Factors affecting the development of a healthy city in Suburban areas, Thailand

Pathum Thani Province is one of the provinces surrounding the Bangkok Metropolitan Area (BMA) that has received the spillover growth and expansion of the city of Bangkok. However, this has resulted in urban changes into sprawling characterized by clusters of peri-urbanization interspersed along major transportation corridors that has absorbed provincial municipal centers within almost a hundred-kilometer radius from the center. The results of this uncontrolled, unplanned sprawl with weak or ineffective land use or transportation planning have detrimental effects on the overall well-being of the residents and the quality of life in the metropolitan area. This study uses the healthy city concept to analyze the factors that affect the health of the population by using Pathum Thani Province as the case study of 1055 structured questionnaires in face-to-face interviews. After data collection, the data was used in a Structural Equation Model (SEM) to analyze the factors that affect the health of the population in this highly urbanized province. The result of the study showed that factors affecting urban health have components relative to health issues, social and economic, physical, and environmental factors. Finally, this approach could help to quantify the complex interactions involved in health and wellbeing in relation to the constantly changing urban environment of sprawling areas to help guide policy decisions for achieving the development of a healthy city.