Abstract. This paper uses the introduction of a mass rapid transit system intothe existing urban form of the city of Bangkok as a metaphor to explore issuesof globalization and urban form. The aspirations of Bangkok to become oneof the world cities in the global economy were clear prior to the economiccrisis of the 1990s. The Bangkok mass transit system – the Skytrain – wasinitiated in 1992 and opened in 1999 in response to major problems of trafficcongestion and pollution, and the expansion of central business districts. TheSkytrain is promoted as a symbol of modernity, comparable to the best in theworld. It was built over existing streets some 3–4 stories above ground level.At this level there are direct pedestrian links from the stations into some ofBangkok’s prestigious shopping malls and hotels, and links to commercialareas. On the streets beneath this massive structure, the vibrant chaos ofThailand exists, seemingly untouched by the world above. The streets arejammed with traffic, the footways with street traders and food stalls, and thenight markets teem with people. Those, the majority, who find the Skytraintoo expensive, ride in cheap buses, and on motorcycles, polluting the streetswith fumes and noise. Two separate patterns of use, almost different ‘‘worlds’’exist, one above and the other below the transit lines. The paper argues thatboth the local and global co-exist, and that globalization may not always bethe winner.

1. Introduction

In April 2002 McDonald’s launched a new product in Bangkok – the StickyRice Roast Pork Burger (Fig. 1, Bangkok Post 2002). The local franchisee,the McThai Co. was proud of the fact that all the ingredients were locallysourced, and it was the first time that the fast food chain had used Thai rice.Adapting food to local tastes has been McDonald’s policy for a number ofyears, but such direct local sourcing of a product bearing only a passingresemblance to the ‘‘normal’’ Big Mac is unusual. So unusual, it raises someinteresting questions. What has happened to the claims of many commen-tators that globalization is a form of cultural imperialism? How real is the

Ann Reg Sci (2003) 37:547–557DOI: 10.1007/s00168-003-0170-9

Above and below the line: Globalization andurban form in Bangkok

Mike Jenks

Department of Architecture, School of the Built Environment, Oxford Brookes University,Oxford, UK (e-mail: mjenks@brookes.ac.uk)

boast of the Chief Executive Officer of the Disney Corporation that it‘‘doesn’t matter whether it comes in by cable, telephone lines, computer orsatellite. Everyone’s going to have to deal with Disney’’ (cited in Ellwood1998: 11; see Fig. 2). And if a global product changes to match local tastes, isit because the culture (particularly urban culture) has forced it to do so, or isit just a cynical attempt to exploit local markets? Or is such a phenomenonjust indicative of one business, competing in a melee of other global and localbusiness, in the cultural melting pot of a large city?

Fig. 1. Thai actress Pornchita naSongkhla launching the StickyRice Roast Pork Burger, a globalcompromise? (Source: BangkokPost)

Fig. 2. Globalization and cul-tural imperialism? (Source: Ell-wood 1998: 11)

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Globalization is a complex field where many different positions are taken,with those at the extremes believing on the one hand that it is a ‘‘takeover’’ bywestern values and corporations, and on the other hand that it is a beneficialcreator of wealth (e.g., Held 2000). Much has been written about the waycities compete for foreign direct investment and for global corporations andtheir headquarters (winner takes all), about world or global cities, about thedeath of distance in a telecommunications age, and the homogenization ofculture and lifestyle (e.g., Hall and Pfeiffer 2000; Sassen 2001). The debateabout globalization is significant and reified, attempting to understand theforces at work, but it often neglects the smaller scale impacts and meaningsthat may affect the quality of peoples’ lives.

This paper addresses the local level and speculates about some of thesymbols of globalization, and what it may mean to urban populations whenfaced with the reality of a city and its streets. A critique by the UNDP(1999:33) suggests that the ‘‘rise of culture as an economic good has added tothe identification of culture with commodities that can be sold and traded…Although the spread of ideas and images enriches the world, there is a risk ofreducing cultural concerns to what can be bought and sold, neglecting cus-tom, community and tradition.’’ However, the suggestion here is that glob-alization, whether characterized as economic or cultural, may not be as blackand white as painted, but that the reality may be infinitely more colorful. Thisis one reason why, with its energy and vitality Bangkok is taken as a symbolicexample. Its recently introduced mass transit system, the Skytrain, provides ametaphor through which to explore some issues of globalization and urbanfrom.

2. Bangkok

Bangkok is a large city by any standards, primate in Thailand and importantin the South East Asia Region. Its population is estimated to be 5.7 millionwith a further 3.6 million in the greater Bangkok area (Alpha Research 2001).But these are registered citizens and the Governor of Bangkok estimates thatthere are as many as a further 4 million unregistered people within the city,making it a city of around 10 million people (Sundaravej 2001). But it is notclassified as a world or global city. It may have had aspirations in the 1990swhen Thailand was one of the key Asian tiger economies, and it is notwithout global significance as in 1998 it was one of the top 25 cities in thetransnational banking sector (Sassen 2000, p. 53). The economic boom ofthe early 1990s saw a quadrupling of capital flows of foreign investment intothe South East Asia Region to around $110 billion in 1996. Thailand liber-alized its foreign exchange regime, relinquishing exchange controls in 1990,and opening up a banking facility for foreign financial institutions in 1993.Much of the foreign investment went into Thailand’s property market, andthe explosion of high-rise development in Bangkok gave all the appearancesof a ‘globalized’ city. But this market was over-extended and by 1997 therewas $20 billion of unsold property in Bangkok. By July 1997 $105 billion offoreign money had left South East Asia (Ellwood 2001). Thailand allowed itscurrency to float, and as a result loan repayments on property could not bemet. The evidence was visible in ‘the empty shells of abandoned high-riseconstruction sites in Bangkok’s central areas’ (Laird 2000: 404).

Globalization and urban form in Bangkok 549

Yet in many respects Bangkok has changed little. Of course the globalconsequences of the 1997 Asian crash were serious, and in Bangkok bank-ruptcies amongst developers were endemic, construction workers (largelyfrom rural areas) lost work and many returned to the countryside, andunemployment rose. But the property boom had not changed the form of thecity in its streets and layout, only in some places buildings were higher. Thelife of the city remained vibrant, its notorious traffic congestion was littleaffected, and during it all a 100% privately financed mass rapid transit sys-tem, the Skytrain, was constructed and opened in December 1999.

3. Congested spaces

Bangkok has had a long history of attempts to accommodate traffic, from thefilling in of canals post-war, large-scale infrastructure investment from thelate 1950s, through, more recently, to the construction of major raisedexpressways, toll roads and flyovers (Bae and Suthinarnat 2003). The impacton congestion has been minimal. An urban form that is characterized byrelatively low road capacity, combined with poor traffic management, leads tovirtual gridlock in some streets and average speeds for buses in the core areaof 9 kph (Barter 2000; Bae and Suthinarnat 2003). While some politiciansthink that the raised expressways are a ‘good thing’ (e.g., Sundaravej 2001),the latent demand encouraged by new roads, and seemingly inexorable rise incar ownership leave the streets of Bangkok as crowded as ever (Table 1).

Not surprisingly, mass transit edged onto the agenda, and in 1992 aconcession was let for an elevated rail, preceding the Bangkok PublicTransport Master Plan of 1995, advocating 200 km of transit lines (Moor andRees 2000). The hope was to reduce commuting times, relieve congestion andleave behind the congested world of Bangkok’s busy streets.

4. The world of the Skytrain

The opening in December 1999 was rushed to coincide with the King ofThailand’s 72nd birthday celebrations. Its building had been fraught withdifficulties as the costs rose from some 30 billion to 50 billion baht1 caused bythe economic crash and the Thai currency devaluation (Sundaravej 2001).The Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Company Ltd. (BTS) raised 100%of the money privately and it has a 30-year concession, retains 100% of therevenue and has the first refusal on the building and operating of anyextensions to the lines. The numbers of passengers required to break evenwere three times more than actually used the service at the start, although by2001 numbers were rapidly increasing and the Skytrain now carries 250,000passengers per working day (BTS 2002). With daily operating costs of 5million baht against revenue of 4 million, and an additional 8 million a day toservice the loans (Sundaravej 2001), the necessity to attract more passengersand to serve greater areas of the population was clearly an imperative. The

1 At the beginning of November 2002, 100 Thai baht = US$2.3, and US$1 = 43 Thai baht.

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tension between the needs of a private company to cover its costs and achieveprofitability and the government with its control over consent is apparentin the planned extensions to the service, The Thai government’s Cabinetapproved three extensions (totaling 19.6km) on 29 February 2000 – oneserving a new business district – but none giving access to significant areas ofBangkok’s population. A further 94 km are planned to suburbs in the north,east and west of the city and this may serve the critical mass of populationneeded to make the system viable. At the same time a ring route (of 127 km)linking these three extensions is being studied. However, another mass transitproject (Hopewell) was placed on hold, and the future of extensions to theSkytrain remain uncertain.

The Skytrain has a strong physical presence in the city (Fig. 3). The twolines (23.5 km in total) and its 23 stations, are all built over existing streets.Whether consciously or not it represents a highly globalized ‘world’. Thetransit system itself uses the latest technology from Europe, overseasdesigners were employed and maintenance inspections are carried out incollaboration with experts from the USA. The result is a safe, efficient, clean

Fig. 3. The massive structure of the Skytrain’s line and stations over Bangkok’s streets (Source:Mike Jenks)

Table 1. Vehicle registrations in Bangkok by type

1997 (000s) 1998 (000s) 1999 (000s) % change

Cars 1,156 1,232 1,217 +14Vans 553 595 664 +20Motorcycles 1,617 1,647 1,666 +3Taxis 51 56 61 +20‘Tuk-Tuks’ 7 7 7 0Buses 135 130 124 )8Trucks 110 104 99 )10Other 242 244 229 )6Total 3,871 4,015 4,161 +7

Source: Alpha Research 2001.

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and cool air-conditioned service, speeding passengers over the congestedstreets below. Trains run every 3.2 minutes at peak times and the maximumjourney time is 30 minutes – three to four times faster than traveling on theroads.

Its separation into what is to all appearances another world is reinforcednot only by its physical elevation, but also by the connections to many ofBangkok’s international facilities. Eight of the elevated stations have highlevel direct connections (Sky Bridges) to international hotels or majorshopping malls (Fig. 4). The Skytrain thus gives direct connections either atthe same level, or in close proximity to stations, to 32 International Hotels, 17International Shopping Malls, and to two night markets (aimed at tourists)and one weekend market.

As a mass transit system, it can be questioned as to who the ‘masses’ mightbe, as it is a relatively expensive mode of transport. The average annual GNPper capita in Thailand is 76,269 baht, and in Bangkok the average monthlywage is 9,750 baht (Alpha Research 2001). Of this, around 14% of householdexpenditure will be spent on transport. However, a single journey on theSkytrain will cost between 10–40 baht (from a trip to one station, a trip to 10or more stations away), and multi journey tickets lasting approximately onemonth would cost 900 baht for one member of a household, representingnearly 10% of their monthly income. Clearly the benefits of this system donot extend to all, but favor those with money. The main beneficiaries are themiddle classes and businessmen, school children (who have subsidized fares),and in addition, tourists and international visitors. Indeed, the advice given tovisitors now is to stay in a hotel that is accessible to the Skytrain.

The stated objectives for the Skytrain are to help ‘…alleviate the chronictraffic problem in Bangkok and to provide a more efficient means of trans-portation…’ (BTS 2002). Pragmatically the system is clearly highly efficient,and with its quarter of a million passengers each day, it takes some people offthe roads. However, symbolically it is a different story. The relatively highcost of travel, numerous direct links to international facilities, its cleanlinessand efficiency, reinforced by its elevation, all make the Skytrain into a

Fig. 4. A Sky bridge being constructed to link Chit Lom Station with an international hotel andshopping mall (Source: Mike Jenks)

552 M. Jenks

different environment. It exists as an almost unreal and separate world,occupying the same spatial location as the streets below, yet operatingserenely above them.

5. The world below the line

Four stories beneath the Skytrain stations a different reality exists. The effi-cient, ordered environment is replaced by the vibrancy, noise and dirt of thestreets. There is no single use, but a rich and chaotic mixture of pedestrians,street traders and stalls, shops and eating-places (Fig. 5). So crowded are thepavements that pedestrians spill out onto busy streets to face a vast array oftraffic, sometimes moving, sometimes in gridlock, and always polluting. Thestreets all interconnect to a variety of places, most of which are local busi-nesses, but also with the usual mix of international franchises such asMcDonald’s and Haagen Daz.

The options for getting around are many and varied, but all are affectedby traffic delays because of congestion. Buses provide transport for most andthey are affordable by all but the very poor. The publicly funded services (bythe Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA)) charge 3.5 baht for eachjourney regardless of distance, and the equivalent private company charges 5baht. These buses are not air-conditioned, but those that are charge a mini-mum of 12 baht, a price that increases with distance traveled. Like the Sky-train, buses are frequent, but by contrast are unpredictable and at peak hoursoften full. Journeys of two hours are common. For those wishing to avoid thetraffic, and willing to risk their lives, motorcycle taxis wait at most busyjunctions – the prices are cheap and negotiable. The Tuk-Tuks2 are little usedby locals because they are expensive and tend to serve tourists. Taxis too arerelatively expensive, with a starting price of 35 baht, and tend to serve thesame sector of the population as the Skytrain (school children excepted).

Fig. 5. The vitality of Bangkok’s street life (Source: Mike Jenks)

2 Three-wheeler taxis powered by highly polluting motorcycle engines (one can be seen in Fig. 5).

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But the streets are not just a route to travel through or a means to accessone of the many shopping malls, but are places that are inhabited, and usedfor trade and social life (e.g., Levitas 1986). The streets below the Skytrain areno exception. For example, in what can be classified as a business district, atthe junction of two major roads (Rama 1 and Ratchadamri) the two Skytrainlines cross overhead, and there is a station close by. This has Sky Bridgeslinking major international facilities – the Grand Hyatt Erewan Hotel and theGaysorn Plaza Shopping Mall. Below is the ancient Buddhist Erewan Shrine,with numerous street stalls making floral offerings and selling incense (Fig. 6).Gathered around the steps up to the station are motorcycle taxi riders andbeggars. Further up the street, close to a McDonald’s are street traders sellingsilk ties, household goods, and trinkets. The place is teeming with life andalways changing.

Within a short distance, under the Skytrain’s Sukhumvit line, a rich mix ofBangkok life can be experienced, including a number of shopping malls andoffices, numerous food shops, restaurants, bars, markets, and, of courseapartments for the many who live there. While the Skytrain operates from sixin the morning to twelve at night, the streets are alive for 24 hours a day. If, asCzarnowski (1986: 211) suggests, streets are places ‘to be read, interpretedand given meaning’, then on the transit line above and the streets below, anyreading of them suggests that two different worlds appear to co-exist.

6. Two worlds?

Perhaps the metaphor, contrasting a mass transit system with city streets, is atenuous one. However, it has some strength in the fact that the physicalconfiguration is effectively one and the same. Both occupy the same geo-graphic location, but at different levels. Bangkok is a complex network ofstreets and open spaces, of different districts and centers of population. Thechoices are infinite and the connections with the city as a whole are open andvaried. The Skytrain makes particular connections, linking together a large

Fig. 6. The Skytrain and crossroads at the Erewan Shrine with street traders below (Source:Asian Images CD)

554 M. Jenks

number of the ‘globalized’ spaces and facilities in Bangkok. It is overlaid onthe existing street pattern, maintaining the same configuration, but creatingan entirely different symbolic space of its own. Above the streets, if one hadsufficient money, it is possible to live without any real connection to the cityor to Thailand. It is possible to experience globalization to the full, travelingin a foreign-built train, eating at international restaurants, staying in globalhotel chains and buying international designer goods. Below, Thailand isimpossible to avoid. Table 2 characterizes some key differences.

Does the metaphor of the separate worlds of transit lines and streets leadto any insights beyond the particular? It is perhaps the fact that such dif-ferences can exist together in exactly the same place that has some meaning.The impact of globalization on the form or configuration of Bangkok in thisexample is negligible. The impact on development is more noticeable, asdevelopment has absorbed some smaller buildings and tower blocks haveemerged. The link to modern transit systems and the stations is also notice-able, and the business opportunities are gaining ground – for example, theGovernor of Bangkok advocating an international convention center at-tached to one of the Skytrain extensions (Sundaravej 2001). Yet, where the‘global’ development has taken place, the street life still inhabits the sameareas, with stalls outside selling fakes of the designer goods sold inside theshopping malls.

The view that globalization is some form of cultural imperialism does notseem to ring true, and neither is it true that it has no impact. Many differentworlds seem to coexist, and it is this that needs to be further considered. Theform and development of cities is vastly complex. However much foreigndirect investment is attracted, and high-rise property developed, the config-uration of the streets usually remains. Here life goes on, and extends wellbeyond the business districts to areas that will evolve in response to localneeds.

The identification of any links between globalization and urban devel-opment and its form is complex. Using a metaphor to illustrate the issue mayseem trivial. However, not only in Bangkok, but also throughout the world itis obvious that the symbols of globalization exist. Yet, even the mostsuperficial of observations tell us that the form, feel and look of different citiesaround the world are not the same, or homogenized by globalization. Neitherdo the international headquarters or franchised stores and restaurants appearidentical, even if the products are often recognizably the same. Certainly, thestreets and life inhabiting them maintain a high degree of local identity.

Table 2. Comparisons of above and below

Above Below

International, global chain stores and hotels Local and diverse shops and markets, andapartments for locals

Air-conditioned, cool Hot, and polluted airDesigner goods, international products Fake designer goods, local productsMcDonald’s, KFC, Haagen Daz Local food and street stallsSanitized, protected, safe Messy, some potential dangersClosed to the poor Open to everyoneOperates 06.00 – 24.00 Operates 24 hours a day

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It seems worthwhile to focus the debate and our understanding of theimpacts of globalization on cities at the smaller scale. At this level the richnessand vitality of local people and environments, interact and co-exist in avariety of ways. It is not always the seemingly rich, powerful and corpora-tions that prevail. Interestingly, the Erewan Shrine and its street traders makeno concessions to globalization or international mores – rather, it intenselyreflects Thai culture and religion. Yet about 50 meters along the road, it is theMcDonald’s that has made the compromise with its Sticky Rice Roast PorkBurger (Fig. 7).

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Fig. 7. A dominating sign, but not dominating Thai culture or tastes (Source: Mike Jenks)

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