Bangkok | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

(2000 est. pop. 10 million). Bangkok is situated on the Chao Phraya River. It is both the capital and hub of the country; Bangkok's residents establish standards, outlook, dress, and physical comforts that are imitated, in varying degrees, by people in other parts of Thailand. Bangkok is about forty-five times more populous than Thailand's second-largest city, Chiang Mai. The increasing dominance of the city can be gauged from the 56 percent of the urban population that now live in it, compared with 42 percent in 1947. The metropolis is growing at a rate of 6 percent per year, which is three times the national growth rate. The greater Bangkok area, with only 15 percent of the country's population, generates about half of the gross national product of Thailand and provides about half the number of jobs.

Bangkok used to be a city connected by canals, and was once known as the Venice of the East. Due to population congestion in recent decades, many of the canals have been filled in to serve as roads. The remaining canals are very dirty and polluted, though long boats still serve as taxis on some canals.

One of Bangkok's main business and commercial district lies in Chinatown, which is characterized by bazaar shopping. Ratchadamnoen Avenue is an important artery; formerly many government ministeries were located there, though some are now located in less congested parts of the city. Silom Road is the primary road for financial and banking institutions. A stretch of Sukhumvit Road, which is one of the three longest roads in Thailand, cuts through inner Bangkok, housing middle-class residences, hotels, and restaurants. The low-lying, unsanitary, and flood-prone inner areas of the city's core are being abandoned to the poor by the rich, who are moving to estates outside the city. By 1990, the city had a million registered motor vehicles and massive traffic congestion was common. The Greater Bangkok Plan gave Bangkok an elevated expressway to connect suburbs and downtown areas; in 1999 a state-of-the-art sky train was launched. A ring road project has also been launched to help motorists avoid the inner city area.

Dutt, Ashok K. (1996) Southeast Asia: A Ten-Nation Region. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer.

Waugh, Alec. (1971) Bangkok: The Story of a City. Boston: Little, Brown.

Van Beek, Steve. (1999) Bangkok Then and Now. Nonthaburi, Thailand: AB Publications.

Hata Tatsuya. (1996) Bangkok in the Balance. Bangkok, Thailand: Duang Prateep Foundation.

Sopon Pornchokchai. (1992) Bangkok Slums: Review and Recommendations. Bangkok, Thailand: Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung.

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