traffic, and good infrastructure, 2) having a decent economy, lucrative income, good employment rate, and moderate cost of living, 3) having favorable social conditions and high levels of safety for everyone, 4) being a city with a healthy environment, cleanliness, low pollution, and sufficiency green space, and 5) having both natural and historical tourist attractions. On the other hand, to make this livable city possible, local capital and local government management must have 1) leaders of the local administrative organization with a vision for local development, 2) a transparent, fair, and accountable management system, and 3) a strong civil society whose people are willing to participate and be responsible for the management of the city. However, there remains more work to be done for the development of a livable city. The provincial governor’s short-term working period is a matter that should be taken into account in both the administration of the government and the issue regarding the local administrative organization’s use of the budget. Local leaders must be honest, while the government must be well-run. Budgets must also be better well-used. Last but not least, decentralization to be able to meet local needs is proposed by those who contribute to the research.