Bangkok’s (sub)urban gates: Transformation of housing estates to gated communities in Bangkok and its vicinity
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Abstract
This study examines how Bangkok’s arterial and ring-road infrastructure has shaped the emergence and spatial distribution of private gated communities in the metropolitan periphery. Focusing on middle- and high-income, private-sector housing developments, rather than low-income, informal, or state-subsidized housing, the research defines its scope around suburban residential estates where detached houses and controlled-access environments have become dominant models of urban living. A qualitative historical and spatial case-study approach is adopted, drawing on archival materials, road-development records, housing-estate planning, field observations, and surveys of selected housing estates. Four housing-estate types are analyzed as representative stages in Bangkok’s suburban residential transformation: allotted villages, non-gated housing estates, gated housing estates, and gated communities with enclosed common facilities. The findings show that road networks have not merely supported urban expansion but also actively structured the location, accessibility, and spatial characteristics of private housing estates. The study contributes to urban research by positioning gated suburban housing in Bangkok as an infrastructure-led urban form, demonstrating how roads have shaped both metropolitan expansion and the everyday architecture of middle-class domestic life.
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