from 1860 to 2013

Changes of the Waterway Network on the Western Bank of Chao Phraya River from 1860 to 2013

Figure 18 (left) Orchard-Based Settlement (Somjai Nimlek,i 2001) Figure 19 (right) Water-based settlement, ridge and groove orchard, and floating market (Summaniti, 2013)

Figure 20 Wat Sai Floating Market from an old postcard source: Silpa-Mag.com posted 14.03.2021

The orchard-based settlement creates the complex canal network for irrigation, transportation, and the spatial configuration that enhances the distribution of different space utilisation. The area with a higher level of accessibility and dense activities became “water-based spatial centrality” (Sammaniti, 2013), such as floating markets or trading areas on the waterway.

Luxana Summati analyses morphological factors of land use and transportation course from water-based to land-based with the efficiency accessibility of area measured by Space Syntax program (“a set of techniques for analysing spatial layouts and human activity patterns in buildings and urban areas” – UCL Space Syntax). The study has been separated into three periods: water transportation from 1860 to 1931, water and land transportation from 1932 to 1977, land transportation from 1978 to 2013. The examination compares three main factors: the orchard-based farming area, the built-up area, and the average integration value from Space Syntax program. The Space Syntax integration value represents the degree of integration of the initial segment in the system. A higher value indicates more connectivity to the networkwhile a lower one shows segregation (Hillier et al, 1993)

Period 1: water transportation from 1860 to 1931.

The land area was mainly orchards with water-based transportation, strip axis settlement: with primary canal and secondary canal separated from the primary. The major trading area occurred in the canal intersections near temples. In. this period, the orchard-based farming is 218.82 sq. km. The built-up area is 2.50 sq. km. The average integration value is 0.1047.

Period 2: water and land transportation from 1932 to 1977.

The transformation period of water-based spatial centrality to land-based spatial centrality; the water traffic act to land the floating house in 1943 had influenced the changes in transportation, settlement, and city infrastructure. The road networks developed in this period were usually built parallel with the significant river and canal, which support the shift from the water-based to the land-based spatial centrality. In. this period, the orchard-based farming is 202.66 sq. km. The built-up area is 9.73 sq. km. The average integration value is 0.1119.

Period 3: land transportation from 1978 to 2013.

The water-based spatial centrality had disappeared in this period. The development of urban configuration did not concern about the waterway network. The small road within the large block frequently stopped at the canal bank and did not bridge the two sides of the canal. In. this period, the orchard-based farming is 168.15 sq. km. The built-up area is 245.13 sq. km. The average integration value is 0.1082.

From Summaniti’s study, in the Period 3, the transformation to land-based transportation without the correlation with water-based transportation can be indicated by the integration value’s inclination from the Period 2. As a result, the shifted of transportation changed the area into highdensity urban areas and new commercial centres along the main roads with a high level of accessibility, and some floating markets, water-based spatial centrality, were wiped out.

Figure 21 The changes of spatial configuration of orchard-based settlement on the western bank of Chao Phraya River from Space Syntax Analysis (Summaniti 2013)