The closely related dominant ethnic groups in modern-day Laos and Thailand both belong to the broader ethnolinguistic group of people speaking Tai languages that extends into northwestern Vietnam and southern China. Small bands of Tai began migrating out of southern China into what are now Laos and Thailand from around the eighth century on. As they took possession of fertile river valleys, they established small principalities (called muang) dominated by powerful aristocratic families who differentiated themselves from the commoners over whom they ruled (Condominas, 1990). These social distinctions determined how their principal settlements were planned, in relation to the flow of the rivers on which they were constructed.
In northern Laos, the Lao displaced Mon/Khmer-speaking subsistence farmers. But further south in Laos and in northern and central Thailand, Tai expansion encountered advanced civilizations in the form of Mon and Khmer kingdoms, whose capital cities incorporated...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
Askew, M. (2002). Bangkok: Place, practice and representation. London: Routledge.
Askew, M., Long, W. S., & Long, C. (2007). Vientiane: Transformations of a Lao landscape. London/New York: Routledge.
Clément-Charpentier, S. (2008). Les débuts de Vientiane, capitale colonial. In Y. Goudineau & M. Lorrillard (Eds.), New research on Laos: Recherches nouvelles sur le Laos (pp. 287–337). Vientiane, Paris: École française d’Extrême-Orient. (includes nine plans of early Vientiane).
Clément-Charpentier, S., & Clément, P. (1990). L’habitation lao dans les regions de Vientiane et de Louang Prabang (Vol. 1). Leuven: Peeters.
Condominas, G. (1990). From Lawa to Mon, from Saa’ to Thai. Historical and anthropological aspects of southeast Asian social spaces. Canberra: Research School of Pacific Studies.
Garnier, D. (2004). Ayutthaya: Venice of the east. Bangkok: River books.
Népote, J. (1997). Louang Phrabang: d’une position géo-politique articulatoire àun urbanism microcosmique. Péninsule, 34(1), 129–152.
Ngaosrivathana, M., & Ngaosrivathana, P. (2009). The enduring sacred landscape of the Naga. Chiang Mai: Mekong Press.
Sternstein, L. (1972). Planning the future of Bangkok. In D. J. Dwyer (Ed.), The city as a centre of change in Asia (pp. 243–254). Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Stuart-Fox, M. (1998). The Lao kingdom of Lan Xang: Rise and decline. Bangkok: White Lotus Press.
Stuart-Fox, M. (2006). Naga cities of the Mekong. Singapore: Media Masters.
Stuart-Fox, M. (2009). Laos: The Chinese connection. In D. Singh (Ed.), Southeast Asian affairs 2009 (pp. 141–169). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Stuart-Fox, M., & Reeve, P. (2011). Symbolism in city planning in Cambodia from Angkor to Phnom Penh. Journal of the Siam Society, 99, 105–138.
Thammanosouth, S. (n. d.). PowerPoint presentation on urban development in Vientiane. Available at http://www.forum-urban-futures.net/files/Saykham_CVS%20with%20urban%20developmentfinal1.pdf
Wyatt, D. K., & Wichienkeeo, A. (1995). The Chiang Mai chronicle. Chiang Mai: Silkworm Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this entry
Cite this entry
Stuart-Fox, M. (2014). City Planning of the Lao/Thai. In: Selin, H. (eds) Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3934-5_10116-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3934-5_10116-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-3934-5
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities