19/08/2026
🌧 It is raining today. Is Khon Kaen City built to fight water or absorb it? 💧
🎬 Watch the video summary below to see how our students reimagine the future of sustainable cities👇
🌊🌱 MALIWAN CORRIDOR: Transforming Urban Roads into "Sponge Infrastructure"
How can we sustainably solve urban flash flooding on major economic roads like Maliwan Road (Highway 12) in Khon Kaen?
Introducing “MALIWAN CORRIDOR”—an innovative urban design project that applies the Sponge City concept and Blue-Green Infrastructure to change traditional concrete roads into a smart system that can Absorb, Retain, Store, and Drain stormwater efficiently, reducing the burden on the city's drainage system before releasing water into Nong Khot Swamp.
💡 3 Key Design Elements of Maliwan Corridor:
1. Porous Asphalt: Upgrading road surfaces with 18–22% air voids, allowing rainwater to instantly seep through into the Reservoir Layer, eliminating surface runoff.
2. Permeable Pavement: Replacing standard footpaths with porous concrete blocks to reduce pedestrian flooding, slow down water flow, and naturally recharge groundwater.
3. Linear Rain Garden: Transforming highway medians into green absorption zones using water-tolerant plants and natural filtration layers to purify stormwater before storage.
🔄 Step-by-Step Water Management System:
Rainwater seeps through the porous asphalt and pavement ➡️ filters through the median rain garden ➡️ retains temporarily in detention modules ➡️ safely drains into Nong Khot Swamp.
The Impact: Reduces urban flash floods, expands green spaces, enhances streetscapes, and creates a climate-resilient ecosystem for Khon Kaen City! 🌳💧
🏆 Awards & Recognition
This brilliant concept was created by students from the College of Local Administration (COLA), Khon Kaen University, participating in the Urban-Act: Reimagine Spongy Khon Kaen Hackathon (Organized by GIZ Thailand & KKU).
Representing Team "Tua Raeng", they successfully swept 2 Major Awards:
🥇 Technical Feasibility Award
⭐ Popular Vote Award
Congratulations to the 5 Student Innovators:
🔹 Phuri Arunyapoom
🔹 Kantarot Sanitnuan
🔹 Thanitcha Ratcharoenpinyo
🔹 Chanapa Deejamala
🔹 Thinnapat Hongklang