Place Evolution from Klong Lat to Soi Lat: Transformative Urbanism from Water-Based to Land-Based City of Bangkok

Abstract

The illustration of Bangkok settlement could be explored through a history of how ruling classes and governors developed the city, but the specific pattern of how people bond in space is a corner- stone demonstrating urbanism and its dimensions. This paper presents Bangkok's urbanism concerning experiences in spaces, consisting of a review of Bangkok evolution from water-based to land-based city, urban change along Klong Lat and Klong Kud, shortcut- and manmade-canal, on the one hand, and that along primary roads, Soi and Soi Lat, local streets and street shortcuts of the city, on the other. Aspects of urbanism were analysed of settlements, movement, building fabric, land utilisation, and townscape; relevant dimensions were also analysed of society, culture, development, classes, and communities.

         Klong Lat is the beginning of Bangkok urbanisation, and Soi Lat currently takes part to transform the city. Over 238 years, since Rattanakosin was established in 1782, the city's weave pattern has been delivered by a diversity of social groups and classes. Ruled by Ayutthaya tradition of urban pattern, the settlement related to water channel was developed in Bangkok where waterways were cut to encompass the city. The aground commercial communities of many ethnic groups, however, were found by a transitional time from traditional to market-driven society. City walls and fortresses less played a role regarding the social and economic reform and the changing pattern of palaces, built canal and roads led the city instead. The rise of capitalism as well as middle-class consolidated and made the city further expand with the morphology of high density built form along primary roads while several communities were found in Soi delivering diverse classes and residential types. Currently, high-dense urbanisation along main roads encloses a large land area of Soi communities, shaping the superblock morphology of Bangkok. Configurational limitation of the superblock by itself results both in need of street shortcuts and in the pressure on local streets to carry urban mobility. Nowadays, Soi Lat becomes an urban tissue of dynamic places to deal with land development and highly mixed cultural landscape.

         The city is a product of diverse social groups, locations, territorial spaces and transformations. Multiple perceptions of Bangkok urbanism is the result of varied morphologies and patterns of how they take place in the city. They are a sustain of water-based and land-based communities in spaces, a dispersion of urban expansion contributing to ongoing emergence of new morphologies, and a reproduction of urbanism regarding morpho-logical replacement that newcomer's land utilisation set over local communities. These spatial patterns and multi-dimensions affect ways in which peoples experience the city, while differences in social classes and spaces are fundamental in defining Bangkok urbanism.