Title: Affects of air : A more-than-human study of atmospheres and sustainable development in bang kachao
Author: Miss Leonie Hueppe
Year: 2024
Keywords: urbanism, affective atmosphere, assemblage, sustainable development
Theme: Environmental Politics and Policy
Advisor(s): Jakkrit Sangkhamanee
The full thesis available here.
Abstract: This paper investigates urban air as an agentic force shaping the relationship between Bangkok and Bang Kachao, its designated "green lung." Traditional sustainable development frameworks often overlook air's dynamic role, treating it as a passive environmental component rather than an active participant in urban ecologies. Drawing on ethnographic research in Bang Kachao, this study argues that an affective, more-than-human analysis of urban air provides crucial insights for rethinking sustainable urban development beyond anthropocentric paradigms. Employing an urban assemblage approach and the concept of affective atmospheres, the paper explores how the materializations of urban air — specifically heat, wind, and pollution — are co-constituted through human and non-human interactions. Findings highlight how residents' sensory attunements to the air’s materialization influence their daily routines and sense of belonging, while visitors' perceptions of Bang Kachao as an "atmospheric escape" underscore the contrasts in air quality and its socio-spatial implications. The paper critically assesses how prevailing policies and sustainable development projects in Bang Kachao often reflect anthropocentric and quantitative understandings of air and the environment, failing to acknowledge their relational agency. It proposes that sustainable urban development must integrate the qualitative, affective dimensions of the atmosphere, fostering a multispecies culture of care and responsiveness. Such an approach offers a more equitable and ecologically attuned pathway for urban planning, emphasizing the inherent interconnectedness between air, inhabitants, and governance