Typescript. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1978. / Bibliography: leaves 510-526. / Microfiche. / xiii, 527 leaves ill. (some col.), maps 28 cm

Bangkok’s expansion and population increase are both causes and consequences of rapid economic transformation and growth. In this light, the study examines the synergic conditions that are operating in the Bangkok region, that define the relationship between economic growth and spatial expansion. What is emerging is a chaotic tapestry of an urban and rural landscape which reflects a bonanza form of development and has accelerated in the last ten years. Moreover, there is evidence supporting an urban form that is emerging at Bangkok’s edge, extending up to 100 kilometres from the central city, which is neither city nor countryside. It is a settlement system characterised by an intense land use mix, where agriculture, industry, housing, and recreation all inflect upon each other. Within this region there has been a shift of labour from farm to off-farm sectors within the strictly defined rural areas. The dissertation argues for a new set of definitions to account for an extended urban settlement pattern which is sensitive to the prevailing heterogeneous space economy. The term Region Based Urbanization (RBU) is introduced to describe the phenomena in a region with 14 million people, now known as the Extended Bangkok Metropolitan Region (EBMR). Aside from affirming RBU as the predominant settlement form in the EBMR, there are three notable conclusions to this study: (i) Since the mid-nineteenth century diverse and disparate forms of dominant capital have contributed to outer city development. (ii) As the region diversifies, and further affirms its economic primacy within Thailand there is indication of increasing disparities and uneven development among socio-economic classes. (iii) There is empirical support to challenge traditional rural-urban transition models. Outer areas of the EBMR, which are defined as ‘rural’, are not only ‘holding’ population, but are the destination of a large migration from peripheral regions of the Kingdom.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 346-360). / Microfiche. / xvii, 360 leaves, bound ill., maps 29 cm

Bangkok's extreme traffic problems have been traditionally explained in terms of a lack of road infrastructure and policy responses for many years have almost exclusively stressed road investment to the exclusion of all other forms of transport infrastructure development. This thesis questions this interpretation of the traffic problem and its chief policy response: building still more roads. It suggests that in order to effectively analyse Bangkok's traffic predicament and to formulate more sustainable responses to the crisis, an understanding is required of Bangkok's land use and transport development, as well as a systematic and detailed perspective on the similarities and differences between Bangkok and many other cities around the world, particularly those in Asia. This thesis suggests that Bangkok has passed through three key periods: a water-based transport and walking period, a transport modernisation period and a motorisation period. In each period up to motorisation Bangkok appeared to maintain a harmonious relationship between its high density, mixed use urban form, ideally suited to nonmotorised modes and to public transport. Even in the motorisation period, high density, mixed use development has mostly followed major road corridors and remains well-suited to much higher public transport and non-motorised mode use than currently exist. However, in this period, rapidly rising motor vehicle ownership and use began to come into conflict with the city's pre-automobile form. Road infrastructure could not be built fast enough to keep pace with traffic growth, despite almost exclusive commitment of resources to roads. High capacity public transport systems, including rail, renewed water transport and busways failed to materialise to help curb the motorisation process and to provide much needed relief on the roads. A basic conflict or mismatch between urban form and transport began to emerge, leaving the city ill-equipped to cope with the automobile and subject to large environmental, social and economic impacts from congestion. The thesis argues that while Bangkok's per capita road supply is low in an international sense, it is not atypical for an Asian city and road availability per hectare is similar to many other cities around the world. Likewise, common arguments about an inadequate road hierarchy are systematically analysed and are shown to be insufficient in explaining Bangkok's present crisis. The thesis thus suggests that attempting to tackle the traffic problem through an intensification of road building efforts will not provide the relief sought, but will only exacerbate the traffic impacts which are shown to be already at the limits of international experience. The international comparison of Bangkok with other cities, highlighting basic similarities and differences in land use and transport features, continues to build upon this argument. It shows that Bangkok lies at one extreme in many transport characteristics such as the amount of travel per hectare, and within the Asian cities, it is very high in vehicle ownership and use and energy use, comparatively low in public transport use and very low in non-motorised modes. The thesis suggests that in physical planning terms, Bangkok's traffic crisis appears to stem from a set of mismatches between its transport patterns, urban form and transport infrastructure. These mismatches are between: (1) vehicle use and urban form: higher levels of private vehicle use than can be properly accommodated in its dense, tightly woven urban fabric; (2) vehicle use and road supply: levels of private vehicle use which are incompatible with its road availability and which are uncharacteristically high compared to other Asian cities; (3) transit use, urban form and road supply: lower levels of overall transit use than would be expected in a city of its urban form and road availability; (4) transit infrastructure, urban form and road supply: a public transport infrastructure which is inadequate to meet the demands for transit movement inherent in such a dense city, particularly a lack of rail infrastructure; (5) non-motorised modes and urban form: levels of non-motorised mode use which are uncharacteristically low for such a dense, mixed use urban fabric. These mismatches are mainly the consequence of a long series of inappropriate and ineffective transport policies and investments which are biased towards private transport and which have at least in part arisen from narrow and outdated transport planning processes. In order for transport planning in Bangkok to address the suggested roots of the crisis, the thesis contends that at least two key constraints would have to be dealt with: the traditional urban transport planning process and the institutional fragmentation in transport policy and implementation. Notwithstanding, there are forces pushing in the direction of change and these are examined in terms of the growing global and local trends towards sustainability, community outrage over traffic and the role of NGOs. Based on these findings, this thesis provides a case for a series of policies to help deal with Bangkok's traffic disaster. In line with global trends towards sustainability as an organising principle for urban policy development, these policies are offered within a framework of developing a more sustainable transport system in Bangkok. The policies suggested cover priority to public transport infrastructure development, transitoriented, mixed land use development, transport demand management, improvement of waterway transportation, facilitation of walking and cycling and institutional reform of Bangkok's transport decision making structure. Opportunities for further complementary research are suggested.

Due to rapidly changing climate and socio-economic conditions, many coastal areas are becoming increasingly vulnerable to internal and external risks of flooding. Low-lying coastal mega-cities in Southeast Asia are widely recognized as hotspots of flood risk. The Bangkok Metropolitan Region is one of the largest coastal megacities in Southeast Asia that is challenged by the potential impacts of climate change and human activities expected over coming decades. The overarching aim of this research is to evaluate present and future flood risks due to the combined impacts of climate (sea-level, rainfall regime and storm surge) and human (land subsidence and drainage capacity) factors in Bangkok Metropolitan region, Thailand. To design plausible future scenarios, flow and precipitation records were examined using the Log Pearson Type III frequency analysis approach. Land subsidence (LS) and sea level rise (SLR) scenarios were derived from historical records and published studies. Future flood risks (fluvial, surface water, and coastal) were modelled under various combinations of key drivers (SLR, storm surge, LS and increased river flow). The October 2011 flood in Thailand was used as a baseline event for coastal and fluvial flood modelling. Scenarios were designed with projections of LS and SLR to 2050, 2080, and 2100. A two-dimensional flood inundation model (FloodMap) was used to derive coastal inundation depth, velocity and extent associated with each scenario. Coupled modelling of one-dimensional river flow (HEC-RAS) and two-dimensional flood inundation (FloodMap) was undertaken. Surface water flood modelling simulated the 2015 event in model calibration. A two-hour rainfall event that occurred in 2011 was used as the baseline to derive future scenarios with increased precipitation of various return periods and topographies accounting for land subsidence. For each type of flood modelling, sensitivity analysis was first conducted to investigate the effects of mesh resolution and roughness parameters on model predictions. Results indicate that the model is sensitive to both resolution and roughness, but to various degrees, depending on the metrics used in the evaluation. Spatial metrics such as the Root Mean Standard Error, F and point depth are able to distinguish between model predictions and reveal the spatial and temporal derivations between simulations. The impacts of flood risk on critical infrastructure nodes (e.g. power supply, transportation network, rescue centres, hospitals, schools and key government buildings) were then evaluated under various scenarios. Overall, results suggest progressively increased risks of coastal, surface water, and fluvial flooding to critical infrastructures over time from 2050, 2080 to 2100. Flood modelling of coastal and fluvial inundation processes suggests that the combined impacts of individual risk drivers is, in most cases, far greater than any of the individual factors alone. This study demonstrates that flood risks in coastal mega-cities like Bangkok must be evaluated in a holistic manner, taking into account multiple key risk drivers and considering the potential joint-occurrence of various types of flooding. Moreover, where numerical modelling was undertaken and infrastructure data are available, local hotspots of flood risks under various scenarios can be identified, allowing potential adaptation measures to be evaluated within the modelling framework developed. This research is the first to consider multiple flood risk drivers and interacting flood risks within a single modelling framework in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region. It will have long lasting legacy for flood risk management in the region and beyond, enabling more effective adaptation in a changing climate through: (i) raised awareness of multiple risk drivers and interacting flood risks for both the public and policy makers; (ii) further and more complete assembly of various data sets when they become available based on the template demonstrated in this study; and (iii) identification of hotspots of critical infrastructure and communities at risk using refined and alternative modelling approaches within the modelling framework developed in this study.

Bangkok’s expansion and population increase are both causes and consequences of rapid economic transformation and growth. In this light, the study examines the synergic conditions that are operating in the Bangkok region, that define the relationship between economic growth and spatial expansion. What is emerging is a chaotic tapestry of an urban and rural landscape which reflects a bonanza form of development and has accelerated in the last ten years. Moreover, there is evidence supporting an urban form that is emerging at Bangkok’s edge, extending up to 100 kilometres from the central city, which is neither city nor countryside. It is a settlement system characterised by an intense land use mix, where agriculture, industry, housing, and recreation all inflect upon each other. Within this region there has been a shift of labour from farm to off-farm sectors within the strictly defined rural areas. The dissertation argues for a new set of definitions to account for an extended urban settlement pattern which is sensitive to the prevailing heterogeneous space economy. The term Region Based Urbanization (RBU) is introduced to describe the phenomena in a region with 14 million people, now known as the Extended Bangkok Metropolitan Region (EBMR). Aside from affirming RBU as the predominant settlement form in the EBMR, there are three notable conclusions to this study: (i) Since the mid-nineteenth century diverse and disparate forms of dominant capital have contributed to outer city development. (ii) As the region diversifies, and further affirms its economic primacy within Thailand there is indication of increasing disparities and uneven development among socio-economic classes. (iii) There is empirical support to challenge traditional rural-urban transition models. Outer areas of the EBMR, which are defined as ‘rural’, are not only ‘holding’ population, but are the destination of a large migration from peripheral regions of the Kingdom. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1981. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography: p. 76. / by Varin Kiatfuengfoo. / M.S.

The Development Guidelines and Suggestions for Koa Ratanakosin, Bangkok, Thailand were established from an analysis of the study site along with the interpretation of results from a public opinion survey. The site analysis consisted of the analysis of physical, social-economic, environmental condition, and development constraints. The assessment of needs and potentials were determined and grouped as physical problem areas. The development suggestions derived from the public opinion survey were determined and grouped as problem areas. These problem areas then led to the establishment of goals and objectives for future development of Koa Ratanakosin. / Department of Landscape Architecture

The purpose of this investigation is to explore gender role attitudes among Thai college students and to determine whether differences in gender role attitudes among Thai college students are related to the sex of students, college major and family structure. To investigate this problem a Gender Role Attitude Inventory is developed and three hypothesis are developed. Research participants include 300 junior/undergraduate college students at Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Thailand. Frequencies and descriptive statistics are used to analyze the sample and inferential statistics are used to interpret the data and to answer the research question posed. The group West is used to compare the mean difference of students' gender role attitude scores between male and female students, between female students who participate in traditional feminine college majors and those who are involved in nontraditional college majors, and between students who grew up in families where both parents worked outside the home and those who were raised in families where fathers were employed and mothers did not work outside the home. The results show that female students expressed significantly more egalitarian gender role attitudes than male students. Female students with nontraditional majors tend to demonstrate more egalitarian gender role attitudes than those with traditional majors. Students from dual-earner families, where both father and mother worked outside the home, are shown to have higher levels of egalitarian gender role attitudes as compare to students from single-earner families, where fathers were employed outside the home and mothers were not employed in wage labor. / Graduation date: 1998

Bangkok's dramatic growth in the last three decades has brought with it a wide range of urban problems - economic, architectural, environmental, and social. One problem has been a demand for a new dwelling and work spaces. The Bangkok townhouse has served to meet both needs, but the forms it has taken thus far leaves needs improvement.This creative project proposes improvements to the Bangkok townhouses to make it more responsive to its environment as well as interior functions. The improvements focus on facades, reorganization of interior spaces, and physical townhouse elements. The study uses a typological and environmental study to understand and investigate examples of existing Bangkok townhouses. This includes case study analyses to suggest daylighting design strategies for design applications.This study proposes a facade design guideline and a set of physical arrangement suggestions for enhancing the daylight, ventilation, and accommodation capacity of the Bangkok townhouses. In addition, potential applications of the facade guidelines are illustrated. The facade and physical arrangement guidelines can be a fundamental concept for further development and improvement of the Bangkok and other townhouses in locations throughout Thailand. / Department of Architecture