Designing ecological landscapes: A case study of Amata City's smart environment

Rapid industrialization and urbanisation offer economic opportunities but also lead to the degradation of ecosystem functioning and ecosystem services, which affect local food security and the preservation of local habitats. The concept of Eco-Industrial Parks, which demonstrate the symbiotic relationship between factories within the same industrial estate to promote circularity of energy and material flows, has been implemented since 1998 in Europe, the United States, and Canada. In 2000, this concept was also adopted in Thailand, though it has yet to be fully realised. Amata City is one of the largest industrial estates in the Eastern Economic Corridor of Thailand (EEC), covering 43 square kilometres or 4,330 hectares. It is a part of Industrial Estate authority of Thailand plans towards the eco-industrial park and smart city development. This article presents a literature review based on three components: i) academic papers related to the concept of eco-industrial parks, ii) an analysis of the Sustainability Report of Amata City, with a focus on the smart environment section, and iii) landscape design proposals by a group of Landscape Architecture students at Thammasat University. In order to interpret the review material, 18 peer-reviewed academic papers, 2014 to 2022 Sustainability Reports of Amata City, and six landscape design proposals were analysed. The results indicate that there are essential characteristics for understanding and implementing the concept of eco-industrial parks, such as the flow of material and energy. Moreover, for a successful sustainability approach, the community and environment should be at the centre, with emphasis placed on the community participatory process and improving environmental quality in the estate and its surroundings. By offering alternative futures for ecological approaches and restoring ecological balance, the design proposals provide insights into designing with ecological approaches and community involvement. Based on these findings, we suggested developing a guideline plan for improving and designing sustainable approaches and practices, which takes into account ecosystem services and maintains the ecosystem function of the industrial landscape.