Research on the Spatial Structure of Outer City of Burmese Capital Cities

From an Analysis of Mandalay, the Last Royal City of Burma

Abstract

Mandalay, which is the second largest city in Burma (Myanmar) today, was the last capital city of the Kingdom of Burma. Mandalay was planned and built by King Mindon in the middle of the nineteenth century. This research examines the chronological processes of Mandalay's city planning, based on the Royal Orders of Burma, and revealed the following characterizations of Mandalay: 1) it was based on Buddha's Prophecy; 2) it was intended to be a City of Buddhism; and 3) it followed preceding city models. The characterizations above indicated that there had been a city model unique to Burma, like the well known Ancient India and China models. The research further examined this possible city model for Burma from four viewpoints: 1) structure; 2) orientation: 3) land use; and 4) size. Consequently, a city model unique to the capital cities in Burma was proposed. One of the unique aspects of the Burmese city model is the eastward orientation, which is seen neither in India nor China models.