Public Works Department Hosts World Town Planning Day 2026 Seminar on Resilient Cities

The Ministry of Interior and the Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning jointly organised an academic seminar for World Town Planning Day 2026 under the theme Thai Urban Planning for a Volatile World on 9 November 2026 in the Grand Ballroom at Golden Tulip Sovereign Hotel Bangkok, with approximately 450 participants in attendance and a simultaneous online broadcast for interested viewers nationwide. The event was held to gather opinions from multidisciplinary experts in setting the direction of Thai urban planning to prepare for global changes across all dimensions.

Direction of Thai Urban Planning in a Volatile World

Mr Unsit Sampuntharat, Permanent Secretary for Interior, presided over the opening ceremony and stated that the world is facing volatility on all fronts, including climate, technology and people's ways of life. Urban planning must therefore adapt proactively, serving not merely as a traditional land-use control tool, but becoming a mechanism to build disaster-resilient cities capable of coping with flash floods and droughts that intensify every year.

The Permanent Secretary for Interior also emphasised that the Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning must work closely with local administrative organisations to establish land-use criteria, such as preserving floodways and designating water retention areas, whilst inviting the public sector, private sector and civil society to jointly design the future of cities together.

Mr Theeraphat Katchamat, Director-General of the Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning, said that the department aims to elevate urban planning from a land-use control tool into a strategic mechanism that reduces disaster risks, narrows inequality and integrates physical, economic, social, environmental, technological and governance dimensions to sustainably improve people's quality of life.

Lecture Topics in the Seminar Room

The full-day seminar was held in the hotel's seminar room, featuring speakers from various sectors presenting on key topics as follows:

• The 14th National Economic and Social Development Plan, by a representative of the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council
• Thai-German Cooperation in Urban Planning to Address Climate Change, by a representative of the German Embassy in Thailand
• Urban Planning Dimensions, City Liveability and Urban Innovation, by an academic from the Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University
• An Ageing Society and Opportunities for Urban Development, by an expert from the Universal Design Center, Chulalongkorn University
• Public Transport Systems and Infrastructure Connectivity
• Using AI Technology to Sustainably Design the Future of Cities
• National Policy Plan 2026 to 2037

In the afternoon, a panel discussion was held on the same theme, with academics and the Governor of Nakhon Phanom Province exchanging perspectives on multidimensional urban development. Meanwhile, Provincial Public Works and Town and Country Planning Offices across all 76 provinces nationwide simultaneously organised World Town Planning Day activities in their respective areas and connected via the online broadcast to expand participation across the country.

This news is of interest to conference and seminar organisers and organisations seeking seminar rooms for large-scale academic events, as well as hotel professionals looking to study the format of national-level seminars and those interested in the future direction of Thai urban planning.