Connectivity and Conservation: A Critical Examination of the Relationship Between Infrastructure Development and Cultural Heritage Perception in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Chiang Mai, capital of the Lanna Kingdom (1292–1775), is poised to submit a final dossier to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) by 2025 to become a World Heritage Site. Chiang Mai’s application reveals complexities related to Lanna-ism, or the city’s “northern identity” that is different from central-Thai-based identity, and evokes tensions between local, national, and global imaginations of a heritage city. This paper aims to contextualize as well as contribute to the ongoing debates about Chiang Mai’s potential world heritage status and its Lanna identity by examining the relationship between the development of infrastructure and its influences on the perception of cultural heritage from the 19th to the 20th century. Built environments are historical constructions defined by the connectivity and accessibility of a city. Specifically, infrastructure at diverse scales potentially influences the function, narration, and interpretation of a heritage city. This paper focuses particularly on two detailed case studies at distinct yet inter-related scales. The first case study investigates the conservation of the Phra That Doi Suthep temple which infrastructure of different scales challenge the heritage agency and raise a question toward the practices of neglecting and keeping the significance value of heritage. The second case study at urban scale focuses on the transformation of the Thapae Gate located on the east side of Chiang Mai city wall, which was deconstructed and then reconstructed in the late 20th century in response to the enlarging roadway construction that leaves no space for urban citizen to interact with their historic city. Both railway and roadway developments trigger tensions between embracing the city’s identity and labeling the city as a tourism destination which later ultimately raise questions about who has the right to access and enjoy the cultural heritage of Chiang Mai.