City Issues

A collection of articles, thoughts and opinions on the issues and challenges affecting Chiang Mai. Written by the people who live here.

By | Thu 12 Mar 2020

Like any city, Chiang Mai has a range of issues and challenges.

The biggest of these is seasonal pollution caused by agricultural and forest burning. The fires cloak the city in choking smoke fumes and between February and April Chiang Mai shamefully tops the tables of the world’s most polluted cities. The pollution problem affects us all in terms of health and economic wellbeing and it is a source of considerable frustration and anger for everyone that lives here.

There are other less existential concerns including overdevelopment, water management, rising traffic level and congestion, and so on. We cover them all here.
These pages also cover social and welfare issues facing specific segments of our community. In addition to government involvement in these issues, there are a large number of NGOs operating in Chiang Mai and throughout Northern Thailand.

Chiang Mai is a very tolerant and friendly community and people generally rub along well together. There is a lot of goodwill here, and that is a positive benefit in helping tackle the issues that Chiang Mai faces.