New Approach Needed for Urban Planning in Yangon

Jul 10, 2016 | Sithu Aung Myint
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IN LATE May, U Phyo Min Thein, the chief minister of Yangon Region, declared that he would rid Myanmar’s largest city of squatters as a matter of urgency. The plan raised more than a few eyebrows, as the city’s “informal” residents are believed to number more than 400,000, and many have been living in makeshift dwellings for almost a decade.

The announcement followed growing concern among a number of poor communities that they would soon be evicted en mass. Surprise visits from ward administrators had stirred panic, especially as sudden relocations were common under the previous government and its military predecessors. But the chief minister said he had a plan: He would conduct a census of all those claiming to be squatters, offer jobs and housing to those deemed to be legitimately in need, and take action against those found to be miscreants or opportunists. He also suggested that organised criminals or, in some cases, individuals tied to militias, had seized property and sold it illegally, and that those people would be sought out and harshly punished.