Opinion
An illustration of a riverside "vendor hub." (Nakvathnak Chanrith)

Opinion: Any Redesign of Riverside Must Include Street Vendors

Phnom Penh should lean into the role street vendors play in our lives, and provide them with clean, orderly, dedicated places in which to do their work — starting with a hub on the city’s riverside, writes Future Forum junior researcher Prak Norak.

A poster of Mahsa Amini, who died in Iran after morality police took her into custody for wearing her hijab too loosely, is raised at a protest in Istanbul on December 10, 2022. (Dilara Senkaya/Reuters)

More Than Protest: The Women, Life, Freedom Revolution in Iran

Even though I am currently residing in Cambodia, far away from Iran, the movement for Women, Life, Freedom has been haunting me for weeks, writes Veronika Gruber.

18,000 have been jailed; 500 killed. Closing my eyes and remaining silent in front of this extreme injustice toward humankind would mean my approval of the brutality of the Iranian regime, she says.

People exercise on the boardwalk at the Phnom Penh riverside in 2022. (Chanrith Natvathnak/Future Forum)

Beyond Beautification: Riverside Must Adapt to Climate’s Heat

In order to make the riverside comfortable at all hours of the day, the bottom line is that the area needs more trees in the long-term, and awnings, umbrellas and canopies to protect from the sun, writes Future Forum’s Prak Norak in part four of a campaign to pedestrianize Sisowath Quay.

Traffic on the Phnom Penh riverside in 2022. (Chanrith Natvathnak/Future Forum)

Opinion: Placemaking Possibilities Are Endless if Riverside Is Transformed

Phnom Penh’s riverside is already rich in community and history. Pedestrianizing it would open up new possibilities for people-led “placemaking,” perhaps with a garden, viewpoints or room for temporary art spaces, writes Future Forum’s Keth Piseth in part three of a campaign for a car-free Sisowath Quay.

Vendors at Oudong market in 2019. (Tran Techseng/VOD)

Opinion: Behind the Market Stall, Women Toil Under Inequality

The dedication of women and girls in balancing their lives between domestic work and informal employment is taken for granted in Cambodia. When it comes to their needs, patriarchal society remains blind — and so do policymakers, writes KAS junior researcher Veronika Gruber.

A design proposal for transforming the Phnom Penh riverside. (Ses Aronsakda)

Riverside’s Reinvention: The Case for Car-Free Sisowath Quay

Phnom Penh’s most valuable urban space is dominated by traffic that makes a mess between the riverfront and Royal Palace. In the first of a four-part series campaigning for a car-free Sisowath Quay, Ses Aronsakda highlights the idea’s potential for civic activity and commuters.