On May 22, 2022, governor elections were held in Bangkok, the post was taken by Chatchat Sittiphun, former Minister of Transport.
The new 17th governor of the city introduced the policy: «gardens 15 minutes from home all over Bangkok», which aims to create a park next to the house, which can be reached in 15 minutes. The city administration has data on the presence of a large amount of vacant land, at least 100,000 plots scattered throughout Bangkok. These lands have owners, but are not used.
Now they are looking for ways to acquire these lands by the state in order to turn it into public parks. There are proposals to introduce a tax on vacant land to force owners to get rid of these lands.
It is also planned to zone Bangkok into areas with specific classifications. So, «a commercial area» may appear, where offices and other commercial buildings will mainly be located, and residential development will not be a priority. Residential buildings and convenience stores will mainly be located in residential areas. It is in these areas that the «gardens in 15 minutes» will be located in the first place.
Besides, different taxes will be levied on buildings of different types by zones. These ideas are in the process of consideration by the city government.