The rise of the pocket park and the greening of Bangkok

Opened at the end of September last year, Wat Hua Lamphong Rukkhaniwet Park is a prime example of Bangkok’s latest drive to create new green spaces for its residents and visitors. It’s a smart move to address the needs of a metropolis screaming for more trees and breathable enclaves.

Green initiatives abound in Bangkok as the city gears up to help meet Thailand’s goal of reducing 20-30% of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. This is one of the objectives countries pledged to in the Paris Agreement. With both the public and private sectors rolling up their sleeves, Bangkok250 is aimed at making the inner city ‘more liveable’ by Bangkok’s 250th birthday in 2032. The Green Bangkok 2030 project was launched at the end of 2019  to develop additional, sustainable green spaces for healthier city dwelling.

Bangkok currently has some 100 city parks, of which only 10 exceed 100 rai (160,000sqm). With little chance of another sizable park opening in the metropolis, the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA) called for donations of vacant plots of land to be reserved for the creation of community parks. They ran design competitions to generate interest and garner public participation. As a result, pocket parks have been springing up all over town.

One of 12 small, centrally located park projects that were earmarked for completion between 2021 and end 2022, Wat Hua Lamphong Rukkhaniwet Park opened at the end of September 2021. It’s located in a quiet side street, tucked behind a huge looming condo complex. Surrounded by traditional shophouses, a temple and several branded hotels, this little pocket park offers respite for everyone and anyone.

This city garden may be tiny, but it’s extremely useful. Here, you can enjoy a spot of morning exercise, downtime with a good book and a snack, play dates for the kids, or outdoor coffee with friends, all among the lovely trees and flowers. It’s lush in its own way with indigenous plants, including a sacred Bodhi tree, and attracts local fauna, such as birds and butterflies. 

The well-manicured landscaping offers walking paths, brightly painted floral windmill structures and bumblebee-coloured exercise equipment. There’s also a children’s playground, complete with slide, rock climbing mound, monkey bars and a tyre climbing frame. A pebbled foot reflexology pit has been set up for those who wish to kick off their shoes. 

Multiple benches offer plenty of seating, which will be increasingly shaded with time as the trees grow. There are tables with stools under a large gazebo trellis — a great spot for a meal or a round of chess. A cheerful noodle vendor, who speaks English, is conveniently pitched up just outside the gates, in case you forget to take a snack.

Born of a crowdfunding initiative, in association with the Thai Health Promotion Foundation and the BMA, and built by landscape architects Shma Company Limited under their We!Park project, the 1,048sqm private plot in Bangrak was one of the pilots for the pocket park scheme, and serves as a communal ‘garden next door’. 

As with all pocket parks, Wat Hua Lamphong Rukkhaniwet Park adds green to a concrete-laden area of Bangkok, promotes the idea of health and well-being for body and mind of both adults and children, while reclaiming vacant lots to the benefit of the community. This is one trend we hope will never stop.

Wat Hua Lamphong Rukkhaniwet Park is at Soi Na Wat Hua Lamphong, Bangrak, Bangkok. It’s open every day from 5am to 8pm.