Inclusive planning and collaboration in support of disadvantaged groups: lessons from the urban food agenda in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Inclusive planning holds the promise of enhancing collaboration to support disadvantaged groups. Drawing on the example of efforts to implement inclusive planning in building a more robust urban food system in Chiang Mai, Thailand, we explore why improving the well-being of marginalized communities through such planning remains challenging in practice. Although a rights-based initiative was introduced for the most disadvantaged groups, unequal power dynamics persisted – especially given that the country’s food system is dominated by a few powerful actors operating within neoliberal and hierarchical structures. While strong collaborative efforts are essential to advancing inclusive planning, the success of such efforts depends on both informal horizontal deliberation and formal vertical negotiation within the broader collaborative ecosystem. We explore ways in which this collaborative ecosystem can be encouraged.