CASE STUDY A PARK WILL SAVE BANGKOK Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, is sinking. Located across the delta of the Chao Phraya River, Bangkok was once known as the Venice of the East for its network of canals. Today, owing to explosive urban development, many of those waterways have been filled with cement. With nowhere for water to go, Bangkok has become notorious for frequent, destructive floods. But help is coming from a park in the heart of the city: the Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park. Opened in 2017, the park was created to provide a green space for the city and celebrate Chulalongkorn University s 100th anniversary. Located in the centre of shopping and commerce, the park is designed as a multi-functional urban forest , which serves as an oasis for the residents and visitors of Bangkok wishing to spend quality leisure time in a pleasant environment. This park is able to collect, treat, and hold water to reduce urban flood risks in its surrounding areas. Thanks to its inclined design, the park is 9 Centenary Park, Bangkok equipped with several ecological structures that generate a complete water circulation system. On stormy days, the lawn absorbs rain to send it using gravity to the retention pond located in the lower part of the park. During severe flooding, this retention pond can store excessive water and double in size by expanding into the park s main lawn. By demonstrating the potential of landscape architecture, Centenary Park shows that Bangkok can live with water, rather than fear it. Adapted from: https://www.asla.org/2019awards/ 620062Chulalongkorn_University_Centenary_Park.html Complete the info about Bangkok. 1. country ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 2. location ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 3. known as ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 4. famous for ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 5. negative factors ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 6. today, notorious for ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 10 Read the text again and, in pairs, answer the following questions. 1. Why was the Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park created? 2. Where is it located? 3. What did it celebrate? 4. Why is it considered a urban forest ? 5. What is the CU Centenary Park able to do? 6. What is its particular design? 7. What is the park equipped with? 8. What is the function of the lawn on stormy days? 9. How does the retention pond store excessive water? 10. What does the CU Centenary Park show? SETTLEMENTS 277