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Relationships Between the Physical Environment, Adaptive
Strategies and Economic Status: Spatial Modeling of Human-Environment Interactions in
Northeast Thailand
Thomas W. Crawford Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Geography, UNC-Chapel Hill
Crawford@geog.unc.edu
Research Questions:
What are the geographic patterns of economic status and explanatory factors over time
for villages in a district of Northeast Thailand?
What is the influence of the physical environment on material
well-being at the village-level in a poor rural environment?
Are adaptive strategies employed differentially to mitigate
against constraints of marginal environments?
Rationale:
- Unlike many regions in developed countries, in rural developing regions, economical
survival and change survival and change is likely to be closely bound with local biophysical
conditions. Thus, research that brings the natural environment to the fore while
accounting for other variables is warranted.
Explicit spatial linkage of social and biophysical data is a
recent research thrust across many disciplines. Research that develops innovative methods
to perform such linkages will help bridge the social-physical gap.
Nationally, Thailand experienced tremendous economic growth during
the late 1980’s, yet this growth was uneven with Bangkok and the Central Plains
showing the highest growth rates. Research at finer scales is needed to understand
differential socio-economic change in places other than Bangkok.
The study’s temporal depth (1984-1994) captures a key
historical period. Thailand’s land frontier had recently closed by the early
1980’s. The late eighties witnessed Thailand’s economic "miracle."
What happened in a poor backwater district during this pivotal period?
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