Cities, Transport and Communications - The Integration of Southeast Asia since 1850

Cities, Transport and Communications

Also by Howard Dick

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THE RISE AND FALL OF REVENUE FARMING: Business Elites and the Emergence of

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SURABAYA, CITY OF WORK: A Twentieth Century Socioeconomic History

Also by Peter J. Rimmer

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TRANSPORT IN THAILAND: The Railway Decision

Cities, Transport and

Communications

The Integration of Southeast Asia since 1850

Howard Dick

Associate Professor

Department of Management

University of Melbourne

Australia

and

Peter J. Rimmer

Professor Emeritus and Visiting Fellow

Division of Pacific and Asian History

Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies

The Australian National University

Canberra

Australia

© Howard Dick and Peter J. Rimmer 2003

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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Dick, H.W. (Howard W.)

Cities, transport and communications : the integration of Southeast Asia

since 1850/Howard Dick and Peter J. Rimmer.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0–333–55301–2

1. Metropolitan areas—Asia, Southeastern. 2. Cities and towns—Asia,

Southeastern. 3. Transportation—Asia, Southeastern. 4. Telecommunication—

Asia, Southeastern. 5. Asia, Southeastern—Economic conditions. I. Rimmer,

Peter James. II. Title.

HT334.A785D53 2003

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To our families

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vii

Contents

List of Tables viii

List of Figures xi

Preface and Acknowledgements xv

Glossary xix

A Note on Place Names xxii

Part I Patterns and Processes 1

1 Patterns: Networks and Urban Hierarchy 3

2 Processes: the Diffusion of Technology 37

Part II Hinterlands 73

3 The Archipelago 81

4 Islands: Java and Luzon 117

5 Rivers: Chao Phraya, Irrawaddy and Mekong 155

6 Peninsulas: Malaya and Annam 186

Part III Cities 217

7 World City: Singapore 229

8 Archipelagic Cities: Manila and Jakarta 257

9 River Cities: Bangkok, Rangoon and Saigon 289

10 First World City: Kuala Lumpur 319

Afterword 339

Bibliography 345

Index 376

viii

List of Tables

1.1 Singapore: shipping movements by origin and destination,

1850–51 10

1.2 Southeast Asia: gross regional domestic product (GRDP) at

official exchange rates and at purchasing power parity (PPP)

by sub-region, 1995 26

1.3 Asian cities ranked in top 25 container ports, 1985,

1995 and 2000 29

1.4 Asian cities ranked in top 25 airports by air freight, 1985,

1995 and 2000 31

1.5 Asian cities ranked in top 25 airports by international

passengers, 1985, 1995 and 2000 31

1.6 Asia-Pacific headquarters location of the world’s top 25

container shipping, air transport and telecommunications

firms, c.2000 32

2.1 Southeast Asia: telephone sets by country, 1930–1999 46

2.2 Southeast Asia: radio sets by country, 1955, 1970, 1997 46

2.3 Southeast Asia: television sets by country, 1960, 1975, 1999 49

2.4 Southeast Asia: growth in civil aviation passenger traffic,

1950–1999 60

2.5 Southeast Asia: growth in civil aviation freight traffic,

1950–1999 60

2.6 Southeast Asia: length of railway line in operation,

1870–2000 63

2.7 Southeast Asia: rail passenger traffic, 1910–1998 65

2.8 Southeast Asia: rail freight traffic, 1910–1998 65

2.9 Southeast Asia: number of registered passenger vehicles,

1930–1998 69

2.10 Southeast Asia: number of registered commercial vehicles,

1930–1998 69

II.1 Major export commodities associated with the five

supra-national regions 77

3.1 Singapore and Java: exports and imports by destination, 1869 82

3.2 Netherlands Indies: inward shipping by main port,

1903–1938 89

3.3 Netherlands Indies: scale of interisland operations, NISN

(1886) and KPM (1929) 92

3.4 Philippines: shipping fleet by number and net tonnage, 1930 103

3.5 Philippines: cargo (non-oil) and passengers shipped by

region, 1994 112

List of Tables ix

3.6 Indonesia: ratio of interisland to foreign trade, 1914–1939

and 1972 114

3.7 Indonesia: distribution of manufacturing output and origin

of inputs, 1987 115

4.1 Java: number of motor vehicles, 1900–1996 129

4.2 Java: rail passengers, 1911–1996 130

4.3 Java: rail freight, 1911–1996 130

4.4 Java: interurban transport task by mode, 1991 135

4.5 Manila railroad company passengers and freight,

1904–1991 152

5.1 Irrawaddy, Chao Phraya and Mekong rivers: vital statistics,

c.2000 158

5.2 Burma, Indochina and Thailand: railway construction,

1869–1940 163

5.3 Burma, Indochina, Thailand: access per capita to rail, roads

and telegraph lines, late 1930s 169

5.4 Thailand: expansion of the road network, 1950–2000 178

6.1 Federated Malay States: main commodities carried by rail,

1905–1906 194

6.2 Federated Malay States: road length, 1922–1927 203

6.3 Peninsular Malaysia: private vehicle registrations and

length of roads by surface type, 1965–1990 208

III.1 ASEAN capital cities by population and economic size, 1995 222

7.1 Singapore: distribution of population by ethnic groups,

1824–1957 233

7.2 Singapore: division of public jinrikisha stands into clan

districts, late 1910s 237

7.3 Singapore: vehicle types passing over selected bridges during

traffic censuses, 1917, 1923 and 1930 238

7.4 Singapore: economic and social indicators, 1960–2000 241

7.5 Singapore: housing and development, residential properties

by town, 1931–1999 245

7.6 Singapore: motor vehicle registrations and road length,

1965–2000 246

8.1 Manila and Metro Manila: population, 1903–2000 258

8.2 Jakarta: population, 1905–2000 258

8.3 City types, phases and trends of globalization and localization 258

8.4 Manila (NCR) and Luzon, Jakarta (DKI) and Java: passenger

vehicle registrations by type, December 2000 272

8.5 Manila, Jakarta, Bangkok: modern building stock,

mid-1999 286

9.1 Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and Bangkok

Metropolitan Region (BMR): area and population,

1913–2000 290

9.2 Bangkok: motor vehicle registrations by categories,

1950–2000 303

9.3 Division of responsibilities in Thailand’s urban transport

administration 304

9.4 Bangkok: number of trips by expressways, 1985–2000 310

9.5 Bangkok: proposed mass transit systems 312

10.1 Ipoh, Georgetown and Kuala Lumpur: population, 1896–1957 320

10.2 Greater Kuala Lumpur: Population by Conurbation, Klang

Valley Corridor and agglomeration, 1947–2000 327

x List of Tables

xi

List of Figures

P.1 Definition of ‘global and ‘local’ in relation to ‘national’ xvi

1.1 Exports from Singapore to main destinations, 1850 11

1.2 Major trade routes, mid-nineteenth century 12

1.3 Rice movements, c.1870, c.1890, c.1912 and c.1929 14

1.4 Sugar movements, c.1870, c.1890, c.1912 and c.1929 15

1.5 Movements of salt, c.1929; dried and salted fish, c.1929; cattle;

bullocks and buffalo, c.1929; and swine, c.1929 16

1.6 Coal movements, c.1870, c.1890, c.1912, c.1929 17

1.7 Liner shipping connections, June 1960 18

1.8 Asia-Pacific container ports, 1995 20

1.9 Asia-Pacific air routes, August 1995 22

1.10 Asia-Pacific telecommunications connections between

country pairs, 1995 23

1.11 (a) Asia-Pacific gross domestic product, 1995; (b) Southeast

Asia gross regional domestic product, 1995 25

1.12 City/hinterland schematic diagram, 1995 28

1.13 Estimated Asia-Pacific population, 1995 30

1.14 Port chains 1850, 1930, 2000 33

1.15 Interurban air connections showing the pivotal importance

of Singapore and Hong Kong 34

1.16 The gateways to Southeast Asia 35

2.1 Main submarine cables and selected land links, c.1920 42

2.2 Mail steamers in Southeast Asia before opening of the

Suez Canal, 1869 (a) world routes (b) Southeast

Asian routes 52

2.3 Main air routes c.1938 showing date of connections

(a) world routes; (b) Southeast Asian routes 56

II.1 Supra-national and sub-national regions 76

II.2 Monopoly and competitive transport states 78

3.1 Netherlands Indies: contract interisland mail routes, c.1864 85

3.2 Netherlands Indies: contract interisland mail routes c.1888 85

3.3 Netherlands Indies: contract interisland shipping routes, 1891 85

3.4 Straits Steamship Company: network, 1937 91

3.5 KPM: overseas lines, c.1939 91

3.6 Southeast Asia: KPM and Straits Steamship Co.

networks, 1938 94

3.7 Indonesia: KPM interisland network by frequency of sailings,

1956 96

3.8 Indonesia: KPM interisland shipping routes, c.1940 99

xii List of Figures

3.9 Indonesia: Pelni interisland passenger shipping network,

1995–96 99

3.10 Port of Manila: inbound interisland shipping routes and

frequencies, 1906 108

3.11 Port of Manila: inbound interisland shipping routes and

frequencies, 16 May–15 June 1954 109

3.12 Port of Cebu: inbound interisland shipping routes and

frequencies for 31-day period 16 May–15 June 1954 111

4.1 Java: Navigable rivers and post roads on relief map,

c.1860 118

4.2 Java and Madura: (a) railway network to 1899 (b) railway

and tramway network to 1925 by width of gauge 124

4.3 Java and Madura: (a) passenger traffic, 1929 (b) goods

traffic, 1929 131

4.4 Java and Madura, 1939: (a) outward journeys; (b) inward

journeys 133

4.5 Luzon: Navigable rivers on relief map, c.1900 137

4.6 Luzon: (a) railway construction, 1892–1914; (b) railway

construction, 1915–1939 140

4.7 Luzon: desire-line chart: (a) passenger trips by road, 1992;

(b) commodity trips by road, 1992 149

4.8 Luzon: travel time on the existing road network from

Manila, 1992 150

5.1 Chao Phraya, Mekong and Irrawaddy river basins: transport

patterns, c.1885 157

5.2 Lower Chao Phraya Basin: canals built since 1850 162

5.3 Chao Phraya, Mekong and Irrawaddy river basins: transport

patterns, 1910 165

5.4 Chao Phraya, Mekong and Irrawaddy river basins: transport

patterns, 1940 167

5.5 Chao Phraya, Mekong and Irrawaddy river basins: transport

patterns, 1960 176

5.6 Thailand: transport costs, 1965 181

5.7 Chao Phraya, Mekong and Irrawaddy river basins: transport

patterns, 2000 182

6.1 Malay Peninsula and Annam: transport patterns, c.1885 188

6.2 Malay Peninsula and Annam: transport patterns, 1910 193

6.3 Malay Peninsula and Annam: transport patterns, 1940 200

6.4 Malay Peninsula and central Vietnam: transport patterns,

1960 206

6.5 Malay Peninsula and central Vietnam: transport patterns,

2000 210

6.6 Malay Peninsula and central Vietnam: proposed transport

corridors, 2010 212

6.7 Malay Peninsula and central Vietnam: projected urban

developments and expressways, 2020 213

III.1 Southeast Asia: urban population, 1900 and 1930 220

III.2 Southeast Asia: urban population, 1960 and 1990 221

III.3 Southeast Asia: schematic diagram of Singapore’s interurban

connections, 1995 224

III.4 A model showing phases of convergence and divergence

and the associated economic processes in the historical

development of city types in Southeast Asia against the

yardstick of city types in metropolitan countries 226

7.1 Singapore: urban growth, 1819–1969 230

7.2 Singapore: the 1822 Town Plan drawn to Raffles’

specifications by Lt Phillip Jackson 231

7.3 Port of Singapore, 1939 234

7.4 Port of Singapore and expressway system, 2000 242

7.5 Singapore: new towns and the Mass Rapid Transit System,

c.2000 247

7.6 Greater Singapore: spatial structure, c.2000 255

8.1 Manila: land use, c.1895 261

8.2 Manila: local hinterland and transport routes, 1900s 262

8.3 Manila: growth map, 1819–1971 268

8.4 Manila: transport network, 2000 273

8.5 Jakarta: land use, 1858 276

8.6 Jakarta: growth map, c.1600–mid-1930s 277

8.7 Jakarta: expressways, 1995 284

8.8 Jakarta: new towns, 1997 285

9.1 Bangkok, 1850 291

9.2 Bangkok: Canals and roads, c.1860s onwards 292

9.3 Bangkok: land use, c.1930 296

9.4 Bangkok: land use, c.1960 299

9.5 (a) Saigon: land use, c.1930s; (b) Cholon: land use, c.1930s 301

9.6 Rangoon: land use, c.1940 302

9.7 Bangkok: land use, c.1985 307

9.8 Bangkok: urban transport, 1990s (a) expressways (b) mass

transit railway 311

9.9 Bangkok and vicinity: land use, c.1995 314

9.10 Central Thailand: Spatial Development Framework, c.2010 317

10.1 Kuala Lumpur city-region: development, 1910–2005 320

10.2 Kuala Lumpur: growth, 1860–1991 321

10.3 Kuala Lumpur, 1895 323

10.4 Kuala Lumpur: Structure Plan, 1982 331

10.5 Kuala Lumpur: railways, 2000 333

10.6 Kuala Lumpur City-region: mega-projects, late 1990s 335

A.1 Southeast Asia: contiguous urban space centred on Singapore 340

List of Figures xiii

A.2 (a) Physical links between home, hotel, mall, office

and airport; (b) time lapse diagram showing time spent

between origin and destination including travel to

airport terminal and flight time 341

A.3 Instantaneous telecommunications between city-cores

has produced a ‘pancake-like’ urban structure 343

xiv List of Figures