The goal of this research is to address a real-life housing problem affecting the livelihood of low-income residents in Klong Toey, Bangkok, Thailand. This project supports a low-income people-led initiative as a result of a precarious housing situation they are facing. The research seeks to address two interrelated domains of urban life; housing and livelihood. Housing and livelihood constitute fundamental human needs; the cumulative effect of the dysfunction of these aspects of human lives have greater consequences for vulnerable groups in lower and upper middle-income countries. By addressing livelihood problems and housing insecurity of low-income residents of the Klong Toey community, this research responds to structural inequalities rooted in low-income settlements, such as Klong Toey. Bangkok has over 1.5 million people living in slums forming about 2,000 communities. Klong Toey settlement is situated on a land area owned by the Port Authority of Thailand and dates back to 1939, and has currently over 100,000 inhabitants. Despite several attempts over the years to evict the residents to allow for the expansion of the port's facilities, the population kept growing, and a strong community organisation, supported by voluntary agencies, started opposing eviction attempts since 1973. The pressure from the Port Authority has recently increased since the government decided to develop Klong Toey, as part of a master plan. The Port Authority views Klong Toey as a prime location for real estate development and as a new urban centre. The master plan was approved without public consultation with the Klong Toey community, who are facing eviction, hence the urgency of this proposal. We know from preliminary studies that uncertainties around housing and livelihood in Klong Toey are having negative impacts on low-income older people's health and well-being. The project aims to start a positive collaborative process between low-income stakeholders, community organisations, policy-makers, and housing developers in Bangkok. It will engage with all parties to co-produce adequate and sustainable housing design options and redevelopment and relocation solutions that guarantee community cohesion and fabric, adequate housing forms, and offer opportunities for a secure and sustainable livelihood for all residents. The project will develop housing and livelihood guidelines to guarantee the welfare and livelihood of vulnerable residents in Klong Toey, particularly older people and women. We anticipate that the co-design activities targeted at low-income participants will identify needs, create the opportunity to influence decision-makers and developers, and contribute to protecting the livelihood and the health and well-being of this vulnerable group. Additionally, other low-income countries may benefit from this project's bottom-up advocacy through its methodology to inform the architectural design of their housing, support for livelihood and how to engage with decision-makers at local level. The project also proposes to contribute to improving governance structures in Bangkok influencing housing provision for low-income groups.

This proposal is underpinned by the findings of the AHRC-funded AgeingHood research, entitled "Protecting the livelihood of vulnerable residents in Klong Toey, Bangkok, Thailand" (AHRC reference: AH/T011599/1). AgeingHood was a 12-month research project undertaken in collaboration between University of Sheffield's (UoS) School of Architecture and Department of Architecture, Kasetsart University (KU), Bangkok, Thailand. AgeingHood project ended on 30 June 2021. AgeingHood explored the intersection between three key domains of human life: ageing, housing and livelihood for the low-income residents of Klong Toey (KT). The aim of the project was to support a low-income people-led initiative as a result of a precarious housing situation they were facing, which was also threatening their welfare, given that most residents in KT, and particularly older people, depended on their housing for their livelihood. In the context of the AgeingHood research, livelihood is a means of subsistence, in which people use their living spaces for a range of home-based enterprises, to support themselves and their families. Housing and livelihood constitute fundamental human needs; the cumulative effect of the dysfunction of these aspects of human lives have greater consequences for vulnerable groups in low- and middle-income countries. By addressing housing insecurity and livelihood problems of low-income residents of informal settlement of KT, this project responded to structural inequalities entrenched in the KT communities. These structural inequalities often manifest as poor living and poor health conditions, a lack of or dysfunctional public infrastructure and inaccessible green outdoor spaces. AgeingHood espoused a research approach that recognised that housing challenges are often multi-dimensional, involving various stakeholders, with diverse and, often, conflicting interests. Sustainable and equitable solutions were co-created which has been inclusive of all stakeholders, leading to the production and publication of the AgeingHood toolkit. The solutions proffered by AgeingHood toolkit now need to be further supported in order to achieve real-life positive impacts for these vulnerable communities, and offer opportunities for knowledge exchange. This follow-on funding project will implement the AgeingHood toolkit, through impact creation, knowledge exchange and capacity building. The AgeingHood toolkit proposes inclusive solutions to address unintended consequences of urban resettlement of low-income older residents in Klong Toey. This includes housing typologies and recommendations for advocacy for low-income people, and alternatives to eviction. Through participatory methods, such as spatial observation, post-occupancy evaluation and co-design workshops, the AgeingHood toolkit created three housing typologies for the people of KT, based on their occupational needs, household size and personal circumstances. Three distinct activities will be undertaken to achieve the project objectives. This include two focus groups, an international knowledge exchange symposium, and a sandpit workshop. All these activities will take place in Bangkok.