Research Article
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Unlocking urban regeneration projects: A case study of Royal Railway Station in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Year 2024, Volume: 5 Issue: 1, 1 - 11, 15.06.2024
https://doi.org/10.58598/cuhes.1383314

Abstract

Drawing on theories that encourage compact urban patterns and propose walkable and transit-oriented developments, the article argues that the creation of calibrated pilot projects embedded in the neighborhood grain have the potential to stimulate cultural changes and promote practices that encourage the conceptualization of more sustainable and equitable cities in Southeast Asia. In this context, the article presents the case of the renovation of the old railway station terminal in Phnom Penh (the capital of Cambodia). The building is located in an area that forms a central node in the overall urban structure and could serve as a driving force for the activities of the emerging Central Business District, insisting on the western edge of the historic European quarter designed during the French Protectorate period in the early 20th century. Although small in scale, this initial regeneration and conversion of the building into a place capable of hosting more diverse activities can be seen as the first phase of a larger multimodal hub that, combined with a public park, would provide the city with the vital green infrastructure needed to support recent transformations, taking into account not only public interests but also the various private stakeholders.

References

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  • Diepart, J. C. (2015). The fragmentation of land tenure systems in Cambodia: peasants and the formalization of land rights. Country Profile No 6: Cambodia.
  • Fallavier, P. (2003). Urban Slums report: The case of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. UN-Habitat.
  • Yam, S., & Ju, S. R. (2016). Transformation of Shophouses in Phnom Penh, Cambodia: In the Aspect of Spatial Organization. Family and Environment Research, 54(1), 13-26. http://dx.doi.org/10.6115/fer.2016.002
  • Chheng, Y., & Asano, J. I. (2014). Spatial and historic characteristics of Phnom Penh central area: Railway Station Garden. International Journal of Sustainable Society, 6(3), 216-239. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSSOC.2014.065854
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  • Rice, S., & Tyner, J. (2017). The rice cities of the Khmer Rouge: An urban political ecology of rural mass violence. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 42(4), 559-571. https://doi.org/10.1111/tran.12187
  • Lazarus, K. (2013). Mining in the Mekong region. The Water-Food-Energy Nexus in the Mekong Region: Assessing Development Strategies Considering Cross-Sectoral and Transboundary Impacts, 191-208. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6120-3_7
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  • Jensen, C. B. (2021). Phnom Penh Kaleidoscope: Construction Boom, Material Itineraries and Changing Scales in Urban Cambodia. East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Journal, 15(2), 211-232. https://doi.org/10.1080/18752160.2021.1896103
  • Kolnberger, T. (2015). Between water and land: urban and rural settlement forms in Cambodia with special reference to Phnom Penh. Urban Morphology, 19(2), 135-144. https://doi.org/10.51347/jum.v19i2.4027
  • Molyvann, V., & Lī, T. (2006). Les cités khmères modernes. Éditions Reyum.
  • Sereypagna, P. (2017). New Khmer architecture: Modern architecture movement in Cambodia between 1953 and 1970. Docomomo Journal, 57, 12-19. https://doi.org/10.52200/57.A.UHKJCPEU
  • Yong, W. (2013). Prince Sihanouk: The Model of Absolute Monarchy in Cambodia 1953-1970. [Senior Theses, Trinity College, Hartford].
  • Collins, D. (2012). Vann Molyvann: Situating the Work of Cambodia's Most Influential Architect. Perspecta, 45, 77-88.
  • Mialhe, F., Gunnell, Y., Navratil, O., Choi, D., Sovann, C., Lejot, J., ... & Landon, N. (2019). Spatial growth of Phnom Penh, Cambodia (1973–2015): Patterns, rates, and socio-ecological consequences. Land Use Policy, 87, 104061. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104061
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  • GGGI. (2021). Cambodia: Country Planning Framework 2021-2025.
  • Carlton, I. (2009). Histories of transit-oriented development: Perspectives on the development of the TOD concept. [Working Paper 2009-02, University of California].
  • Yan, S, Y., Kikutake, N., Lin, S. X., Johnson. E. C., Baker, J. L., Ou, N. (2017). Urban development in Phnom Penh. World Bank Group.
  • Yen, Y., Wang, Z., Shi, Y., & Soeung, B. (2016). An assessment of the knowledge and demand of young residents regarding the ecological services of urban green spaces in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Sustainability, 8(6), 523. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8060523
  • Percival, T., & Waley, P. (2012). Articulating intra-Asian urbanism: The production of satellite cities in Phnom Penh. Urban Studies, 49(13), 2873-2888. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098012452461
  • Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). (2014). The Project for Comprehensive Urban Transport Plan in Phnom Penh Capital City (PPUTMP). Ministry of Public Works and Transport
  • Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). (2023). Data Collection Survey on Urban Transport in Phnom Penh (Report), Phnom Penh Capital Administration.
  • Liu, L., Palaiologou, F., & Schmidt-Ill, R. (2022). Exploring the relationship between compact urban form and green infrastructure. Annual Conference Proceedings of the XXVIII International Seminar on Urban Form. University of Strathclyde Publishing, Glasgow, 576-583.
  • Nou, C., & Charoenkit, S. (2020). The Potential of Green Infrastructure (Gi) For Reducing Stormwater Runoff in A Phnom Penh Neighborhood. Geographia Technica, 15(1), 112-123.
  • Oldenburg, R. (1997). Our vanishing third places. Planning Commissioners Journal, 25(4), 6-10.
  • Santoro, C. (2022). Negotiating the urban space: Unlocking the development of the historic center in the modern city. Cultural Heritage and Science, 3(2), 49-59.
  • GGGI. (2018). Phnom Penh Sustainable City Plan 2018-2030.
  • Waibel, M., Blöbaum, A., Matthies, E., Schwede, D., Messerschmidt, R., Mund, J. P., ... & Kupski, S. (2020). Enhancing Quality of Life through Sustainable Urban Transformation in Cambodia: Introduction to the Build4People Project. Insight: Cambodia Journal of Basic and Applied Research, 2(2), 199-233.
Year 2024, Volume: 5 Issue: 1, 1 - 11, 15.06.2024
https://doi.org/10.58598/cuhes.1383314

Abstract

References

  • Stuart-Fox, M. (1995). The French in Laos, 1887–1945. Modern Asian Studies, 29(1), 111-139. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0026749X00012646
  • Henning, M., & Koditek, W. (2020). Architectural Guide Phnom Penh. DOM Publishers.
  • Diepart, J. C. (2015). The fragmentation of land tenure systems in Cambodia: peasants and the formalization of land rights. Country Profile No 6: Cambodia.
  • Fallavier, P. (2003). Urban Slums report: The case of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. UN-Habitat.
  • Yam, S., & Ju, S. R. (2016). Transformation of Shophouses in Phnom Penh, Cambodia: In the Aspect of Spatial Organization. Family and Environment Research, 54(1), 13-26. http://dx.doi.org/10.6115/fer.2016.002
  • Chheng, Y., & Asano, J. I. (2014). Spatial and historic characteristics of Phnom Penh central area: Railway Station Garden. International Journal of Sustainable Society, 6(3), 216-239. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSSOC.2014.065854
  • Osborne, M. E. (2008). Phnom Penh: A cultural and literary history. Signal Books.
  • Rice, S., & Tyner, J. (2017). The rice cities of the Khmer Rouge: An urban political ecology of rural mass violence. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 42(4), 559-571. https://doi.org/10.1111/tran.12187
  • Lazarus, K. (2013). Mining in the Mekong region. The Water-Food-Energy Nexus in the Mekong Region: Assessing Development Strategies Considering Cross-Sectoral and Transboundary Impacts, 191-208. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6120-3_7
  • Pierdet, C. (2011). Private Investors in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and the Reconfiguration of the City Center in Relation to the Periphery since the 1990s. In Annales de geographie, 681(5), 486-508.
  • Khmero, B. H. S. (2000). Phnom Penh and its lost battle for the preservation of historic buildings from the 1970’s. Siksacakr, (2), 10-12.
  • Jensen, C. B. (2021). Phnom Penh Kaleidoscope: Construction Boom, Material Itineraries and Changing Scales in Urban Cambodia. East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Journal, 15(2), 211-232. https://doi.org/10.1080/18752160.2021.1896103
  • Kolnberger, T. (2015). Between water and land: urban and rural settlement forms in Cambodia with special reference to Phnom Penh. Urban Morphology, 19(2), 135-144. https://doi.org/10.51347/jum.v19i2.4027
  • Molyvann, V., & Lī, T. (2006). Les cités khmères modernes. Éditions Reyum.
  • Sereypagna, P. (2017). New Khmer architecture: Modern architecture movement in Cambodia between 1953 and 1970. Docomomo Journal, 57, 12-19. https://doi.org/10.52200/57.A.UHKJCPEU
  • Yong, W. (2013). Prince Sihanouk: The Model of Absolute Monarchy in Cambodia 1953-1970. [Senior Theses, Trinity College, Hartford].
  • Collins, D. (2012). Vann Molyvann: Situating the Work of Cambodia's Most Influential Architect. Perspecta, 45, 77-88.
  • Mialhe, F., Gunnell, Y., Navratil, O., Choi, D., Sovann, C., Lejot, J., ... & Landon, N. (2019). Spatial growth of Phnom Penh, Cambodia (1973–2015): Patterns, rates, and socio-ecological consequences. Land Use Policy, 87, 104061. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104061
  • Airriess, C. (1993). Export-oriented manufacturing and container transport in ASEAN. Geography, 78(1), 31-42.
  • Asian Development Bank (2019), Cambodia Transport Sector Assessment, Strategy, and Road Map, ADB.
  • GGGI. (2021). Cambodia: Country Planning Framework 2021-2025.
  • Carlton, I. (2009). Histories of transit-oriented development: Perspectives on the development of the TOD concept. [Working Paper 2009-02, University of California].
  • Yan, S, Y., Kikutake, N., Lin, S. X., Johnson. E. C., Baker, J. L., Ou, N. (2017). Urban development in Phnom Penh. World Bank Group.
  • Yen, Y., Wang, Z., Shi, Y., & Soeung, B. (2016). An assessment of the knowledge and demand of young residents regarding the ecological services of urban green spaces in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Sustainability, 8(6), 523. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8060523
  • Percival, T., & Waley, P. (2012). Articulating intra-Asian urbanism: The production of satellite cities in Phnom Penh. Urban Studies, 49(13), 2873-2888. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098012452461
  • Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). (2014). The Project for Comprehensive Urban Transport Plan in Phnom Penh Capital City (PPUTMP). Ministry of Public Works and Transport
  • Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). (2023). Data Collection Survey on Urban Transport in Phnom Penh (Report), Phnom Penh Capital Administration.
  • Liu, L., Palaiologou, F., & Schmidt-Ill, R. (2022). Exploring the relationship between compact urban form and green infrastructure. Annual Conference Proceedings of the XXVIII International Seminar on Urban Form. University of Strathclyde Publishing, Glasgow, 576-583.
  • Nou, C., & Charoenkit, S. (2020). The Potential of Green Infrastructure (Gi) For Reducing Stormwater Runoff in A Phnom Penh Neighborhood. Geographia Technica, 15(1), 112-123.
  • Oldenburg, R. (1997). Our vanishing third places. Planning Commissioners Journal, 25(4), 6-10.
  • Santoro, C. (2022). Negotiating the urban space: Unlocking the development of the historic center in the modern city. Cultural Heritage and Science, 3(2), 49-59.
  • GGGI. (2018). Phnom Penh Sustainable City Plan 2018-2030.
  • Waibel, M., Blöbaum, A., Matthies, E., Schwede, D., Messerschmidt, R., Mund, J. P., ... & Kupski, S. (2020). Enhancing Quality of Life through Sustainable Urban Transformation in Cambodia: Introduction to the Build4People Project. Insight: Cambodia Journal of Basic and Applied Research, 2(2), 199-233.
There are 33 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Computer Vision and Multimedia Computation (Other)
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Carlo Santoro 0000-0002-7560-9297

Early Pub Date March 21, 2024
Publication Date June 15, 2024
Submission Date October 30, 2023
Acceptance Date November 13, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2024 Volume: 5 Issue: 1

Cite

APA Santoro, C. (2024). Unlocking urban regeneration projects: A case study of Royal Railway Station in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Cultural Heritage and Science, 5(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.58598/cuhes.1383314

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