ABSTRACT
This chapter reveals the changing conceptions of nature and urban settlement in Bangkok and its surroundings in the post-WWII era, during which the landscape of the city was significantly altered by rapid industrialization and modern development under American influence in the context of the Cold War. Bangkok was one of the villages that got its name from its lavish orchards of water olives, and grew steadily as a check point for collecting taxes from the sea trade. Bangkok became the center to which were sent the natural resources extracted in northern and central Thailand. The chapter explores how different settlement patterns, from indigenous cultivation to modernization and industrialization, have transformed the landscape of Bangkok and its relationship to nature. It analyzes how these transformations have affected urban residents through severe environmental degradation and how historic communities have been rethinking their relationship with nature.
