Bangkok has been the capital of Thailand since 1782 (Bangkok Metropolitan Administration 2005; Harvey 2007). Over 200 years, Bangkok has developed the typical features of an urban district in South East Asia. Bangkok has been undergoing rapid urbanization and industrialization since 1960. The increasing population is due to the development of infrastructures such as road networks, real estate developments, land value, public policy as well as an advancing economy which resulted in expansion into the surrounding areas (Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific 2003). This section provides an overview of the area and population, infrastructure, and current environmental problems in Bangkok.
3.2.1 Area and Population
Thailand is located in Southeast Asia (Figure 3-1). Bangkok is the capital city of Thailand and located in the middle of the country. The head of the city is the governor who is elected every 4 years (Bangkok Metropolitan Administration 2005).
According to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (2005), Bangkok covers an area of 1,568.69 km2, which consists of an urbanized area of 700 km2 divided into residential use of 366.38 km2 (23%), agricultural use of 369.84 km2 (29%), space of 378.97 km2 (24%), and for commercial, industrial, and government use of 453.50 km2 (28.91%) (seeFigure 3-2). The administrative organization is divided into 50 districts and 169 sub-districts. Bangkok can be roughly separated into the inner city, the urban fringe (middle area), and the suburbs (outer area). As shown in Figure 3-3, most of distribution centres for goods are located in the inner city area.
The total population in Bangkok at the end of 2009 was 5,702,595 divided between 2,713,535 males and 2,989,060 females (Department of Provincial Administration 2009). Bangkok is the largest city in Thailand and accounts or 8.98 per cent of the country‘s total population. Bangkok is quite densely populated, with 3,635.15 persons per km2. The number of households in Bangkok in 2009 was 2,334,126, almost three times higher than Nakornratchasima Province which was the second largest city (Department of Provincial Administration 2009).
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Figure 3-1 Map of South East Asian and Location of Bangkok
Source: http://www.thailand-maps.com/south-east-asia-map.htm
26 Bangkok has been undergoing rapid urbanization and industrialization since 1960. The increasing population is due in part to the development of infrastructure, such as road networks, real estate developments, land value, and a growing economy (Bangkok Metropolitan Administration 2005). Bangkok dominates the entire economic structure of the country and it is the centre of commerce, finance and trade as well as nearly every other sphere of Thai cultural, political, religious and educational life (Fuller, Edwards et al. 1993). As a result, there has been a continuous migration of people to the city from all parts of the country (Bangkok Metropolitan Administration 2005). According to DOPA‘s statistics (Department of Provincial Administration 2009) Bangkok has the highest ratio of migrants. The ethnic origin of people in Bangkok is mixed between Thai (80%), Chinese (10%), and others (10%). The majority (95 per cent) of people are Buddhist (Bangkok Metropolitan Administration 2005).
3.2.2 Infrastructure
Bangkok is the centre of business and administration of the country and is well supplied with infrastructure for water, electricity, and transport (Bangkok Metropolitan Administration 2005). Transportation in Bangkok comprises of private cars, motorcycles, and other kinds of public transportations such as taxi, bus, sky train, subway, and boat (Bangkok Metropolitan Administration 2005). The routes of Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) and Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) are indicators of urbanization and cover much of the central city and many commercial, residential and tourist areas (Bangkok Mass Transit System and Plc. 2003).
Figure 3-3 Location of Goods Distribution Centre and Department Stores in Bangkok Metropolis (2002)
Source: Department of Policy and Planning (2004)
Although many transportation systems are provided, traffic congestion problems stubbornly remain, becoming ever stronger, complex and difficult to manage due to unsystematic planning (Rujopakarn 2003).
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3.2.3 Current Environmental Problems in Bangkok
Urban air pollution resulting from traffic is a major problem in Bangkok (Ruchirawat, Settachan et al. 2007). Traffic generates many environmental problems such as air pollution, noise, and dust. In 2008, the maximum PM-10 in 5 sampling stations in Bangkok exceeded the standard of 120 µg/m3 (Pollution Control Department: 2009). The maximum noise level at roadsides in the Bangkok Metropolitan area in 2008 was 82.1 dB(A) which exceeded the standard of 70 dB(A) (Pollution Control Department 2009).
Air pollution also generates health problems among people in urban areas. A study conducted by Ruchirawata (2007) confirms that children living in Bangkok are more exposed to higher levels of carcinogenic air pollutants, such as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and benzene, than children in rural areas, who are exposed to much less traffic congestion (Ruchirawat, Settachan et al. 2007). The study also indicated that Bangkok school children exposed to polluted urban air were at a greater risk of contracting cancer.
3.2.4 Thai Politics and Protests in Bangkok
The most important moments in Thai politics in the 20th century was the democratic revolution of 1930 when the revolutionists seized power from the King. The political system of Thailand changed from absolute monarchy to a democratic form of government with the King as Titular Head of State (Office of the Council of State of Thailand 2007). According to the latest constitution in 2007, the sovereign power belongs to Thai people. The King as Head of the State exercises power through the National Assembly, the Council of Ministers and the Courts in accordance with the provisions of Thai constitution (Constitution Drafting Commission 2007).
The current King of Thailand is King Rama IX who became King on 9 June 1946. Over the 60 years of his reign, his Majesty has established 191 development projects in relation to water, agriculture, environment, career development, transportation, and social welfare (Office of the Royal Development Projects Board 2009). These royal projects has have helped sustainably improve the quality of life of many Thai people, who genuinely respect and admire their King.
The socialists have repeatedly called for more democracy and protested against the government many times since 1930. The most important protests, during which many people died, occurred in 1973, 1976, and 1992. The main cause of these three protests was corruption and the military dictatorship. Although the King‘s power has decreased due to democracy, His Majesty still played an important role in Thai political history. After the massacre in 1992, the King stepped-in to mediate the uproar and appoint a new Prime Minister.
The latest, and on-going, political conflict started in 2001 when Mr Thaksin Chinnawat won the election and became the 23rd prime minister of Thailand (Aurel, Daniel et al. 2005). Since Thaksin (personally a billionaire) came to power the national economy of Thailand has dramatically grown.
In 2004, a group of socialists called the ―People's Alliance for Democracy‖ (PAD – Against Thaksin) protested about Thaksin‘s alleged corruption and conflicts of interest. A military coup occurred on 19 September 2006 when Thaksin was abroad. After the coup, the army- initiated International Security Bill received cabinet approval on 19 June 2007. A new socialist group, the National United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD – Support Thaksin) was set up to drive out the non-elected cabinet. The UDD stopped its first protest in
28 the end of 2007 when Mr Samak Sundaravej won the election. PAD however started new protests opposing Samak‘s government since he was a nominee of Thaksin.
Recent political turmoil has greatly damaged the national economy. The PAD shut down the national airport on 24 November 2008 in an attempt to push out a nominee of the government (BangkokPost 2008). The constitutional court decided to dissolve the main political party supporting the government on 2 December 2008 and the PAD-led mob moved out from the airport the following day.
In April 2009 and March-May 2009 protests supporting Thaksin led by the Democrat Party (UDD) led to the occupation of the inner city area, including Ratchaprasong where many shopping malls were forced to close (Bangkok Post 2010) and several were fire mobbed by protestors. The retailers located within the area affected by the demonstrations were closed throughout the protest. Some supermarkets, such as the Central Food Hall and one branch of Big C, were burned by the protesters and had to be renovated before opening up again. Other stores such as Seven-Eleven and Foodland who claim ―we never close‖ had to close earlier due to the curfew. During this time many people bought lots of dried foods during the day time to have a stock of food to ensure they would have enough to eat. At this point it is too early to state the long-term impacts of these protests on supermarkets and specialized shops in Bangkok.