Take a walk through Bangkok's last remaining slum - which is being earmarked for gentrification. <br /><br />The Klong Toey slum in the heart of Thai capital is home to more than 100,000 poverty-stricken Thais. Situated alongside a canal, the disease-ridden area is known for its high levels of crime. But despite that, it has become a ''photographer's dream'' and many foreign visitors to the country enjoy walking through the filthy streets to capture the deprived underclass of natives going about their everyday lives. <br /><br />Footage taken on May 15 shows shocking levels of plastic pollution, loose chickens, children playing on disused railway tracks and a young girl dumping her rubbish in an open street. <br /><br />The slum has been opened since 1989 but has become a contentious political issue, with the area being plagued by crime and regular fires among the areas wooden homes. <br /><br />The Port Authority of Thailand (PAT) has now announced plans to build a sprawling shopping mall and real-estate project on 355 acres of land in the area. <br /><br />PAT director-general Kamolsak Promprayoon said: ''It will be something like the new Iconsiam mall. The format will basically be a large business city with the goal of becoming a new landmark and tourism centre in the capital that offers convenient.'' <br /><br />Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who paid a visit to Klong Toey last week, stressed the importance of speeding up a 7.5-billion-baht "Smart Community" project.<br /><br />This will see about 12,500 families who are illegally occupying the densely populated area near the port evicted, Mr Kamolsak said. <br /><br />The developments, which will start in the coming months, will see a rapid development of Bangkok's last remaining slum and an end to the area much visited by travel photographers looking for gritty real-life shots.
