ABSTRACT

Southeast Asia is a challenging site for students of planning, a region of 10 countries known for its diversity no matter how hard one wishes to emphasize commonality. Almost all the Western powers (and Japan) colonized the region: the British Empire in the territories of Myanmar and Malaya (today’s Singapore and Malaysia); the French in Indochina (today’s Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos); the Spanish and the Americans in the Philippines; the Dutch in today’s Indonesia; the Portuguese in East Timor. And adding to this crowd is Thailand, never colonized but heavily influenced by the multiple colonialisms surrounding its territory.