Abstract:
This study aims to identify the components of housing units, social and economic aspects and space utilization behavior of slum residents in inner Bangkok metropolitan districts. Another objective is to investigate the physical components of the housing units as a reference standard for self-sufficient accommodation. Five medium-size slums were included in this study of landlords and tenants. The research instruments include a structured interview, a physical investigation form, and photos. Sixty-four housing units selected from Four-stage sampling were divided into 4 building categories: single-storey houses, two-storey houses, commercial building blocks, and row houses. SPSS was used to analyze the data and AutoCAD2000 was used for assessment. It was found that property rights could be divided into 4 groups: ownership, land lease, house rental and free-rental stay. Property rights affected the type of housing, utilized space and duration of stay. It was also found that single-storey houses and two-storey houses had an average plot size of 64 m[square]. The average size of the commercial building blocks and row house was 46 m[square] and row houses 30 m[square] respectively. The lowest utilized space was 36.0 m[square] per unit for row houses, 43.0 m[square] per unit for single-storey houses and 71.0 m[square] per unit for two-storey houses, or a total average of 8.8 m[square] per person. Utilized space could be divided into 2 categories: multi-purpose space and specified space. In each housing unit there were 9 main functions or components, ranked from the most utilized to the least area: living area, balcony, hall, space between housing units, pedestrian pavement, sleeping area, laundry area, kitchen area and bathroom. The utilized space increased according to the number of residents, i.e. the original area would increase by 25% for one resident additional. Density of housing was 4.5 people per housing unit, and a house, or family income, was 17,987 baht per month. In addition, residents habits in using the sleeping area, laundry area and bathroom differed from the 1986 standard of the National Housing Authority. Results revealed that the size of utilized area of the row houses was comparatively similar to that of a unit in the Government Uur-Athorn housing project condominiums. The size of the utilized area of the single-storey houses and two-storey houses was similar to that of a low-rise building of the government Uur- Athorn housing project. It is recommended that there should be 2 standards. First, a standard for rooms in shared accommodation which has 3 bedrooms. The utilized area should not be less than 27.0 m[square] for 2-4 tenants. In each unit there should be 7 functions. Second, the housing standard set for low-rise accommodation should be row houses, twin houses and two-storey houses, all of which should plot size between 64-100 m[square]. Row houses should have no less than 43 m[square] of utilized area for a maximum of 4 people. In each housing unit, there should be 8 functions. Twin houses and two-storey houses should have no less than 55 m[square] of utilized area for a maximum of 5 people and there should be 10 functions in each housing unit.