Bangkok Urban Evolution
Early Period The early settlements of Bangkok were many small, scattered villages situated along the waterway of the Chao Phraya River for many centuries before the 16th century. Around 1538, due to the growth of international trade, the devious form of the Chao Phraya River, and the difficulty of traveling to Ayutthaya from the Gulf of Thailand, the canal was dug to shortcut the river. It had slowly become more expansive and eventually changed to be the river that replaced the old one, which became shallower and narrower. The occurrence of the shortcut river divided Bangkok into two sides. The city was gradually developed from an agricultural area to be a fortress and a port city of Ayutthaya's kingdom. The forts were built on both sides of the river. The area beyond the forts was mainly still the agricultural farmland. Around 1768, Bangkok was established to be the new capital of Thailand as Krung Thonburi. The
construction of palaces and aristocratic houses were built around the existing fortress on the westside. However, around 15 years later, the capital was relocated to the opposite side of the river and called the Rattanakosin island. The city planning idea derived from the Ayutthaya city pattern, which was circled by waterways. Rattanakosin island has been encircled by the canal dug since the Krung Thonburi period, but another canal was also constructed to be an outer ring of the city. The walls and fortresses were created along the outer canal, and the inner canal was used as a circulation. The city center started from the grand palace and expanded hierarchically (Preyawanit, 2014). The Chinese people, who lived in the area before the palace had been built, moved to the southeast outside the inner canal. The western foreigners had moved further south.
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