Chong Nonsi Canal Park Leads the Way
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's "Blue and Green Network" plan aims to convert more than 1,100 canals across the capital into linear parks. The flagship project, the 4.5-kilometre Chong Nonsi Canal Park, was designed by landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom of LANDPROCESS and draws inspiration from Seoul's Cheonggyecheon restoration. Since opening in late 2021, the park has combined a walking and cycling corridor with flood-retention basins that hold stormwater during heavy rains. Research from the Stockholm Environment Institute has praised the project's flood mitigation benefits while also flagging maintenance and water-quality challenges that the city is now working to address.
A Flood Buffer for a Sinking City
Bangkok is sinking by roughly two centimetres a year in some districts, while the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projects global sea levels could rise by around 33 centimetres by 2050. Combined with heavier monsoon downpours, that leaves the low-lying capital increasingly exposed to flash flooding. City planners have engineered the new canal parks to hold and slowly release stormwater from storms expected once every 50 to 100 years, buying time for drainage systems downstream. A second phase targeting the historic Phadung Krung Kasem canal is now in planning, extending the Blue and Green Network toward the city's old quarter as officials look to scale the model citywide.
