Street vendors in an urban jungle: notions of development in modernising Thailand

In light of development plans by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration recently threatening to evict street vendors, this thesis takes a historical perspective onto notions of development in Thailand from 1945 to 1997. The research question of this thesis is as follows: to what extent are changing public spaces in Bangkok representative of the dynamics of economic development and urbanisation in Thailand? Through the use of theories of development – development economics and the modernisation theory – this thesis unlocks new insights into the contingent relationship between development, modernisation, and urbanisation. The final conclusion of this thesis is that sustained development has brought Thailand economic and social growth in all aspects. Economic development helped garner a state of modernity, however increased urbanisation as a cause of sustained development came at the cost of social implications in the form of friction in urban aspects of identity, modernity, and the...Show moreIn light of development plans by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration recently threatening to evict street vendors, this thesis takes a historical perspective onto notions of development in Thailand from 1945 to 1997. The research question of this thesis is as follows: to what extent are changing public spaces in Bangkok representative of the dynamics of economic development and urbanisation in Thailand? Through the use of theories of development – development economics and the modernisation theory – this thesis unlocks new insights into the contingent relationship between development, modernisation, and urbanisation. The final conclusion of this thesis is that sustained development has brought Thailand economic and social growth in all aspects. Economic development helped garner a state of modernity, however increased urbanisation as a cause of sustained development came at the cost of social implications in the form of friction in urban aspects of identity, modernity, and the notion of development itself. The conclusions drawn from this research provide insight into the understanding of Thai development of the previous century, as do they lay a foundation for the understanding of Thai development of the 21st century.Show less

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Street vendors in an urban jungle: notions of development in modernising Thailand