Ordinary Urban Heritage of Rattanakosin: Ordinary restaurants and everyday foods of the historic center of Bangkok

Abstract

This paper discussed the selection criteria for Ordinary Urban Heritage (OUH) in Rattanakosin, the historic center of Bangkok through the case of ordinary restaurants and everyday foods. The OUH stands for an alternative approach to heritage understanding and conservation, derived from the notion of ordinary heritage, vernacular heritage, and urban heritage emphasizing the heritages of the everydayness of ordinary people. The OUHs have co-existed and inherited through the evolution of the city but are overlooked by the official conservation process. Ordinary restaurants and everyday foods were selected by 5 criteria, 1) appeared for more than 50 years; 2) created, developed, and used by ordinary people; 3) found as the clusters; 4) able to be adapted to the urban context; 5) exist until the present day.

The methodology applied to the analysis of the historical documents and Bangkok maps from 1887 to 1974, and the selection criteria developed from past research in another old commercial district of Bangkok were also reinvestigated with observational surveys. Ordinary restaurants and everyday foods are the outcomes representing the heritage of everyday life of ordinary people that are ubiquitously related to commercial activities.