Abstract:
The Baan Euarthorn housing project by the National Housing Authority consists of residential and complete community facilities, including market courtyards, to serve and provide job opportunities for the community residents to promote stability. This research aims to explore the concepts and goals of market courtyard development in the Baan Euarthorn housing project and examine the benefits received by residents from this development. The case studies chosen for this research are Baan Euarthorn Ladkrabang 2 Housing Project and Baan Euarthorn Romklao Housing Project. The study uses observation, interviews, and surveys conducted on both general residents and resident entrepreneurs within the market courtyards.The study reveals that Baan Euarthorn Ladkrabang 2 is located on Prachaphatthana Road, Ladkrabang district, with a front-facing market courtyard consisting of one flea market and one minimart. The project accommodates 6,390 residential units and features three market courtyards two at the project's front and one within the project, totaling 44 shops. Of these, 38 shops (86% of total) are operated by resident entrepreneurs, and 64% of general residents regularly purchase goods from the market courtyards. The market courtyards are managed by residents of the Project 1 market courtyard and former residents of the Project 2 market courtyards. Both the physical appearance of the market courtyards and the management of the market courtyard are found to be at a moderate level with satisfaction scores of 3.23 and 3.31 out of 5, respectively.In contrast, the Baan Euarthorn Romklao project, located on Kheha Romklao Road, Ladkrabang district, possesses a front-facing market courtyard comprising one market, a food court, and a shopping center. The project has 6,022 residential units with one market courtyard located at the back entrance of the project. All 42 shops within this courtyard are operated by resident entrepreneurs, and 73.7% of general residents purchase products in the market courtyard regularly. This market courtyard is managed by non-residents who bid for the right to manage the courtyard. Here, 64% of general residents regularly purchase goods from the market courtyards. The physical appearance and management of the market courtyards received high satisfaction scores of 3.55 and 3.50 out of 5, respectively. The study indicates that Baan Euarthorn Rom Kao's market courtyard, being larger and centrally located within the project, attracts more residents than Baan Euarthorn Ladkrabang 2 as it is further away from other trading areas, there are more residential units within 100 meters, and it is airier and more spacious.In summary, the study outlines the advantages and limitations of market courtyards in both Baan Euarthorn housing projects. Physical characteristics, such as location and convenience for residents to access, are favorable, while limitations include arranging stalls and inconvenience for residents traveling to the market courtyards. Also, limitations exist arranging the stalls into categories and the number of parking spaces is insufficient. In terms of market courtyard management, the market courtyards have advantages in terms of offering suitably priced products, systematic rental fees, and flexible rental collection for merchants, yet there is room for improvement regarding participation in expressing resident opinions of the market courtyards as well as offering a sufficient variety and number of shops within the courtyards.Analyzing the results, it was found that: (1) in terms of housing stability, the market courtyards offer a shopping center that is convenient to use and popular with residents; (2) in terms of economic development in the community, the market courtyards in the Baan Euarthorn project help generate high incomes with comparison to the educational background of the resident merchants; (3) in terms of community relations, the residents have a positive attitude towards the courtyards, especially the resident merchants. These results show that residents can create positive relationships with market courtyards.Recommendations for improvement include (1) establishing short-term car parking while increasing the proportion of motorcycle parking spaces; (2) having the National Housing Authority provide guidance on market courtyard management and train community residents during the first phase; and (3) encouraging the development of market courtyards in projects with 3,600 or more residential units, especially if there are no market courtyards within a 45-minute travel radius of the project.