urban planning
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.

Illustration: Traffic cameras

Opinion: Cambodia Needs People-Centric Planning Before ‘Smart Cities’

Asean is promoting a “Smart City Network” of tech-focused solutions to the region’s urban problems. But there are simpler, cheaper and more sound urban policies without falling for the notion that technology is the answer to everything, writes Future Forum’s Ses Aronsakda.

Officials arrive to check on vegetable sellers on Mao Tse Toung Blvd early morning March 9, 2022. (Michael Dickison/VOD)

Midnight Vegetable Sellers Resist Street-Cleanup Closures

Vegetable sellers on Mao Tse Toung Blvd. are pushing back against authorities clearing them from a stretch of a major Phnom Penh road while citing the need to beautify the city for Asean conferences and other international events.

A Phnom Penh parking lot, on March 9, 2022. (Michael Dickison/VOD)

Opinion: Less Parking Space Is Actually Good for a City

Total parking area roughly the size of Russey Keo district is needed to cater for Phnom Penh’s increasing number of cars, writes Future Forum researcher Ses Aronsakda. But even putting aside this impracticality, adding more parking to a city creates its own problems.