Christian, 27
Teacher, Danish
I think that the city should stop building all those big shopping malls and be more focused on spending the money on better preservation and maintenance of the monuments. If I was Chiang Mai’s mayor, I would invest in better infrastructure.
Nicolas Gantois, 22
Citylife Intern, Belgian
I would invest more money in child welfare and education. I see children begging and selling goods during the day as well as late at night. My focus would be on building more and better schools so that the kids have a better future and stay off the streets.
Joob, 35
Seller, Thai
I think that in Chiang Mai it’s quite difficult for the tourists to find the main attractions, so it could be interesting to set up more information on the streets to help them know where they are and where they’re going!
Alberto Miguel Chamon Ruiz, 24
Dentist, Spanish
I would develop and build walking streets, so that it’s safer for pedestrians to walk through Chiang Mai. It’s a lovely city but the traffic is terrible. There are too many cars and motorcycles that make walking across the street more challenging than it should be.
Myriam Valentini, 44
Associate Disease Area Director,
Swiss
Since I’ve been in Chiang Mai I’ve always had difficulties with finding and catching a metered taxi. When I can’t find one, I take a tuk tuk, but I always have the impression of being ripped off! So if I was the mayor, I would ask for more taxis.
Mae Pawadee, 25
Assistant Office Manager, Thai
What I want most would be to have a proper bicycle lane. I think it would help solve the traffic issue, since nowadays people seem to be using their bicycles a lot.
Sarah T., 22
Volunteer, American
As I’m working at an association that helps women who work in bars, I would provide them with alternative jobs. Some of them say that they like what they’re doing, but we all know it’s not true; many are victims of human trafficking. If I were mayor, I would help them reintegrate into society to have a better life, a life that they’ve actually chosen.
Poy, 24
Purchasing Manager, Thai
I would deal with the traffic problems by making street laws stricter and stronger consequences for those who don’t respect them, and re-engineering the traffic light system.
Harry & Jeanette Groenewegen,
62 & 59
Firefighter & Nurse, Canadian
We’ve been only here for a few days, but we noticed something that really shocked us: all of the sewage systems are pouring down into the Ping River! This is a shame for the beauty of Chiang Mai. If we were leading the city we would definitely change that and find a better way to evacuate those liquid wastes.
Natacha Reymond, 21
Student, Swiss
If I were the mayor of Chiang Mai, I would try to do something about all the traffic in town, maybe put in place an underground subway. Also, I would make sure tourists are being more respectful of Thai culture.