Abstract
This paper discusses issues of political influence and power struggles in connection with environmental projects, in the context of a low-income settlement in the city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. This low-income settlement has been included in the interventions of four different projects/programmes in the last five years: a community-driven initiative implemented with the support of a public organization and an NGO; the Chiang Mai 30-year master plan designed by architectural consultants to Chiang Mai municipality; a project undertaken by the Department of Town Planning within Chiang Mai provincial government, following an initiative by the prime minister, Mr Taksin Shinawatra; and an historic preservation project being implemented by the National Department of Fine Arts.