the city on water

THE CITY ON WATER-Development plan for the southern lakes in Phnom Penh

City in Crisis, spring 2010, A-36.3502 Mesimaaria Koponen, Emma-Liisa Hannula, Javier Acebes, Léa Crouzet

TABLE OF CONTENT

1. PROLOGUE

1.1 DEFINING THE DESIGN AREA1.2 GROUNDS FOR CHOOSING THE AREA1.3 DEVELOPMENT PLANS OF THE MUNICIPALITY1.4 FILLING THE LAKES IN PHNOM PENH1.5 PROBLEMS RELATED TO WATER IN PHNOM PENH1.6 CULTURAL HISTORY OF PHNOM PENH

2. RESEARCH ABOUT THE AREA

2.1 CLIMATE AND FLOODING2.2 STAKEHOLDERS2.3 LANDOWNERSHIP2.4 JOBS2.5 POPULATION AND LIVING-INTERVIEWS WITH LOCAL INHABITANTS2.6 SERVICES2.7 WATER SUPPLY AND SEWAGE IN PHNOM PENH2.8 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN PHNOM PENH

3. OBJECTIVES AND GOALSOF THE DESIGN

3.1 BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT3.2 MAIN GOALS OF THE PROJECT

4. DESIGN PRINCIPLES

4.1 WASTE WATER MANAGEMENT, SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT, WATER SUPPLY AND ELECTRICITY4.2 SERVICES4.3 BUILDING STRUCTURE4.4 JOBS4.5 TRANSPORTATION AND CONNECTIONS4.6 RECREATION4.7 CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT4.8 NATURE4.9 PARTICIPATORY PLANNING

5. EFFECTS OF THE PLAN

5.1 URBAN STRUCTURE AND LANDUSE IN THE CITY5.2 LIVING CONDITIONS AND LIVING ENVIRONMENT OF PEOPLE5.3 LIVELIHOODS AND SERVICES5.4 ENVIRONMENT5.5 ECONOMY OF PHNOM PENH

1. PROLOGUE

1.1 DEFINING THE DESIGN AREA

General description of the area

The area for our project is located by the three largest lakes on the south side of Phnom Penh, lake Trabek, lake Tompun and lake Cheung Ek, on the area both inside and outside the current border for the inner city.

Our project concentrates on developing and densifying the current urban structure of the area of lakes Trabek and Tompun and introducing new facilities and a tourism structure on the area. The river side between the Bassac river and lake Cheung Ek will be developed. A new city structure will be developed on the northern shore of lake Cheung Ek on filled land.

The area is currently serving as the collection point of almost all of the waste water of Phnom Penh. The most of the waste water comes to the lake Cheung Ek from the city center via the lakes Trabek and Tompun. There is also a waste water channel coming from the western part of the city directly to the lake Cheung Ek.

Currently the southern lake area is mostly covered with vegetable plantations. The main product grown in the area is a vegetable called morning glory. The morning glory growing provides a large part of the employment of the urban poor living on the area.

The area is developing rapidly with new high and middle income households moving to the area. The lake and river shores are mostly occupied by the urban poor with recognized or illegal settlements. The infrastructure by the area by the lakes Trabek and Tompun is undeveloped but the city structure pleasant. Most of the houses of the area are connected to the water supply and electricity networks provided by the city but lack sewage. Some of the housing areas flood during the annual rainy season.

The area by the northwestern corner of Cheung Ek is mostly developed with high and middle class housing. It has although some parts of urban poor settlements without proper infrastructure and some streets that still have to be raised above the flooding level.

There is some existing industry by the shore of the Bassac river and future municipality plans for expanding the industrial zone by the river.

The design area.

The governmenal developemnet plan for the project area.

RoadCommunity under threat of evictionRelocation site

Proposed industryProposed housingKhan boundaryWater supply pipeline

1.2 GROUNDS FOR CHOOSING THE AREA

The expansion of Phnom Penh. The city structure of Phnom Penh will expand to different directions in the near future. The middle class is currently expanding and masses of poor people are continuously moving to the capital city in hope of work and better life. The expansion of the city to the area of Cheung Ek lake is already partly taken place and will continue rapidly in the future. Our project aims to find a long term solution for the city development structure in the area that would be sustainable and ecological.

Currently all the waste water in Phnom Penh ends up in the lakes of Trabek, Tompun and Cheung Ek and continues from there further down to other surface water areas of Cambodia. The starting point of our project is the cleaning of the southern waste water fed lakes in Phnom Penh. The project considers an alternative solution for the city structure in case the water was cleaned. Our project aims to introduce a sustainable alternative plan for the city development where the lakes are preserved and the water is taken into people´s every day environment. Our aim is to show that cleaning the surface waters and preserving the lakes instead of filling them can be sustainable both economically, ecologically, add value the real estates of the area and provide a healthier, more pleasant living environment. The project introduces alternative water related ways of living and presents a new eco-tourism area that would protect the traditional livelihoods and ways of life in the area.

1.3 DEVELOPMENT PLANS OF THE MUNICIPALITY

The master plan of Phnom Penh

Throughout the last century there have been numerous experiments concerning city planning in Phnom Penh; however, only one of them led to a decision: the directing diagram of town planning, adopted in 1950. The actual master plan for Phnom Penh was approved in 1996 by the Council of Ministers and overtaken in 2002; it plans the development of the city up to 2020.

According to the National Institute of Statistics and the office of the urban affairs, a great population growth will take place in Phnom Penh area in the near future. In year 2003, the population of Phnom Penh was approximately 1,250,000 citizens; currently, the “day population” of the city exceeds 2,000,000 people, and the estimations for 2020 say that this number will rise up to more than 2,500,000 inhabitants in the municipality. This large increase gives a new scale to the development, in fact, the dimension of urbanization is already exceeding the limits of the municipality (375 km2); the objective of the master plan is to propose a framework of territorial planning which takes into account the new dimension of the development.

Infrastructure is the main key for the development on the new planning framework of Phnom Penh. The main part of the new infrastructure will have to be carried out in the suburbs, where the population increase will be much larger than in the centre of the city. The growth of the population in the four central districts of Phnom Penh will be approximately 100 000 inhabitants by 2020 in comparison to the growth of approximately 600 000 inhabitants in the three outer districts of Phnom Penh.

The infrastructure of Phnom Penh is rapidly expanding. New sub centres are often several kilometres away from the centre of the city, strongly linked with the urban networks such as electricity network, water supply and main roads. New city structures are emerging linearly along the communication routes between the city centre and new sub centres. New means of communication such as motor bikes and cars are getting crucial importance.

The ultimate aim of the infrastructure enhancement of Phnom Penh is to boost the role of the city as the exchange centre of Cambodia thanks to its privileged location on the crossing of rivers Mekong, Bassac and Ton le Sap, it´s location on the axis of Bangkok in Thailand and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam as well as its nearness to Sihanoukville, the main harbour of Phnom Penh.

The main aspects of the infrastructure development of Phnom Penh:

1. Road enhancement

The main issues according the development of the road structure are the improvement of the connection between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville, the main port of Cambodia, and the construction of a new by-pass road, which already exists partly. With the projected bridge on Bassac river it will be possible to connect to all the main roads which converge on Phnom Penh.

2. Extension of the airport

The limited role of the domestic market and the absence of a domestic airline company make Phnom Penh airport just an end of an international network served via one of the large regional hubs, such as Bangkok and Singapore. The current equipment of the airport would allow a higher accommodation and higher volume of traffic.

The realization of a new airport would be a particularly expensive and risky investment. The relative proximity of the centre is an appreciable advantage for the existing airport, as it is it for other airports which accommodate even higher traffics. A new airport would have to be built further away from the city. The far away location from the city would force an expensive realization of infrastructures to allow the connection with the city, investment not possible in Phnom Penh considering the financial resources and priorities.

The best solution for the airport would be lengthening of the tracks of the existing airport to allow big airplane traffic; this operation would suppose a much lower investment. The road system has thus to be developed both to south and north from the airport to provide a better communication network to reach the centre of the city from the airport.

3. Development of the harbour area

An optimization of the harbour installations on the Tonle Sap River is needed to guarantee a good urban insertion and a control of environmental risks. A project of a new port on Mekong River in the south of the city seems thus not justified even if the traffic volume would increase because of the difficult technical problems caused by the power of the river and its action on the river banks.

The port of Sihanoukville will remain as the principal harbour in the country. However, the river transport is an important complement to the main harbour. The river transport is economically important for the city of Phnom Penh and the direct access to the market is

a good argument to keep the harbour installations in the centre of Phnom Penh.

4. Railroad improvement

The rehabilitation of the connection towards Sihanoukville and to the border of Thailand is essential to ensure a fluent connection to and from Phnom Penh. The connection between Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh Ville with a new railroad is also an essential vector of development between the two metropolises. Good railway transportation system in addition to the road networks is necessary to the economy of Cambodia.

Inside Phnom Penh, the creation of a new railway station at the western entry of the city should be envisaged, as well as the maintenance of the current station in the centre of the city that is located in relation to the central market. The railway network inside Phnom Penh could even provide the public transport inside the urban structure of Phnom Penh with a minimum investment.

Most of the functions of maintenance and sorting of the railroads will be moved towards the suburbs in order to create new spaces necessaries for the activities of the city centre. The municipal project for Boeng Kak Lake supposes the displacement of the station to the west and the release of the grounds of the railroad between the current central station and the boulevard of Czechoslovakia. The new roadway systems and public spaces will connect the Olympic stage and the Boeng Kak and will accommodate activities of leisure, consumption and services.

Part of the grounds of the railroad located along Boeng Kak can be refitted for new functions, like the extension of the Council of Ministers or new cultural areas, which are currently lacking in Phnom Penh. New public spaces, office and trade buildings will be also built along the lake, in order to open it to the public and create a new centrality.

5. The blue network:

Apart from all the existing networks, a new network of canals and lakes should be implemented and preserved to allow a satisfactory working of the hydraulic system, prevent the risk of floods, and allow a provisional storage of rain water. It is essential to respect the lake surfaces; the network of water would also enhance the quality of life of the inhabitants and increase the economical value of real estates and tourist destinations inside Phnom Penh.

The blue network of the city is currently accompanied by a farming network made up in the areas of expansion of the lakes during the wet season, which are used as public parks on the dry season. Some development

plans propose that the zones of traditional villages, with a strong presence of the vegetation, should participate on the blue network. This would limit installations in these zones to operations of low density preserving. The farming network would be supplemented by a certain number of connections between its components and the rivers.

The farming and the blue network thus ensure many functions such as hydraulic safety, maintenance of urban discontinuities as well as not waterproofed zones, structuring the urban landscape, improvement of the quality of urban space and valorisation of land.

Examples of the current urban development of Phnom Penh

Northern development:

According to the initial plans of the city the northern area of Phnom Penh constitutes a new very ambitious stake of urban development; it represents a unique opportunity to create new urban extensions of great quality. The preservation of northern lakes is seen as essential for the drainage and prevention of floods in the urbanization area predicted between the airport, the dam of Kop Sreu and Tonle Sap. The plan also considers connecting the northern lakes to Boeng Kak lake by a channel, and the installation of a sewer system to evacuate waste water through the lakes and avoid the pollution of Tonle Sap.

In reality the northern area of Phnom Penh has already started to be urbanized, according to the master plan guidelines; however, the issue of preserving the lakes is not being respected at all. The company World City Ltd. is currently developing the project “Phnom Penh new town”, located in the Pong Peay Lake development zone, 3 kilometres away from the city centre. The project is being planned and invested by Koreans.

The aim of the “Phnom Penh new town” project is to create a new centrality in Phnom Penh, an urban complex with public areas such as governmental buildings, schools and institutions, medical and sports centres and residential zones of different types and scales. The northern development is the first urban development in Phnom Penh which introduces high-rise residential buildings, commercial buildings, offices, trade and financial centres, hotels, malls and industrial facilities in the same location.

The area reserved for the project is located on the east end of Pong Peay Lake, which has started to be partially filled. The project is planned to be completed between 2005 and 2018, with an approximated cost of 2$ billion and a total area of 119 ha, divided in 6 construction phases. Phase I was finished in 2009, and phases II, III and IV are currently under construction.

Chaktokmuk area:

This area now is housing one of the most ambitious and more conflictive urban projects in Phnom Penh: The Diamond Island. Diamond Island is situated opposite to the Hun Sen Park. A company called The Oversea Cambodia investment company has gotten a 99-year lease to develop and manage the area of the island Koh Pich in the crossing of Mekong river along the Tonle Bassac river side.

The blue networks of Phnom Penh.

The developemnt plan for the lake Pong Peay.

A company called The Oversea Cambodia investment company has gotten a 99-year lease to develop and manage the area of the island Koh Pich in the crossing of Mekong river along the Tonle Bassac river side.

The project has gotten a strong opposition from local inhabitants. A conflict started between the municipality and the residents of the island in 2004, at the time when the municipality agreed with Canadian Bank to start investments on the island. In June 2005, the municipality issued a final ultimatum to 23 families still living on Koh Pich to accept the compensation of $6.75 per square meter or face a law suit. Most of the families previously living on the island have already left, accepting similar ultimatums before. The majority of them were poor and with little to no documentation to claim their land. Those who remain have land titles and are confident to win the law suit and expect a higher compensation of about $23 per square meter.

The Diamond Island project itself is one of the five satellite cities planned for Phnom Penh. Touch Samnang is the project manager and architect of the project. The 100 hectares of the project area are being build to an elite town satellite city. The project consists of an urban development with luxury residential areas – both high and low-rise buildings – commerce, offices, a hospital, restaurants and an observation tower that is 222 meters high. Lands and future buildings are already put on sale but the sales are going slow due to the global economic crises.

The project changes the water flow of the major rivers and causes erosion and risk for the river bank to collapse. In order to create a proper ground surface to start the construction, 100 earth-moving equipments, grading works and a concrete river bank were needed; as well as land filling up to an elevation of 11.75-meter, 0.7 meter higher than Phnom Penh. Land filling of the area has already been completed.

The project has raised environmental concerns including the impact on the Mekong and Bassac Rivers and the effects on the floods.

Sources:

Phnom Penh municipality: http://www.phnompenh.gov.kh

World City Co., Ltd.: http://worldcitycambodia.com

Camko City Phnom Penh: www.camkocity.net

Urban Land Conflict in Cambodia: Phnom Penh, Koh Pich Case: http://www.forum-urban-futures.net/activities/papers/urban-land-conflict-cambodia:-phnom-penh,-koh-pich-case

Blog SeeCambodia: http://seecambodia.blogspot.com

Diamond island.

1.4 FILLING THE LAKES IN PHNOM PENH

The history of filling lakes

The first settlements in The Phnom Penh area started to appear 2000 years ago. The city gradually developed by the crossing point of rivers with the Tonle Sap running west to the old Angkorian capital, the Mekong River north to Laos and branches south to the delta and the South China Sea. The area by the crossing point of rivers was a system of land and lakes of different sizes. The system of lakes balanced naturally the annual cycle of wet and dry seasons by absorbing water and preventing floods on the land area.

The city started to grow and develop. During 1890 the by the time running French colonists started to develop draining wetlands and canals to the already existing city structure. Paradoxically by the 1930´s the canals constructed by the French had again been filled and turned into garden boulevards by the French. A 1928 a French company filled the Boeng Decho lake in the central area of Phnom Penh to make place for the Central market. The value of the land area was considered as more important

factor than the value of the lakes. The same French company filled also other lakes in the central area in the end of 1920´s. The filling of the lakes interfered with the natural drainage system during the monsoon and for example the area of central market has annually problems with flooding during the heavy rains.

During the development of Phnom Penh many of the natural lakes have been filled and replaced by city structure. It is estimated that Phnom Penh´s 3800 areas of lakes 1998 will be 520 acres in the near future. Currently the lakes in Phnom Penh are approximately 920 hectares. The existing future governmental city plans show that the government has plans to fill large parts of the existing central lakes.

Boeng Kok lake and Pong Peay Lake

At the moment the Boeng Kok lake is being filled from 90 hectares to 10 hectares by a foreign investment company. 119 hectares of the lake have already being filled. The company plans to build luxury housing, shopping and entertainment complex in the area. 3200-4250 families living in the area either already been evicted or living under the threat of eviction.

An international competition was organized 2003 by the city itself to develop the Boeng Kok area. Phnom Penh governor Kep Chuktema charged groups of international urbanists and architects each with a Cambodian representative - with the task of “reclaiming” the site. The objectives of the competition were to improve living conditions for the residents in the area; to give the area a “metropolitan flavor;” to develop commercial and residential zones; and to create new boulevards, public transport networks and “green areas.” The brief of the competition also stated that the relation between Phnom Penh and water is fundamental, with “ponds, canals, dikes, pumps and embankments indispensable structural elements for urban expansion and for the management of major risks.” Accordingly, a major objective of the planning competition was “to maintain the lake’s water surface, and to better link the pond to the city drainage system in order to protect the northern part of town, now in full expansion, from flooding.”

The competition was won 2004 by a design entitled the “Pearl Plan.” Among the main features of the design was a “vast green space accessible to all,” and a dense residential area, located to the north of the lake, “for all categories of population.” It also proposed a number of tourist and commercial

Lakes and rivers in Phnom Penh.

zones, the relocation of the train station 1 km to the west and a green corridor stretching along the west of the lakeside. The plan required a new canal to Boeng (lake) Poung Peay, northwest of Boeng Kak, and necessitated only a small amount of landfill in the north, west and northeast of Boeng Kak. The competition report stated that the winning design “articulated a dense urban green lung in an Asian metropolis that will reclaim for Phnom Penh the title of ‘The Pearl of Asia. But the Pearl Plan was apparently abandoned soon after it was acclaimed. In July 2006 the government published the plans for filling all but 10 hectares of the lake. The plan has raised lots of resistance from the local communities, inhabitants and non-governmental organizations of Phnom Penh. By filling the Boeng Kok lake the sense of place, health of the residents and the ability of the city to deal with monsoons will be risked.

Even the area on the east end of Pong Peay Lake is under development and started to be partially filled. The development project for the area is planned to be completed between 2005 and 2018, with an approximated cost of 2$ billion and a total area of 119 ha, divided in 6 construction phases. Phase I was finished in 2009, and phases II, III and IV are currently under construction.

The impacts and the future of filling the lakes

Filling the lakes in Phnom Penh has interfered with the natural water systems causing flooding in central areas of Phnom Penh. Some Japanese driven projects have been established for helping the situation: 4 underground reservoirs and 4 new water pump stations has been installed for preventing major flooding in the central area of Phnom Penh.

Cambodia is somewhat alone in the area with the tradition of filling the lakes. Other big cities in the area such as Hanoi in Vietnam have decide to embrace their lakes and agreed that lakes absorb storm water, prevent flooding and can be fruitful for the economical development and the well being of people. The central lakes in Phnom Penh are waste water fed, stink, polluted and are usually not in the quality of swimming, facts that have been used to justify the filling of the lakes.

The lakes provide livelihood for many urban poor people by providing possibilities for fishing and growing vegetables. There are also economic, health-related and ecological reasons to preserve the lakes. The general economic value of the lakes is not recognized and possibilities for tourism and lake-related real estate values are not considered. The municipalities and even many of the inhabitants want the stinky lakes to be filled and do not understand the possibilities of the central lakes in the way that it is understood for example in Europe. In Europe nearness to a water area rises real-estate value and makes hotels more attractive to the tourists. In Phnom Penh these possibilities are not considered and the value of the place is understood in the amount of the square meters to be able to build on. Preserving the existing lakes in the future would be more than a change of the master plan. It would be a change of a whole mind set when it comes to urban planning and a step from short-term-profit thinking to sustainable long term solutions.

The remaining central lakes should be preserved not only for getting economical growth in the long run and the central Phnom Penh to be an attractive place for its inhabitants and tourists but also for the sustainability of the city center. The city and its inhabitants need green and blue spaces for their wellbeing. In the time of increasing amount of natural catastrophes and global warming a sustainable solution for the city center of Phnom Penh is needed for providing a natural drainage system, preventing floods and urban heat island. The water should be seen as a resource increasing wellbeing, safety and economic growth as it has the possibility of providing these factors.

Pearl plan- Boeng Kok lake.

Sources:

Building and urban poor people´s movement in Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Asian Coalition of housing rights 2001

Cambodia environment monitor 2003; The world bank 2003

http://ajrhayman.blogspot.com/2009/03/city-buries-pearl-of-asia-plan.html

http://www.canbypublications.com/phnompenh/pphistory.htm

p://www.phnompenh.gov.kh/english/history.htm

The case of Phnom Penh, Pierre Fallavier, Department of urban studies and planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

State-of-the-system Report Cambodia, Report 2/2003, Royal university of agriculture and The Asian institute of Technology 2003

1.5 PROBLEMS RELATED TO WATER IN PHNOM PENH

Water quality

In addition to the various problems related to the decreasing amount of blue space in Phnom Penh´s urban structure, the surface water itself is going through alarming changes. The water quality is declining in all the main rivers and lakes in Phnom Penh. There is an increased generation of domestic and industrial, toxic and hazardous waste in the surface water of Phnom Penh. The levels of agricultural herbicides, fertilizers, pesticides and sedimentation are also increasing. Evolving marine based activities, shipping and hotel business cause increased oil and gas levels in lakes and rivers. Only few of the industries in Phnom Penh and its surroundings can compile with the discharge permit for surface water quality standards. This together with lack of treatment facilities or special dumpsites for toxic and hazardous waste has resulted in worsening quality of surface and ground water in the area of Phnom Penh.

The animal and human waste in surface water areas has caused increased concentrations of total coliform bacteria TBC especially in Mekong river. The levels are over standards of swimming in many places. The central lakes are neither suitable for swimming anymore. Most of the city´s morning glory is questionably produced and sold to restaurant and households from the waste water fed Cheung Ek lake area. Cheung Ek area is the area where almost all the city´s waste water finally ends

up. People farming morning glory in Cheung Ek lake suffer from skin diseases because of the water quality. The quality of vegetables grown in the area and sold to households and restaurants is also highly questionable.

Urban poor communities

Another problem related to water in Phnom Penh considers the urban poor communities access to drinking water and sewage and their settlement´s placements in relation to the natural monsoon drainage networks. 26% of Phnom Penh´s urban poor live on riverbanks and along canals. Many of the urban poor live in the immediate closeness of the lakes in the city center. These areas are usually currently appointed by the government to public park land. Many of the communities living by lakes, canals and rivers are among squatters and some other urban poor communities considered as illegal and cannot therefore be connected to the water supply system and sewage. They are also most probably facing eviction in the future. At the same time the migrants starting to live on these areas can cause problems by starting to live on natural drainage paths which have served as the traditional environmental safeguard against floods.

Since 2000 also the city has started to expand the water supply system to reach the urban poor by providing main connections to some areas. Most residents in the urban poor communities spend too much time and use too many resources just to

Solid waste ends up in the surface water.

have sufficient water for their daily consumption. To lessen the burden of poor families related to buying water at a high rate from water resellers, Phnom Penh water supply authority made it a policy to supply clean and safe water directly to these poor families. By the year 2002, Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority had made a total of 3,046 connections among the 31 recognized poor communities within the city of Phnom Penh. This figure reflects an almost 100% supply to all the poor families living in the service area in Phnom Penh.

Money and the status of illegal settlements prevent many of the poor communities t o have decent water supply and sewage systems. While most of the recognized urban poor communities are nowadays connected to the water supply system, 1/3 of the urban poor communities still do not have any system for to evacuate storm or waste water. To connect a private house to the public sewage system costs a lot and the money is an issue in the urban poor communities. In many urban poor communities the untreated sewage directly discharged into the rivers during the dry season. During the wet season a mixture of sewage and storm water backs up into houses in low-lying areas causing significant health threats; Human waste discharged in residential areas causing health threats such as diarrhea and cholera. Stagnant water is in fact the main source of disease in slums.

1/3 of the urban poor communities have gotten a drainage system by the help of different help organizations. Anyhow only 1/3 of the urban poor communities still have no access to indoor toilets. Many of the “illegal” urban poor communities and even the newly constructed relocation sites, where the urban poor have been evicted from the way of central city development, are still without water supply and sewage systems. The situation of the urban poor and water is still very fragile and funds and will for solving the situation is crucial for the future of the urban poor communities in Phnom Penh.

Sources:



The case of Phnom Penh, Pierre Fallavier, Department of urban studies and planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

State-of-the-system Report Cambodia, Report 2/2003, Royal university of agriculture an The Asian institute of Technology 2003

http://media.monstersandcritics.com/galleries/2192412_37962/0208723955085.jpg

Case study, Skin problems of a farmer engaged in water morning glory cultivation in Boeng Cheung Ek lake, Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Sok Seyha, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia and Vuong Tuan Anh, ational Institute of hygiene and epimenology Hanoi, Vietnam

1.6 THE CULTURAL HISTORY OF PHNOM PENH

The early history of Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh is the capital and the largest city of Cambodia. People have inhabited parts of Southeast Asia including Cambodia since the early Stone Age, but the first firm evidence of settlements in the Phnom Penh area does not appear until about 2000 years ago. Though probably an active settlement in the Angkorian era, during 9th-15th century AD, Phnom Penh doesn’t enter the historical record until after the Khmer capital had been moved to the area in the mid 15th century AD.

Phnom Penh City takes its name from the present Wat Phnom or Hill Temple. According to the legend year 1372 an old nun named Penh went to fetch the water in the Mekong river and found a dead Koki tree floating down the stream. Inside the hole of that dead Koki tree was four bronze and one stone Buddha statues. Grandmother Penh build a temple on a hill to house the five Buddha statues, then named the temple after her as Wat Phnom Daun Penh, which presently known as Wat Phnom. Phnom Penh was also previously known as Krong Chaktomuk meaning “City of Four Faces”. This name refers to the junction where the Mekong, Bassac, and Tonle Sap rivers cross, the place where the capital is situated.

Phnom Penh first became the capital of Cambodia after Ponhea Yat, king of the Khmer Empire, moved the capital from Angkor Thom after it was captured by Siam a few years earlier. Phnom Penh remained the royal capital for 73 years from 1432 to 1505, when it was abandoned for 360 years from 1505 to 1865 by subsequent kings due to internal fighting between the royal pretenders. Later kings moved the capital several times and established their royal capitals at various locations. It was not until 1866, under the reign of King Norodom I, that Phnom Penh became the permanent seat of government, and the current Royal Palace was built.

French colonization

The French colonialists came to Cambodia and Phnom Penh in the 1860´s. In the late 1800´s, the French Colonialists had turned a river side village into a major city. Phnom Penh was once called as the Pearl of Asia with one of the loveliest French built cities in Indochina in 1920´s. Over the next four decades the city continued to experience growth with the building of a railway to Sihanoukville and the Pochentong International Airport, now Phnom Penh International Airport. Phnom Penh under the period of Sihanouk’s rule had seen the expansion and the constructions of many modern infrastructures. The city had been expanded and many infrastructures had been built. Independence

Wat Phnom. Independence Monument.

from France came in 1954 issuing in a period of considerable urban and commercial development and the beginning of the distinctive New Khmer Architecture. The city was emerging until 1970.

Khmer Rouge

The city and its people have gone through a lot of difficult history. During the Vietnam War that started 1959 and continued to mid seventies, Cambodia was used as a base by the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong, and thousands of refugees from across the country flooded the city to escape the fighting between their own government troops and international troops.

1970 The Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia, Pol Pot as its chief. The city of Phnom Penh became totally mismanaged and emptied of its people by the Khmer Rouge regime during their time in power from 1970 to 1975. Many of its residents, including those who were wealthy and educated, were forced to do labor on rural farms. Tuol Svay Prey High School was taken over by Pol Pot’s forces and was turned into the S-21 prison camp, where Cambodians were detained and tortured. Pol Pot sought a return to an agrarian economy and therefore killed many people perceived as educated, “lazy”, or political enemies. Many others starved to death as a result of failure of the agrarian society and the sale of Cambodia’s rice to China in exchange for bullets and weaponry. The former high school is now the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, where Khmer Rouge torture devices and photos of their victims are displayed. Choeung Ek, The Killing Fields, 15 kilometers away, where the Khmer Rouge marched prisoners from Tuol Sleng to be murdered and buried in shallow pits, is also now a memorial to those who were killed by the regime.

The years following the Khmer Rouge

The Khmer Rouge was driven out of Phnom Penh by the Vietnamese in 1979, and people began to return to the city. Vietnam is historically a state with which Cambodia has had many conflicts with, therefore this liberation was and is viewed with mixed emotions by the Cambodians. The city suffered from the years of conflict and war after the Khmer Rouge regime. In 1991 UNTAC (United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia) began its 2 year administration of the country as part of a UN brokered peace agreement leading to national elections in 1993.

With the national elections Cambodia was suddenly open for business. International investment started to flow into the country and after years of being off the tourist map, Cambodia quickly became a new adventure destination. The city saw the beginning of a period of economic and urban development that has continued to this day. A period of reconstruction began, spurred by continuing stability of Phnom Penh, attracting new foreign investment and aid by different countries. Loans were taken from the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank to reinstate a clean water supply, roads and other infrastructure.

Current development and the economic boom

With the final demise of the Khmer Rouge in 1998 and increased stability, development accelerated. The 2000’s have seen another boom in Phnom Penh. The city’s population has increased to near 2,000,000. Around 60% of the population is Cambodian, with nearly a third Chinese Cambodian and Vietnamese Cambodian; other nationalities make up the remainder. While about 15% of inhabitants live below the poverty line, Phnom Penh is the richest city of Cambodia. There has been significant infrastructure improvement and, very recently, the first high rise structures have been built, giving considerable change to the skyline and architectural character of the city.

Phnom Penh has with time become country´s industrial, commercial, cultural and historical center. It is together with Shianoukville and Siem Riep the most important global and domestic touristic destination in Cambodia. The city is still noted for a place of great historical beauty and cultural attraction. The number of examples of the French colonial architecture that has survived, such as the Royal palace, embody the soul of classic as well as the modern social lifestyle for a developing economy. The culture in Phnom Penh and Cambodia in general is affected by various factors including Theravada Buddhism, French Colonialism, Hinduism, Angkor era culture and modern globalization.

The city is currently still facing numerous problems with its infrastructure, fast development and the movement of rural poor people to the city. Strong governmental and international help will be needed in the future to put the former Pearl of Asia on its feet again. :

Sources: A brief history of Phnom Penh, Canby Publications Co, http://www.candypublications.com/phnompenh/pphistory.htm

Report by Phnom Penh municipality, http://www.phnompenh.gov.kh/english/istory.htm

Cambodia, Wikipedia 2010, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cambodia

http://image56.webshots.com/156/7/72/34/2780772340063289371yiEhSo_fs.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Bombing_in_Vietnam.jpg

2. RESEARCH ABOUT THE AREA

2.1 CLIMATE AND FLOODING

Climate

Cambodia is located in Southeast Asia, in the tropical zone, just 10-13 degrees north of the equator. Cambodia is warm or hot all year round. There are only small variations from the average annual mean of around 25 °C. Maximum temperatures of higher than 32 °C, however, are common and, just before the start of the rainy season, they may rise to more than 38 °C. Minimum temperatures rarely fall below 10 °C. January is the coolest month, and April is the warmest.Cambodia´s climate is, like that of the rest of Southeast Asia, dominated by the annual monsoon cycle with its alternating wet and dry seasons. The monsoonal airflows are caused by annual alternating high pressure and low pressure over the Central Asian landmass. As the pressure drops during the summer months, June through October, moist air is drawn landward from the ocean bringing the southwest monsoon rains to Cambodia and much of Southeast Asia. Short transitional periods, which are marked by some difference in humidity but by little change in temperature, intervene between the alternating seasons. November to February the climate in Cambodia is cool and dry. From March to May follows a hot and dry season. The rainy season starts in June and hot and wet weather follows until the end of August. The rainy season continues from September to early November with cool and wet climate. The total annual rainfall average is between 1,000 and 1,500 millimeters, and the heaviest amounts fall in the southeast. Rainfall is heaviest in the mountains along the coast in the southwest, which receive from 2,500 millimeters to more than 5,000 millimeters of precipitation annually as the southwest monsoon reaches the coast. This area of greatest rainfall, however, drains mostly to the sea; only a small quantity goes into the rivers flowing into the Tonle Sap basin. The relative humidity in Cambodia is high at night throughout the year; usually it exceeds 90 percent. During the daytime in the dry season, humidity averages about 50 percent or slightly lower, but it may remain about 60 percent in the rainy period.

Flooding

Heavy and localized rainfalls result in flooding in lowlands and river and lake areas in Cambodia. Floods are an essential contributor to the wealth of biodiversity, abundance of fish and soil fertility in

Buddhist monks.

Aerial view of Phnom Penh.

Cambodia. This is especially true for people living in the floodplains. Up to 4 million ha of lowland areas in Cambodia are inundated annually.In the floodplain of Cambodia, people live with the annual flood and even if the flood is severe, they are accustomed to managing the situation year after year. The water level must be high enough to allow inundation of large areas, bringing sediment for soil and nutrients for fish, as well as to kill rats and other undesirable vermin. The rural communities contribute widely to two vital sectors of the Cambodian economy and are depending on the annual floods. The flooding has mostly positive effect on the countryside but can cause serious problems in the cities in case the infrastructure and housing is not

prepared for dealing with the flooding. Flooding causes infrastructural problems especially in Phnom Penh where the drainage system still cannot totally cope with the annual heavy rains because of the damaged waste water and drainage system and filling of the lakes in central areas of the city. The annual flooding has traditionally not been taken into deep enough consideration in urban planning in Phnom Penh but the situation has slightly improved during the recent years by infrastructural upgrading projects. Some of the roads in Phnom Penh are not usable during the rainy season. In urban poor communities heavy rains cause spreading of water born diseases due to the lack of solid waste management, waste water management and drainage. Heavy rains and

floods can cause damage or totally destroy houses. Houses that are not built on stilts or on ground above the flood water level suffer annually from water coming into the houses. Flooding can also destroy people´s livelihoods with rice growing and occasionally even cause human deaths. In Cambodia, data regarding flood damage are centralized firstly at provincial level through the Provincial Committees for Disaster Management (PCDM). All authorities involved in flood management and mitigation are members of the PCDMs, and they may include involvement by NGOs active in flooding issues. International organizations provide also loans for recovering the areas affected by flooding after the rainy season for recoveringtheir infrastructure.

Sources: Geography of Cambodia, Wikipedia 2010, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Cambodia

Annual Flood Report 2005, 7.Impact of the 2005 flood-Country reports, 2005 Mekong River Commission, http://mrcmekong.org/flood_report/2005/impact_cambodia1.htm

Operations update, Cambodia: Floods, International federation of Red cross and Red crescent societies 2001, http://www.ifrc.org/docs/appeals/01/290102.pdf

http://stevehyde.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/washed-out-road-bung-roun-kracheh-copy.jpg

Flooding.

ABBREVIATIONS

BAU Bureau Affair de Urbanis CDS City Development StratergyCBO Community-Based OrganizationDoE Department of Environment DoIM Department of Information ManagementDoLMUC Department of Land Management Urbanization and Construction DoP Department of PlanningDoPW Department of Public WorkDoT Department of TourismDoWRM Department of Water Resource Manage-mentMoE Ministry of EnvironmentNGOs Non-Government OrganizationUN-Habitat United Nations HabitatUPDF Urban Poor Development FundUPRP Urban Poverty Reduction Project 2.2 STAKEHOLDERS

Preparing the land use plan and the master plan-Municipality -DoLMUC -BAU -DoP -MoLMUC-Inhabitants-CBOs

Providing slum upgrading and low-income housing solutions and land distribution to the poor-Municipality -National bank -UPDF -NGOs/IOs -Khan/Sangkat-DoLMUC -UN-habitat -UPRP-CBOs

Promoting private investment on housing develop-ment-Municipality -Private sector

Preventing pollution from toxic and hazardous wastes-Hospitals and clinics-Industries -Handicraft Producer-Farms

Preventing water pollution at source-DoE -DoWRM

-DoRD -DoIM -DoPW -DoT -Municipality water supply -NGOs/IOs -Local authorities -Inhabitants

Construction of the waste water treatment plant-DoE -DoIM -DoPW

Promoting provisions of potable water supply to all the citizen of Phnom Penh city.-Municipality -Municipal water supply

Installing an electricity system and city lights along the streets and providing electricity to people in suburban areas-Municipality -DoPW

Promote public transportation by city bus.-Municipality -DoPW -Privatecompany

Governance in Phnom Penh

The Municipality of Phnom Penh (MPP) has limited autonomy to plan and finance its activities. It is under the Ministry of Interior and its budget is part of that ministry’s. The Governor and the six Vice-Governors share authority with individual ministers over municipal departments, which remain under the control of the ministries for budgeting and staff-ing. Accordingly, many decisions are made outside the Municipality, and the municipal autonomy de-pends on the relations between the Vice-Governors and their ministerial counterparts. The MPP is thus rather small institutionally: it includes the Governor, the Vice-Governors, their personal staff and the staff of the Cabinet, who are mainly support staff, with little technical expertise. As the MPP cannot estab-lish its own departments apart from the Cabinet, it has divided the Cabinet into eight sub-cabinets, each dealing with its allocated sectors.Although the Municipality officially gained financial autonomy in 1998, its budget remains constrained as a national law predefines all lines, the Minister of Interior must approve the budget, and the National Assembly ratifies it. Besides, the city has little power or incentive to raise its own revenue: it cannot bor-

row, and even if it collects taxes (e.g., on vacant land or property transfer) and income from public utili-ties, it is under no obligation to balance its budget, and must transfer all collection to the Ministry of Finance.The city is divided into seven Khans (districts). The Chiefs of Khan report to the Chief of Cabinet. The three Deputy Chiefs of Khan are responsible for administration, socio-economic programs and public works. Under the Khans are Sangkats (wards), which have officers responsible for administration and statistics, economic, financial, and social affairs, culture, religion and hygiene (Slingsby 2000).

2.3 LANDOWNERSHIP

The land tenure situation in Phnom Penh is com-plex as there is no clear distinction between legal and illegal occupancy and/or ownership. All private ownership of land was abolished in 1974, and no clear ownership system has been implemented since then. Almost no-one has full ownership titles in Phnom Penh.At the end of the Pol Pot regime, returnees to Phnom Penh were authorized to occupy buildings on a first- come-first served basis. The few profes-sionals alive after the mass killing of all educated people in Cambodia were allowed to occupy any va-cant dwellings close to their new places of employ-ment in the civil service. These new owners took many centrally located buildings in the city, which some then subdivided and sold, even though there were no formal titles. Once all existing buildings were occupied, people started to settle on vacant land, creating the communities that are now consid-ered illegal.

Some families were given family books that allowed them to be considered stable dwellers and to re-ceive legal access to public authorities, even though they did not have ownership titles. With family books, they could still be considered squatters and be evicted, but with greater chances of obtaining some sort of compensation.

The issue of land tenure is thorny for all, but the poor have much difficulty reclaiming legitimate ownership of the land they occupy. Since the Khmer Rouges abolished private ownership in 1974, it has only been re- introduced gradually on an ad hoc basis, with lengthy disputes about land redis-tribution. In a society quickly opening to market economy and still dominated by the power of the military, land ownership concentrates in the hands of a few powerful officials, and the poor have little voice in land bargaining. As many slums are erected on state-pulic land, which can be claimed by the

State for public use without compensation, the ma-jority of slum dwellers are afraid of eviction and/or relocation to sites without access to basic services, and far from their sources of employment and social networks. Pressures from investors in the leisure and tourism industry represent a threat upon the poor, as many of the current slums are located along the riverside, on land with high potential value for tourism development.

Corruption is another major cause of poverty as it affects all aspects of the lives of slum dwellers. In squatter settlements, local authorities extort a heavy proportion of the poor’s income in bribes: they sell them land or shacks, or the “right” to settle on public land, and then levy regular fees for pro-tection, for the right to repair a leaking roof, or to install an indoor toilet. Most dwellers of low-income settlements are officially regarded as squatters, i.e., illegally occupying the plot where they live. Yet, typi-cally at least 75% of slum dwellers consider them-selves as owners of their plots. They have purchased these plots either from the previous owner, or from local authorities (the police, chief of village, and/or representatives of the Sangkat or Khan), who them-selves may not have any prior ownership rights, but sell public land to their benefit. Most transactions are recorded at least on a handwritten receipt, and although most dwellers understand that such record has no legal authority, it is often enough for them to claim some compensation in case of relocation organized by the municipality.

2.4 JOBS

In 2004, 9,9% of the working population in Phnom Penh worked in agriculture, 22.2% in transforma-tion and manufactur- ing, and 67.9% in services. The unemployment rate was 12.6% (Royal Government of Cambodia 2000).

threat to most low-income families, who can hardly planfor their future, or simply feel part of a community thathas a common future (Fallavier 1999; Payne mimeo).

III. SLUMS: THE PEOPLE

I. Who lives in slums?

1. Histories and key events in lives of typical slum households

2. Aspirations, plans and barriers to their fulfilment

Most families came to Phnom Penh hoping a job forthe parents, and an education for the children. Manythink they will find access to basic education, to voca-tional training, and to credit to start their small business.But all face the same problems in the city: difficultaccess to any public services, very unhealthy conditionsthat force them to spend high amounts for health, andlimited job opportunities.

Despite progress since 1994 in providing access tobasic utilities to more urban poor and in developing theirrepresentation in the local planning process, two mainissues still greatly constrain the prospects of all slumdwellers for a better life: land tenure, and corruption.

The issue of land tenure is thorny for all, but the poorhave much difficulty reclaiming legitimate ownership ofthe land they occupy. Since the Khmer Rouges abol-ished private ownership in 1974, it has only been re-introduced gradually on an ad hoc basis, with lengthydisputes about land redistribution. In a society quicklyopening to market economy and still dominated by thepower of the military, land ownership concentrates in thehands of a few powerful officials, and the poor have littlevoice in land bargaining. As many slums are erected onstate-public land, which can be claimed by the State forpublic use without compensation, the majority of slumdwellers are afraid of eviction and/or relocation to siteswithout access to basic services, and far from their

UNDERSTANDING SLUMS: Case Stud ies fo r

Case 2: Female-headed household renting a shelter along a lane

Nieng lives with her husband and their five children in a squatter

settlement along a small road. She is a street cleaner employed by the

municipality, and works seven days a week for 80,000 Riels ($20) per

month. Her husband is sick and stays home all day. She rents a small

wooden shelter for 30,000 Riels a month. It has no electricity and no

toilet. Water from private vendors cost 1,000 Riels per bucket.

Every morning, she gets up at three to go and clean the central

market, with a broom she had to buy herself. Her employer only

provided a pushcart, and she must take care not to have it stolen.

Replacing it would cost a month salary. If she is sick and stays home,

her salary is cut by 2,500 Riels per day. Sometimes she does not get

paid at the end of the month, and must wait till the next month; mean-

while, she must borrow rice from her neighbours to feed her children.

Feeding her family everyday is her main concern; she cannot plan

for her future past a day.

Case 3: A blind man and his family on a single bed living in a corridor

She sits on a bed in the dark corridor of an old multi-store building

in the city centre. She is the second wife of a blind man who begs from

market to market. Her 54 year old husband lost his sight 30 years ago

and has been a beggar since then. He had a house in Kampong Cham

Province, but sold it when his first wife got sick. When she died, they

had sold everything to pay her health cost. He placed his three children

in an orphanage, and came to Phnom Penh to beg.

There, he married his current wife and they now have four more chil-

dren. Everyday, two of them go to beg with him. He makes 4,000 to

5,000 Riels a day begging, while his wife brings 2,000 to 3,000 from

cleaning dishes in a restaurant. This is hardly enough to pay for food,

and does not allow them to get medical treatment for the many times

they get sick. They own nothing but a bed given by neighbours. They

live in the dark without even a lamp.

Case 4: Cyclo driver living along an open sewer with a sick child

A 50-year-old woman and her husband live with their two children in

a wood shack hidden by middle class houses near an open sewer.

She used to sell vegetables on the market until her 16 year-old

daughter fell sick and had to stay in bed. The mother now stopped work

to stay home and look after her daughter.The family moved from

Kandal Province ten years ago to allow their two children to attend

school. They thought they were poor because they had never received

education, and wanted their children to receive good education in

Phnom Penh. The husband has been riding a cyclo since then, while

his wife sold vegetable and the children went to school for a few years.

Now, illness affects the entire family. The father�’s income is too low

to pay for medicine, and is hardly enough to purchase enough food.

They can rarely pay a visit to the doctor, but still try to purchase drugs

from the local seller. Recently, they borrowed 10,000 Riels ($2.5) from

a loan shark. They must repay 6,000 Riels every other day for 24 days.

They are afraid the lender will take their home away if they cannot pay.

Both children had to leave school, which destroyed their parents�’ hope

that they could one day rely on them for a better life.

Life in Kandal was easier than here but they see no way back there:

they sold all they had to come to Phnom Penh.

Figure 7: Status of ownership in Phnom Penh low-income settlements

78

3218

11 9

25

6 3 8 10

32

19

30

17 20

38

21

711 7

2

31

4

12 2

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

< 10 11 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 50 51 - 100 101 -150

151 -200

201 -300

> 300

Number of houses per community

Num

ber o

f com

mun

ities

Under mixed ownershipUnder public ownershipUnder private ownership

Source: SUPF 1999

11

Status of ownership in Phnom Penh low-incomesettlements.

Industrial and service activities in Phnom Penh are increasing, and most of the poor find employment in the city’s informal economy or in garment facto-ries. Informal activities represent the backbone of the city’s economy: slum dwellers provide labour on construction sites, the bulk of food peddlers, market vendors, and micro-entrepreneurs, and domestic help. They earn an average of $10 to $15 per week. They also recycle a large part of the city’s waste.

Aquatic agriculture in the design area

Producing food in water bodies in and around the cities of Southeast Asia is commonplace. People in these cities, often located on river deltas, continue to rely on rice and fish as staple foods. Aquatic plants account for nearly half of the total sales of vegetables in Phnom Penh. Morning glory is by far the most important aquatic plant product sold, the majority of which grow in wastewater.In the design area, the main products include morn-ing glory and water mimosa produced in the waste-water fed lakes. Two communities were identified to describe typical urban aquatic systems in Phnom Penh. They are located on the northern side of Boeung Cheung Ek: Tnot Chrum and Kba Tomnub. Three and four groups of households, ‘krom’, in each village, respectively, are the main producers of morning glory. They are located near the main source of wastewater from the city and on the lake side of the main road. Tnot Chrum is situ-ated closer to the emerging industrial zone, in which textile and paper factories are found.

The culture of fish is most common among me-dium to better-off households, whereas aquatic vegetables are mainly produced and sold by house-holds that are medium to less well-off. Commercial production of aquatic vegetables was established before the Lon Nol era but its expansion was ham-pered by poor market access. It became re-estab-lished on a more commercial-scale after the Pol Pot era, on the return of people to both Phnom Penh and the surrounding areas. Aquatic vegetables, es-pecially morning glory, began to replace rice in Boe-ung Cheung Ek as supplies of sewage, and markets, became re-established.

In the communities in which aquatic vegetables and fish are important, livelihoods are very diversified. Overall, employment in local factories was rated more important and taxi driving and rearing live-stock also made important contributions. Employ-ment in factories was also more important than fish culture in Doung and Muoy villages with fishing and taxi driving being important secondary activities.For people around Boeung Cheung Ek, morning

glory is the most important vegetable produced. Al-though water mimosa and lotus are grown in much smaller volumes, they are more valuable and re-quire different resources. Other vegetables and fruit are produced in home plots and raised areas within the lake for both sale and consumption.

Resources

A decline in reliance on un-managed resources is evident for people living around the Boeung Cheung Ek over the last five decades. Formerly both flooded forest and the availability of wild food had declined; however a wide variety of snails, turtles, snakes and certain fish species remain and are utilised. Aquatic vegetables are now intensively cropped throughout the year, especially morning glory. Waste-water pro-vides most of the nutrients, but additional fertilisers and pesticides are heavily applied.

Seasonality

The end of the hot, dry season and start of the rainy season (April to June) is the most difficult period of the year for people in the communities, especially the poor. Illnesses, especially diarrhoea and skin infections, and declining value of aquatic vegetables

Morning glory.

are major problems. These factors are probably linked to a decline in the quality and quantity of water that starts in January and becomes acute by March. Seasonality also affects the production and price of morning glory in Boeung Cheung Ek. Dur-ing the rainy season, the production and supply of morning glory are higher resulting in lower selling price, whereas, supply decreases in the dry season resulting in higher prices.

In recent years (1993 and 2000), flooding particu-larly affected the poor when their houses were destroyed by the floods. This also led to destruction of morning glory plots resulting in reduced yields. Many activities, however, are not affected by the season, including employment in factories, some service industries and other non-agricultural activi-ties. Livestock production is also relatively unaf-fected by seasonality. Some trading opportunities are very seasonal and occur at the time of social and religious occasions; for example, fruit selling by women peaks during Chinese and Khmer new year celebrations.

Food consumption

People normally purchase their rice and most other basic food items. Fish is retained by farmers for

home consumption and some farmers eat their own poultry. In contrast, even if pigs are raised by the household, pork is purchased. Farmers produc-ing aquatic vegetables for the market tend to eat a proportion, and additionally purchase other types of vegetables. Fish farming households purchase most of their vegetables. Fishing is common in all villages to meet subsistence needs.

Markets

Flows of production to consumersAquatic plant and fish production from these com-munities is mostly sold fresh in market places both inside and outside Phnom Penh. Initially, collectors are the people who transport these products to the market place where a variety of traders are involved in the buying and selling. Often they can play more than one role. For example, the producers them-selves are often involved in the transport of aquatic products.There are three types of buyers: wholesaler, retailer and finally, consumer. Sometimes the market chain can be shortened when the retailers or even con-sumers buy directly from the producers.As there is a great demand for fresh products, market traders especially wholesalers employ extra labour in addition to regular family labour.

Market place.

Livelihoods in Phnom Penh.

Tourism and comercial activities

Morning glory, lotus and mimosa plantations

Industry

Diamond island

Urban poor community Fishing

LAKE COMMUNITIES

Ms. Chany Ki, Cheung Ek lake, female. Occupation: She cooks rice for the neighborhood families. Backgroud: She moved to the area year 1979. Her husband is a moto driver. The majority of the men in the community are moto- or tuk tuk drivers, construction workers, or work with service/commerce related fields.Typical family size in the area : 7-10 members.

Accommondation: The family rents a house from a private owner with a rent of 15 /30 dollars (11.8 euro –23,5 euro) per month + 1000 riels (0,188 euro) for the use of a pipe for the water supply.

Water supply : The house is connected to the governmental water supply network – Cost 1000 riels/ month ( 0,188 euro). The 6-7 meters distance to ground water makes the use of a well use of a well difficult.

Waste management: The household waste is thrown under the house. The house is not connected to the governemnetal waste management network.

Mr. Na Chhoum, Cheung Ek lake, male.

Occupation: Village chief of a community by the lake Cheung Ek. He was elected by the municipality of Phnom Penh for 4 years. There was no direct election involiving the local small community inhabitants. The Community Community background: The village chief lives in the village. The land area of the village was previously owned by the Ministry of Transportation, which sold it to the inhabitants of he village that had lived on the area for over 5 years. The inhabitants have land tenure.224 families are currently living in the village. The total community district that the village chief is in charge of includes 1230 people.Most of the inhabitants came to the area year 1979 from the provinces of Cambodia such as Kampuchea and Siem reap. Employment: The most common occupations of the inhabitants are driving tuk tuks and moto taxis, water related agriculture and working for construction companies. The salaries are low and it is hard to save money for education and health care. There is also a lot of employment in the area.

2.5 POPULATION AND LIVING Interviews with local inhabitants

Living facilities : When the community misses something important, the village chief asks to NGOs. for help. Electricity : All the houses are connected connected to the main supply network but the electricity has to be bought from private companies. Water supply : Only few richest households are connected to the governmental water supply network. There are inequalities between families when it comes to the water supply: some pay for services to the government or private companies, some receive clean water for free from NGOs.

Thoughts about the nearby lake Cheung Ek: The relationship of the inhabitants to the lake is not warm. The inhabitants agree in fact the governmental plans of filling the lake in the future due to the waste, garbage and polution in the lake and the smell coming from the lake. The village chief would be positive for having the lake preserved in case the lake was cleaned although he does not see that as a realistic future scenario due to the governmental mindset. He is also skeptical for the actions of the people: Would the lake stay clean or would it be soon polluted be the inhabitants again?

Mr. Soum Chhoum, CheunngEk, male. Occupation: mototaxi driver, morning glory agriculture, small commerce. Water morning glory grows in july-august during the rainy season. It can be collected every month during the dry season. Price of morning glory : 1L=400 riels (0.07 euro). Background: He came with his wife to the area year 1983. They live on the shore of lake Cheung Ek. At the moment the government is starting to fill northern parts of the lake Cheung Ek. The land speculation of the lake area has started. In less than 10 years, the whole community will be evicted and half of the lake Cheung Ek filled. Accommondation: The family lives in a house built on stilts on the shore of the lake Cheung Ek by a major road. The road was build 5-7 years ago by the government. The family does not have land tenure, even if they are the owners of their plot and their house. The family lives under a constant threat of eviction. A view from the village area.

they did not have ownership titles. With family books,they could still be considered squatters and be evicted,but with greater chances of obtaining some sort ofcompensation.

Other types of low-income settlements were createdat the end of the Untied Nations Transitional Authorityin Cambodia (UNTAC) in 1994, when human rightNGOs and United Nations agencies supported home-less refugees and Internally Displaced Persons whosettled new communities along streets, waterways, andrailroad tracks. The MPP then semi-formally recog-nised them as �“transitional communities.�” Families didnot receive family books though, which did not allowthem to claim connection to public utility networks.They could easily be evicted without compensation.

Many people who lived in centrally located squattersettlements have also later been pushed to the limits ofhabitable land by the commercial development of theseareas, and the resulting evictions. Hence, while squat-ter and urban poor settlements have developed mostlyin the city centre until 1998, recent massive relocationprograms of squatters have contributed to establish peri-urban zones of poverty. Allegedly, these relocationshave also created more rental communities in PhnomPenh slums, as some relocated families cannot findwork near relocation sites and come back as renters in

UNDERSTANDING SLUMS: Case Stud ies fo r the G loba l Repor t on Human Set t lements 2003

squatter settlements near employment areas. Someopportunists settle in squatter sites which may soon berelocated, hoping to receive free plots on resettlementsites.

4. Population Size and CharacteristicsIn 2002, between 228,400 and 241,600 people live in

low-income communities. The majority are considered�“squatters�”, while a few urban poor groups live in slum-like conditions, but claim occupancy rights. All live onmarginal, seasonally or permanently flooded land, or inmulti-occupancy dilapidated buildings in the city centre.Squatters and urban poor form up to 25% of the city�’spopulation.

C. OFFICIAL DEFINITIONS RELATED TO SLUMS USED FOR POLICY PURPOSES

1. Definitions and their Predominant UseUntil 2000, the Municipality of Phnom Penh catego-

rized slums into �“squatter�” and �“urban poor�” settle-ments. Squatters illegally occupied public or privateland, while urban poor were low-income families with arecognized occupancy status that gave them somesecurity of tenure, but no ownership rights.

The irony of such a definition is that there is no cleardistinction between legal and illegal occupancy inPhnom Penh, since all private ownership of land wasabolished in 1974, and no clear ownership system hasbeen implemented since then. Almost no-one has fullownership titles in Phnom Penh, and most city dwellerscould indeed be considered as squatters (Paynemimeo; Williams 1999).

The term �“squatter�”, long used in Phnom Penh toclassify most inhabitants of low-income settlements yetconveys much more than a connotation of illegality. InKhmer, it refers to �“people living in anarchy�”, and isstrongly linked to immorality, disorder and criminality. Atthe official level, this gives the municipality grounds torefuse dialogue with squatters and to not acknowledgethe legitimacy of their claims for public recognition. Thisofficial view is quite widely shared by the middle andupper classes, which consider squatters an aestheticnuisance to the city, and a threat to public order, all feel-ings based on the same stereotypes of anarchy, andreinforced by a press that is poorly informed and sensa-tionalistic.

In 2000, Prime Minister Hun Sen yet renamed squat-ter dwellers, or �“anarchists�”, as �“temporary residents�”,while publicly recognizing their economic value to thecity. He emphasized that accompanying them to rebuildnew, live-able communities in locations outside the cityhad become a priority of the municipality (Hun Senspeech at the inauguration of Mean Chey Development

Figure 2: Characteristics of low-income settlements by age

3

14

21

15

27

3

9

17

61

15

44

31

37

37

2628

21

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Along railway Along roadsides On rooftops Along rivers /canals

On plain land On mixedconditions

Location of settlements

Num

ber o

f set

tlem

ents

Less than 10 years old11 to 20 years oldOver 20 years old

Source: SUPF 1999

Table 1 : Population estimation for Phnom Penh,including the urban poor

1998 1999 2002 (estimate)

total total(est.)

urbanpoor total urban

poorurban

poverty

5%growthp.a.

999,800 1,049,790 207,150 1,157,400 228,400 19.7%

8%growthp.a.

999,800 1,079,790 207,150 1,224,480 241,600 19.7%

(Royal Government of Cambodia 2000; Squatter and Urban PoorFederation 1999), estimates by author

5 22

Urban Slums Reports: The case of Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Figure 12: Age of low-income settlements in Phnom Penh

Figure 13: Typical daily expense pattern per household

Map 1: Phnom Penh - a developed city core with rural suburbs

Map 2: Location of squatter and urban poor settlements in Phnom Penh

The typical household size in the poor communities on the outskirts of Phnom Penh is 5.7 persons, 17% of households are headed by women, and there are 116 females per 100 males, or a 53.61% female share of the population. While the household size is similar to the national average of 5.8, there seems to be more females in poor settlements than the nationwide figure of 112 females for 100 males, or 52.8% female share of the population (Ministry of Planning - Cambodia 1998:49).

sources of employment and social networks. Pressuresfrom investors in the leisure and tourism industry repre-sent a threat upon the poor, as many of the currentslums are located along the riverside, on land with highpotential value for tourism development.8

Corruption is another major cause of poverty as itaffects all aspects of the lives of slum dwellers. In squat-ter settlements, local authorities extort a heavy propor-tion of the poor�’s income in bribes: they sell them landor shacks, or the �“right�” to settle on public land, and thenlevy regular fees for protection, for the right to repair aleaking roof, or to install an indoor toilet. School teach-ers, health staff, or the police require similar bribes. Allthese fees diminish the income available to their basicneeds of housing, feeding, clothing and educating theirfamilies. While these informal taxes may represent mini-mal amount for the middle and classes, they are adisproportionate weight on the urban poor.

3. Household indicators

Data presented in this section refers to results of asurvey conducted between February and March 2002among 140 families living in five low-income settlementson the outskirts of Phnom Penh.9

4. Household types and their percentage In the settlements surveyed, the typical household

size is 5.7 persons, 17% of households are headed bywomen, and there are 116 females per 100 males, or a

53.61% female share of the population.While the household size is similar to the national

average of 5.8, there seems to be more females in poorsettlements than the nationwide figure of 112 femalesfor 100 males, or 52.8% female share of the population(Ministry of Planning - Cambodia 1998:49).

4. Income by quintile and household type

Urban Slums Reports: The case of Phanom Penh, Cambodia

Most slum dwellers work as unskilled workers: men are taxi drivers

(on cyclos or on motordups) and unskilled labourers on construction

sites, and women are street sellers.

Skilled men are often masons, mechanics or iron workers, while

women are seamstresses.

Women are most represented in small trading business. They are

also more likely to be unemployed than men.

Figure 9: Occupation of heads of household in 140 families

The average daily income for a family is 12,500 Riels ($3.20), with a

contribution of about 7,200 Riels from the head of household, and 5,300

Riels from other family members (see Table 3).

The average income in our survey shows no significant differences

between income for men and women, but these figures may be biased

by a few outlying results. In-depth interviews usually show a lower

income for women than men.

Figure 10: Daily family income by gender of head of household

9%

7%

13%

33%

14%

13%

12%

29%

13%

8%

8%

13%

13%

17%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

0

500-2000

2100-4000

4100-6000

6100-8000

8100-10000

>10000

inco

me

rang

e (R

iels

)

Percentage of gender category Male head Female head

Figure 8: Demographics in sample of 140 slum families

23.4%

20.7%

52.2%

3.8%

21.9%

23.7%

51.4%

3.0%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

< 7 years

7-14 years

15-64 years

> 64 years

age

cate

gorie

s

Proportion of population Males Females

12

Case 5: Corruption and exploitation as barriers to obtain and keep a salaried job

When young women want to work in a garment factory, they first

typically only receive half a salary (i.e., $30) for the first two months

of work, as they receive training.

After two months of training, they are often informally required to

pay the equivalent of two month of full salary to the foreman, so that

they can obtain the full-time position. Many also report that sexual

abuse is prevalent for them to keep the job. All workers know that if

they get sick more than two days in a row, they will be laid off with-

out compensation.

14

6

12

3

48

20

7

6

6

1

0

4

1

4

8

0

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Unemployed

Cyclodriver

Motordup driver

Street seller

Unskilled laborer

Skilled worker

Small business owner

Government employee

Occ

upat

ion

Number of individuals Males Females



























9%

7%

13%

33%

14%

13%

12%

29%

13%

8%

8%

13%

13%

17%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

0

500-2000

2100-4000

4100-6000

6100-8000

8100-10000

>10000

inco

me

rang

e (R

iels

)



23.4%

20.7%

52.2%

3.8%

21.9%

23.7%

51.4%

3.0%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

< 7 years

7-14 years

15-64 years

> 64 years

age

cate

gorie

s


12










out compensation.

14

6

12

3

48

20

7

6

6

1

0

4

1

4

8

0

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Unemployed

Cyclodriver

Motordup driver

Street seller

Unskilled laborer

Skilled worker


Government employee

Occ

upat

ion


The design area is inhabited with people from very different social classes. The urban poor communities are mostly situated near the waste water fed lakes and channels. The urban poor are living in houses built from bamboo, wood and zinc sheets, whereas the middle class and upper middle class dwellings are constructed from brick. The houses are built on stilts or concrete footing for flood protection.

Different housing in the project area.

Population density of central Phnom Penh..

The villages on the edges of the lakes form a maze like sequence of spaces. The houses open to little semi-private alleys. The houses often have two stories, the lower being a space for daily activities and the upper, more private, for sleeping. Another, a more middle class housing solution is to have a corridor from the street leading to apartments. The middle class houses tend to be more closed to the street than the dwell-ings of the poorer communities.

Existing living environment in the project area.

Views from the existing neighbourhoods in the project area.

2.6 SERVICES

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Boeng Tompun

Boeng Trabek

Wat Nirot Rangsey

Wat Stoeng Mean Chey

Wat Prachum Vong

Wat Prekpra

Wat Chbar Ampov

Wat Kam Sarn

Wat Sampong Phal Andet

Wat Chak Angre Krom

Wat Chak Angre Leu

Wat Dambok Khpos

MC93

MC92

MC91

MC90

MC89MC88

MC87

MC86

MC85

MC84

MC83

MC82

MC81

MC80

MC79

MC78

MC77

MC76

MC75

MC74

MC72

MC71MC70

MC69

MC68

MC67

MC65

MC65

MC64

MC63

MC62

MC61

MC60

MC59

MC58

MC57

MC56

MC55

MC54

MC53

MC52

MC51

MC50

MC49

MC48MC47

MC46

MC45

MC44

MC43

MC42

MC41

MC40

MC39

MC38MC37

MC36

MC35

MC34

MC33MC32

MC31

MC30

MC29

MC28

MC27

MC26

MC23

MC22

MC21

MC20

MC19

MC18

MC17

MC16

MC15

MC14

MC13

MC12MC11

MC10MC09

MC08

MC07

MC04

MC03MC02

MC01

MC06

URBAN POOR SETTLEMENTS IN KHAN MEANCHEY

0 1,000 2,000 3,000500Meters

µ

DANGKOR

SEN SOK

TOUL KORK

CHAMKARMON

1:13,000Scale

Study team : Meas Kimseng, Ee Sarom, Kong Narin, Srun Sunheng, Lors Sren,Ngim Bopha, Voeurn Kosal, Sim Senghok, Sat Kanhara, Hem Nalen. Ket Mengcheang, Om Dara, Teng Piseth, Tun Setha,Kuy Panha, Long Sokleang.

Prepared by :Teng Piseth (Bachelor of LMLA)Meas Kimseng (Architecture & Urban Planner)

Checked by : Meas Kimseng(Architecture & Urban Planner)

Last updated : Nov 2009 (c) STT

Total Settlements :93MC01 Boeung Chhouk BrochomvongMC02 N/AMC03 Nirot Boeung chhoukMC04 Phal AndetMC05 ChamreounMC06 Aphiwat deoum chanMC07 Deoum Chan1MC08 Deoum Macleor 2MC09 Phum PreakMC10 Dem AmpilMC11 Deoum Slang2MC12 Deoum Slang1MC13 N/AMC14 Deoum Ampil2MC15 N/AMC16 N/AMC17 N/AMC18 N/AMC19 Strei Samakum thmeyMC20 Chhun Krey kroMC21 N/AMC22 Raksmey SamakiMC23 MittapheapMC24 N/AMC25 Toul Senchey 1MC26 Toul Senchey 2MC27 Chamroeun MeancheyMC28 Ratha MeancheyMC29 MeanCheyMC30 N/AMC31 N/AMC32 N/AMC33 N/AMC34 N/AMC35 N/AMC36 Toulsenchey AkphiwatMC37 N/AMC38 N/AMC39 S. R. MeancheyMC40 N/AMC41 N/AMC42 Tagnov LeoMC43 Russey SrosMC44 Doeum Pring 1MC45 Chomroeun AkphiwatMC46 N/A

MC47 N/AMC48 Preak BaraingMC49 N/AMC50 N/AMC51 Preak TapovMC52 Preak Tapov 1MC53 N/AMC54 N/AMC55 N/AMC56 N/AMC57 Akphiwat Preak TanouMC58 Preah PonlearMC59 N/AMC60 Toul Roka1MC61 N/AMC62 Rik ChamroenMC63 Preak Talong MC64 N/AMC65 N/AMC66 N/AMC67 N/AMC68 N/AMC69 Preah NoreayMC70 Preak TakongMC71 Chhne TonleMC72 N/AMC73 N/AMC74 N/AMC75 Toul Roka4MC76 Preak Tanou4MC77 Toul Roka2MC78 Preak Tanou MC79 N/AMC80 N/AMC81 Preak TanouMC82 Preak Talong4MC83 N/AMC84 Cham Roeun phalMC85 Akphiwat MeancheyMC86 N/AMC87 N/AMC88 Tnaut Chrom 3MC89 N/AMC90 N/AMC91 N/AMC92 N/AMC93 N/A

kMNt;sMKal;LEGEND

! shKmn_GñkRkIRkenATIRkugUrban Poor Settlements

pøÚvRoadRBMRbTl;xNÐDistrict Boundary

bwg TenøLake, River

vtþPagoda

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!

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!!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!DK52

DK51

DK50

DK49

DK48

DK47 DK46DK45

DK44

DK43

DK42

DK41

DK40

DK39

DK38

DK37

DK36

DK35

DK34

DK33

DK32

DK31

DK30

DK29DK28

DK27

DK26

DK25

DK24

DK23

DK22

DK21DK20

DK19

DK18

DK17

DK16DK15

DK14

DK13

DK12 DK11DK10

DK09DK08DK07DK06DK05

DK04

DK02DK01

DK54

DK53

URBAN POOR SETTLEMENTS IN KHAN DANGKOR

µ

DK01 Toul SombokroumDK02 Toul SomboleoDK03 Phom Andong ThmeyDK04 Seirey DeydousDK05 N/ADK06 N/ADK07 Poprok KhangcheoungDK08 N/ADK09 N/ADK10 N/ADK11 N/ADK12 N/ADK13 Trapaig AnhchanghDK14 N/ADK15 N/ADK16 Thmar koul 1DK17 N/ADK18 Pongro Senchey

DK19 N/ADK20 N/ADK21 Tomnup1DK22 Samaki 1DK23 Samaki 4DK24 Samaki 6DK25 Samaki 5DK26 N/ADK27 N/ADK28 KomriengDK29 Anlong Kong thmeyDK30 Samaki 3DK31 Samaki AkphiwatDK32 SamakiDK33 Svay ChekthmeyDK34 Chras ThmeyDK35 N/ADK36 Beoungtamat Kdeysongkhoeum 1

DK37 N/ADK38 N/ADK39 RolousDK40 N/ADK41 N/ADK42 GKDK43 N/ADK44 N/ADK45 N/ADK46 Cheoung EkDK47 N/ADK48 Malop Por ThmeyDK49 Khmer Leo ThmeyDK50 N/ADK51 Samaki Phum Mal 1DK52 Chambak ThomDK53 Krang Angkrang 1DK54 Krang Angkrang 2

SEN SOK

Total Settlements : 52

0 3 61.5Km

MEANCHEY

Scale 1:28,000

Survey team

Prepared by

Checked by

Last updated

: Meas Kimseng, Ee Sarom, Kong Narin, Srun Sunheng, Lors Sren, Ngim Bopha, Voeurn Kosal, Sim Senghok, Sat Kanhara, Hem Nalen. Ket Mengcheang, Om Dara, Teng Piseth, Tun Setha, Kuy Panha, Long Sokleang.

: Teng Piseth (Bachelor of LMLA) Meas Kimseng (Achitect & Urban Planner) : Meas Kimseng (Achitect & Urban Planner)

: November 2009 (c) STT

LEGENDkMNt;sMKal;

pøÚvEdkRailway

pøÚvRoad

!shKmn_GñkRkIRkenATIRkugUrban Poor Settlements

RBMRbTl;xNÐDistrict Boundary

RtBaMg bwgPond, Lake

11

The Production in Aquatic Peri-Urban Systems in Southeast Asia (Papussa) project is funded by the EuropeanCommission ICA4-CT-2002-10020.

Markets

Flows of production to consumers

Aquatic plant and fish production from thesecommunities is mostly sold fresh in marketplaces both inside and outside Phnom Penh.Initially, collectors are the people who transportthese products to the market place where avariety of traders are involved in the buying andselling. Often they can play more than one role.For example, the producers themselves areoften involved in the transport of aquaticproducts.

There are three types of buyers: wholesaler,retailer and finally, consumer. Sometimes themarket chain can be shortened when theretailers or even consumers buy directly fromthe producers.

As there is a great demand for fresh products,market traders especially wholesalers employextra labour in addition to regular family labour.

TIpSarGaharClplTIpSarGaharClplTIpSarGaharClplTIpSarGaharClplTIpSarGaharClpllMhUrénplitkmµeTAGñkeRbIR)as;

plitkmµbEnøTwk nigRtIEdl)anmkBIshKmn_TaMgenHPaKeRcInlk;kñúgTMrg;Rss; enAelITIpSarenAkñúgTIRkug nigtamextþnana. CadMbUg GñkRbmUlTijdwkCBa¢ÚnplitplTaMgenHeTAkan;TIpSarEdlmanQµÜjRbePTepSg² eFVIkardUrTijplitpl.CYnkal BYkKat;mantYnaTIelIsBImYy ]TahrN_dUcCa GñkpliteBlxøHKat;GacCaGñkdwkCB¢ÚanplitplbEnøTwkeTAlk;enApSar.GñkTijbEnøenaHman 3 RbePT dUcCa Gñklk;duM Gñklk;raynigGñkeRbIR)as;.Gñklk;duM¼RbmUlTij )anTijplitplmðÚbGaharClplBIGñkplit ehIylk;eGayGñklk;ray cugeRkayGñkeRbIR)as;TijBIGñklk;ray. CYnkalGñklk;ray nig GñkeRbIR)as; TijplitplmðÚbGaharClpl edaypÞal;BIGñkplit.edaysarmantMrUvkarplitplRss;eRcIn dUecñHGñklk;enATIpSarCaBiessGñklk;du M b¤ Gñkplit RtUvkarkMlaMgBlkmµbEnßmrYmCamYykMlaMgBlkmµenAkñúgRKYsar .

Flow of production to consumers lMhUrplitkmµeTAGñkeRbIR)as;

Producer/Wholesaler

Gñkplit¼Gñklk;duMGñkplit¼Gñklk;duMGñkplit¼Gñklk;duMGñkplit¼Gñklk;duMGñkplit¼Gñklk;duM

Wholesaler/Collector

Gñklk;duM¼GñkRbmUlTijGñklk;duM¼GñkRbmUlTijGñklk;duM¼GñkRbmUlTijGñklk;duM¼GñkRbmUlTijGñklk;duM¼GñkRbmUlTij

Retailer

Gñklk;rayGñklk;rayGñklk;rayGñklk;rayGñklk;ray

Consumer

GñkeRbIR)as;GñkeRbIR)as;GñkeRbIR)as;GñkeRbIR)as;GñkeRbIR)as;

Location and types of markets surveyed

TItaMg nigRbePTénTIpSarEdlRtUv)anGegát

Outside the market places, commercial activities on the design area are mostly concentrated next to larger streets.

Hospitals in Phnom Penh.

Markets in Phnom Penh.

Services in the project area

The area has currently some services including two schools, one hospital, a few pagodas, a market place and small scale commerce mostly along the larger streets. There is also a post office nearby.

The area has a lot of small scale industry such as carpentry and metal workshops. The southern lakes area is a major distributor of water grown vegetables in Phnom Penh morning glory being the most important product.

Figure: 2.3 Occupation statuses

Commerce jobIndustrial job

Agriculture jobLabor force1

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

48%

14%5%

67% (Source: Municipal Department of Agriculture, 2003) 2.5 Poverty line in city Table: 2.3 Level of poverty in city 2002 People under Poverty line

Community House of the poor number

Poor family number

the poor people number

25% 569 58.011 68.249 374.826 (Source: Municipal Department of Planning Year 2003) The poverty line is basic for reflection on the livelihood of people in the area of the country or city, Table 2.3 show that the people under poverty are 25% in Phnom Penh city. This proves that the Marjory of people is still get poor especially the people who live in urban poor communities got to 68,249 families equally 374,426 persons even though the city is developing. 2.6 Education Status 2.6.1 Students, Teachers and Classroom Regarding to Table 2.4, the education status in Phnom Penh was included together with kindergarten, primary school, high school totally 245,767 students, 7,022 teachers, and 5,433 classrooms. If we compare classrooms with students it shown that the junior high school gets highest proportion of 54 students per classroom. But if we compare proportion of teacher and pupil, the primary school get the highest proportion of 40 pupils per teacher and the junior high school 29 pupil per teacher. Both proportions are very important factor to consider pedagogy of educating students.

7

5


contributions. Employment in factories was alsomore important than fish culture in Doung andMuoy villages with fishing and taxi driving beingimportant secondary activities.

For people around Boeung Cheung Ek, morningglory is the most important vegetable produced.Although water mimosa and lotus are grown inmuch smaller volumes, they are more valuableand require different resources. Other vegetablesand fruit are produced in home plots and raisedareas within the lake for both sale andconsumption.

River catfish is the main type of fish cultured inponds and pens. Walking catfish are less popularand only raised in ponds.

Other vegetables

bEnøepSg²40%

Morning glory

RtkYn40%

Lotus

QUk 5%

Mimosa

kEB©at15%

Mat making

RkNat;CUteCIg5%

Morning glory

RtkYn30%

Factory work

kargareragcRk 35%

Motor taxi

m U:tUDub 10% Other

epSg²10%

Animal husbandry

ciB©awmstV10%

enAkñúgshKmn_eTaHbIkardaMbEnøTwk nigciBa©wmRtImansar³sMxan;ya:gNak¾eday RbCaCnenAmanRbkbmuxrbrepSg²eTotpgEdr . CarYm kargareragcRkmansarsMxan;Cagkarrt;m:UtUDub nigkarciBa©wmstV enAkñúgCIvPaBrs;enArbs;BYkKat;.enAkñúgPUmiDYg nigPUmimYy kargarenAkñúgeragcRkk¾mansar³sMxan;CagkargarkarciB©awmRtI CamYynwgskmµPaBbnÞab;bnSMeTot dUcCakarensaT nig GñkebIkbr pgEdr .

sMrab;RbCaCnrs;enACuMvijshKmn_bwgeCIgÉk RtkYnKWCaplitkmµbEnøEdlmansar³sMxan;CageK. eTaHbIbEnøkEBaätnigRkGavQUkRtUv)andaMkñ úgbrimaNtictYcCagbEnøRtkYn EtvamantMélx<s;Cag ehIytMrUvkarFnFan k¾epSg²KñapgEdr.cMeBaHbEnø nigEpøeQIepSg²eTotRtUv)andaMenAbrievNCMuvijpÞH nigEk,rbwg sMrab;TaMgkarlk; nigkareRbIR)as;enAkñúgRKYsar.

RtIR)aCaRbePTRtIcMbg EdleK)an ciB©awmkñúgRsH nigs�‘g.cMENkÉRtIGENþgeKniymciB©a wmticCagRtIR)a ehIyeKciB©awmvaenAkñúgRsHEtb:ueNÑa³ .

Harvesting of morning glory in Boeung Cheung Ek

karRbmUlplbEnøRtkYn enAkñúgbrievNbwgeCIgÉk¦

Role of aquatic plant production in livelihoods in Thot Chrum and Kba Tomnub villages (Boeung Cheung Ek)

tYnaTIplitkmµbEnøClplkñúgCIvPaBRKYsar enAkñúgPUmik,alTMnb; nigPUmietañtRCMu ¬tMbn;bwgeCIgÉk¦



























9%

7%

13%

33%

14%

13%

12%

29%

13%

8%

8%

13%

13%

17%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

0

500-2000

2100-4000

4100-6000

6100-8000

8100-10000

>10000

inco

me

rang

e (R

iels

)



23.4%

20.7%

52.2%

3.8%

21.9%

23.7%

51.4%

3.0%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

< 7 years

7-14 years

15-64 years

> 64 years

age

cate

gorie

s


12










out compensation.

14

6

12

3

48

20

7

6

6

1

0

4

1

4

8

0

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Unemployed

Cyclodriver

Motordup driver

Street seller

Unskilled laborer

Skilled worker


Government employee

Occ

upat

ion


Sources:

The case ofPhnom Penhby Pierre Fallavier With research assistance:Im Peou, Sophal Roda, Svay Ratha, Noun Mountha, and Men SopheapkeryaContact Pierre Fallavier Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology State-of-the-System Report: CambodiaReport Series No. 2/2003

Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, U.K. Department of Geography, University of Durham, U.K. Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Denmark Faculty of Fisheries, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia Aquaculture and Aquatic Resources Manage-ment, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand

7


Seed of all types is obtained from traders outsidethe village. Lotus seeds are obtained from otherprovinces. River catfish seed originating fromnatural sources and increasingly hatcheries inVietnam are obtained through traders. Althoughattempts have been made to establishhatcheries locally, hybrid Clarias catfish seedalso mainly comes from Vietnam throughout theyear.

ksikr)anTijRbPBkUnBUCmkBIeRkAPUmi. cMEnkRKab;B UCQUksMrab;da MRt Yv)anykmkBIextþepSg²eTot.cMeBaHkUnRtIR)aBUCsMrab;ciB©awm Edlcab;BIFmµCati nigykmkBIsßanIy_PJas;enARbeTsevotNam RtUv)anpÁt;pÁg;tamry³BYkQµÜj.eTaHbICakUnRtIGENþgBUCRtUv)an eKBüayamplitenAkñúgRsukya:gNak¾eday k¾kUnBUCRtUv)an naMcUlCacMbgBIRbeTsevotNameBjmYyqñaMpgEdr .

Resource map drawn by men in Muoy village

Resource map drawn by women in Muoy village

EpnTIFnFanFmµCatiEdl)anKUredayRsþIenAkñúgPUmimYySeasonality

The end of the hot, dry season and start of therainy season (April to June) is the most difficultperiod of the year for people in the communities,especially the poor. Illnesses, especiallydiarrhoea and skin infections, and declining valueof aquatic vegetables are major problems. Thesefactors are probably linked to a decline in thequality and quantity of water that starts in Januaryand becomes acute by March. Seasonality alsoaffects the production and price of morning gloryin Boeung Cheung Ek. During the rainy season,the production and supply of morning glory arehigher resulting in lower selling price, whereas,supply decreases in the dry season resulting inhigher prices.

Resources in Boeung Cheung Ek

FnFanFmµCatienAkñúgbwgeCIgÉk

EpnTIFnFanFmµCatiEdl)anKUredayburs enAkñúgPUmimYy

10


kareRbIR)as;cMNIGaharCaFmµta RbCaCnTijGgár nigeRKOg]bePaKbriePaK

epSg². GñkciB©a wmRtI)aneRbIR)as; RtIciB©a wmrbs;Kat;sMrab;eFVICaGaharenAkñúgRKYsar ehIyksikrxøHeTotk¾ hUbsac;man;nigTa EdlKat;ciBa© wmenAtampÞHrbs;BYkKat; . pÞúyeTAvijstVRCUkRtUv)anciB©awmenAtampÞHrbs;BYkKat;minEmnTukhUbeTKWsMrab;lk;eGayQµÜj b: uEnþBYkKat;Tijsac;RCUkBIpSarmkeRbIR)as;CamðÚbGaharenAkñúgRKYsarvij. ksikrdaMbEnøTwksMrab;lk;enAelITIpSar ehIyBYkKat;k¾hUbmYyEpñktUcpgEdrehIyBYk Kat;k¾TijbEnøBIpSarpgEdr. RKYsarEdlciBa©wmRtI)anTijbEnøesÞIrTaMgRsugsMrab;hUb. CaTUeTA skmµPaBensaTmanenARKb;PUmiTaMgGs; sMrab;ciB©awmCIvitenAkñúgRKYsar.

Woman farmer/collector explaining about aquatic

vegetable consumption

ksikrRsIþ¼GñkRbmUlplBnül;GMBIkareRbIR)as;bEnøClpl

Animal feeding

kareRbIR)as;sMrab;

stV40%

Human consumption

kareRbIR)as;sMrab;

mnusS 60%

Uses of morning glory produced in peri-urban PhnomPenh kareRbIR)as;pllitRtkYnEdl)anplitenACMuvijTIRkugPñMeBj

Types of food consumed by households in the communities RbePTéncMNIGaharEdl)aneRbIR)as;;;edayRKYsarenAkñúgshKmn_

Food consumption

People normally purchase their rice and mostother basic food items. Fish is retained byfarmers for home consumption and somefarmers eat their own poultry. In contrast, even ifpigs are raised by the household, pork ispurchased. Farmers producing aquaticvegetables for the market tend to eat a proportion,and additionally purchase other types ofvegetables. Fish farming households purchasemost of their vegetables. Fishing is common inall villages to meet subsistence needs.

3


fish from the Great Lake that support pond andcage culture of river (Pangasius) and walking(Clarias) catfish. In contrast, pen culture inBoeung Kok is the main system in Muoy village.

We investigated wholesale markets close tothese communities as well as medium, smalland street markets throughout the city.

Sites around Boeung Cheung Ek. (Scale: 1:50,000 Source: Geoinformatics Education Center, Phnom Penh)

TItaMgsikSa enAkñúgtMbn;bwgeCIgÉk (xañt : 1 :50 000 RbPB : Geoinformatics Education Center PMñeBj )

Farmers live in houses over the pond to prevent theft inDoung village

lMenAdæanenAelIRsHedIm,IkarBarkMueGayecarlYckñúgPUmiDYgChildren live and play around Boeng Chueng Ek

PUmiDYgKWsßitenACitRbPBpÁt;pÁg; ¬RtIelx 3¦ )anmkBIbwgTenøsab EdlRtUv)anpÁt;pÁg;ciB©awmRtIenAkñúgRsH nigEb‘r dUcCaRtI)a RtIr:s; nig RtIGENþg. pÞúyeTAvij karciB©awmkñúgs‘genAPUmimYy ¬tMbn;bwgkk¦ CaRbB½n§ciB©awmedayTwkkaksMNl;cMbgrbs;TIRkug . eyIg)aneFV IkarGegátGMBIkarlk;enAelITIpSarEdlsñitenACitshKmn_dUcCa TIpSarlk;duM TIpSarfñak;mFüm ¬lk;duMnigray¦ TIpSarlk;rayenAkñúgTIRkug .

ekµgrs;enA nigkMsanþ enACMvuijtMbn;bwgeCIgÉk

Growing morning glory in the lake Cheung Ek.

2.7 WATER SUPPLY AND SEWAGE IN PHNOM PENH

Reflections of the past

Until 1970 Phnom Penh was a well developing city with all the possibilities to become a well functioning major city in Asia. Under the years of Khmer Rouge regime 1970-1975 the city was almost totally emptied of people and the earlier established water and sewage systems left without managing. When people gradually started to return to the capital city after Khmer rouge and the two decades of war and conflict to follow it, the water and sewage systems were in bad condition.

Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) became an autonomous body in 1986. However, this did not change anything in PPWSA until 1993. The distribution network year 1993 covered 40% of the city area and served only 20% of the total city population. Thirty percent of the pipes in the network had been laid more than 100 years ago, with the newest of the pipes being more than 40 years old. In 1993 alone, the number of illegal connections discovered was about 300.

Gradually after the Paris Peace Agreement, the Government of Cambodia, with the assistance of different development agencies, started the change in PPWSA that led to its becoming a fully autonomous body 2002. Today, PPWSA is a fully independent, commercially oriented, self-sufficient body. There are many factors contributing to the improvement in the operations of PPWSA. Political stability, strong government support, and external assistance from different development agencies (Asian Development Bank, World Bank, the Government of France and the Government of Japan) have contributed much to the expansion of PPWSA. However, the most important factor comes from within PPWSA. The staff now being motivated and well-working has helped the development of the organization tremendously.

The developments of Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority

To counter all the negative elements and inefficiencies, PPWSA began a “changing of culture based on educating, motivating, and disciplining its staff and the public. PPWSA started to implement an automatic billing system granted by the Government of France. A repair team was organized to stand by 24 hours a day to properly repair and maintain the distribution network. The public was advised to stop using and pursuing illegal connections. Incentives were given to anyone who could provide information on illegal connections. A computerized system was completed in 1996 to help in bill collection.

Phnom Penh water supply and sewige system.

Distribution area (Actual, Project)Distribution area (Appraisal, Project)Boeng Trabek catchment areaWater treatment plantBoeng Trabek pumping station and spillway (Project)Main roadBoeng Trabek and Toul sen drainage canals (Project)Secondary drain (Project)Transmission main (Project)Transmission pipe (Project)Transmission pipefrom Chrouy Changwar to Phnom Penh Urban boundary Upgraded parts of the sewage system.

PPWSA embarked on a program to educate the public, especially the high-ranking families, other government agencies, and even the top management of PPWSA, on the importance of paying their water bills. This was not an easy task. However, with a lot of hard work, the strong support of the Prime Minister, and the concept of “leadership by example,” PPWSA managed to convince many VIPs and high ranking officials to pay their bills. As a result, the rate of bill collection from the public improved from just 50% in 1993 to 99% now.

The development of the infrasturcture

1996 the government of Cambodia got a loan from Asian development bank for the Phnom Penh water supply and drainage project. 1997 PPWSA started to rehabilitate, repair and construct new parts to the old sewage system, drainage system and pumping stations. For example the Boeng Trabek main drainage canal, Toul Sen canal and various branches as well as rebuilding of the Boeng Trabek pumping station and spillway were established. Some 190 families were affected of the upgrading and many of them were relocated to Toul Sambo relocation site.

The upgrading works were finished year 2002. The next step in upgrading the water supply and sewage system in Phnom Penh was taken year 2002: New transmission mains were constructed to supply bulk water from treatment plants to the distribution mains in the city´s inner districts. The construction of the water mains provided a vital link between the three water treatment plants and distribution areas. The drainage rehabilitation, covering main and secondary drains in largest catchment area of Phnom Penh prevent severe flooding in more than 40% of the inner city. The pipeline is currently supplying approximately 940 000 people and is large enough to supply 2 million people in the future.

Problems related to the infrastructure

Community development committees were constructed for organizing community small-infrastructure projects. The upgraded waste water system has worked quite well. The illegal garbage throwing into the waste water canals threatens however the system´s sustainability. Public awareness campaigns have been introduced among residents living along the canals, pumping stations and retention ponds to prevent them to dump garbage into the water. These upgrading steps were a major step for the water system and sewage even if a lot still remains to solve.

The sewage and drainage system is currently constructed from open air and underground canals leading to major lakes and rivers in the central

Phnom Penh. The sewage is usually not treated in any way before entering to the lakes and rivers. Some of the richer households and possibly some public buildings have private systems for cleaning the waste water but these systems do not cover the whole Phnom Penh sewage system. The lakes and rivers are usually suffering also from solid waste that people throw into the water areas.

Waste water coming to the lake Cheung Ek from the pumping station by the lake Tompun.

Liquid waste being pumped to the lake Cheung Ek.

Waste water coming to the lake Cheung Ek.

Housing by the lake Tompun.

Housing by the pumping station on the lake Tompun.Solid waste collection by the pumping stationon the lake Tompun.

The governmental plan for the sewage treatment is a natural water treatment plan. Most of the city´s sewage finally ends up in Cheung Ek lake. Before pumping the waste water to Cheung Ek the solid waste is gathered away. When the water comes to Cheunrg Ek it goes through a gradual natural cleaning process with the help of the morning glory grown in the lake. Stages in the cleaning process include filtering, anaerobic lagunage, lagunage by macrophytes, truck farming and pisciculture before rejection in the natural environment. To maintain this system and provide it´s fully function would require protection of approximately 800 hectares of lakes and zones of protection around the lakes.

The morning glory grown in the waste water fed Cheung Ek lake is questionably sold to serve as human and animal food; Cheung Ek is the major producer of morning glory in Phnom Penh. From Cheung Ek the water continues to other lakes in Cambodia and ends finally up in the sea.

Sources:

DPWT, Sewage Works in Phnom Penh city 2007, Municipality of Phnom Penh, Department of public works and transport 2007

Phnom Penh water supply and drainage project in Cambodia, Asian development bank 2005

Phnom Penh water supply authority, Phnom Penh water supply authority Contributed by Ek Sonn Chan, Director of the Phnom Penh water supply authority


Solid waste arrived with waste water to the pumpingstation iby the lake Tompun.

2.8 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN PHNOM PENH

Past development of the solid waste management

The solid waste management in Phnom Penh is provided by municipal solid waste management (MSWM). Before 1994 it was under the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Works and Transport (DPWT). The MSWM services had been provided by the municipal cleansing section under DPWT until June 1994. Since then due to the extremely limited capability of MSWM, the Municipality of Phnom Penh entrusted its MSWM service to mainly private contractors with franchise agreement, which allows a monopoly service. The service provider has been changed six times due to mainly financial difficulty. Phnom Penh Waste Management Authority (PPWM) was established 2001 by merging the Cleansing Authority of Phnom Penh (CAP) and the Wastewater Authority of Phnom Penh (WAP).

The current situation of the solid waste management

Waste collection has generally improved in Phnom Penh by the current private company with a monopoly service. However, many areas of the city are still without adequate waste collection service and many tons of waste is dumped into rivers and ponds, burned or left uncollected to be scattered by animals, block drains and create unsanitary conditions. Waste collection is especially weak in outlaying areas and in many of the cities unplanned settlements that are home for thousands of the city´s poorest families.Solid waste is simply left on the street or by a city dumpster where the private company gathers it regularly. The waste management usually covers only the biggest roads

and the waste has to be taken to a collective dumpster by a person himself. Only the households that pay the waste management charge can use the collective dumpsters.

The solid waste of Phnom Penh is efficiently recycled by the urban poor people. Almost everything reusable is gathered among the waste from streets, waste dumpsters and city dumpsites. The products are then used for own need or sold at the market places. Cans and bottles are sold to a recycling company. The product gathering among waste is dangerous for the people´s health but plays a vital role in the waste management in Phnom Penh.

There are currently no special treatment facilities for hazardous and poisonous waste. Hazardous and poisonous waste is currently being burned at the dumpsites of Phnom Penh and have generated to decreasing ground water quality. Many of the urban poor collecting waste have gotten heavy metals in their system due to the lack of special treatment for the hazardous and poisonous waste.

Sources:

Solid waste management in Phnom Penh, http://www.phnompenh.gov.kh/JICA/SWM.htm




Woman recycling solid waste in Phnom Penh.

3. OBJECTIVES AND GOALS OF THE DESIGN

3.1 BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT

The starting point of our project is cleaning of the Southern waste water fed lakes in Phnom Penh. Currently all the waste water in Phnom Penh ends up in the lakes of Trabek, Tompun and Cheung Ek and continues from there further down to other surface water areas of Cambodia. The project aims to introduce an alternative way of life in which the inhabitants of the Southern lakes have a better living environment by the cleaned lakes and can benefit from the cleaned surface water.

Water

Water has a special role in Phnom Penh. The lakes and rivers of the capital city are important for absorbing storm and monsoon water and protecting the city from floods. Fishing and growing of vegetables such as morning glory, make an important income for many of the urban poor and middle class inhabitants of Phnom Penh. Due to the uncontrolled water management and unsustainable city planning of the capital that both date back in generations of time, the lakes of Phnom Penh are currently seen as unattractive, being filled and disappearing from the city structure.

The main issues concerning the blue networks of Phnom Penh are the role of water and the mind set according to it, preserving the existing lakes in the city structure and the management of the waste water. The water areas in the center of the city are not seen as something attractive or something of economical importance by the government. The value of the water areas is seen as the size of a land area possible to sell after the lake is filled. The governmental future idea is to fill most of the existing lakes and make profit by selling the filled land for private investors. Our project aims to proof that the water can be valuable for the inhabitants, the city development and the economic structure of the city. The lakes can provide income for many inhabitants, increase wellbeing, add real estate value, promote tourism and make the city structure more pleasant.

Sustainability

Our project aims to introduce a sustainable alternative plan for the city development where the lakes are preserved and cleaned and the water is taken into people´s every day environment. Our project aims to find a long term solution for the city development structure that is sustainable and ecological. The

project takes into consideration both the traditional way of life and the future development of Phnom Penh to a economically competitive capital of the region. Our plan is to show the inhabitants and the government that development does not have to exclude the traditional way of life and that it in fact even can b beneficial to the economy in form of ecotourism and traditional business. Our plan aims to find a sustainable solution for the area that would satisfy the different interest groups of Phnom Penh.

To convince the authorities of Phnom Penh of the value and future possibilities of the existing lakes of Phnom Penh is not an easy task. The three Southern lakes of Phnom Penh, Trabek, Tompun and Cheung Ek, are among the largest still existing lakes of the city. The city of Phnom Penh is expanding fast southwards and the development of the southern lakes area is inevitable the future. There are already some development plans for the area made by the municipality but the exact destiny of the area is still not decided. Our aim is to introduce a sustainable alternative plan for the development of the southern lakes area and introduce a new way of thinking when it comes to water and urban planning in Phnom Penh.

3.2 MAIN GOALS OF THE PROJECT

Sustainable sewage management

Currently, the government of Cambodia is not treating the sewage water of Phnom Penh in an organized way but instead using a system called natural water cleaning system in which the waste water is gradually cleaned by natural means on its way through the water networks of Phnom Penh. This results to situation where the waste water of Phnom Penh ends up in open water channels and surface waters in the centre of the city. In addition much off the solid waste ends up in the surface water areas. Especially the poor communities living next to the open water areas suffer of non-hygienic and uncomfortable conditions of life.

When developing the southern lakes area we aim to create new sewage water management policies. One of the main goals of the project is to isolate the waste water from the lake surface water and provide a clean lake area. Currently the waste water from almost all of Phnom Penh comes to lake Trabek by an open-air waste water channel located on the northern edge of the lake. From there the waste water continues to lake Tompun, lake Cheung Ek and onwards. Our project aims to clean the lakes and separate the waste water system from the water system of the lakes and

by that means create a healthier, more pleasant lake environment with economical value.

Housing

New housing areas are urgently needed in Phnom Penh due to the growth of the city. The middle class is currently expanding and masses of poor people are continuously moving to the capital city in hope of work and better life. The existing parts of Phnom Penh can still be somewhat densified. The expanding of the city to different directions is although inevitable and new housing areas needed. Our project presents a development plan for the southern expansion zone of Phnom Penh and aims to create new socially mixed housing areas. The housing areas are to be constructed in a mixed structure of housing, public facilities and commercial activities.

The existing slums as well as low income and middle class housing areas will be upgraded. Public facilities, commercial activities and tourist facilities are added, transportation network improved and new kind of income possibilities created.

To achieve a balance of different social classes in the housing areas it is important to avoid segregation. The different social classes can benefit from each other by providing services and employment to each other. All the different social classes have their role to play in the economic and social structure of the city. It is important to provide possibilities for the urban poor to live close to their employment. The urban poor that have to be relocated due to the changes in the urban structure should find new housing on our project area. Eviction of the people to far away destinations should be avoided.

The project also aims to show the attractiveness and economic value of the housing located by the lakes and to introduce a traditional Cambodian life style even to high value real estate market.

Industry

There is already existing industry on the project area that is located by the Bassac river and on the northwestern side of our project area. Our plan is to improve the industrial zone of the area. This development is addressed in the already existing city plans of the municipality and is important for the economic growth of Phnom Penh. The industry can also provide employment for the urban poor situated on the project area and its surroundings. Bassac river side makes a logical location for industrial activities: transportation and communication as well as energy are provided by the river.

Urban structure

The project aims to introduce new housing and business areas as a part of a mixed city structure. The city structure will also include public and other facilities such as schools, health care centers, hospitals, market and commercial areas, associative and cultural centers and sports facilities.

The transportation network will be improved and new parts to it will be added. Motorbikes and tuktuks are the main transportation means of the inhabitants of Phnom Penh. There is currently a lack of a public transportation system in Phnom Penh. It would be essential for the future development of the city to investigate possibilities for public bus routes and boat routes. The new part of the city should be efficiently connected to the existing city structure and new pedestrian roads introduced.

The goal of our project is to add value to public spaces such as plazas and green areas and make the green and blue structures the leading line of our urban plan. Some of the areas of the project are lakes part of the year and serve as public parks on the rest of the year due to the annual monsoon cycle and the water level changes related to it. The potential of the annual changes in the urban structure has traditionally not been taken into consideration in the urban planning of Phnom Penh. Our project aims to show the attractiveness of the changing character of the city.

A green structure beside the water structures is a way to give value to the lakes and to offer the city the public space it misses. The idea of a green line added to the blue line of the lakes and channels on our project area could be even introduced in the existing city structure of Phnom Penh. Improving and creating new efficient and pleasant pedestrian shores is an important part of our project.

The project aims to preserve most of the existing urban agriculture but also show other possible uses of water in the city. During the development of the project area the urban agriculture will gradually move southwards.

A part of the Cheung Ek lake will be filled to serve as a new city structure. The filling is planned to make in a way that respects the lake and connects the lake to the living environment of the people.

The new master plan.

PROGRAM:For the new residental area on the northwestern border of Phnom PenhHousing - 746 199 sqmCommerce - 124 800 sqmPublic - 162 400 sqmtotal inhabitants: 746 199services in the area:-5 schools-5 community centres-2 heath care centres

-2 libraries

ACTIVITIES

4. DESIGN PRINCIPLES

4.1 WASTE WATER MANAGEMENT, SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT, WATER SUPPLY AND ELECTRICITY

The new water treatment policies

The project leans on new sewage water management policies. One of the main issues of the project is to isolate the waste water from the lake surface water and provide a clean lake area. The project introduces a new water treatment plant by the lake Trabek. Waste water from almost all of Phnom Penh comes currently to the lake Trabek by an open-air waste water channel located on the northern edge of the lake. According to our project the waste water is lead by a channel southwards from the treatment plant. This new waste water channel is isolated from the lake water area, built underground and covered with a deck that serves as a pedestrian road.

The new treatment plant is the first step of cleaning the waste water of central Phnom Penh. The solid waste is separated from the water and the waste water is treated for the first time. The separated solid waste can be partly recycled and reused for making commercial products. A recycle market is introduced by the treatment plant. The recycled products can also benefit the already existing small-scale business on the area and add to the eco-tourism started on the area of Tompun-lake. The next treatment plant for the waste water is located in the industrial area on the south side of our project area.

Upgrading the old infrastructure

The already existing houses of the project area are upgraded and connected to the governmental sewage, water supply and electricity system. The connection to the governmental system prevents the waste water from the houses located near by the lakes to end up in the lakes. The solid waste collection of the already existing areas in our project area is upgraded so that the solid waste no longer ends up in the lakes. It is important to teach the local inhabitants of the area about waste management issues and spread environmental awareness so that the waste water and solid waste is no longer thrown into the lakes. It is important to create a sense of community and a respect to the lake environment among the inhabitants so that the lake area will be kept clean from garbage.

New housing areas

The new houses that are built among the already existing city structure to densify the area are connected to the upgraded sewage, electricity, water

supply and waste management systems. The new areas that are filled from the lake Cheung Ek are also connected to the governmental sewage, electricity and water supply systems.

The inhabitants of the project area can use the bio waste they produce as fertilizer for their vegetable growings. Already currently the urban poor of Phnom Penh recycle almost all the usable products found among solid waste, such as bottles and cans. This could be made even more effective by starting the recycling already in the households and providing points for the urban poor to collect the bottles and cans. The still existing solid waste, such as plastic bags are left to collection points where the private solid waste company leased by the government of Phnom Penh will collect it.

The floating houses will have a special sewage system connected to the main governmental sewage network. A macerator first shreds the human waste After that the shredded human waste will be flushed upwards on a flexible pipe connection.

4.2 SERVICES

The new housing and business areas are a part of a mixed city structure where service structure is integrated in the housing structure. The already existing parts of the project area are vitalized by new commerce, touristic and public activities for creating a functionally well working environment. The public and other facilities include schools, health care centers, hospitals, market and commercial areas, associative and cultural centers, librarys and sport facilities. 5 community centers are build on the project area to serve as a place for the local inhabitants to meet, decide about common subjects and to gather knowledge about common issues such as waste management.

Traditionally the service structure of Phnom Penh is concentrated along the major roads. Our project continues this theme. The public and commerce activities inside the new mostly residential areas are located by the major car roads and pedestrian boulevards. Pedestrian walkways are vitalized with small scale business, small scale hotels and touristic activities.

The area by the lake Tompun will be developed to an eco-tourism area whereas the area around the lake Trabek will have mostly housing. The area by the lake Tompun will have a small scale mixed city structure with combined eco-tourism, small scale business and small scale public facilities. Morning glory plantations and traditional Cambodian housing

The development of the project area.

The new water system of Phnom Penh.

will be preserved in the area. New traditional, recycle oriented and socially aware small scale business will be introduced in the area. The area aims to target a new tourist group interested in ecological matters, small scale facilities and the traditional way of life in Cambodia. The eco-tourism area aims to show the different interest groups of Phnom Penh that preserving at least some of the traditional quarters and living environments can be beneficial for the tourism and economy for the city and its inhabitants and add a pleasant factor in the city structure.

Two major commercial centers are introduced in the project. They are located in different sides of the lake Cheung Ek and serve a wider area in Phnom Penh. The new commercial centers create employment and capital for the area and attract inhabitants to the area. By building new commercial centers outside the city center of Phnom Penh the pressure for the city center will become easier to deal with and the city structure more naturally expanded. By having several sub centers in the city the development of the city becomes more fluent and solely residential suburbs are avoided. The new commercial areas have different scale of commerce and business and they are partly mixed with residential houses. Large scale industry is not allowed in the areas.

4.3 BUILDING STRUCTURE

Upgrading the existing housing areas

The existing slums as well as low income and middle class housing areas are upgraded by connecting all the currently unconnected houses to the governmental sewage system. Electricity and water supply in the area is already relatively well functioning and is now upgraded to 100% supply. The roads and houses that are currently under the annual flooding level are raised. Public facilities, commercial activities and tourist facilities are added to the housing areas, transportation network improved and new kind of income possibilities are created. The currently existing housing area structure is densified and mixed with commercial, touristic and public activities.

Two new residential areas

Two new residential areas are built on filled land on the northeastern and northwestern shores of the lake Cheung Ek with mixed structures of commercial, touristic and public activities. Industry is not allowed in these areas. The two new residential areas share a common structure of filled zone and a zone of buildings on water divided with open water channels and public green spaces, market places and open plazas. Both of the new areas include a new pedestrian walkway by the water.

The structure of the new residental area by the northwestern shore of Cheung Ek.

View from the new residental area by the northwestern shore of Cheung Ek.

The structure and the building rules of residential area by the northwestern shore of Cheung Ek

The new area by the northwestern shore of Cheung Ek is divided in three zones with different characters that are partly mixed with each other when it comes to the different residential housing options. The first and second zone of the area are built on filled land and divided with a new large car-road that serves as the main road for the area. The zone between the currently existing car road and the new major car road will include dense housing with apartment buildings and student housing. The density makes the area efficient and ecological. The land of this zone will be owned by the city of Phnom Penh and the houses build in co-operation with private companies. This zone of the area will by these means have a fixed structure with dense residential functions mixed partly with public and commercial activities mostly by the new major car road. This zone includes also some parking and the park structures of the whole area continue on this zone.

The second zone of the area is located between the new major car road and a new pedestrian boulevard by the water. This area is also build on filled land and includes housing, commercial and public activities, parks, public plazas, market places, parking and open-water channels.

The third zone is located on the lakeside of the pedestrian boulevard. This zone is a collection of three different water related ways of living. The zone is car-free and divided to parts that all connect to the pedestrian boulevard. The zone includes structures on piles that have housing and hotels on them. These structures are either separate structures or constructed along the open water channels.

The third water related residential structure is a floating platform that includes residential and hotel activities. The floating platforms adapt to the annual rainy and dry seasons and the changing water level caused by the annual cycle. The presence of water is of major importance in our project. The way of building some of the water related houses on floating platforms reacts to the annual cycle of water in a way that not just protects the houses from the rising water but also makes the houses a part of the annual water cycle. In this way the water is better taken into the city structure and the city structure made changing in balance with the nature. The water level changes approximately 8 meters during the year.

The floating structures are anchored and connected to the pedestrian walkway and constructed out of concrete slams filled with polystyrene. They are reached by stairways that also serve as public space.

All the water related structures are mixed along the shoreline to create variety to the city structure.

The first zone of the area by the northwestern shore of Cheung Ek between the 2 major car roads is with its apartment houses a rather fixed structure with partly owned and partly rented apartments. The maximum building height of the first zone is 5 strories.

The second and third zones are made to be developed in a natural way with guide of some rules. Some of the plots on the grid structure of the area are previously decided to be left solely for public and commercial buildings. These plots are mostly located by the main car road and the pedestrian road by the water. Some of the plots are preserved for parking. There is also a fixed structure of open-water channels, parks, plazas and marketplaces on the area.

All the remaining plots of the zones two and three are reserved for housing. It is encouraged that the area would have a social mix and inhabitate different income-classes. Some of the residential plots are owned by NGO´s and UN HABITAT to ensure the urban poor people´s rights for some plots. These urban poor people would be mostly families relocated from the project area´s other parts and also from the Boeng Kok lake area. The NGO´s involved are responsible for distributing the plots to the people and also to provide some economic help for the urban poor to construct their houses. Some plots of the NGO owned parts would serve as common gardens for the urban poor to grow vegetables.

The other residential plots are privately owned and can be built as wished with some common rules. The normal plot size of the area is 14 meters x 21 meters. Maximum two of these plots can be combined to a one large plot and one plot can be divided to maximum of two plots. The maximum building height of the second zone is 3 stories and the maximum building height of the third zone is 2 stories.

Other areas in the project area

The second new residential area on the northeastern shore of Cheung Ek between Cheung Ek and Bassac-river has a similar mixed city structure to the area on the northwestern shore´s second and third zones. The northeastern residential area lacks the dense apartment house zone but has a row of maximum 10 meters high business buildings as a wall towards the busy car road by the river. The buildings on northeastern residential zone can be built to maximum 4 stories.

The buildings on the 2 new business and commerce areas are part of a mixed business, commercial

The design of the new residental area by the northwestern shore of Cheung Ek.

The different residental zones on the new residental area by the northwestern shore of Cheung Ek.

The structure of the new residental area by the northwestern shore of Cheung Ek.

and residential structure with mostly business and commercial activities. The residential houses on these areas can be built up to 7 stories and the business quarters up to 10 stories. The city skyline in the new residential and business areas is getting higher towards the business areas with the lowest buildings by the most northern edge of Cheung Ek and the highest buildings in the business areas.

The new eco-tourism area and the densified residential area by the lakes Trabek and Tompun is a mixed structure of public, commercial, residential and touristic small scale buildings. The maximum height of the buildings on this area is 3 stories.

Industry is developed by the area between Bassac-river and the existing major road beside it. Industry will be developed also on areas on the west side of the new northwestern commercial center. These industry development plans are a part of an existing urban plan of Phnom Penh and will provide employment for the inhabitants of the project area.

4.4 JOBS

Water related agriculture is currently an important livelihood in the project area. The project aims to preserve most of the existing urban agriculture but also show other possible uses of water in the city. During the development of the project area the urban agriculture will gradually move southwards and the employment structure of the urban poor change from agriculture dominated to service and industrial dominated. The morning glory plantation by the lake Tompun will be preserved as a traditional livelihood and for eco-touristic purposes. The morning glory plantation from the northern part of Cheung Ek will be removed and the urban agriculture moved to the southern part of Cheung Ek. Fishing will remain as a traditional livelihood on the area.

Tourism will provide new employment to the area. The hotels, restaurants and other service sectors will benefit from tourism located on the project area. The area´s small scale and larger commercial centers will benefit from tourism. Tourism will give employment also to the urban poor people as selling services, products and vegetables will get easier.

The new public transportation means such as bus and boat connections will provide employment. The new public facilities of the area such as schools, health care centers and hospitals, associative and cultural centers as well as sport facilities will also provide employment.

The two new commercial and business centers will

be large employers of the area and attract different income groups to the residential areas. The small scale traditional business in the eco-tourist area and the small scale business in the residential areas are also important employers. The nearby industry will be an important employer as well.

The mixed social structure of the residential areas will provide employment for the urban poor. As the urban poor are living in the area where there are customers with money they can sell handmade products, grown vegetables or provide other services such as tuk tuk driving. It is important for the urban poor not to be relocated far away from their livelihoods. The presence of the urban poor is beneficial even to the rich that can use their services. The new water treatment plant by the Trabek-lake employs some people and provides some employment for the urban poor with a possibility for making products from recycled solid waste and selling the products in the eco-tourism area.

4.5 TRANSPORTATION AND CONNECTIONS

Car roads

Improvement of the road structure starts from the existing lines of circulation: main roads serve larger areas and a grid of secondary roads serve the local areas. A new network of roads is added to the existing road structure of the project area. A new collection of roads provides an easy connection between the existing city and the project area and connects the lakes with each other.

The major car road Monivong is connected to the project area with a new major road that continues as the main car road of the new northwestern residential area. This road continues through the new northwestern business and commerce center and connects finally to the existing major car road coming from the west of Phnom Penh. Minor car friendly roads are implemented throughout the new residential areas. They serve only locally and are aimed to be used mostly by the inhabitants of the areas. The commercial centers have their own systems of car and pedestrian roads.

Pedestrian roads

The project introduces a new network of pedestrian roads that serve as a spine for the public areas and green structures of the project area. The both new residential areas are structured along pedestrian boulevards that give them character. The pedestrian roads along the new residential areas continue to

Development plan.

Activity zones.

Different housing zones.

Development stages.

the commercial centers situated in the end of both new residential areas. The pedestrian walkways serve as an important public space for the areas and courage as an example for a sustainable and pleasant future development of Phnom Penh. A new pedestrian bridge connects the two new residential areas of the lake Cheung Ek with each other. There are some restaurant and other services located by the pedestrian bridge.

Pedestrian walkways are also designed for the area of lakes Trabek and Tompun to connect the lakeside activities and residential areas with each other and with the new residential areas of the lake Cheung Ek. 3 new pedestrian bridges are introduced in the area to connect the different lakesides better. Most of the new residential, touristic, public and commercial activities in the area are located along the new pedestrian bridges.

Public transport

New public transport structure is introduced in the project area. There are bus routes serving the residential and commercial areas and connecting them with each other and the center of the city. Public boats are used as a means for the local transportation. Boat routes connect piers inside the residential areas as well as the different residential areas with each other and with the commercial centers.

4.6 RECREATION

The wide network of pedestrian roads will provide an important factor for the recreation in the area. The pedestrian roads are situated by the different lakes and together with the parks, plazas, marketplaces, channel sides and waterside stairs they create a network of important outside public space that currently lacks from most of Phnom Penh. The project aims to show a new kind of a principle for urban planning in Phnom Penh where outside public spaces are given priority and the city structure made more light and pleasant with the presence of water and greenery. The presence of parks and boulevards provide much needed shadow in the city structure and decrease the effect of urban heat island.

Some of the green structures of the new residential areas will be parks, some provide place for urban agriculture and some act as market places or plazas. Water is given a major role in the project and will be present in the public space structure in form of lakes and channels. The project aims to show how water can add quality to the new and existing

areas by the lakes when the water is cleaned. The eco-tourism area of the lake Tompun will with its small scale business, restaurants and other services be a pleasant place for spare time. Also the new commercial centres will provide activities for the area.

4.7 CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT

The project aims to show an example of development where the city is sustainably developed to a modern capital with respect to the local livelihoods and natural resources. The natural cultural environment of the existing lakes is preserved and examples shown how the lake environment can be beneficial to preserve.

Most of the urban morning glory agriculture is preserved and the traditional livelihoods and living environments made to a resource for economic profit by eco-tourism. The living environments by the lake Tompun are made to a touristic attraction for people interested to learn about traditional Cambodian way of life and the handicrafts and other products related to it.

5 community centers are planned being built on the project area to serve as places for the local inhabitants to meet, decide about common subjects and to gather knowledge about common issues such as waste management, recycling and environment.

4.8 NATURE

The existing lakes Trabek, Tompun and Cheung Ek and the flora and fauna related to them are the major natural resource in the area. By preserving and cleaning the lakes the nature is respected and the environment of the area made pleasant. It is important to preserve the lakes also due to their role as crucial points for natural drainage during the annual monsoons. The cleaning of the lake area from the waste water of Phnom Penh will have a major positive effect for the nature and the lake. The water ecosystem will benefit from the absence of waste water and chemicals. It is important to teach the local inhabitants of respecting the nature and not throwing waste water or solid waste into the lakes.

The new residential areas are planned with a direct relationship to the existing lakes. The city structure will be vitalized with a large amount of parks and other greenery. The morning glory plantations currently existing in the area will mostly be preserved even if the morning glory plantations

from northern part of the lake Cheung Ek will be moved to the southern part of the lake.

The filling of some parts of Cheung Ek may have some effects on the lake but is seen as inevitable development of the city. The project aims to show a way of using lake filling in a nature respectful way. The project points how preserving at least parts of the existing lakes the different interest groups can benefit more than in the case of filling whole lakes.

4.9 PARTICIPATORY PLANNING

Interviews done on the project area have affected the planning of the area. The development of the area will happen in a close relationship with its existing inhabitants and workshops held to protect the project ideas such as a clean environment, sense of community, use of public spaces. Some common rules according heights and sizes and locations of the plots are introduced in the residential areas. Otherwise the inhabitants are given free hands to build on their plots as they wish.

5. EFFECTS ON THE PLAN

5.1 URBAN STRUCTURE AND LAND-USE IN THE CITY

The expanding of the city of Phnom Penh to different directions is inevitable in the near future and new housing areas needed urgently. Our project presents a development plan for the southern expansion zone of Phnom Penh and aims to create new socially mixed housing areas. The housing areas are to be constructed in a mixed structure of housing, public facilities and commercial activities.

Our project aims to add value to public spaces such as plazas and green areas and make the green and blue structures to the leading line of the urban planning. Our project aims with the new water related housing options to show the attractiveness of the changing character of the city during the annual monsoon cycle. Water is taken into the city structure even in form of channels and pedestrian walkways by the lakeshores. The project aims to preserve most of the existing urban agriculture but also show other possible uses of water in the city.

A part of the Cheung Ek-lake will be filled to serve as a new city structure. The filling is planned to make in a way that respects the lake and connects the lake to the living environment of the people.

The existing slums as well as low income and middle class housing areas will be upgraded. Public facilities, commercial activities and tourist facilities are added, transportation network improved and new kind of income possibilities created.

Two new commercial centers are located in different sides of the lake Cheung Ek and serve a wider area in Phnom Penh. The new commercial centers create employment and capital for the area. By building new commercial centers outside the city center of Phnom Penh the pressure for the city center will become easier to deal with and the city structure more sustainably expanded.

5.2 LIVING CONDITIONS AND LIVING ENVIRONMENT OF PEOPLE

The project area is currently rather unpleasant due to the smell from the waste water fed lakes. The people working with urban agriculture in the area are suffering from diseases such as different skin diseases. The water in the area of the lakes Trabek and Tompun is filled with garbage.

Cleaning of the lakes increases the quality of the environment of the project area enormously. The presence of water changes from negative to positive. Implementing a large amount of parks and other public spaces in the city structure increases the quality of the area and the wellbeing of the people.

The socially and functionally mixed housing areas will add to the quality and liveliness of the project area and show an example of a sustainable city development.

5.3 LIVELIHOODS AND SERVICES

The project aims to preserve most of the existing urban agriculture in the project area and the livelihoods related to it. The morning glory plantation by the lake Tompun will be preserved as a traditional livelihood and for eco-touristic purposes. During the development process the employment structure will gradually change from agriculture oriented to service, industry and business oriented.

Tourism in the area will create a lot of new employment possibilities in form of hotels, transportation, restaurants and other services. The new eco-tourism area of the lake Tompun supports the traditional livelihoods of the area. The new public activities and new transportation means provide employment to the area. The mixed social structure of the residential areas will provide

employment for the urban poor. The new water treatment plant by the Trabek-lake employs some people and provides some employment for the urban poor with a possibility for making products from recycled solid waste and selling the products in the eco-tourism area.

The two new commercial and business centers as well as the nearby industry will provide employment to the different income classes.

5.4 ENVIRONMENT

The major natural resources in the area are the existing lakes and the flora and fauna related to them. The ecosystem of the lakes will be saved by preserving the lakes even if the filling of some parts of Cheung Ek can have some effects on the ecosystem. The filling of the lakes will be made in co-operation with the Ministry of environment and the effects on the environment will be researched.

The environment of the project area will change from agriculture dominated to a mixed city structure of housing, commerce, public activities and tourism. The nature will although get an important role in the new city structure as the lakes are cleaned and water and greenery made to a leading factor in the city plan.

The people working with urban agriculture in the area are suffering from diseases such as different skin diseases and water in the area of the lakes Trabek and Tompun is filled with garbage. The waste water is not currently treated in any way before it comes to the lakes. The ecosystem of the lakes is

suffering from chemicals and other liquid waste. By separating the waste water channel from the lake´s water and proceeding cleaning operations in the lake area, the environment of the lakes will be healthier and more pleasant for its ecosystem and the inhabitants living in the area.

5.5 ECONOMY OF PHNOM PENH

Two major commercial centers are introduced in the project as an incentive for the government. They serve as an important factor for a sustainable strategy for the city development as the pressure of the city center is divided to different sub-centers. This strategy makes the area economically more independent and attractive.

The balanced structure of different functions such as housing, commerce and public activities will provide an economically well-functioning area. The mix of different social classes in the area will provide an economically balanced structure of employment and service.

The development of the tourism in the area will create competitive power for the tourism of Phnom Penh. The traditional way of life and special Cambodian features in the city are made to an economic advantage and touristic resource by the help of eco-tourism.

Thinking in short term money will be lost in the decision of not filling the lakes and selling the land produced on them. In the long run the preserved lakes will pay back the money in form of increased real estate value and tourism.

the city on water

Documents

southern lake area

area of lakes trabek

areathe area

lake tompun

lake trabek

waste water of phnom

waste water management

water supply