“The Futures of Thai Urbanism” is the working title of the book I plan to write while at CSEAS. The manuscript will be a synthesis of findings from ongoing and previous research projects that I have conducted related to urban life, urban development, and futures studies in Thailand. The book will also include my personal reflection from direct involvement in the policymaking and politics of urban planning and development in the country.

The book’s first chapter explores “Urbanism as the way of Thai life,” arguing that urbanity in Thailand has already expanded beyond the physical and administrative boundaries of the cities, meaning that urbanism will soon become the dominant way of life for most people. The book will then contrast “growing metropolises and declining towns.” A chapter on “peri-urbanity as a distinct form of urbanism” will investigate how the processes of dispersive urban expansion have created hybrid landscapes of fragmented urban and rural characteristics, not just in terms of physical space, but also in economic, social, and political terms as well. “City as a platform” will discuss how the infrastructure, economic processes, and institutional frameworks of digital platforms have penetrated and shaped practically all economic sectors and spheres of Thai urban life. I will also imagine “future scenarios of Thai urbanism,” analyzing their implications in terms of “social archipelagos, urban commons, and collectivism.” Finally, I will offer proposals for institutional reform.