Intermediary institutions, community organizations, and urban environmental management: the case of three Bangkok slums

Abstract

There is a limit to 'self-help' or 'community-based' schemes. External intermediary institutions are needed to provide support to communities in mobilizing internal resources and gain access to outside inputs that enhance their capacities to improve their habitat. The paper first presents a framework that links intermediary institutions, community organizations, and communal actions on environmental management and then uses this framework to explore the findings of a case study of three low-income communities in Bangkok. The analysis shows that intermediary institutions have played a crucial role in facilitating the development of community capacity to deal with environmental and other communal problems.