A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science of the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1976

At present, the 'growth pole' strategy is used to develop the lagging regions in Thailand. The economic and social impact of one growth center is analyzed in this study to see whether the growth center has served its functions or not. The economic impact of Chiengmai City on rural areas is measured in terms of the generated income and the multiplier effect through the spending of the factories and the residents in Urban Chiengmai. The social impact is analyzed in terms of the influences of the city on the way of living, thinking, and attitudes, etc. of the rural people with the hypothesis that the nearer the village is to the city, the more influence it will receive. Time-distance criteria is used to classify the rural areas into 3 zones; half an hour, one hour, one hour and a half from the city. The finding of the spending patterns of the factories and the residents in Urban Chiengmai shows that there is not so much economic impact on the rural areas as in the urban areas. In addition, the economic impact is lessened in zones of farther distances. The social impact findings show that there are some influences of the city on the rural people but the outcome is not so clear since the distance of the there zones are too short to differentiate the social impact among them. Finally, the correlation between the accessibility in terms of time from the villages to the city is considered. The result is that accessibility has high correlation with the frequency of visits which means that the social contact of the rural people has been increased.