`Behaviours of settlement´: patterns of inertia and change in the history of Cambodia

`Behaviours of settlement´: patterns of inertia and change in the history of Cambodia

This paper deals with morphological dynamics of settlement patterns in the south-western part of mainland Southeast Asia. The vicissitudes of Cambodia’s history from pre-Angkorian times to the present offers unique insights in the formation and persistence of townscapes and human settlements. Recently, ancient Angkor has been hallmarked as “the world’s largest preindustrial settlement complex” (PNAS 2007) . This paper analyzes the dialectic of form and function over time. It examines first the original morphology of this wide spread, low density settlement, a “hydraulic city” inspired by antique Indian town planning and shaped by environmental constraints. Secondly, the later urban models of that particular region, based on French colonial layouts and modern town management, will be examined, based on extensive field work and personal research in and about the capital Phnom Penh.