Asian Transformations in Action - Api-fellowships.org

COLLAGES OF BETTERMENT 215developed, which underwent pilot testing. Aware thatthis type of study poses the danger of oversimplificationand unwarranted generalizations, the author reiterateshere that these are inferential concepts and need toundergo more extensive empirical study.FindingsThe findings illustrate the results of the comparativeanalysis of Asian city streets to validate the influenceof the forest environment within their street spaces.Even with diverse historical trends and the influenceof acculturation, a deep and underlying parallelism onhow people utilize space gives rise to a distinctly Asianculture of space. The forest-based concept clarifiessociological similarities arising from the similarity inecological context that produced related socioculturaladaptations.Factors influencing Bandung, Bangkok and ManilaGeography and climate have a deep impact on people’sway-of-life and behavior. This section discusses variousenvironmental as well as sociocultural factors thatinfluenced the development of the three cities. TheAsian region’s tropical forest environment serves asan appropriate starting point in discussing the variousinfluences ranging from the physical and social contextto socio-cultural adaptations and settlement formation.Environmental factors: Climate, geography and ecosystemIn general, Southeast Asia is described as having diverseclimatic influences with a naturally dense forest cover,high biodiversity and riverine coastal movements.Bandung is the fourth largest city of Indonesia and thecapital of West Java. The southern portion is relativelyflat compared to its hilly northern counterpart (Siregar1990). Thus, typical developments are located in thelower valley. Bangkok lies adjacent to the Chao PhrayaRiver, which is considered the central artery of thewhole territory. The average altitude of Bangkok issignificantly low, and thus prone to flooding. Similarly,Manila lies on the flat plains of Luzon and developedon the shores of the Pasig River. In the three cities, theriver is considered a critical component in settlementdevelopment because it facilitates transportation,communication and trade with other areas (Blakemore1996). Moreover, socioeconomic and culturaldevelopment are linked with rivers and streams. TheCikapundung River runs north to south throughBandung, dividing the area into two geographicfeatures with only a single bridge to connect bothsides. The Chao Phraya River is known for its role asan initial point of development. In pre-colonial Manila,the Pasig River and the Canal de la Reina served as acommunication route and a distribution network forthe produce brought to the city from the provinces (DeViana 2001).Sociocultural adaptations: Thought development andacculturationIn the three case cities, the development of polytheisticreligious thought was highly influenced by the forestenvironment and indicates the closeness of religion tothe way of life of its inhabitants. Pre-colonial Indonesiaand the Philippines practiced animism with a strongemphasis on ancestor worship, while for the Thais,homage and respect was the key feature of their socialrelations as it is customary to pay their respects towardsthe land spirit (chao thi) of their homes (Askew n.d.).Polytheistic belief was present wherein an ordinaryperson perceived the natural world to be animated by avast array of deities who inhabited the trees, rivers andcaves (Andaya and Ishii 2000). However, acculturationin the region led to the introduction of Islam by Arabictraders in the 13th century. In the Philippines, asidefrom Islam, Catholicism was also introduced throughSpanish colonization. Ongoing trade with India andChina further shaped Southeast Asia’s socioculturallifestyle. The amalgamation of cultures contributes tothe evolution of distinct ways in which people utilizedtheir streets. This is further reflected in the contemporaryperiod in the ubiquitous presence of Chinese enclaves:Chinese Camp in Indonesia, Chinatown in Bangkokand Chinese Sangleys in Binondo, Manila.Morphological development in the case citiesThe section discusses the morphological developmentof the three case cities as a function of their forest-basedroots as well as the acculturation process that followed.Settlement formationThe oldest reference to Bandung was in 1488 whenit was the capital of the Kingdom of Pajajaran. Themajority of Bandung’s population has Sundanese roots,and the polytheistic beliefs of animism still dominatetheir present life cycle in congruence with their strongIslamic beliefs. Elements present in the Sundaneseurban residential quarter (kampung) include a watersource, open space (lapangan) serving as social venue forits inhabitants, and a rectangular house plan reflectingthe democratic characteristic of the village inhabitants(Salura 2006). The pre-Dutch sunda village consisted ofabout 40 families, usually related to each other. WhenAsian Transformations in ActionThe Work of the 2006/2007 API Fellows