Abstract
This research has been conducted in 4 dimensions of health namely, physical, mental, social and spiritual health in both positive and negative impacts. The research design was a participatory action research with rapid appraisal and survey. Activities included two workshops one for academics and the other one for stakeholders to discuss and advise indicators to be used in the assessment. After the questionnaire was constructed, a survey was conducted in 2,744 samples comprising in-building, around-building, and general residents.The literature reviews showed that building constructions in the past in Muang Chiang Mai were not well planned and managed, specifically lack of city vision to guide the direction of development. Most of the times, they depended on the administrators’ policies without people participation resulting in Muang Chiang Mai’s vague direction of development. The results show that the around-building and general residents had more physical health impacts than the in-building. This might be the indirect effects of highrises. i.e., the urban heat island phenomenon that causes more air pollutants deteriorating the respiratory system. The hypertension and cardiovascular diseases might be the results of anxiety due to mental and social health problems. The assessment of other dimensions of health also showed that the around-building and general residents had more health impacts than the in-building. The older and longer-living tended to have more health effects than the others.It is suggestive that:The highrise construction permissions for those non-constructed should be cancelled.The height of highrises should be revised in accordance with the context of Chiang Mai not that of the Act, which enforces nationwide.The highrise constructions should be controlled more stringent, and buffer zone should be re-considered.The areas that are allowed for highrise constructions should not those that can potentially be threatened to ecology, urban heat island and historic conservation.The Ministerial Laws enforcing the town planning should be amended that land uses in each zone should take the vertical dimension into account and the percentage scheme of land use should be cancelled.
