FUTURE ASIAN CITIES – CITIZEN URBAN SCIENCE: POLICY AND

PRACTICE

DRAFT REPORT

Provision of Resident Survey on Citizen Well-Being

in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
November 2021

CKS RESEARCH TEAM

PHUN Veng Kheang, Lead Researcher

YEN Yat, Senior Research Associate
CHAM Soeun, Senior Research Associate
SO Dane, Data Analyst
CHHUN Channak, Field Manager
Gabriel FAUVEAUD, International Research Advisor
NGO Natharoun, Research Team Advisor
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This is a report of fieldwork undertaken by the research team of the Center for Khmer Studies (CKS)
in Phnom Penh, for the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities (LKYCIC researchers) at the
Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).

The authors would like to thank SUTD and CKS colleagues for supporting the preparation and
implementation of the fieldwork activities.

We wish to express our sincere gratitude to the Phnom Penh Capital Administration and relevant
authorities in each khan for providing us permission to conduct both pilot and interview surveys
with citizens falling under their jurisdiction.

We are also grateful to research team members, site supervisors, and enumerators for their kind
support and efforts in the successful completion of the field survey, despite the health risks
stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. This report would not have been possible without them.

All photographs were taken by the survey team and are copyright of SUTD.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Future asian cities – citizen urban science: policy and practice 1

CKS Research Team 1

Acknowledgements 2

Table of Contents 3

List of Figures 6

List of Tables 7

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SURVEY 9

About the Survey 9

Survey Timeline 9

Survey Activities 10

Findings 10

STATE OF THE ART 17

PART A: SURVEY DESIGN 19

1. Introduction 19

1.1 Background and Objective 19

1.2 Definition of Key Terminologies 19

Neighborhood 19

Well-being 21

Sharing economy 21

Ride-Hailing Apps 22

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 Citizen Science 22

1.3 Scope of Work 23

PART B: SURVEY DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 24

2. Survey Design and Sampling Methodology 24

2.1 Design and Description 24

2.2 Sample & Sampling Techniques 26

2.2.1 Sampling 26

2.2.2 Piloting 28

2.3 Operational Survey Deployment Plans and Execution 30

2.4 Scheduling 32

3. Data collection process and management 33

3.1 Data Collection and Survey Management 33

3.2 Accuracy and Verification Process 34

3.3 Data Analysis 34

3.4 Strengths and Weaknesses of the Survey 35

PART C: FINDINGS 38

4. Key Demographic Information 38

4.1 Population & Geography 38

4.2 Profile of Respondents 39

5. Findings 40

5.1 Section B: Living in Your Neighborhood 40

5.1.1 Housing and neighborhoods 40

5.1.2 Your decision to live in your neighborhood 42

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 5.1.3 People in your neighborhood and community 43

5.1.4 Neighborhood’s activities 44

5.1.5 Social media 46

5.1.6 Your opinions on livelihood and resources 49

5.1.7 Livelihoods, Resources and Infrastructure 53

5.1.8 Your experience during the COVID-19 pandemic 56

5.1.9 Health Literacy 57

5.1.10 Traffic Challenges and Risks 59

5.1.11 Sharing Economy 63

5.1.12 Online commerce services 64

5.1.13 Ride-Hailing 2020 68

5.1.14 Experience in Ride-hailing service (RHS) 69

5.1.15 Government Services 2020 72

5.2 Section D: Urbanization 73

5.3 Section E: Challenges in Neighborhood 81

5.3.1 Opinions related to Challenges in Neighborhoods 81

5.3.2 The most important challenges in your neighborhood to be improved 84

5.3.3 Opinions about authorities 85

REFERENCES 87

APPENDIX 90

A1. OFFICIAL CONSENT LETTER TO CONDUCT THE INTERVIEW SURVEY 90

A2. TRAINING AND PILOT SURVEY ACTIVITIES 98

A3. FIELD SURVEY ACTIVITIES 101

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A4. Questionnaire Survey [SUTD to add this questionnaire] 104

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Selected neighborhood for SUTD 25

Figure 2. Clockwise from top-left, selected Phums within Site 1, Site 2, Site 4, and Site 3 29

Figure 3. It is easy to find housing with an affordable price within neighborhoods 42

Figure 4. My neighbors and I are vulnerable to forced eviction because we do not have legal
ownership to properties 42

Figure 5. This neighborhood has many migrants living here 44

Figure 6. The social activities in the neighborhoods 45

Figure 7. The social media usage in the selected Khans 48

Figure 8. Social media allows me to discover and connect with like-minded individuals, groups or
business in my community 49

Figure 9. My neighborhood has good recreational/leisure facilities 50

Figure 10. This neighborhood has an effective (1) sanitary system, and (2) waste management
system 51

Figure 11. This neighborhood has adequate road and parking facilities 53

Figure 12. Preferred measures and perceived efficiency against Covid-19 57

Figure 13. Ride-hailing technology here helps me to have a better life compared to the one I had in
the past 70

Figure 14. Ride-hailing services are important for me to access urban services and amenities 70
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Figure 15. I wish to participate more actively in urban development policies in the city 75

Figure 16. The reasons why people liked Phnom Penh 79

Figure 17. The reasons why people liked their neighborhoods 80

Figure 18. Who are considered as Phnom Penhers? 81

Figure 19. Challenges in neighborhoods: (1) Flooding, (2) Traffic congestion, (3) Crime and

(4) Drugs 83

Figure 20. The prioritized areas that require improvement in neighborhoods 85

Figure 21. The person to contact when there is a problem 86

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SELECTED NEIGHBORHOODS IN PHNOM PENH 25

Table 2. THE THRESHOLD VALUES OF CONFIDENCE INTERVAL, Z-SCORE AND MARGIN OF ERROR 26

Table 3. THE PROJECTED SAMPLE SIZE 27

Table 4. THE SELECTED SAMPLE SIZE BY AGE GROUP AND GENDER 27

Table 5. SUGGESTED SAMPLE FROM EACH SELECTED PHUM OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS 31

Table 6. PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS BY GENDER AND KHAN (N = 1096) 38

Table 7. TRAVEL TIME BY FOOT TO THE NEAREST PUBLIC TRANSPORT POINT FROM THE HOUSE 54

Table 8. LOCAL RESIDENTS’ OPINION ON INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS 55

Table 9. LOCAL RESIDENTS WHO USE THE INTERNET FOR HEALTH-RELATED INFORMATION 58

Table 10. OPINION OF LOCAL RESIDENTS OF USING THE INTERNET FOR HEALTH INFORMATION 59

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Table 11. SUMMARY OF RESPONSES RELATED TO TRAFFIC CHALLENGES AND RISKS 61

Table 12. TYPES OF SHARING ECONOMY SERVICES IN 2020, USED BY CITIZENS (N = 1265
OBSERVATIONS) 64

Table 13. NUMBER OF CITIZENS USING EACH SHARING ECONOMY SERVICE IN 2020 IN EACH SURVEY
LOCATION 64

Table 14. PROPORTION OF EACH SERVICE FOR ONLINE COMMERCE SERVICES (N = 413) 67

Table 15. PROPORTION OF EACH SERVICE ITEM FOR RIDE-HAILING (N = 227) 68

Table 16. PROPORTION OF RESPONDENTS FOR THEIR EXPERIENCES WITH RHS (N = 1096) 71

Table 17. MULTIPLE ANSWER TO B.K.28, REASONS WHY THEY FELT SAFER WITH RHS (N = 1426) 71

Table 18. TRANSPORT MODES (LEFT) AND WORKING HOURS (RIGHT) THAT RESPONDENTS WORKS
WITH RHS (N = 49) 72

Table 19. CROSSTAB BY AGE GROUPS 76

Table 20. THE CROSSTAB ANALYSIS BY GENDERS 77

Table 21. CROSSTAB BY TYPES OF EMPLOYMENT 78

Table 22. THE PEOPLE’S OPINIONS ON THE CHALLENGES IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS 82

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 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SURVEY

ABOUT THE SURVEY

This survey project, entitled “Provision of Resident Survey on Citizen Well-Being in Phnom Penh,
Cambodia”, was conducted as part of the study “Future Asian Cities – Citizen Urban Science: Policy
and Practice”, from September 2020 to February 2021. The survey focuses on residents’ perceptions
of key challenges in their cities; their engagement with urban technologies; and how and why they
might be encouraged to take an active involvement in urban developmental processes.

SURVEY TIMELINE

Below is a timeline of survey highlights:

▪ August 27, 2020: CKS submitted the request letter to conduct a field interview survey in
Phnom Penh to The Phnom Penh Capital Hall (PPCH). On October 27, 2020, the CKS research
team was asked to join a discussion with PPCH to clarify the survey activities. On November
24, 2020, CKS received the permission letter from the PPCH.

▪ In September 2020, training and a pilot test survey were conducted. On January 30, 2021, a
second pilot test and review was conducted.

▪ From February 1-22, a field interview survey was conducted.

▪ On February 20, the COVID-19 situation became critical following a widespread community
outbreak event. Fortunately the field survey activities were completed before this event,
because shortly afterwards several travel restrictions, such as curfews, Khan-level travel
restrictions and a colored zone system were applied.

▪ After February 2021, the survey team worked on data cleaning, analysis, and report drafting.

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SURVEY ACTIVITIES

● Data collection consisted of face-to-face interview surveys, conducted through an off-line

data collection application using a questionnaire uploaded to smartphones and tablets.

● Pilot testing was conducted by the field surveyor team with 32 citizens in targeted survey
locations.

● The main field survey occurred between February 1-22, 2021. The survey team completed
interviews with 1,096 respondents, of which 1,096 were usable for further analyses.

FINDINGS

The following highlights the preliminary findings from the survey:

● Demographic information—the study disaggregated demographic data of the 1096

participants by gender and location (Khan).

o For gender, about 53.7% respondents were men, while 46.3% were women.

o Further disaggregated by geography, with percentages given out of the total number
of respondents: Khan Chamkar Mon contained 14.8% and 10% of the men and
women, respectively; Khan Dangkao, 12.2% and 12.7%; Khan Russey Keo, 11.86% and
13.05%; and Khan Saensokh, 14.8% and 10.6%.

● Housing and neighborhoods—47.7% of respondents said they could find housing at an

affordable price in their neighborhoods, while 47.0% said that it was hard for them to find
housing at an affordable price.

● Deciding which neighborhood to live in—Most respondents felt positive about the decision
to live in their neighborhoods. 50.1% of respondents decided to live in their neighborhoods
because they had family there, while 39.4% said that living in their neighborhoods provided
them an opportunity to make a living.

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● People in your neighborhood and community—64.6% of the respondents knew their
neighbors, and 62% had friends living in the same neighborhood. Additionally, 71.4% of the
respondents reported that it was easy for them to meet their neighbors in their
neighborhoods.

o Notably, 68.7% of the respondents noticed that there were many new people
(migrants) living in their neighborhoods, particularly in Dangkao and Saensokh.

o Also of note, although many respondents noticed migrants were living in their
neighborhoods, 93% of respondents said they did not mind living with people from
different origins.

o Furthermore, about 72.2% of the respondents acknowledged the important roles of

migrants in the socio-cultural richness of their neighborhoods.

● Neighborhood’s activities—The most popular activities taking place in neighborhoods were

weddings (75.1%), funerals (58.5%), birthdays (54.6%), religious festivals (39.5%), and
housewarming parties (35.2%). Some of the activities took place at least two to three times
per year, while others took place two to three times per month. Saensokh and Russey Keo
celebrated such social activities more often than other Khans did.

● Social Media— 93.7% of the respondents had a mobile phone. Questions were asked to
respondents about whether they connected their mobile phone(s) to the internet and social
media, e.g, Facebook, Telegram, Twitter, and WhatsApp.

o 75.2% of respondents said they connected their mobile phones to at least one social
media service.

o Facebook was most popular, used by 73.5% of respondents, followed by Telegram at

34.4% and Line at 9.4%.

o About 71.7% of the respondents used social media to communicate with their family
and friends.

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 o 66.1% used social media to keep themselves informed about social issues/news.
However, not many users (33.8%) used social media to find study materials or job
openings, and even fewer people (15.5%) used the internet to search for health-
related information.

● Opinions on livelihood and resources—About 71.71% of the respondents reported their

neighborhoods did not have many recreational and leisure facilities.

o 62.6% of people indicated that there were shops where they could find basic
products at a reasonable price in their neighborhoods. Chamkar Mon and Dangkao
had the most accessibility to such shops.

o 57.9% also said that healthcare facilities in their neighborhoods were of good quality.

o In terms of sanitation, respondents in Chamkar Mon reported a more effective

sanitary system than other selected Khans.

● Experience during the COVID-19 pandemic– 98.6% of respondents reported wearing a mask,
93.2% reporting washing hands with hand sanitizer, and 59.4% practiced social distancing.

o Additionally, more than 99% of respondents had recommended that their family
members, friends, and relatives protect themselves from the virus by wearing a mask.

o 72.5% of respondents said that staying home had a significant impact on their
livelihood. Furthermore, about 41.7% expressed that they still could not adapt to
working from home due to several issues.

● Urbanization—89.2% of respondents wanted to contribute to the development policies of

their city and 90.1% expressed a strong interest in participating in the development policies
of the city.

● Challenges and how they are addressed by public actors in your neighborhood— Traffic
congestion (21.3%) was reported as the most common challenge that respondents faced

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 every day, followed by noise pollution (7.1%), bad smells (5.8%), drugs (3.5%), and air
pollution (3.4%).

o 41.5% of respondents said crime happened one to two times per year in their
neighborhoods. 36.6% said traffic accidents also happened one to two times per year,
while 29.2% said flooding occurred at about the same rate.

● The most important challenges in your neighborhood to be improved (opinions about

authorities)—About 93.8% of the respondents reported knowing who to contact when they
had problems and about 80.8% of them said that local authorities responded to the
challenges quickly.

o Many people (86.4%) reported that the authorities knew the challenges and they
tried to solve them accordingly. When people faced problems, about 87.1% said they
would choose to contact local authorities and 67.2% would contact police for help.

● Regarding livelihood, resources, and infrastructure in the neighborhood— The majority of

respondents (63.9%) reported that public transport points were located within a 30-minute
walk of their neighborhood. This suggests that the accessibility and coverage of the public
transport services in Phnom Penh has progressed considerably.

o Most respondents said their neighborhoods were acceptable and had good
recreational and leisure facilities, shops for necessary groceries and other materials
for daily uses.

o Interestingly, the majority of respondents did not report that their neighborhoods
were expensive places to live. The cost of living for residents was largely considered
to be reasonable.

o Sanitation and waste management systems were better and improved, as the
majority of respondents reported that the systems were effective, but the rain-

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 water drainage system was reported as inadequate by respondents in the four
selected neighborhoods.

o The city bus and its affordability were rated good by people who had used them,
but they are not yet widely used. More people have a better understanding and
desired such services to be available in their neighborhoods. It was a good sign for
such public services implementation, even if not enjoyed yet by the majority, as it
marks a good start for the services, which could be considered to be expanded and
improved upon. However, the public transport services were inconvenient, thus,
the way of providing services should be strongly improved and more training should
be also considered to key persons providing these services—both drivers and client
services.

o Most respondents were not satisfied with existing green space, streetlights, and
sidewalks in their neighborhoods, and felt that existing facilities and spaces were
not adequate.

● Health literacy—Few respondents (15%) were had used the internet to access health
information in the past. The majority of these 15% of respondents believed that such
information was available on the internet and they also knew how to access it, so their
understanding and knowledge on the internet was at a sufficient level to access these
services.

● Traffic safety experiences—Approximately one-third of respondents reported that they or

someone living with them had required medical attention after being involved in a road
traffic accident.

o Most traffic accidents were reported to occur on motorcycles (85.2%) and cars
(6.5%).

o The accidents were believed to be caused by speeding (36.4%), drivers’ behavior

(26.2%), and drunk driving (23.4%).
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 o Many respondents suggested that people should obey traffic signals (45.6%) and
not drink and drive (34.9%) in order to avoid traffic accidents.

● Sharing economy—Some respondents reported using online commerce (32.6%), ride-

hailing (21.9%), and government services (2.9%), while others said that they had never
used or known about any sharing economy services (42.5%). Among the four selected
neighborhoods, respondents living in Sangkat Dangkao, which is far from Phnom Penh’s
downtown, had the lowest rate of using a sharing economy service (11.9%). More than
91% of respondents who used sharing economy services paid using cash.

o For online commerce, the most popular online services used by respondents were
the FoodPanda, PassApp, and E-Gets apps. 19.4% of respondents used online
commerce service frequently (>3 times/week), and 37.8% reported good
satisfaction with these services.

o For ride-hailing services, the majority of respondents used PassApp (88.8%),

followed by Grab (9.8%). Most respondents rated having good satisfaction with
these services (53%), and the majority (77.6%) seldom used these services—3 times
or less per week.

o Only 37 out of 1,096 respondents (3.4%) reported using government services.

Among them, 73% used public bus services and had good satisfaction scores with
the bus services. Nearly all of them (78.38%) seldom used government services (3
times or less per week).

● Experiences with ride-hailing services (RHS)—The majority either agreed (44.3%) or

strongly agreed (18.3%) that RHS had helped them to have a better life.

o 43.3% of respondents rated either “agree” or “strongly agree” when asked if they
thought ride-hailing services were important for them to access urban services and
amenities.

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o Only some respondents (24.6%) said they have a familiar driver they can depend
on, on a regular basis.

o The majority of respondents (67.7%) felt safer when booking/traveling via an RHS
compared with traditional hailing. About half said this feeling of increased safety
was due to being able to review the driver’s information before the trip and having
the vehicle ID number appear in their booking history.

o Among the interviewed respondents, very few (4.5%) worked part-time/full-time as

an RHS driver. Of these drivers, most (73.5%) drove auto-rickshaws, including
Bajajs. Their working hours ranged from 25-40 hours/week (34.7%) to more than 40
hours per week (42.9%).

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 STATE OF THE ART
The issues of urban well-being remain poorly documented in Cambodia and Phnom Penh. They have
not been specifically addressed by the scientific literature or by governmental or non-governmental
organizations. During the 1990s in the wake of the post-Khmer Rouge urban reconstruction, the
scientific literature on urban studies in Cambodia focused mainly on the restart of urban
development initiatives during the Vietnamese era (Carrier, 2007) or after 1991 (Goldblum, 2012,
Goldblum et Blancot, 1994, Shatkin, 1998), the conservation of urban heritage sites (Fauveaud et
Esposito, 2020), and urbanization dynamics in general (APUR, 1997 ; 2003).

Between the end of the 1990s and the 2000s, the literature started to address larger issues related
to urban development in Phnom Penh such as urban informality (Clerc et Rachmuhl, 2008),
processes of urban evictions and exclusion due to redevelopment initiatives (Blot, 2014, Brickell,
2014, Simone, 2008, Springer, 2013), the fast transformation of urban life (Clément-Charpentier,
2008, Saphan, 2007), AND the evolution of the relation between inhabitants and their territory
(Pierdet, 2008).

From the mid-2000s onwards, scholars have been increasingly interested in the fast transformation
of urban production processes due to a boom of the construction business, the increase of foreign
investment, and an important real estate speculation. They investigated different aspects of this
boom, such as the local impacts of the construction boom of new private commercial real estate
projects in periurban areas (Fauveaud, 2015b), the multiplication of satellite cities (Percival et
Waley, 2012), and more recently the construction of condominium towers (Fauveaud, 2020, Nam,
2017).

The production of knowledge on Phnom Penh have evolved accordingly to the evolution of the
driving force of urban development processes. The construction boom and the acceleration of the
urban development have generated important economic, social, spatial, and political issues. The
growth of socio-economic disparities, evictions and bad housing, the growth of road congestion, the
lack of green spaces, or the need to set up a more sustainable urban development strategy are
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increasingly pressing issues in Phnom Penh. In this context, even though some works have
investigated the contemporary transformation of urban spaces and lifestyles (see Fauveaud, 2015a,
Saphan, 2007), no in-depth study has investigated the impact of such urban transformation on urban
lifestyles, and the well-being inhabitants, and on the emergence of new forms of urban citizenships.
The aim of THIS study is to partly fill this gap and to contribute to a better understanding of the ins
and outs of urban well-beingness in contemporary Phnom Penh.

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 PART A: SURVEY DESIGN

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background and Objective

The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) awarded the provision of survey services
to the Center for Khmer Studies (CKS) for a “Resident Survey on Citizen Well-Being in Phnom Penh”,
conducted as part of the study “Future Asian Cities – Citizen Urban Science: Policy and Practice” for
a period of 5 months. This survey focuses on residents’ perceptions of key challenges in their cities,
their engagement with urban technologies, and how and why they might be encouraged to take an
active involvement in the urban developmental processes.

1.2 Definition of Key Terminologies

Neighborhood

In the context of Phnom Penh, it can be difficult to define a “neighborhood”. A neighborhood may
refer to a location/place where people live with an exact physical boundary (e.g., Phum (village),
Sangkat (commune), Khan (district), or even Krong (city)), or it may refer to the state or quality of
being neighbors, with no exact physical territory boundary (e.g., a community, or other area for
living with an unspecified physical boundary).

When discussing with Phnom Penh City Hall (PPCH) to get approval letters for the survey, the deputy
governor was also curious about the definition of a “neighborhood” for citizens in Phnom Penh.
After discussion between researchers and PPCH, it was decided to not use the term “community”
as this term can refer to a group of people based on ethnic, familial, or other ties, not necessarily
linked to their spatial area.

For the survey, there were a series of discussions on the definition of a neighborhood and how the
enumerator should explain this to respondents.

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Dr. Gabriel Fauveaud, the survey advisor, has research experience in Phnom Penh and identified 3
major aspects of the notion of neighborhood:

1) Firstly, a neighborhood can be defined according to urban morphology and the built
environment (e.g. types of habitats, a block delimited by streets and public spaces). In Phnom
Penh for instance, a Borey1 can be considered as a neighborhood.

2) Secondly, a neighborhood may refer to the name given to a part of a city. Such a name
may refer to an official administrative territory (for instance, in the Khans of Chbar Ampov
or Tuol Kouk), or be an « informal name » given by city’s inhabitants to a specific area of the
city.

3) Thirdly, a neighborhood designates an area that is appropriate and lived by its inhabitants.
This « sense of appropriation » varies a lot, depending on how people are perceiving and
practicing their living space.

After discussion among the survey team, we chose to explain to the respondents that “a
neighborhood refers to the location/area/around where you are living in, without specifying a
physical boundary.” This was to minimize confusion for respondents and facilitate their answers to
questions in their living environments. In practice, the “neighborhood” in this report mainly refers
to the Sangkat level.

1 Borey is the local name given to gated or walled private housing communities in Cambodia.

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Well-being

Well-being is broad and is closely linked to health and quality of life. The World Health Organisation
(WHO) has clearly defined it as full physical, mental and social well-being2, while in economics it
refers to the well-being of individuals benefiting from their communities and societies. The quality
of life in economics often refers to income by individuals or by particular groups. Several specific
indicators are used to measure well-being outcomes, including standard of living, employment rate,
living environment, physical and mental health, education, recreation, and social engagement
locally. Well-being plays an important social role, especially in order to promote the health and well-
being of young people3. In this study, well-being was covered by three key elements—biological,
psychological, and social factors.

Sharing economy

The sharing economy builds on the rapid development of information and communication
technology to create an economic system that allows the exchange of goods and services via a digital
network that increases the efficiency of the transaction, at a defined cost or for free. Individuals
and/or groups of people can access, use and share physical assets (such as transportation vehicles
or accommodations), without necessarily owning them. In Phnom Penh, digital hospitality services
such as food delivery services using smart devices and digital platforms (e.g., FoodPanda, Nham24)
and ride-hailing services (e.g., PassApp, Grab) would be examples of the rapid expansion of the
sharing economy model within an urban setting over the past five years.

2 Sfeatcu, R., Cernuşcă-Miţariu, M., Ionescu, C., Roman, M., Cernuşcă-Miţariu, S., Coldea, L., & Burcea, C. C. (2014). The concept of wellbeing in
relation to health and quality of life. European Journal of Science and Theology, 10(4), 123-128.

3 C. Currie, C. Zanotti, A. Morgan, D. Currie, M. de Looze, C, Roberts, O. Samdal, O.R.F. Smith, V. Barnekov, Social determinants of health and well-
being among young people. Health behavior in school-aged children (HBSC) study: international report from the 2009/2010 survey, WHO Regional
Office for Europe, Copenhagen, 2012, 1-44.

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Ride-Hailing Apps

Ride-hailing apps (RHAs) describe booking rides and paying for car/taxi/paratransit services through
a smartphone app with a transportation network company (TNC), such as Grab or Uber. RHAs have
been developed as an online platform to connect customers and transport operators, facilitate their
matching, and allow them to communicate more efficiently. In Phnom Penh, transport services via
RHAs have started since 2016, and the most popular RHAs include PassApp and Grab4.

Citizen Science

The definition of “citizen science” depends on the political, scientific, and societal contexts5.
Politically, citizen science refers the knowledge and understanding of people on how policies are
made and implemented, linking the impacts of the policies to the needs of the local citizens and
neighborhood development. Societally, citizen science focuses on how people build social cohesion,
networking, community participation, socio-cultural practices, and inter-faith relations, so as to
form a harmonious neighborhood. Scientifically, citizen science is defined as the knowledge,
capacity, and know-how of the citizens to new sciences and technologies, such as using technology
to access health information or shopping, and to support neighbors and local communities to
overcome and answer the existing challenges within their neighborhoods and beyond6. In this study,
citizen science mainly focuses on how people use their knowledge, capacity, and resources to link
urban development with residents’ quality of life.

4 Phun et al. (2020). Utilization of Ride-hailing Services in Asian Developing Cities: Phnom Penh Case Study. Techno-Sience Research Journal 8, 140-
149

5 Irwin, A. (2002). Citizen science: A study of people, expertise and sustainable development, Routledge.

6 Haklay, M. M., Dörler, D., Heigl, F., Manzoni, M., Hecker, S., & Vohland, K. (2021). What is
citizen science? The challenges of definition. The Science of Citizen Science, 13.

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1.3 Scope of Work

● The survey locations were limited to 4 Sangkats in 4 different Khans of Phnom Penh.

● Respondents from those 4 Sangkats were further limited to those aged from 18 years or
above, and those who were able to answer questions without any issues.

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 PART B: SURVEY DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

2. SURVEY DESIGN AND SAMPLING METHODOLOGY

2.1 Design and Description

The study was conducted in Phnom Penh city, the capital of Cambodia. The city has a total land area
of 678 km2 divided into 14 Khans7, 105 Sangkats, and 953 Phums. In addition, the city is also
classified into four inner Khans and eight outer Khans (Figure 1). Four buffer-zones with 5km
intervals were created in order to facilitate the research team to select areas of focus. To ensure
geographical representation, this study selected at least one Sangkat within each buffer. However,
due to different numbers of Sangkats between the inner and outer Khans, three Sangkats were
selected in the first buffer (5km) (Sangkat Toul Sangke was split into two Sangkats recently but is
treated as one neighborhood); one Sangkat was selected in the second buffer (10km); while the last
Sangkat was located in both the second and third buffers (10km & 15km). These Sangkats were
carefully selected based on their characteristics, such as the density of population, socio-economic
statuses, and location.

Figure 1 shows the particular Sangkats and buffers selected in this study. Characteristics of those
selected Sangkats were based on the Cambodian Socio-Economic Survey 2017, and this data was
used as the main criteria for selection. These selections respond to the recent development and
expansion of Phnom Penh, and this expansion will be increasingly important for follow-up studies
or similar studies in the future, as Phnom Penh is likely to continue its rapid expansion in the near

7 Royal Government of Cambodia (2020). General Population Census of the Kingdom of Cambodia 2019, National Report on Final
Census Results, National Institute of Statistics, Ministry of Planning (p. 177).

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 Figure 1. Selected neighborhood for SUTD
future. In combination with the figure above, the table below (Table 1) also shows the specific
characteristics of the selected Sangkats, which serve as neighborhoods for this study. Selection of
these Sangkats was based on their diversity in terms of geographic location (northern, southern,
eastern and western) and livelihood measures (two mid-high income, two low-mid income). In
Phnom Penh, a general rule is that neighborhoods closer to downtown have better livelihoods.

Table 1. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SELECTED NEIGHBORHOODS IN PHNOM PENH

Location Sangkat
No. Sangkat Khan Income Level
N/S/W/E Population (2017)

1 Boeng Trabaek Chamkar Mon Downtown, Center Mid-High 6,769

2 Tuol Sangkae Russey Keo Downtown, North Mid-High 93,957

3 Krang Thnong Saensokh Suburban, West Low-Mid 12,572

4 Dangkao Dangkao Suburban, East Low-Mid 25,610

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2.2 Sample & Sampling Techniques

2.2.1 Sampling

The study team selected the samples based on the respondents’ availability and willingness to
participate in the survey. Meanwhile, we applied the requirements set by SUTD in terms of gender
proportion and age restriction (>18 years old). We also tried to diversify the characteristics of the
samples. There was no restriction on respondents regarding their social backgrounds, such as level
of income, occupation, residence, ethnicity, or level of education. The study was committed to
achieving equality in general participation among men and women, while age groups were
targeted to be proportional to the total population of each age group (details can be seen below in
Table 4). The overall sample size was calculated based on the following formula:
𝑧2×𝜌(1−𝜌)
𝜖2
Sample size 𝑛= 𝑧2×𝜌(1−𝜌)
1+( )
𝜖2 ×𝑁

Where, n= a number of samples to be selected, N= a number of total targeted respondents in the study
area, z-score is the number of standard deviations, p is population proportion, and e is the margin of
error8.

Table 2. THE THRESHOLD VALUES OF CONFIDENCE INTERVAL , Z-SCORE AND MARGIN OF ERROR
Confidence Interval e Z-score

99% 0.01 2.58

95% 0.05 1.96

90% 0.1 1.65

85% 0.15 1.44

8 Slovin, E. (1960). Slovin's formula for sampling technique. Retrieved on February, 13, 2013.

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Based on the results of this calculation, of the total number of respondents to be selected to have a
confidence interval level of 95% and a margin of error of 3% was 1,067 samples (Table 3). The sample
of 1,067 was also broken down further into age groups, as shown in Table 4.

Table 3. THE PROJECTED SAMPLE SIZE

Confidence interval 95%

Population
0.5
proportion (p)

Marginal error 0.03

Population size 1837954

Alpha divided by 2 0.005

Z-score 1.96

Sample size 1067

Gender was relatively equal, with a less than 10% difference between men and women (details of
this breakdown can be found at subsection a, section 4, Table 6).

Table 4. THE SELECTED SAMPLE SIZE BY AGE GROUP AND GENDER

Selected Respondents by age groups Selected respondents by gender
Age group
No. population % Total number Female Male

21-34 558,000 52.4 521 261 260

35-54 388,000 36.4 421 210 211

55 or above 72,000 6.8 125 63 62

Total 1,018,000 95.6 1067 534 533

Note: The population whose age is below 21 was excluded from this table.

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The above sampling methodology was implemented during the field testing period, during which
the team was also communicating regularly with SUTD to update key factors involved in this
study. Readjustments were made as necessary during this field testing period to achieve the key
proportions shown above in Table 4. Figure 2 below shows the specific locations selected from
each neighborhood. These locations were selected to ensure a diversity of participants and to
meet other criteria, using the combined knowledge of the main researchers with some
verifications from existing documents and nationally available quantitative data.

The sampling was focused on how to select respondents from each selected Phum of each
neighborhood, or Sangkat. The details can be seen below (Table 5). Each Phum had an average of
68 respondents, and field team members were supported by a supervisor and field manager and
had regular contact with the Phum chief or assigned government persons at the Phum level to
help achieve accurate sampling. With support from them, Phum officials accompanied the
enumerators to each selected household through non-random sampling techniques—purposive
techniques were applied in sample selection and recruitment. These sampling techniques were
discussed and agreed upon by both researchers and the SUTD team.

2.2.2 Piloting

The piloting phase was conducted twice in order to strengthen the level of understanding of the
questionnaire by the field team in the selected sites, and to sharpen the questionnaire with more
close-ended questions and minimizing open-ended questions. The first pilot was conducted after
a two-day training in September 2020. Pre-testing was down in four neighborhoods. Two from
the study’s selected neighborhoods, Dangkao and Krang Thnong (where piloting was possible
without official notification from Phnom Penh authorities), and two others in Boeung Kak I and
Krang Thnong (instead of Tuol Sangkae and Boeung Trabek, where officials needed notification
and permission from a supervisor first). This only applies to the first pre-test period.

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 Figure 2. Clockwise from top-left, selected Phums within Site 1, Site 2, Site 4, and Site 3

The first pilot involved each enumerator interviewing two respondents, and then discussing in
small groups to share challenges and lessons learnt from this piloting. The results of the pilot were
then shared with data specialists through the field manager, who then updated the tools. Revised
survey tools were then submitted to SUTD for further review and consideration, and this feedback
was incorporated into the final tools that were uploaded to smartphones and tablets for
fieldwork.

After this first pilot, the field team waited for an approval letter from the Phnom Penh governor.
Due to this wait, the second pilot was conducted with permission and just a few days before the
actual fieldwork was set to start. The main purpose of the second pilot was to ensure uniform
understanding among enumerators.

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After the second pilot near the end of January 2021, the government officially allowed for all
formal and informal businesses to open again, and it was then that the main fieldwork was
conducted with existing enumerators and supervisors.

2.3 Operational Survey Deployment Plans and Execution

The original plan was to have four separate groups, with each groups covering one selected
neighborhood. However, due to Covid-19, only two groups remained intact as some group
members had other priorities or duties. After discussing with the lead group and consulting with
CKS, it was decided that using existing members would be more efficient than recruiting new
members, thus the two groups were in the end each responsible for two neighborhoods.
Originally there were a total of 21 members of the field survey team: 1 field manager, 4
supervisors, and 16 enumerators. After the first pilot test in September 2020, and after receiving
the permission letter from PPCH, main field survey activities were resumed in February 2021. The
survey team was reformed on January 30, 2021, and they were briefed on updated questionnaire
items as well plans to do a second pilot test. Due to this 5-month waiting period, only 14 members
(1 field manager, 3 supervisors, and 10 enumerators), who were previously trained and
conducted pilot survey activities were available for the main field survey from February 1-22,
2021. Thus, the duration for field survey activities was extended to ensure the team could obtain
the desired sample size.

Within each Sangkat (neighborhood), four Phums were selected for sampling. The explanation of
selection is explained in the above section (Figures 1 and 2). The Phums highlighted in yellow
below (Table 5) were the primary Phums to be selected for this study. It is worth noting that the
interview period overlapped with Chinese New Year holidays, which are quite popular in
Cambodia, so some residents were absent during the interview period. In cases where the
primary Phum did not yield enough survey respondents, nearby Phum(s) were additionally
selected to achieve the suggested sample size of 68.

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 Table 5. SUGGESTED SAMPLE FROM EACH SELECTED PHUM OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS
Site 1

Phum code City Khan Sangkat Phum Total family Male Female # Samples

12011101 Phum 1 137 338 351 68

12011102 Phum 2 187 492 459 68

12011103 Phum 3 94 280 273 68

12011104 Phnom Chamk Boeung Phum 4 132 290 315

12011105 Penh armon Trabek Phum 5 164 344 362 68

12011106 Phum 6 317 604 654

12011107 Phum 7 159 422 379

12011108 Phum 8 255 589 617

Total 1445 3359 3419 272

Site 2

Total
Phum code City Khan Sangkat Phum Male Female # Samples
family

12071301 Phsar Toch 1266 3619 3515

12071302 Tuol Sangke 3443 5900 7275 68

12071303 Tuol Tuol Kok 1147 2170 2408

Sangkae
12071304 1 Chong Khsach 4285 5870 8982 68

12071305 Bak Touk 4876 5908 9337

12071306 Phnom Russey Tuol Sampov 873 2083 2287

12071401 Penh Keo Kongkea Phos 746 3186 3206

12071402 Koh Andat 375 1723 1727

12071403 Tuol Pong Peav 505 917 977 68

Sangkae
12071404 2 Boeung Rang 167 403 378

12071405 Tuol Porpae 219 522 499 68

12071406 Tuol Thgan 530 1397 1238

Total 18432 33698 41827 272

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Site 3

Kha Total #
Phum code City Sangkat Phum Male Female
n family Samples

12080701 Krang Angkrang 1829 2956 3247 68

12080702 Trapeang Mean 143 366 359

12080703 Cheang Tong 131 304 303 68

12080704 Phnom Saen Krang Tranhang Cheung Srok 238 550 536

12080705 Penh sokh Thnong Prey Khla 211 355 447 68

12080706 Samraong Teav 195 409 410

12080707 Prey Mul 156 334 412

12080708 Vimean Trong 446 793 791 68

Total 3349 6067 6505 272

Site 4

Phum
City Khan Sangkat Phum Total family Male Female # Samples
code

12050101 Dangkao 878 1807 1860 68

12050102 Baku 482 733 968

12050103 Phnom Sambour 1312 2843 3010

Dangkao Dangkao
12050104 Penh Ta Lei 785 1593 1640 68

12050105 Mol 1355 3216 3208 68

12050106 Khva 1220 2258 2474 68

Total 6032 12450 13160 272

2.4 Scheduling

The first fieldwork team mobilization was in September 2020 and the training was conducted over
two days, as well as a one-day pilot that was conducted the day after the training period. As the

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approval letter from the Phnom Penh governor was still being processed, the team conducted
two questionnaires after verbally informing local authorities.

After that, the fieldwork team waited for official approval from PPCH, as this was strictly
demanded by the authorities of selected Sangkats. After getting an approval letter from the
Phnom Penh governor, the first community spread of Covid-19 in Cambodia occurred, starting on
20 November 2020. Due to this development, everyone was strongly suggested to avoid travel
and face-to-face contact, so the fieldwork was delayed for a second time.

The fieldwork started on 1 February 2021 and went through 21 February 2021, and achieved
1,096 samples, which was higher than originally required.

3. DATA COLLECTION PROCESS AND MANAGEMENT

3.1 Data Collection and Survey Management

Each day, enumerators worked with supervisors and field managers to update the interviewed
number of respondents. To meet scheduling and quality demands, an average of five respondents
needed to be interviewed daily by each enumerator. Some days had more or fewer than five
respondents, and such cases were the subject of discussion among team members and
supervisors, unless something very unusual had to be reported to the upper levels of the team
for further consultation.

Each enumerator was allocated an equal number of respondents to achieve. The supervisor
closely monitored and supported as needed, and further issues were reported up to the team
leader for further consideration. A daily review was conducted using data uploaded to the ODK
cloud. The cloud was accessible by both leading persons in Cambodia and the SUTD team
remotely from Singapore. Thus, there was real-time interaction and discussion among the
Cambodia and Singapore teams.

The data collection was conducted through offline data collection applications uploaded to
smartphones and tablets. A number of versions were uploaded and updated regularly prior to

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finalizing the questionnaire. The final version was updated and uploaded one day before
fieldwork started. Interviews were stored locally on enumerators’ smartphones or tablets, and
while supervisors could request for random checks throughout the day, at the end of each day all
the completed interviews were also submitted to the cloud. The ability to conduct interviews
offline was much appreciated by the survey team in the context of Cambodia, and it was
convenient to only need internet connection when submitting the interviews at the end of the
day.

In order to promote participation from target respondents, enumerators were suggested to ask
to get permission from the local authorities at the selected Sangkats and consent agreed by
respondents before any study could be conducted.

3.2 Accuracy and Verification Process

At least three layers of verification were applied throughout the entire data collection period.
Firstly, enumerators peer-reviewed results, and secondly, supervisors reviewed results. These
first two layers were conducted before synchronization and submission of the data to the cloud.
The third layer of verification was conducted by the field manager on a daily basis, particularly at
the end of each day, in which daily generation and random checks were conducted. This stage
was mostly focused on verifying outlier answers and respondents.

Other layers of verification included main researchers in Cambodia, as they could also access the
ODK as users, enabling them to access the database and generate it for further verification. The
last layer of verification was by SUTD in Singapore, as username and passwords for ODK were also
shared. In total, these five layers of verification and quality control, and the ability for each to give
input and comments in real-time (or within the fieldwork period), ensured the high accuracy of
the survey data.

3.3 Data Analysis

The descriptive statistical analyses, such as residents’ daily activity and travel patterns,
perceptions of critical challenges in their neighborhoods and cities, and their involvement in
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urban developmental processes as well as any differences between neighborhoods in terms of
the patterns and connections, were preliminarily performed in IBM SPSS v.25.0. The data
specialist developed syntax for SPSS to control the flow of data processing to generate results
based on a dummy table and analytical framework. Data visualization and development of a
power infographic was built by using Power BI and GraphPad Prism 8.0, where necessary, but it
was optional only. The general requirement from SUTD was simple, and for general patterns and
general opinions of the ground practices. Thus, there was no demand for complicated statistical
analyses, and the team primarily focused on more contextual, interesting avenues for further
research and general statistical analysis.

3.4 Strengths and Weaknesses of the Survey

The study broadly followed scientific and internationally accepted methodologies, including:

● Total samples were calculated based on a formula widely used in social sciences research,
including throughout academia.

● The questionnaire was standardized with local adaptation, allowing for collected data to
be widely used and explored further in the future.

● The team consisted of experienced persons, including the main researchers and fieldwork
members. Detailed discussions were also organized and implemented before fieldwork
started to ensure common understanding, contributing to the high quality of collected
data from the selected neighborhoods in Phnom Penh.

● Multiple layers of quality control on the data were enforced to ensure the quality of
collected data, including real-time quality control checking that was shared directly with
the fieldwork team.

● The data was digitally collected through offline data collection, and some general trends
were able to be detected within the data collection period, which was helpful to main

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 researchers and the SUTD team in order to update and make decisions quickly to ensure
the alignment of data with the objectives of the study at the regional level.

● Active support and engagement from authorities in Phnom Penh, particularly at the Phum
level, was crucial for the success of the research project. Their presence with fieldwork
team members allowed for greater achievement of goals and allowed fieldwork members
to feel more comfortable in interviewing and in their personal safety.

Some challenges were also encountered during the period of fieldwork, including:

● Some respondents could only acknowledge the challenges within their family, but not in
their neighborhood. To address this, enumerators, with support from Phum authorities
and supervisors, repeatedly explained and gave a number of examples to ensure that
respondents understood the nature of the questions correctly.

● Very few respondents (less than 5) were forcibly stopped by a family member from
answering, resulting in interference with the interview. As a result, the team then
excluded those samples. This was most likely to occur when respondents were dependent
persons in the family, in particular elderly and vulnerable groups. In addition, a few
respondents were concerned about the negative effect on them and their families
because of participation in the interview. As a result, they discontinued the interviews and
those samples were excluded.

● Some local residents aligned with political parties other than the Phum authorities’ party,
and some local residents were discomforted by the presence of Phum authorities with
enumerators. As a result, they declined participation in the interview and the fieldwork
team then followed this decision. The role of local authorities was to introduce survey
enumerators to local residents. Decisions to participate in the survey was left to residents,
who could freely decide. Local authority representatives never stayed during the interview
process.

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● Some respondents were engaged with other tasks and asked enumerators to return at a
later date. Enumerators often delayed these interviews by a day, until it could be
completed, but this made the interview’s date in the database unusual, raising initial
questions from lead researchers and the SUTD team. The explanation was then provided
accordingly.

● A few selected Phums in Sangkat Toul Sangke 1 were not safe for enumerators due to
illegal activities commonly practiced there (e.g. gambling, substance abuse). The
enumerators then consulted with Phum authorities and supervisors for further support
and accompanied them for personal safety reasons. Thus, a few samples were then also
excluded and skipped in the mid-way of the interview, due to the presence of local
authorities during the interview process.

● Some respondents were hesitant or concerned when enumerators asked for phone
numbers or permission to photograph respondents, even after enumerators explained the
reasons for such requests. These decisions were respected by enumerators. Based on the
researcher’s experience, Phnom Penh is an urban busy area in Cambodia, and many
respondents were concerned with their safety and other issues. The presence of Phum
authorities during the period to ask consent for interviews was necessary to ensure the
interviewee felt safe, otherwise, respondents would have immediately declined. Thus, the
team always requested the presence of Phum authorities for such support and
endorsement to build the trust with local residents.

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 PART C: FINDINGS

4. KEY DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

4.1 Population & Geography

The study grouped 1,096 people who participated in the survey by gender and location (Khan).
Based on gender, 53.74% were women and 46.26% were men. There was only a small difference
between the gender proportion of the survey and the commune database for the four Khans, where
women accounted for 51.69% and men accounted for 48.31%.

Table 6. PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS BY GENDER AND KHAN (N = 1096)

Gender proportion from Gender proportion from

survey commune database 2018

Khan Male (%) Female (%) Male (%) Female (%)

Saensokh 14.78 10.58 48.25% 51.75%

Dangkao 12.23 12.68 49.38% 50.62%

Russey Keo 11.86 13.05 45.82% 54.18%

Chamkar Mon 14.87 9.95 49.78% 50.22%

4 khans 46.26 53.74% 48.31% 51.69%

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4.2 Profile of Respondents

Out of the total 1,096 respondents, most were born in Phnom Penh (39.32%), Kandal (11.95%),
Prey Veng (10.77%), Kampong Cham (10.22%), and Takeo (7.57%), while 20.17% were born in
other parts of the country. Notably, 0.64% of the respondents were from overseas , while only
0.18% were from Stung Treng and 0.09% were from Preah Vihear. The majority (78.2%) of the
respondents were married. 99.09% of the respondents were Buddhist followers. 100% of the
respondents could speak Khmer, and some also spoke English (21.44%), Chinese (4.74%), and Thai
(2.37%). For education, about 29.28% of the respondents had studied at primary school, 30.93%
had studied at lower secondary school, 23.45% had studied at upper secondary school, and about
11.13% had studied at university. Surprisingly, 17.97% of the respondents were unemployed (a
much higher rate than official figures) and this, to some extent, could be a result of the impact of
COVID-19. 51.37% of respondents were self-employed, while 8.21% and 8.3% worked for the
government and private companies, respectively. The household income was not high, as 54.93%
earned less than USD 500 per month. Only 16.06% of the respondents earned more than USD
1,000 per month. Regarding property ownership, 64.14% lived in a landed house, 31.66% lived in
a flat, and 1.82% lived in Borey. More than 81% of the respondents confirmed that they did not
own another house in Phnom Penh or another province. At least 20.53% rented a room/house to
live in and 1.73% had a temporary stay in the city. Remarkably, about 93.7% of our respondents
owned a mobile phone for communication.

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5. FINDINGS

5.1 Section B: Living in Your Neighborhood

5.1.1 Housing and neighborhoods

The number of real estate properties in Phnom Penh has continued to rise in recent years. The
central Khans, such as Doun Penh, are Phnom Penh’s most expensive Khans. Land value in Doun
Penh ranges between US$4,000 to US$4,300 per square meter, according to the CBRE Cambodia
Market Overview 2016. The prices of condos range from US$21,500 for a basic, unfurnished one
room unit to US$520,000 for a fully furnished two-bedroom unit. The rental rates near market
areas are from US$150 a month and up to US$2,800 per month for a unit in Soriya Mall and Phsar
Kandal I, respectively. The rental rates for villas range from a 200-square-meter villa for $600 a
month all the way to US$25,000 a month for a high-end, 600-square meter villa. Flats and
shophouses for sale can start from US$29,500 and go up to US$2 million for a flat with four-
bedrooms and 4-bathrooms. Rental rates can vary by location and quality, ranging from US$90 to
thousands of US dollars per month.

The Khmer Real Estate realty company reported in 2019 that land prices increased in all Khans in
the city. Khan Saensokh had the fastest growing land prices (17.1%), followed by Khan Meanchey
(16%), Khan Dangkao (12.1%), Praek Pnov (10.1%), Russey Keo (9.6%), Chbar Ampov (9.3%), Tuol
Kouk (6.3%), Pur Senchey (5.5%), Prampir Meakkakra (2.9), Doun Penh(1.7%), and Chamkar Mon
(1%). As no public housing policy currently exists in Cambodia, the access to homeownership and
to the rental market, especially in central areas, is made more difficult by the fast-rising prices of
land and housing, which have grown consistently since the 2000s.

This study aimed to understand living conditions and housing prices in the selected
neighborhoods. Although some 47.72% of the respondents claimed they could find housing at an
affordable price in their neighborhoods, the other 46.99% said that it was hard for them to find
housing at an affordable price. Geographically, the people rated Chamkar Mon as the most
difficult to find affordable housing, whereas Saensokh was the easiest Khan to find housing at an

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affordable price (Figure 3). However, when asked about the maintenance of the housing,
respondents rated houses in Chamkar Mon as well maintained.

Moreover, about 68.06% of respondents said that their neighborhood still had vacant pieces of
land to develop and was not yet crowded. Additionally, some 75.46% felt that their
neighborhoods were safe even if they walked alone at night. However, one remarkable finding

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that this study found was that 13.87% of the respondents were worried about being forcibly
evicted from their current living area (Figure 4).

Figure 3. It is easy to find housing with an affordable price within neighborhoods

Figure 4. My neighbors and I are vulnerable to forced eviction because we do not have
legal ownership to properties

5.1.2 Your decision to live in your neighborhood

The survey revealed that 50.09% of the respondents decided to live in their neighborhoods
because they had family there, while 39.42% said that living in their neighborhoods could provide
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them an opportunity to make a living. Some other people reported that they moved to their
current neighborhood because of the security and price of the properties there. Only 10.22% and
6.48% of the respondents reported that they decided to live in their neighborhoods due to
livability or good services, respectively. Such results demonstrate that family ties remain a key
determinant of residential choices, which echoes earlier research on the subject (see Fauveaud,
2015). In this context, the maintenance and development of family ties appear to be important
determinants of the well-being of city residents. A widespread practice in the past has been for
urban families to share their living space with family members from rural areas over a short or
long period of time, due to the absence of affordable urban accommodations and the limited
resources of rural migrants (migrant refers to anyone living in a place they were not born in, and
for the purposes of this study that means people born in other countries, other provinces, or
other neighborhoods in Phnom Penh than the one they currently occupy). Sharing living space is
also seen as a traditional support system that allows, for example, youth to access better quality
education, or to allow family members to access work opportunities in the city. Over the past ten
years, with the development of new accommodation services, expansion of peri-urban areas
offering cheaper rents, and a changing urban culture that is becoming more Westernized, it would
be interesting to study the unfolding changes to this phenomenon that may occur in the coming
years.

5.1.3 People in your neighborhood and community

The majority of the respondents reported knowing people who lived in the same neighborhood
(i.e., village). Our study found that 64.60% of the respondents knew their neighbors and 61.96%
had friends living in the same neighborhood. As such, about 71.38% of the respondents said that
it was easy for them to meet neighbors in their neighborhoods. Meanwhile, about 68.71% of the
respondents noticed that there were many new people (migrants) living in their neighborhoods,
particularly in Dangkao and Saensokh (Figure 5). Russey Keo was not a destination for migrants.
Although respondents could not tell how many migrants were living in their neighborhood, many
of them knew and could identify specific migrant households. 92.97% of respondents did not

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mind living with people from different places. Furthermore, about 72.17% of the respondents
acknowledged the important roles of the migrants in the socio-cultural richness of their
neighborhoods. This finding emphasizes the need for all residents to share knowledge and
resources to contribute to the economic development of their neighborhoods. These responses
show that multiculturalism is an important strength of the well-being of Phnom Penh residents.

Figure 5. This neighborhood has many migrants living here

5.1.4 Neighborhood’s activities

Cambodia has many socio-cultural festivals that are celebrated throughout the country and
throughout the year. The five most significant socio-cultural events are weddings, funerals,
birthdays, new house warmings, and Buddhist-related ceremonies.

According to our findings, popular activities residents reported taking place in their
neighborhoods were weddings (75.09% of respondents), funerals (58.49%), birthdays (54.56%),
religious festivals (39.51%), and housewarming parties (35.22%) (Figure 6). Some of the activities,
e.g., religious events and funerals, took place at least 2-3 times per year, while some others, e.g.
wedding and birthday parties, took place 2-3 times every month. It was noticed that Saensokh
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and Russey Keo celebrated such social activities more often than other Khans. More than 89% of
the respondents said that they knew about these events through invitation, while a few others
knew through word of mouth.

Figure 6. The social activities in the neighborhoods

The majority (81.2%) of the respondents reported attending activities organized in their
neighborhoods. Three main reasons to attend the events were because (1) they were invited, (2)
they wanted to keep a good relationship, and (3) they were friends/relatives. Such results show,
once again, the large extent to which family-related activities are important elements in the
construction of social dynamics at the neighborhood level. Other types of events, such as
neighborhood social events or collective initiatives around specific issues (e.g. cleaning up the
neighborhood, improving the infrastructure), are not customary in Cambodia. Other social
activities such as networking or developing a relationship with your neighbors by inviting them
into your home for a meal or a drink is also not a common social practice. It is not part of
Cambodian cultural practice to do so.

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5.1.5 Social media

According to the 2019 demographic census, about 91.90% of the people in Cambodia owned a
mobile phone, whereas in Phnom Penh 96.40% of the total population had a mobile phone.
However, the report did not indicate clearly whether the mobile phone in the survey referred to
a normal mobile phone or smartphone.

In this section, the study aimed to know whether the respondents connected their mobile phone
to the internet and social media services, e.g., Facebook, Telegram, Twitter, and WhatsApp. Our
study found that 75.18% of the respondents said they connected their mobile phones to social
media. About 73.45% used Facebook, 34.38% used Telegram, and 9.39% used Line. (Figure 7).
Geographically, the rate of Facebook was relatively the same for Russey Keo and Saensokh,
whereas Telegram was used by the respondents in Chamkar Mon much more than in other Khans.
Only a few people used Twitter (1%) and Wechat (2.55%) in the selected neighborhoods.

About 71.72% of the respondents used social media to communicate with their family and friends,
and 66.05% of the respondents acknowledged that they also used social media to keep
themselves informed about social issues/news. However, not many users (33.76%) used social
media to find study materials or job openings, and it was even less (15.51%) for people who used
the internet to search for health-related information. However, this study did not explore deeply
whether the percentage of people who searched for health-related information increased or
decreased during the pandemic. Nevertheless, the rate was a bit higher (38.14%) for the
respondents who used social media to search for prices of daily necessities, such as food and
clothes. These results aligned with national studies and surveys independently conducted over
the past 10 years by international development organizations (such as The Asia Foundation,
UNDP, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung etc.) relating to the predominant use by the young population
of digital media as a tool to get information, share information, and influence opinion, with a
strong dominance of Facebook as the preferred medium. The survey figures show that there is
more diversity in terms of medium use (e.g. Facebook and Telegram) in neighborhoods that are
more central and more modern, which may reflect the younger age group with access to more
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income than in other neighborhoods. Social media use as a proxy to get information is explained
by the promptness of information being posted, a larger diversity of digital opinion, and a feeling
of more independence of views that are being expressed compared to more traditional and
official media outlets. The level of activity and relevance for social media users remains high,
despite a perceived decrease in the level of freedom of expression that has led to a recent
phenomenon of self-censorship, particularly following a series of arrests and repressive actions
over the past two years taken by state authorities against a number of youth activists, after those
activists posted critical public comments online. Because of the prominence of social media use
and its popularity, social media remains closely monitored by state actors at the national level.
An interesting aspect of social media use is its utilization for small digital entrepreneurs to reach
out to new customers segments while minimizing their marketing and customer acquisition costs,
and that phenomenon was amplified during the Covid-19 pandemic. From the supply side, small
businesses moved online to continue selling their products and services, and as a mitigation
measure to weather the impact of lockdowns and reduced business activities. From the demand
side, customers also increasingly used food delivery digital services as a means to cope with
restricted freedom of movements and/or to stay home in a protected and safe domestic bubble
(further data analysis by age groups can be extracted from the survey raw data and further
processed if required in the future).

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 Figure 7. The social media usage in the selected Khans
According to a study by Best. et al., (2014)9, social media could improve the well-being of
residents, particularly adolescents, by increasing social connection and improving social relations.
In this study, questions examined how residents appreciated the roles of social media in building
social relations. The study showed that the respondents, particularly those who lived in Russey
Keo and Saensokh, found that using social media allowed them to connect with like-minded
people who lived in their neighborhoods (Figure 8). Such connections provided them more
opportunities to attend social gatherings and events.

9 Best, P., et al. (2014). "Online communication, social media and adolescent wellbeing: A systematic narrative
review." Children and Youth Services Review 41: 27-36.

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Figure 8. Social media allows me to discover and connect with like-minded individuals, groups
or business in my community
5.1.6 Your opinions on livelihood and resources

The study explored how people evaluate their neighborhoods in terms of livability and resources.
About 71.71% of the respondents reported their neighborhoods did not have many recreational
and leisure facilities (parks, playgrounds, and exercise facilities), particularly in Saensokh and
Russey Keo (Figure 9). The lack of access to public spaces is an important issue in Phnom Penh.
The rapid growth of urban development over the last 30 years did not necessarily respond to the
requirements of the successive urban plans designed by the relevant authorities. As a result, the
urbanization of new areas, especially in the periphery, has not been accompanied by the provision
of new public parks, green spaces and public recreational areas. All the new green spaces
produced are now located in private residential areas and are reserved for the inhabitants who
live there. Moreover, recreational spaces are created on the initiative of private actors and are
therefore subject to payment. Improving the well-being of urban inhabitants will absolutely
require the creation of new, public green and recreational spaces that are accessible to all.

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However, 62.59% of people indicated that there were shops where they could find basic products
at a reasonable price in their neighborhoods. Chamkar Mon and Dangkao had the most
accessibility to such shops. Many people (57.94%) also said that healthcare facilities in their
neighborhoods were of good quality, and that healthcare services’ costs were offered at a
reasonable price. However, about 77.10% of the respondents, especially in Saensokh and Russey
Keo, noticed that the neighborhoods had become more expensive to live in due to an increase in
real estate prices.

Figure 9. My neighborhood has good recreational/leisure facilities

In terms of sanitation, Chamkar Mon had a more effective sanitary system than other selected
Khans, followed by Dangkao, indicating that these Khans likely made improvements to waste
management systems. Russey Keo had the poorest waste management among the four Khans
(Figure 10).

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 (1) (2)

Figure 10. This neighborhood has an effective (1) sanitary system, and (2) waste management
system
A recently released study on urban mobility in Phnom Penh indicated that roads in this capital
appear not to be well connected due to the low density of streets and intersections, especially in
the peripheral areas10. In addition to the disconnectedness of the road networks, public transport
options are under-provided. Prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, in 2019, the city could provide
only 13 lines of public buses running in the central Khans or along main roads. Only about 200
buses, donated by the Japanese and Chinese governments, were available to provide transport
services, and about 60% of the riders were able to ride for free (some groups such as students,
monks, and several others are able to ride for free). This deficiency in public transport encourages
people to choose private vehicles as a mode of transport in the city, making urban mobility in
Phnom Penh congested and dangerous due to traffic and collisions.

This study also touched upon the basic infrastructure in the selected neighborhoods to assess
how people thought of its availability and accessibility. Urban infrastructure remains insufficient
and does not ensure efficient connectivity to suburban areas. A report of UNDP on urban mobility
in Phnom Penh indicated that street networks in the peripheral areas were dispersed and
disconnected, noting urban mobility has become a key challenge between the city center and

10 Transforming Urban Mobility in Phnom Penh: Towards Inclusive and Equitable Urban Accessibility, 2021, p8-11.

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suburban areas. This leads people to choose private modes of transport, resulting in traffic
congestion and fatal accidents (UNDP, 2020).

Our study also found that the basic infrastructure in neighborhoods remained a key issue. For
example, 75.18% of the respondents indicated that their neighborhoods lacked roads and parking
facilities. Geographically, Dangkao and Saensokh were rated the lowest in terms of roads and
parking facilities (Figure 11). Some 70.91% of the respondents added that their neighborhoods,
particularly in Russey Keo, lacked enough footpaths for pedestrians to walk safely, while about
51.83% of the respondents also informed researchers that their neighborhoods lacked sufficient
street lighting. Interestingly, approximately 54.74% of the respondents, especially those who
lived in Chamkar Mon, could access public transport in their neighborhoods; however, about
45.35% lived at least 15 minutes walking distance away from the closest bus stop, and 18.52%
were at least 30 minutes away. Relatedly, 63.32% of the respondents wanted the government to
provide public transport services in their neighborhoods. These responses show the development
of public transport has been very successful in Phnom Penh, to the point of becoming a real need
for the inhabitants, which was not the case 10 years ago. They also show that people expect the
government to develop more of these services, and that people perceive municipal authorities as
a legitimate stakeholder to do so.

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 Figure 11. This neighborhood has adequate road and parking facilities

5.1.7 Livelihoods, Resources and Infrastructure

The majority of respondents (63.88%) said public transport points were located near their houses,
meaning they were within a 30-minute walk. Nearly half, or 45.35% (497), reported a public
transport point less than 15 minutes from their home, and another 18.53% (203) said it was within
15-30 minutes. Another 10% said it would be between a 30-60 minute walk, and about one-
quarter (25.46%) of respondents said they weren’t likely to use public transportation because
they were unaware it existed near their neighborhoods. Only one-fifth (53) of respondents from
Saensokh (Sangkat Krang Thnong) indicated that public transport points were a more than 60-
minute walk away. In some communities within this neighborhood, the road and public transport
infrastructure was partially under construction, and the expansion of public transport points
would come after the completion of this ongoing construction.

These results show that generally speaking, public transportation was widely available in the
selected four neighborhoods of this study. Interestingly, residents in the Dangkao neighborhood
reported public transport points as being close in their neighborhoods more than others, with
95% responding that public transport options were within a 30-minute walk (Table 7 below).

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Table 7. TRAVEL TIME BY FOOT TO THE NEAREST PUBLIC TRANSPORT POINT FROM THE HOUSE
Answers [%(N)]

1-14 15-30 31-60 ≥ 60 Not

minutes minutes minutes minutes applicable

45.4 (497) 18.5 (203) 5.8 (64) 4.8 (53) 25.5 (279)
Travel time by foot to the
nearest public transport point
(city bus stop, train) from the
house Chamkar Mon 15.7 (172) 3.8 (42) 0.1 (1) - 5.2 (57)

Dangkao 30.0 (230) 7.4 (81) 1.4 (15) - 4.3 (47)

Russey Keo 14.8 (162) 5.5 (60) 0.5 (5) - 4.20 (46)

Saensokh 3.0 (33) 1.8 (20) 3.9 (43) 4.84 (53) 11.8 (129)

A majority of respondents (61.7%) disagreed that recreational/leisure facilities were well-

functioning in their neighborhoods. However, the majority (61.2%) agreed that there were
enough shops where local people could obtain necessities, products and materials for their
families and daily activities, and the price was at a reasonable level (86.7%).

The majority of respondents (63.8%) found that healthcare was good quality, but affordability
was more mixed, with 46.2% disagreeing that healthcare was too expensive, but 32.5% agreeing
and 14.8% strongly agreeing that it was too expensive.

Rising prices in general were concerning for respondents, as 81.3% reported their neighborhoods
had become more expensive to live in – likely related to the increasing value of property and
rental fees in these areas.

For sanitary systems, most people agreed that it was effective (65.9%), and scores for
neighborhoods’ waste management systems were even higher (75.9%). However, about one-
quarter of residents were not satisfied with existing waste management and sanitation systems,
indicated further challenges in this area.

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Feelings about the efficiency of rainwater management systems were relatively evenly split, with
downtown neighborhoods lacking such systems and suburban areas more able to handle
rainwater due to canals and lakes in their communities. (Note: The research team would like to
note here that we disagree with this survey finding indicating that the drainage capacity in
suburban areas is sufficient. An increase in the filling-in of lakes, removal of natural drainage
systems, and the rapid increase in development of housing has increased the density of suburban
population areas and created a larger gap and need for more development of new drainage
systems.)

Related to public facilities, such as roads, parking, street lighting and footpaths, most people
disagreed that there was adequate facilities in their neighborhood. Most people found a lack of
adequate roads and parking (75.1%); nearly half found street lighting to be inadequate (48.9%);
and most people found footpaths or sidewalks in their neighborhood to be inadequate (74.8%).

On the other hand, most respondents found that public transport was affordable (63.2%) and the
city bus was considered as useful (75.3%) (Table 8, below).

Table 8. LOCAL RESIDENTS’ OPINION ON INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS

Rate (%)
Your opinions about infrastructure
1 2 3 4 5

1. My neighborhood has good recreational/leisure facilities (eg. parks,

29.5 42.2 25.5 0.6 2.1
playground, exercise facilities)

2. There are enough shops where I can obtain basic necessities in my

2.8 33.9 55.4 7.2 0.6
neighborhood

3. Basic necessities are at reasonable prices 0.5 12.9 77.0 4.7 5.0

4. The healthcare facilities in my neighborhood are of good quality 4.3 32.2 53.3 4.6 5.7

5. The services from healthcare facilities near my neighborhood are too

1.3 46.2 32.5 5.3 14.8
expensive

6. This neighborhood is becoming quite an expensive place to live 1.0 17.7 61.2 15.9 4.2

7. This neighborhood has effective sanitary system 1.7 22.4 65.6 10.2 0.1

8. This residential neighborhood has an effective waste management

2.4 21.7 63.0 12.8 0.1
system

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9. This neighborhood has INADEQUATE rain-water drainage systems 8.1 40.2 30.6 14.5 6.6

10. The neighborhood has adequate roads and parking facilities 17.2 57.9 22.5 1.7 0.5

11. There is good street lighting in this neighborhood 11.6 37.3 36.6 14.5 -

12. The footpaths (sidewalk) in this neighborhood are INADEQUATE 2.6 22.5 46.8 26.1 1.9

13. There is affordable public transport service to and from my

12.5 24.3 48.6 6.1 8.5
neighborhood.

14. The city bus is useful for me 2.6 22.2 49.9 13.4 12.0

15. The public transport service in this neighborhood is INCONVENIENT 4.7 32.3 27.5 7.0 28.5
Note: 1= Strong disagree, 2= Disagree, 3= Agree, 4= Strongly agree, and 5= Not applicable

5.1.8 Your experience during the COVID-19 pandemic

The study was conducted during the time of COVID-19 and thus it was important to know how
people were aware of the virus, and how they protected themselves from the disease. It was clear
that Cambodian urban residents in the four studied areas were well aware of the virus. Across all
neighborhoods, our study found that 98.63% of people wore a facemask, 93.16% washed hands
with hand sanitizer, and 59.4% practiced social distancing (Figure 12). Additionally, more than
99% of the respondents recommended that their family members, friends, and relatives protect
themselves from the virus by wearing a mask. Many people reported staying home most of the
time, while others reported avoiding crowds, like in markets, restaurants, and public spaces.
Although people realized that staying home was the most effective and safe measure, at least
72.54% of them also said that staying home had a significant impact on their livelihood.
Furthermore, about 41.70% expressed that they still could not adapt to working from home due
to several issues, including internet connection and the working environment at home.

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 Figure 12. Preferred measures and perceived efficiency against Covid-19

5.1.9 Health Literacy

Most access to health services in Phnom Penh is based on personal relationships with medical
facilities, its reputation, and personal network referral. This context is key to understanding
health services in the capital. The overall quality of healthcare providers has increased
significantly, specifically in Phnom Penh, in the last decade. Most of the referrals and relationships
between urban residents and healthcare providers happens in-person. It is only in recent years
that digital technologies have developed, increasing competition and offers from various health
providers, and some providers have started developing a digital platform for business
development and visibility purposes. For example, “Krousar Yeung” and “Tov Pet” are 2 new
mobile applications accessible on smartphones, connecting doctors with patients and offering the
possibility to buy medicine online. The customer feedback some platforms offer acts as an
incentive for more people to use these services and increases trust. However, this is still at a
nascent stage, and most consultations, information seeking, and referrals still happen by word of
mouth, from person to person. The usage of digital platform is increasing and may continue to
rise, depending on the sophistication of digital services those health providers will offer, and the
speed of adoption for new urban customers.

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Only 15.51%, or 170 respondents, reported accessing the internet for health information (e.g.
seeking health consultation/advice, reading health blogs, medical products, etc.), and women
made up about half of this number. The overall rate of local residents who had accessed the
internet for health information was relatively low, and this was especially surprising because the
majority of respondents were relatively young and of working age. Furthermore, the location was
in the capital of Cambodia, the most developed area in the country with the highest rates for
internet usage and local knowledge of residents toward technology and digital devices. Despite
this, local residents still widely practice traditional means and ways of accessing health
information in Phnom Penh, and Cambodia as a whole. Further analysis can be further processed
if required in the future, using survey raw data.

Table 9. LOCAL RESIDENTS WHO USE THE INTERNET FOR HEALTH-RELATED INFORMATION
Answers N (%)
Do you use the Internet for health-related
Yes 170 (15.51)
information?
No 926 (84.49)

Most people who used the internet for health-related information also knew how to use the
internet and could access it themselves for health-related information (13.10% of total, compared
to 15.50% of total who used the internet for health-related information). This makes sense, as
residents who are able to use the internet are more likely to use it to access health-related
information. In this small minority of the total sample, the levels of literacy on how to use the
internet were particularly strong, and this is likely linked to education level, age, livelihood and
other factors (Table 10 below).

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Table 10. OPINION OF LOCAL RESIDENTS OF USING THE INTERNET FOR HEALTH INFORMATION
Rate (%)
Your opinions on Internet for health-related information
1 2 3 4 5

1. I know what health resources are available on the Internet. - 1.7 7.4 6.3 0.1

2. I know how to use the Internet to answer my questions about health. 0.1 1.2 9.0 5.2 -

3. I don’t really know how to use Internet for health issues, but I ask family
6.4 6.7 2.0 0.5 -
members or friends to do it for me

4. I have the skills I need to evaluate the health resources I find on the Internet. 0.1 3.1 9.4 2.7 0.2

5. I can tell high quality health resources from low quality health resources on
- 3.0 9.6 2.8 0.1
the Internet.

6. I feel confident in using information from the Internet to make health

0.3 3.9 9.4 1.9 -
decisions.

7. To be able to access health resources on the Internet is important for me. - 1.9 8.9 4.7 -

8. I feel the Internet is useful in helping me in making decisions about my health 0.2 2.8 9.9 2.6 -
Note: 1= Strongly disagree, 2= Disagree, 3= Agree, 4= Strongly agree, and 5= Not applicable

5.1.10 Traffic Challenges and Risks

Traffic issues such as congestion, accidents, and vehicle emissions, remain some of the largest
challenges for the Phnom Penh municipality to tackle. The popularity of private vehicles, a lack of
parking spaces, and a lack of road network connectivity in the city are major challenges and lead
to urban traffic issues. In addition, the existing public rail and bus systems are insufficient in the
city. Citizens mainly depend on informal transport services provided by paratransit modes (e.g.,
motorcycle taxi, remorques, or Bajajs) to get around the city.

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Based on the study by UNDP11, the comparison results of modal share in Phnom Penh between
2012 and 2019 showed that the proportion of:

● Bajajs (indian imported 3-wheelers) have increased by 8.2-11.0%

● Motorcycles have decreased by approximately 10%-14%

● Passenger cars have increased by approximately 9%-13%

Bajajs arrived in Phnom Penh together with online ride-hailing services in 2016. The popularity of
ride-hailing services via Bajajs in Phnom Penh has grown faster than the traditional paratransit
services (i.e., motorcycle taxis, remorques).

Regarding the traffic risks, the latest figures by the National Road Safety Committee (NRSC, 2018)
show at least 5 deaths resulting from road traffic accidents each day. There were approximately
3,700 road traffic accidents in 2017, resulting in about 13,300 casualties. Among the casualties,
about 4,850 were with serious injuries and there were 1,976 fatalities. Compared to 2016, the
number of fatalities increased by 7%, while serious injuries increased by 4%. Human factors were
considered as the main cause, responsible for up to 90% of traffic accidents in Cambodia. More
than 70% of road fatalities occurred among motorcyclists. About 45% of road fatalities were aged
between 15 and 29 years old; more than 10% of road fatalities involved drunk driving; more than
70% of road fatalities among motorcyclists were in cases where the motorcyclist did not wear a
helmet; and 40% of road fatalities involved over-speeding.

According to NRSC (2018), the highest number of road fatalities occurred in Phnom Penh— there
were 213 deaths, which is equivalent to 11% of the nationwide toll in 2017. It was also reported
that the share of pedestrian fatalities was 8% in 2016, making Phnom Penh ranked at the top in
terms of traffic risks involving pedestrians.

11 Transforming Urban Mobility in Phnom Penh: Towards Inclusive and Equitable Urban Accessibility, UNDP (2021).

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Table 11 reports the proportion of responses relevant to traffic challenges and risks. 34.12% of
respondents said they or someone living with them had required medical attention after being
involved in a road traffic accident. Most of the traffic accidents were reported to occur among
riders of motorcycles (85.21%) and cars (6.48%). The most common reasons for traffic accidents
were speeding (36.38%), drivers’ behavior (26.18%), and drunk driving (23.4%). The people who
were most exposed to road traffic accidents were young men (51.77%), children under the age of
15 (16.07%), young women (13.23%), and elderly above the age of 60 (8.42%). When asking who
would most likely take care of them in case of being affected by mid- or long-term road traffic
accident consequences, respondents ranked spouses first (33.52%), followed by parents
(26.06%), children (21.06%), and relatives (17.94%). The respondents were also requested to
express their opinion regarding the best ways to avoid road traffic accidents. Many suggested
that people should obey the traffic signals (45.58%) and avoid drunk driving (34.89%). Traffic
accidents are an important issue in Cambodia, as the country has one of the highest accident
rates per capita in the world. In Phnom Penh, accidents happen very often and concern, directly
or indirectly, most of the inhabitants. Traffic accidents may have dramatic consequences for
families and increase socio-economic vulnerabilities through disability or indebtedness. The lack
of pavements and walkable spaces also makes pedestrians highly vulnerable to road accidents
and does not favor the development of soft mobility.

Table 11. SUMMARY OF RESPONSES RELATED TO TRAFFIC CHALLENGES AND RISKS

Chamkar Sub-
Response Dangkao Russey Keo Saensokh
Mon
No. Questionnaire items total
Have you or anyone living
in your household ever
required medical attention
No 17.15 13.96 17.52 17.24 65.87
after being involved in a
road traffic accident? (n =
B.h.15 1096)

Yes 7.66 10.95 7.39 8.12 34.12

What kind of vehicle is

B.h.16. most prone to road traffic 1. Motorbike 18.52 20.53 23.08 23.08 85.21
accidents? (n = 1096)

97. Others 1.82 2.01 1.55 1.64 7.02

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 2. Car 3.65 2.01 0.18 0.64 6.48

3. Tuk-tuk 0.82 0.36 0.09 0 1.27

What are the most common

B.h.17. reasons for road traffic 1. Speeding 9.17 10.25 7.79 9.17 36.38
accidents? (n = 2029)

6. Driver’s behavior 5.03 7.2 7.49 6.46 26.18

5. Drunk conditions 6.16 3.99 6.6 6.65 23.4

97. Others 0.89 0.64 3.4 3.3 8.23

3. Lack of traffic signals 2.37 1.53 0.05 0.1 4.05

4. Poor road conditions 0.34 0.15 0.39 0.34 1.22

2. Vehicle dysfunctionality 0.2 0.1 0.15 0.1 0.55

Who do you think are the

most exposed to road
B.h.18 2. Youngsters (Male) 13.82 12.69 12.51 12.75 51.77
traffic accidents? (n =
1686)

3. Children (<=15 years 4.15 4.33 3.26 4.33 16.07

4. Youngsters (Female) 2.97 3.62 3.5 3.14 13.23

97. Others 0.83 1.48 4.09 3.2 9.6

1. Elderly (>=60 years ) 2.43 1.66 1.66 2.67 8.42

5. disabled persons 0.3 0 0.06 0.53 0.89

Who would most likely take

care of you in case of being
affected by mid- or long-
B.h.19 6. Spouse 5.98 6.97 10.26 10.31 33.52
term road traffic accident
consequences? (n =
11823)

1. Parents 6.42 5.27 6.03 8.34 26.06

2. Children 4.28 6.25 5.81 4.72 21.06

7. Relative 4.72 4.61 4.55 4.06 17.94

97. Others 0.33 0 0.22 0.22 0.77

3. Friends 0.33 0.16 0.05 0.05 0.59

4. Government 0.05 0 0 0 0.05

In your opinion, what are

B.h.20 the best ways to avoid road 1. By obeying the traffic signals 13 13.63 9 9.95 45.58
traffic accidents? (n =1900)

6. By avoiding drinking alcohol 9.21 9.63 7.89 8.16 34.89

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 97. Others 1.37 0.74 8.16 7.16 17.43

3. By avoiding riding vehicles

such as motorbikes, bicycles, 0.74 0.47 0.16 0.26 1.63
tuk-tuk, etc.

2. By not driving in the rain 0.11 0.11 0 0.26 0.48

5.1.11 Sharing Economy

The sharing economy aspects in this study cover online commerce, ride-hailing services, and
government services.

In section B.J.25 of the questionnaire, respondents were asked to indicate the types of sharing
economy services they used in 2020, payment methods, satisfaction levels, and usage frequency.

Table 12 shows the types of sharing economy the respondents used in 2020. As they could
indicate their multiple answers, 1096 respondents provided 1265 responses, which were later
disaggregated across the four neighborhoods. The most common service used was online
commerce (32.64%), followed by ride-hailing services (21.9%), and government services (2.92%).
Many people reported that they have never used or known any sharing economy services
(42.53%). These numbers indicate that the sharing economy, which has only developed in recent
years in Phnom Penh, has become an important part of the socio-economic life of Phnom Penh
residents. Public policies or local initiatives related to the improvement of urban well-being
should include the sharing economy and digital tools in their approach.
Among the four survey locations, citizens living in Sangkat Dangkao, Khan Dangkao, which is
located relatively far from the downtown area, had the lowest rate of using the sharing economy
services in terms of online commerce (5.93%), ride-hailing services (5.85%), and government
services (0.08%).

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 Table 13 further shows the number of citizens using each sharing economy service in 2020 in each
survey location

Table 12. TYPES OF SHARING ECONOMY SERVICES IN 2020, USED BY CITIZENS (N = 1265
OBSERVATIONS)

cddfdadfa Chamkar Mon Dangkao Russey Keo Saensokh Total

1. Online commerce 2020 7.35% 5.93% 8.93% 10.43% 32.64%

2. Ride-hailing 2020 7.04% 5.85% 5.45% 3.56% 21.9%

3. Government services 0.32% 0.08% 1.26% 1.26% 2.92%

97. Others 9.88% 11.86% 10.75% 10.04 42.53%

Table 13. NUMBER OF CITIZENS USING EACH SHARING ECONOMY SERVICE IN 2020 IN EACH
SURVEY LOCATION

Type of sharing economy Chamkar Mon Dangkao Russey Keo Saensokh

1. Online commerce 2020 (Yes = 413) 22.52% 18.16% 27.36% 31.96%

2. Ride-hailing 2020 (Yes=227) 32.13% 26.71% 24.91% 16.25%

3. Government services (Yes = 37) 10.81% 2.7% 43.24% 43.24%

5.1.12 Online commerce services

Online commerce services in Cambodia have grown rapidly in recent years, providing ease of
doing business and allowing businesses to operate within the existing legal framework, and
facilitating customer usage of the digital marketplace. There is a rapid increase in the number of
SMEs (small- and medium-sized enterprises) using online resources such as Facebook Shops and
mobile apps. This rapid increase could be a result of the COVID-19 pandemic period, during which

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citizens traveled outside their homes less often for shopping activities. We can also observe that
in 2020, businesses appeared to embrace the digital space to generate revenue during the
pandemic.

The Ministry of Commerce in Cambodia officially announced its e-commerce strategy on

November 25, 2020. The E-commerce strategy highlights the plans to promote economic growth
and preparedness for a robust digital economy between the public, private, and development
partners. Due to the rapid development of e-commerce and online shopping in Cambodia, the
government passed the E-Commerce Law on November 2, 2019. The law has been adopted since
2020 to promote digital and electronic trade and e-signatures. The Consumer Protection Law
came into effect in 2019, and digital contracts and signatures have been permitted from 2020. In
late 2020, a digital service tax on international tech companies was also considered by the
government.

E-commerce businesses in Cambodia accept several options for online payments, which include
payments via credit and debit cards, cash on delivery, and several eWallets and fintech solutions,
many of which are provided by local banks with online merchant options or through regional or
Cambodian fintech companies.

Logistics and deliveries have also been shaped by the digital space. Several new food and grocery
delivery apps and websites have entered the Cambodian market since 2018. The use of e-
commerce services such as logistics and food delivery services has become even more popular
since late 2019, after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, several
travel restrictions and social distancing norms were introduced, and many citizens have more
commonly engaged in online activities (e.g., working, studying, meeting, and shopping from
home), reducing unnecessary trips to workplaces, schools, shopping malls, markets, and
restaurants.

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In major cities such as Phnom Penh, e-commerce has become more accessible via the availability
of more logistics and delivery services, which respond to the needs of “last mile” deliveries.
However, it remains difficult to have reliable and affordable logistics providers, despite these
improvements. In many cases, users in Cambodia use third parties to buy goods from global retail
giants--for example, Amazon, eBay, and Alibaba. Some of the services which provide food
deliveries have branched out and also offer delivery services. The business model sees the
companies partner with existing retail outlets with potentially established distribution channels,
with whom orders are placed. A driver then delivers the orders to the customer.

Currently there are at least 14 mobile apps for food delivery companies, serving food and drink
deliveries in Phnom Penh. These companies include Nham24, E-GetS, and Foodpanda, which
appear to be more popular than other lesser-known competitors such as Muuve, YumNow,
WOWNOW, and GoodToGo.

Table 14 shows the proportion of each service item for online commerce. The three most popular
online services that respondents used were FoodPanda12, PassApp13, and E-Gets14 apps. These
apps appeared to be more popular for respondents living in Chamkar Mon and Dangkao, more so
than residents in other Khans/Sangkat, as evidenced by the proportion of respondents who used
these apps. Respondents also reported the use of other types of online commerce, which included
purchasing from a company via motorbike delivery, and purchases on a Facebook page. The most
commonly purchased items from online commerce were clothing, food, and drinks. Regarding the
payment methods, most respondents (92.49%) paid by cash, while a few paid via a digital
payment (5.81%) and a minority (1.69%) paid via a bank transfer.

12 FoodPanda is an app for local foods and grocery delivery services.

13PassApp is the biggest ride hailing app in Cambodia, providing taxi and delivery services.

14 E-Gets is an app for food and drink delivery services.

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Regarding the satisfaction with online commerce services, some 37.78% rated a good satisfaction,
while only a few (2.42%) rated a poor satisfaction level. Further, it was shown that the majority
(80.39%) seldom used online commercial services, 3 times or less per week. Another 19.37% of
respondents used online commerce services more than 3 times per week.

Table 14. PROPORTION OF EACH SERVICE FOR ONLINE COMMERCE SERVICES (N = 413)
Items Chamkar Mon Dangkao Russey Keo Saensokh Sub-total (%)

Service

97. Others 12.59 12.35 25.67 28.33 78.94

Food Panda 3.15 0.73 1.45 1.21 6.54

PassApp 2.66 2.18 0.24 0 5.08

E-Gets 1.94 1.94 0 0 3.88

L192 0.24 0.48 0 2.42 3.14

Nham24 1.21 0.24 0 0 1.45

Grab 0.73 0.24 0 0 0.97

Payment

2=Cash 19.37 17.19 25.18 30.75 92.49

1=Digital 2.42 0.73 1.69 0.97 5.81

3=Bank transfer 0.73 0.24 0.48 0.24 1.69

Satisfaction

2=Average 15.25 13.8 13.8 16.95 59.8

3=Good 7.02 4.12 12.35 14.29 37.78

1=Poor 0.24 0.24 1.21 0.73 2.42

Frequency

3=Seldom (≤3
18.4 14.29 21.07 26.63 80.39
times/week)

2=Often
4.12 3.87 6.05 5.33 19.37
(>3times/week)

4=Not Applicable 0 0 0.24 0 0.24

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5.1.13 Ride-Hailing 2020

Ride-hailing applications (RHAs) have experienced significant growth in adoption worldwide since
the introduction of Uber in 2009. By 2021, according to the information collected from
https://play.google.com (i.e., the RHAs available on android devices alone), there are at least 27
RHAs available in Phnom Penh. Among these apps, PassApp has become the most popular RHA
in Cambodia, expanding its ride-hailing services to other areas across the country (e.g.,
Sihanoukville and Siem Reap City). The popularity of PassApp has grown over the years, and the
number of installs/downloads by users and drivers has increased from 10,000+ and 1,000+ in
2017, to 100,000+ and 10,000+ in 2020, respectively.

Table 15 shows the proportion of each service item for ride-hailing. The ride-hailing service that
was mostly used by respondents was PassApp, accounting for 88.8%. Grab ranked as the second
most popular ride-hailing app used by respondents (9.75%). Similar to online commerce, most
respondents preferred to pay for the ride-hailing services by cash (97.11%). Some 35.02% had a
good satisfaction level for these ride-hailing services, while another 64.63% had an average
satisfaction level. A small number used these ride-hailing services everyday (2.52%), while the
majority seldom used the service, i.e., 3 times or less per week (77.61%).

Table 15. PROPORTION OF EACH SERVICE ITEM FOR RIDE-HAILING (N = 227)

Chamkar Sub-total (%)

Dangkao Russey Keo Saensokh
Items Mon

Service

PassApp 25.99 23.83 23.1 15.88 88.8

Grab 5.42 2.89 1.44 0 9.75

97. Others 0.36 0 0.36 0.36 1.08

Wego 0.36 0 0 0 0.36

Payment

2=Cash 30.32 25.63 24.91 16.25 97.11

1=Digital 1.44 0.72 0 0 2.16

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 4=Not Applicable 0.36 0.36 0 0 0.72

Satisfaction

2=Average 21.66 23.47 12.64 6.86 64.63

3=Good 10.47 3.25 11.91 9.39 35.02

4=Not Applicable 0 0 0.36 0 0.36

Frequency

3=Seldom (≤3
22.38 21.3 21.66 12.27
times/week) 77.61

2=Often (>3times/week) 8.66 5.05 2.89 3.25 19.85

1=Always(daily) 1.08 0.36 0.36 0.72 2.52

5.1.14 Experience in Ride-hailing service (RHS)

Figure 13 shows the responses to the question “Ride-hailing Technology here helps me to have a
better life compared to the one I had in the past”. The majority of respondents (44.26%) agreed,
while some (18.33%) strongly agreed that it had helped them to have a better life. When asked
whether they agree if ride-hailing services are important for them to access urban services and
amenities (Figure 14), 43.25% rated either “agree” or “strongly agree”. Some 39.33% did not
express agreement or disagreement (i.e., not applicable).

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Figure 13. Ride-hailing technology here helps me to have a better life compared to the one I
had in the past

Figure 14. Ride-hailing services are important for me to access urban services and amenities

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When asking whether respondents have a familiar driver that they can depend on, on a regular
basis, only a few (24.63%) said that they have one (Table 17). The majority (67.71%) felt safer
when booking/traveling via a ride-hailing app, compared with traditional hailing—safer because
they can review driver’s information before the trip (50.58%) and a vehicle ID number appears on
their booking history (Table 18).

Table 16. PROPORTION OF RESPONDENTS FOR THEIR EXPERIENCES WITH RHS (N = 1096)
Sub-
Yes/N Chamka Dangka Russe Saensok
total
o r Mon o y Keo h
No. Questions (%)

B.k.27 Do you have a familiar driver that you depend No 20.8 16.61 19.25 18.7 75.36
on, on a regular basis? Yes 4.01 8.3 5.66 6.66 24.63

I feel safer when booking through ride-hailing Yes 18.07 15.15 18.25 16.24 67.71
B.k.28.
app as compared to traditional hailing No 6.75 9.76 6.66 9.12 32.29

B.l.31 Have you worked part-time/full time as a No 24.45 23.27 23.72 24.09 95.53
driver in ride-hailing services (e.g., Grab or
PassApp)? Yes 0.36 1.64 1.19 1.28 4.47

Table 17. MULTIPLE ANSWER TO B.K.28, REASONS WHY THEY FELT SAFER WITH RHS (N =
1426)

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Among the interviewed respondents, very few (4.47%) worked part-time/full-time as a RHS
driver. Of those workers, most (73.47%) worked with auto-rickshaws, such as Bajajs, TVS, RE, etc.
(Table 19). Their working hours ranged from 25-40 hours/week (34.69%) to more than 40 hours
per week (42.85%).
Table 18. TRANSPORT MODES (LEFT) AND WORKING HOURS (RIGHT) THAT RESPONDENTS WORKS
WITH RHS (N = 49)

5.1.15 Government Services 2020

When referring to government services, the respondents mainly indicated physical services that
have been provided by the government and are well-known by general citizens, including public
transport services (i.e., public bus, water taxi, airport-link). The awareness of public services is
much more widespread in Phnom Penh. Also other types of governmental services (e.g., paying
taxes online, applying for new license plates online) have been available and gradually improved
but, as observed in this survey, very few citizens have used those services, possibly because they
would not need those; they would not trust those/would have had a negative experience (or
heard a third party’s negative feedback); or they would not be aware of their availability. For
example, there is a one-window service provided by the Phnom Penh municipality which should
provide a “one stop shop” that facilitates and accelerates administrative procedures, such as
renewing your ID card, obtaining licenses, and notarization for some documents, helping to
decrease the amount of red tape.

A total of 37 respondents answered the question regarding government services (n = 37). 72.97%
of them used other services (i.e., Others), which mainly refer to the public bus service in Phnom
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Penh. This makes sense given the public bus services have been expanded to 13 routes across
Phnom Penh, and is accessible by general citizens, while citizens are unfamiliar with other e-
services provided by the government (e.g., self-application for tax payment, vehicle registration).
Public bus services are easy to use. The majority of respondents had good satisfaction with the
government services (e.g., public bus) (72.97%), which they usually paid by cash (91.89%). The
majority also seldom used the government services (78.38%), while others used the government
services more than 3 times per week (16.22%), and a minority used them every day (2.7%).

5.2 Section D: Urbanization

Phnom Penh has witnessed significant urban growth over the last 20 years, and now has reached
more than 2 million residents. The urban area increased by 3.1% between 1987 and 2017 and it
is projected to grow at 2.5% annually over the next 40 years (2057). The fast growth of the city
has resulted in mounting challenges in basic service provision including drainage, wastewater
treatment, public transport, solid waste management, affordable housing, reduction of
agricultural land, and public green space. For example, the agricultural land in Phnom Penh
decreased sharply by 15.9% from 1987 to 2017, whereas bodies of water also diminished by 0.7%
between 1987 and 2017. Both agricultural and water areas are estimated to fall by 7.6% and 0.2%
annually over the next 40 years (UNDP, 2021).

Additionally, literature on urban livability has shown that people prefer living in locations where
greenery and accessible infrastructure are nearby. However, the green spaces in Phnom Penh are
small and mainly function as public amenities rather than for public recreation. The World Health
Organisation recommends that every city should have a minimum of 9m2 of urban green space
per capita. However, according to a study by Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT), Phnom Penh had only
87 public spaces (including public green spaces), and 66 of them were located in the central
districts, with a combined area of 0.67 sq.km. This is less than 1m2 per person (STT, 2018).

Furthermore, a study of 564 respondents by Yen Yat in 2020 indicated that the majority of the
respondents were not satisfied with their neighborhood’s physical and social environments. This

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was due to the poor conditions of sidewalks and intersections, safety matters, absence of trees
and green spaces, and the long-distance (>5km) of the accessibility to essential services. For safety
and walking infrastructure, only 27.5% of the respondents reported walking every day, but even
that walking was less than 15 minutes, to nearby locations at a distance of less than 500m.
Because the physical and social environments for walking did not adequately provide necessary
accessibility, motorized transport is the most popular transport mode. The majority of the
respondents chose to use motorized transport for each trip.

To enable well-planned and well-managed urban growth at the community or neighborhood

level, a participatory approach is critical for sustainable and livable planning and development.

Therefore, the main purpose of this section was to explore how people wanted to participate in
the development of their neighborhoods. In this regard, we used crosstabs to analyze the data so
that we could see how different Sangkats, genders, professions, and ages of the respondents
indicated different perspectives on their neighborhood’s development.

Our study found that 89.15% of the respondents wanted to contribute to the urban development
policies of the city. When those policies had direct effects on their neighborhoods, many people
wanted to participate. Our study confirmed this hypothesis by illustrating that 90.14% of the total
respondents expressed a strong interest in participating in the development policies of the city
that have a direct impact on the development of their neighborhoods. Geographically, the people
in Dangkao and Saensokh expressed higher interest than people in other Khans (Figure 15).
Further analysis that was not part of this scope of research would be needed in order to
understand the higher figures in those 2 Sangkats.

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 Figure 15. I wish to participate more actively in urban development policies in the city

Table 20 indicated that the majority (90.1%) of the respondents wanted to participate more
actively in urban development policies that directly affected their neighborhood. Comparatively,
93.8% of respondents in Dangkao showed an intention to participate in the urban development
policies, higher than respondents in other Khans, with residents of Saensokh showing the lowest
intention (84.5%). Even still, only around 10% of respondents in Saensokh declined to participate
more in urban development policies. Although this study did not examine the reason why people
did not want to participate in development policies, the existing studies by Hudson et al. (2019)
and Ekanayake et al. (2021) have argued that the people may not participate in the development
programs/policies for several reasons, including: they do not have insufficient and clear
information and guidelines, or they have had a negative experience in turning their perspectives
or ideas into actions.

When we analyzed age groups (Table 20), the data revealed that the respondents who were 18-
25 years old were more enthusiastic in participating in the urban development policies than other
people who were older, with 92.4% of these younger participants agreeing. Furthermore, the
table also indicated that older people did not want to participate as actively as youth or middle-

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aged groups. This result was consistent with a previous study by Rai et al., (2020)15. A study by
Goll et al (2015) emphasized that the reasons why the old people did not want to participate were
likely barriers to social participation, including illness/disability, loss of contact with
friends/relatives, lack of a supportive community, and lack of acceptable social opportunities16.
One may also want to take into consideration the different mindsets, practices and experiences
of this older generation, many of whom survived the Khmer Rouge regime, during which capital
residents were expelled from the city. Many of these older people may have had to survive harsh
conditions, facing death on a daily basis for several years, and then had to relocate to new areas
after the end of the regime in 1979. It may be the case that these groups of older Cambodians do
not necessarily share the same inclinations to advocate for specific policies or improvements. The
may be because they are satisfied with the status quo, or because they do not see voicing their
concern as an acceptable or possible practice, and/or because their capacity to cope with adverse
situations is much higher than average.

Table 19. CROSSTAB BY AGE GROUPS

15Rai, R., Jongenelis, M., Jackson, B., Newton, R., & Pettigrew, S. (2020). Factors influencing
physical activity participation among older people with low activity levels. Ageing and Society,
40(12), 2593-2613. doi:10.1017/S0144686X1900076X
16 Goll,J. C., et al. (2015). "Barriers to social participation among lonely older adults: the influence
of social fears and identity." PloS one 10(2): e0116664-e0116664.
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When examining people’s desire to participate in the urban development policies based on
gender, it appeared that the male respondents expressed a desire to participate more actively in
urban development policies than women. For example, Table 21 indicates that 92.1% of male
respondents compared to 88.5% of female respondents who wanted to participate more actively
in urban development policies.

Table 20. THE CROSSTAB ANALYSIS BY GENDERS

Lastly, the survey found that no matter what people’s occupation was, the majority of
respondents wished to participate in urban development policies that had direct effects on their
neighborhoods. The percentage of the public servants who agreed to participate (95.6%) was
slightly higher than other types of employment, due to their inherent work responsibilities.
Remarkably, the percentage of the people who worked in NGOs or civil society who disagreed
about participating was higher (16.7%) than other employment sectors. This could be explained
by hesitancy from NGOs and development organizations to engage and build partnerships with
city authorities, and/or the difficulty to find common ground in terms of possible solutions to
identified issues. It is also possibly due to the political sensitivity and the complexity of issues at
play (e.g. forced evictions), and the antagonistic relationship between NGOs and public
authorities that prevents efficient policy collaboration.

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 Table 21. CROSSTAB BY TYPES OF EMPLOYMENT

Main improvements people wanted to see in their neighborhoods were socio-economic growth
(81.66%), increased social safety and security (51.37%), reduced poverty (34.27%), and support
and help vulnerable people (8.58%). The respondents also recommended some effective
initiatives that could bring people to actively participate in the development policies of the city
and their neighborhoods. Those included holding community meetings and discussions
frequently (67.24%), raising public awareness on the roles and responsibilities of the people
(37.96%), disseminating information (36.31%), and a fair and just environment for public
expression (15.05%).

Our study also examined the most important reason why people liked or disliked Phnom Penh.
About 55.11% of the respondents said they liked Phnom Penh because they could have access to
many job opportunities, while 25.55% appreciated Phnom Penh because they could access public
services (as mentioned in the above section). The majority (97.72%) of the respondents treated
Phnom Penh as their home, while 80.48% indicated living in Phnom Penh was not difficult for
newcomers. Nevertheless, the study found that only 19.25% liked Phnom Penh for its closeness
to their workplace, and only 11.7% liked it for its environmental friendliness (Figure 16). When
asked about things they did not like about Phnom Penh, respondents indicated concerns over
traffic congestion (77.46%), poor drainage systems (28.47%), and security (19.16%). These data
show that residents feel concerned about what is happening in their neighborhoods and want to

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take part in community initiatives. It can be seen as an indicator of the beneficial potential of
involving more local residents in neighborhood improvement and development.

Figure 16. The reasons why people liked Phnom Penh

Additionally, the study also explored what respondents liked and disliked about their
neighborhoods. About 47.26% liked the safety and environment, 40.15% liked it because it was
their hometown, 34.5% liked the job opportunities, and 23.36% liked living with extended family
and relatives (indicated in the graph as “crowded people”).. The people in Saensokh rated safety
and environment as the most common reason they liked their neighborhood, while people in
Dangkao most commonly felt their neighborhood was their hometown (Figure 17).

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 Figure 17. The reasons why people liked their neighborhoods

When looking at the reasons that the people did not like their neighborhoods, many people
disliked traffic congestion, drainage systems, and were concerned with safety and security.

When asking how people considered themselves as a Phnom Penher, 81.2% of them said that
only those who were born in the city could be called such, while 32.85% thought that only those
who had family living in Phnom Penh would fit into the category (Figure 18). Moreover, the study
also explored people’s perception of the development of Phnom Penh and whether the city’s
development was for Khmer people or foreigners. About 48.81% of them said the city is for Khmer
people, because the city is in Cambodia and the majority of the people living in the city are Khmer
people, whereas 49.82% of them said the city is for both Khmer people and foreigners, because
the city had a diversity and variety of cultures, products, and beliefs while the government
adopted open and competitive policies for both local people and foreigners. Notably, at least
1.37% of the respondents said the city’s development was for foreigners, because they saw an
increase in the number of foreign migrants and living costs while some properties were owned
by foreigners.

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 Figure 18. Who are considered as Phnom Penhers?
5.3 Section E: Challenges in Neighborhood

5.3.1 Opinions related to Challenges in Neighborhoods

In this section, researchers asked the respondents to rate the degree to which they experienced
challenges in their neighborhoods (Table 23). Traffic congestion (21.3%) was rated as the most
challenging issue respondents faced every day, followed by noise pollution (7.1%), bad smells
(5.8%), drugs (3.5%), and air pollution (3.4%). At least 41.5% of the respondents reported crime
happening at least 1-2 times per year in their neighborhoods. The second and third most common
challenges that occurred 1-2 times per year were traffic accidents and flooding, with 36.6% and
29.2% of respondents reporting those issues, respectively. The least common reported challenges
were human trafficking and drought, with 97.3% and 95.3% of the respondents reporting those
issues “Never” happened in their neighborhoods, respectively.

The fact that noise pollution ranked as the second most common challenge is notable and may
indicate that the urban residents now care more about their standard of living, comfort and well-
being, than in the past 10 years. Noise pollution has always been present, and in general
awareness that noise is a nuisance and needs to be regulated is extremely low. There are a
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number of private sources of loud noises (roosters, dogs, shouting, motorbikes and car honking,
loud music from ceremonies or family reunion karaoke, construction, etc.) that may occur in the
very early hours or late at night, and this is pervasive across the city. The default attitude adopted
by the majority of people was previously to resign themselves and “bear with it”, despite the
discomfort and impact on the atmosphere, in part due to fearing retaliation if they would signal
the nuisance to the one that caused it. But awareness levels have recently increased and more
urban citizens understand that loud noises are punishable by the law, and that there are rules of
elementary courtesy and respect that must apply in these situations.

Table 22. THE PEOPLE’S OPINIONS ON THE CHALLENGES IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS

Rate (%)
Opinions related to Challenges in the neighborhoods
1 2 3 4 5

1. Air pollution/haze 3.4 9.0 12.8 16.2 58.6

2. Flooding (Including flash flood) 0.5 24.4 29.2 17.2 28.7

3. Drought 0.0 0.3 0.6 3.7 95.3

4. Noise pollution (due to traffic and/or neighbors) 7.1 14.6 30.2 19.5 28.6

5. Dangerous fire/arson 0.1 1.3 4.8 19.3 74.5

6. Traffic congestion 21.3 23.4 24.1 9.9 21.4

7. Traffic accident 0.1 13.3 36.6 27.0 23.0

8. Water pollution 0.9 2.2 3.6 10.3 82.9

9. Crime (e.g., robbery and murder) 0.2 16.3 41.5 22.4 19.5

10. Drugs 3.5 10.4 18.6 13.6 53.9

11. Human trafficking 0.1 0.3 0.2 2.2 97.3

12. Domestic abuse/violence 0.1 2.6 13.9 21.5 62.0

13. Foul smell/bad smell 5.8 17.0 24.8 17.4 34.9

14. Nuisance of construction activities 0.8 2.3 15.0 29.2 52.7

15. Social abuse in public space 2.1 1.9 6.7 11.8 77.6

Note: 1= Always (everyday), 2= Often (50-75%/year), 3= Infrequently (1-2 times/year), 4= Seldom (1-2 times over the past 5 years), and 5= Never)

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 (1) (2)

(3) (4)

Figure 19. Challenges in neighborhoods: (1) Flooding, (2) Traffic congestion, (3) Crime and (4)
Drugs
When we classified the most challenges by Khan (Figure 19), flooding happened frequently in
Dangkao, Saensokh, and Russey Keo. The traffic congestion was serious in Chamkar Mon,
followed by Russey Keo and Dangkao, but Saensokh had a better traffic flow. The rates of crime
per year were high in Russey Keo (16.69%) and Dangkao (16.51%) while Chamkar Mon (11.59%)
had the lowest rate of crime per year; however, at least 0.1% of the respondents reported crime
happened daily in this Khan. Regarding the rate of drug use per year, the highest rate of
respondents reporting drug use were in Dangkao (10.21%) and Russey Keo (7.95%), while daily
rates of usage were 1.09% and 1.73% for Russey Keo and Dangkao, respectively. Only 2.83% of
respondents reported witnessing drug use once a year in Chamkar Mon

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5.3.2 The most important challenges in your neighborhood to be improved

This is one of the most important questions that the researchers developed to understand what
areas citizens would prioritize if they were given the rights and privilege to develop their
neighborhoods.

The people who lived in Dangkao reported the drainage system was their first priority for
development, whereas people in Chamkar Mon wanted to deal with traffic issues. People who
lived in Russey Keo and Saensokh set safety and security as the first agenda item for improvement
in their neighborhoods (Figure 20). Aside from these prioritized areas, people also raised other
important sectors that needed to improve in order to enhance the quality of life in their
neighborhoods. Those included waste management, improvement of social morality, drug
prevention, control on illegal construction, education, and poverty reduction.

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 Figure 20. The prioritized areas that require improvement in neighborhoods
5.3.3 Opinions about authorities

To respond to the key challenges in their neighborhoods, the people were asked to express their
opinions about the roles and responsibilities of the local authorities. About 93.80% of the
respondents reported knowing whom to contact when they had problems, and about 80.75% of
them said that the local authorities responded to the challenges quickly. Meanwhile, many people
(86.40%) explained that the authorities knew the challenges and they tried to solve them
accordingly. When people faced problems, about 87.14% would choose to contact local
authorities and 67.15% would choose to contact the police for help. Family members were their
third option to contact for help when they faced any issue, particularly crime, in their
neighborhoods (Figure 21). These very high rates suggest a strong confidence between
inhabitants and local authorities, which contrast with previous studies on the same topic (see
Fauveaud, 2015). These responses should therefore be taken with caution, as they may also
reflect a fear of criticizing the government, or the fact that respondents may have conflated

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enumerators and researchers with government members, particularly since enumerators were
introduced by local authorities in all instances prior to the interviews.

Figure 21. The person to contact when there is a problem

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 APPENDIX

A1. OFFICIAL CONSENT LETTER TO CONDUCT THE INTERVIEW SURVEY

Figure A1 shows the request letter, from CKS to Phnom Penh Capital Administration (PPCA), to
ask permission to conduct field survey activities in the four targeted survey locations. Figure A2.
shows the consent letter from Phnom Penh Capital Administration to CKS research team, on Nov
24, 2020. It took about 4 months to get the approval letter. Before giving permission to the CSK
research team to conduct the field survey, PPCA requested us to submit the final version of the
questionnaire as well as to have a meeting to discuss the survey objective/activities and to clarify
certain questions. The meeting was held on Oct 27, 2020 at City hall. Figure A3, A4, and A5 show
the minutes of the meeting, the list of participants, and the invitation letter to the meeting,
respectively.

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FIGURE A1. LETTER REQUESTING PERMISSION TO CONDUCT FIELD SURVEY, SENT BY CKS TO PHNOM
PENH CAPITAL ADMINISTRATION ON AUG 27, 2020

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FIGURE A2. CONSENT LETTER FROM PHNOM PENH CAPITAL ADMINISTRATION TO CKS RESEARCH
TEAM, ON NOV 24, 2020

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FIGURE A3. MINUTE OF MEETING BETWEEN CKS AND PPCA, TO CLARIFY THE
OBJECTIVE/ACTIVITIES OF REQUESTED FIELD SURVEY, OCT 27, 2020.

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FIGURE A4. LIST OF PARTICIPANTS DURING THE MEETING BETWEEN CKS AND PPCA, TO CLARIFY
THE OBJECTIVE/ACTIVITIES OF REQUESTED FIELD SURVEY, OCT 27, 2020.

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FIGURE A5. INVITATION LETTER TO THE MEETING BETWEEN CKS AND PPCA, TO CLARIFY THE
OBJECTIVE/ACTIVITIES OF REQUESTED FIELD SURVEY, OCT 27, 2020.

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A2. TRAINING AND PILOT SURVEY ACTIVITIES

FIGURE A6. TRAINING ACTIVITIES TO SURVEY TEAM AT A COFFEE SHOP AND CKS OFFICE IN PHNOM
PENH, SEPT 7-10, 2021
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FIGURE A7. REVIEW REVISED QUESTIONNAIRE BEFORE MAIN FIELD SURVEY AT CKS OFFICE IN
PHNOM PENH, JAN 30, 2021

FIGURE A8. ONLINE DISCUSSION AMONG SURVEY TEAM, CKS AND SUTD MEMBERS, FEB 18,
2021

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FIGURE A9. PILOT SURVEY ACTIVITIES WITH ACTUAL RESIDENTS IN TARGETED SURVEY LOCATIONS,
SEPT 9-10, 2020

FIGURE A10. BRIEFING AFTER THE PILOT TEST, SEPT 10, 2020
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A3. FIELD SURVEY ACTIVITIES

FIGURE A11. FIELD WORK ACTIVITIES AT SURVEY LOCATIONS IN PHNOM PENH, FEB 1-22, 2021

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FIGURE A12. SOME NEIGHBORHOOD ENVIRONMENT OF SURVEY LOCATIONS IN PHNOM PENH, FEB
1-22, 2021

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FIGURE A13. LOCATIONS OF THE FIELD SURVEY IN PHNOM PENH, FEB 1-22, 2021
(HTTPS://KF.KOBOTOOLBOX.ORG/)

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A4. QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY [SUTD TO ADD THIS QUESTIONNAIRE]

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