ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the stages of urban development of Bangkok by focusing upon the relationships between emerging patterns of commercial space and mobile vending activities and the evolution of urban form. The patterns of commercial space in Bangkok can be described through the process of urban development which involves two different trading systems: the local and regional system and the international trade system. The city's urban structure is composed of two main systems: water and land. Trading and exchange of goods also played an important role in agrarian village life. Waterways not only facilitated everyday life, agricultural activities, trading activities, and cultural and spiritual beliefs, but they also provided the primary means of transportation and communication, lacing many local communities together. The chapter describes the typology of mobile vending corresponds to the present-day urban spatial structure of Bangkok. Urban blocks in Bangkok enclosed by the main roads were generally laced by the network of sub-systems, laneways, and alleyways.
