City of Water:

Architecture, Urbanism and the Floods of Phnom Penh

City of Water:
Architecture, Urbanism
and the Floods of Phnom Penh

Shelby Elizabeth Doyle

Fulbright Research Fellow, Cambodia
[email protected]
cityofwater.wordpress.com

ABSTRACT

T he following is a summary of ongoing research conducted in 2011-2012, funded in part by the Fulbright
Program and entitled City of Water: Architecture, Urbanism and the Floods of Phnom Penh. This
work documents the relationships between water, architecture, and infrastructure in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The objective of the project is to record the architectural and urban conditions sustained by and subject to
the cyclical floods of the city’s rivers and the challenges faced by Phnom Penh as it rapidly urbanizes in a
flood plain.

1. INTRODUCTION New Orleans “thirty leagues above the entrance

to the Mississippi.” He selected the site on behalf
This research is an ongoing project to document of the future French colony’s commercial interests.
the relationships between water, architecture and As Raymond Campanella notes in Bienvielle’s
infrastructure in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The Dilemma, locating New Orleans on a swamp was
objective of this work is to record the architectural counterintuitive yet geographically logical. “Indeed,
and urban conditions sustained by and subject to the this is a challenging site for a major city,” he writes.
cyclical floods of the city’s rivers and the challenges “Yet Bienville acted wisely in selecting it because he
faced by Phnom Penh as it rapidly urbanizes in a knew what makes a city great is not its site, but its
flood plain. This work began several years ago, situation.” For Campanella, ‘site’ refers to the city’s
inspired by a quote from Cambodian architect Vann actual physical footing; ‘situation’ to its historical and
Molyvann: cultural context and how it connects with the world.
(Campanella, 2008).
“...the privatization and decentralization of
the last 15 years threaten to scar Phnom Phnom Penh’s ‘site’ at the confluence of the Mekong,
Penh’s landmarks and wreak havoc with its Tonlé Sap, and Basaac rivers is precariously
water management... in the event of a major balanced with its rapid development and linked to
flood three hundred thousand people would its ‘situation’ – the traces of its history as a French
135

lose their homes… you can’t imagine what Protectorate, the era of independence and prosperity
could happen here.’’ (Steinglass, 2005) which followed, the Khmer Rouge occupation,
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and the contemporary conditions which define the

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, gave context to present day city and anticipate its future.
the questions that would eventually become City of
Water. In 1718, the French explorer Jean Baptiste Thank you to the Fulbright U.S. Student Program
Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, located the city of for funding this project, to Khmer Architecture Tours
 Shelby Elizabeth Doyle

for their support, and especially thank you to the video, informal conversations and interviews. Where
countless architects and students who shared their available, historic maps and archival material
thoughts, resources and time during my time in supplement this work. Many of the maps, documents
Cambodia. and data came without citation or sources from friends
and colleagues here in Phnom Penh. Several people
provided data on the condition that I neither distribute
it yet nor source it. The goal of sharing: to have it in
2. RESEARCH METHODS + the public domain but not at the cost of relationships
ACCESS TO INFORMATION or employment.

The nature of hyper-contemporary documentation For example, an AutoCAD map of the city has
and the question of how to successfully document a been in circulation since 1996 among architecture
rapidly developing city as it is changing are ongoing students, yet the original author and intent of the map
challenges for this research. Here the hyper- are long forgotten. A seven-month search for a high-
contemporary is defined by temporal immediacy resolution topographic map of Phnom Penh ended
and necessitated by the speed of continuous urban with an anonymous Dropbox folder link.
transformation. This work benefits neither from
the passage of time nor a collection of available As a result, a tenet of this research is to share all of
academic resources. The realties of obtaining data the documents, drawings and data I have gathered
and conducting academic research in a developing or produced through this work. These documents
country result in the larger question: what is design’s can be found at www.cityofwater.wordpress.com. I
agency to operate in this environment? began the website as a tool for gathering research
and it has evolved into an effective resource for
For these reasons this work necessarily inhabits urban scholars of Phnom Penh.
a space between journalism and formal academic
writing. As the speed of global urban development While the intent of this work is to convey the
continues to increase, these strategies of hyper- contemporary conditions of the city, its historic
contemporary documentation and analysis will context is crucial to understanding these conditions.
become increasingly valuable methods for reading French planning decisions in the 19th century and
the city. decades of war combined to create the physical and
conceptual framework that defines the challenges
Cambodia is a post-conflict country with a very facing Phnom Penh today. My discussion of the
opaque government. Much original archival material historical context is not intended to be comprehensive
has been moved to collections in the United States but to provide a sense of how history has defined the
and France, the local universities do not have a options available. While little design literature exists
coherent library system, and Non-Governmental about Phnom Penh, the resources I relied upon are:
Organizations (NGOs) often do not coordinate or Vann Molyvann’s Modern Khmer Cities, Helen Grant
share their data. Government municipalities are Ross and Darryl Leon Collins’ Building Cambodia:
difficult to gain access to and often do not have or ‘New Khmer Architecture’ 1953-1970, and Penny
will not share documents. Edwards’s Cambodge: The Cultivation of a Nation
1860-1945.
Available and accurate urban data for Phnom Penh
are almost non-existent. Much of this data does not
exist or is not in the public domain. This includes, 3. SITE: PHYSICAL CONTEXT
contemporary, verifiable and publicly available digital
maps of Phnom Penh to describe land use, building 3.1 Mekong Delta
footprints, roads, building heights, and topography.
A dedicated group of mapmakers and Geographic Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, is located at the
Information System (GIS) users, known as the Open confluence of the Mekong, Tonlé Sap, and Basaac
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Development Cambodia and Phnom Penh Mapping rivers, an intersection known as the ‘Four Faces’
Meet-Up, has worked to collect and disseminate or ‘Chaktomuk’. (Figure 2) The city is home to 1.5
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open source map data for Cambodia, including most million people, many of whom live and work along
notably an ongoing effort to increase the accuracy its riverbanks. Millions more Cambodians are
of Open Street Map. sustained by these rivers, their flood cycles, and
the accompanying deltaic landscape. The result is a
Consequently, much of this research was conducted topography defined by an intense interdependence
through observation, photographs, analytic drawings, between the inhabitants of the region and its rivers.
 City of Water:
Architecture, Urbanism and the Floods of Phnom Penh

Figure 1:
The Mekong River begins in the hills of Tibet and flows down through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia,
and Vietnam and into the South China Sea. River is shown in black, the areas in blue indicate the flood plain and
tributaries.

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Figure 2:
Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, is located at the confluence of the Mekong, Tonlé Sap, and Basaac rivers, an
intersection known as the ‘Four Faces’ or ‘Chaktomuk’.
 Shelby Elizabeth Doyle

More than a third of the population of Cambodia, for use in the dry season, flood-deposited sediments
Laos, Thailand and Vietnam – nearly 60 million improve soil fertility across the Mekong flood
people – live in the Lower Mekong Basin, using the plains, and groundwater aquifers are recharged.
river for drinking water, food, irrigation, transportation Conversely, severe flooding results in the loss of life,
and commerce. Additionally, millions more in China, damage to agriculture, property and infrastructure,
Myanmar and beyond the Basin benefit from Mekong and can cause the disruption of social and economic
River hydroelectric power production. Beyond activities throughout the Lower Mekong Basin.
these human connections the river also powerfully
demonstrates the scope for shared interest and According to the Mekong River Commission the
competition. The Mekong has influenced political economic benefits of this flood pulse far outweigh its
boundaries and conflicts for thousands of years consequences. Average annual flooding costs range
including the Angkorian Empire, which once included from $60-70 million while the benefits of the flood
the entire Lower Mekong Basin. (Figure 1) annually range from $8-10 billion (Mekong River
Commission, 2012). Therefore, flood management
Most notably, the 12th century Khmer capital of must achieve a delicate balance: to preserve the
Angkor was home to approximately one million benefits of the flooding while reducing the costs and
people and to an elaborate water management impacts to life and property. As Phnom Penh rapidly
network, including flood-control infrastructure. urbanizes in the flood plain, achieving this balance
Although there is no consensus among scholars becomes increasingly urgent.
regarding the reasons for Angkor’s demise, one
argument is that the Empire’s collapse was brought
on by the economic consequences of substantial 3.3 2011 Floods
modifications to the landscape, and unpredictable
events such as flooding and warfare. The 2011 floods were the worst Cambodia has seen
since 2000 and far exceeded their typical reach. The
flooding displaced more than a million Cambodians,
3.2 The Flood Pulse leaving hundreds dead, destroying thousands of
acres of crops and stranding many without aid
Each year, monsoons and snowmelt cause the for weeks due to lack of governmental and NGO
Mekong River to flow into the Tonlé Sap with such coordination (Figure 3).
force at their intersection in Phnom Penh, that the
Tonlé Sap reverses flow and floods the surrounding The 2012 rainy season began in May and heavy
region to roughly four times its dry season area rains and flooding have already caused damage.
and depth, resulting in one of the most delicate and According to the National Committee for Disaster
diverse ecosystems in the world (Figure 3). Management, recent storms killed 10 people,
injured 60 people, destroyed almost 700 houses
This seasonal flood pulse sustains the region. The and damaged many more (Yuthana and Freeman,
Basin’s fisheries are replenished, floodwater is stored 2012). With several months of rainy season storms
138
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Figure 3:
Left: Map of a typical Tonlé Sap Flood Surge. Right: Map of the 2011 floods redrawn by author from a United Nations Map
 City of Water:
Architecture, Urbanism and the Floods of Phnom Penh

remaining, these numbers present an important According to a recent United Nations report, “Warming
question: Are floods of this magnitude increasing in temperatures and changes in precipitation patterns
frequency and does Cambodia have the emergency will significantly impact Cambodia and, specifically,
infrastructure to respond? Phnom Penh. A recent mapping assessment
identified Cambodia as being particularly vulnerable
to climate change because of climate impacts such
3.4 Climate Change as droughts, floods, and sea level rise and the
country’s relatively low adaptive capacity. While
According to the World Wildlife Federation, “The Phnom Penh has slightly more financial capacity to
Greater Mekong is one of the most vulnerable places respond to climate change impacts, its relatively low
on Earth to the impacts of climate change.” For elevation, proximity to the ocean and the Mekong
the Mekong, climate change compounds existing River make it particularly vulnerable” (World Wildlife
and projected threats affecting the region’s people, Fund, 2009b).
biodiversity and natural resources. This is likely
to have cascading effects, such as water scarcity Unfortunately, flooding is not the only threat
leading to reduced agricultural productivity, leading to Phnom Penh and its residents. Changing
to food scarcity, unemployment and poverty (World precipitation patterns may also adversely affect the
Wildlife Fund, 2009a). quantity and quality of water supplies to the city
and result in negative consequences for millions of
Among lower Mekong Basin countries, Laos and people. Other threats include the impact of tropical
Cambodia are identified as the most vulnerable in cyclones, which have increased over the last few
part because of their limited capacity to cope with decades and are projected to further increase in
climate related risks. In all countries, climate change frequency and intensity. Rising sea levels will also
complicates existing problems such as poverty and affect Phnom Penh’s fresh water availability by
lack of infrastructure. increasing saltwater inundation of low-lying areas

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Figure 4:
Map showing Existing, Under Construction and Proposed Mekong Dams. Source: CGIR Water & Food Conference
 Shelby Elizabeth Doyle

Figure 5:
Kampong Khleang a floating and stilted village on the Tonlé Sap Lake during dry season. These villages are dependent
upon the Tonlé Sap flood surge for food production, primarily fishing and agriculture. Photo by author.

and contributing to coastal erosion. Unfortunately, see these potential earnings from hydropower
loss of natural coastal land, including mangrove development as a means for reducing poverty,
forests, will lead to further erosion and damage as lowering national debts, as well as achieving regional
mangroves provide a buffer against storms and economic prosperity and energy security.
storm surges (World Wildlife Fund, 2009b).
Additionally, there is no conclusive research on how
dams will impact the region’s flood cycles. While
3.5 Upstream Damming damming may exacerbate flooding, there is greater
concern that dams could reduce the flow of the
Another pressure on the development of Phnom Mekong and reduce the volume of water reversed
Penh is upstream damming of the Mekong River. into the Tonlé Sap, which would have devastating
While hydropower presents great economic and consequences on the livelihoods of millions of
energy gains, concerns have intensified over the Cambodians (Figure 5).
potential cumulative impacts that proposed schemes
have on the environment, fisheries and people’s
livelihoods in the Lower Mekong Basin (Figure 4). 4. SITUATION: HISTORIC CONTEXT
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The debate is a divisive topic. An increase in power 4.1 French Protectorate

demand, volatile prices in international energy
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markets, and concerns over carbon emissions Following the fall of the Angkor Empire, the
have intensified interest in renewable energy Cambodian capital moved first to Phnom Penh
technologies and hydropower development. Some (1432 to 1505) then several times over the centuries
large hydropower projects in the Lower Mekong between Tuol Basan, Pursat, Longvek, Lavear Em
export their electricity at a profit; governments and Udong (Figure 6). In 1863, Cambodia became
 City of Water:
Architecture, Urbanism and the Floods of Phnom Penh

Figure 6:
The location and dates of the Cambodian capital city. Map redrawn by author from historic maps.

a protectorate of France and Phnom Penh was the water itself. The architecture was constructed
reinstated as the capital. This was an important primarily of wood, thatch and lightweight materials
move as it not only positioned Phnom Penh as that could be seasonally repaired and replaced as
an international trading hub but also placed the necessary (Figure 7). This construction model also
Cambodian capital within the Mekong flood plain. protected the city from floodwaters by capitalizing on
the riverbank’s natural berm as well as a series of
Penny Edwards writes in Cambodge: In the early preks - constructed earthworks that control flooding
years of the Protectorate, “the city was best known and produce intentional dry season ponds.
for its vast tracts of mosquito-infested swampland,
the stench of stagnant water and human waste, and The decision to move all construction inland had
frequent outbreaks of cholera. In the wet season, radical implications upon the future development
boat travel was necessary between different sections of the city. The French colonists began the task of
of Phnom Penh” (Edwards, 2007). transforming the riverside village into a geometric
cityscape that paid tribute to Rene Descartes’ vision
According to architectural historian Helen Grant of a “well-ordered town laid out on a vacant plane as
Ross (2005), one of the most significant changes suits (the engineer’s) fancy” (Edwards, 2007). They
introduced by the French was the authorization of began this process by projecting a rectilinear street
construction on land only. This policy contradicted grid of concrete and stone onto the marshy wetland
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both Khmer law and tradition, which posited and perpendicular to the river. During the early
that the King owned all of the land and that years of the protectorate the colonial administration
construction required his consent, which was made various attempts to resolve the recurrent
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typically granted only for palaces, temples and problem of flooding by filling in several small natural
monasteries. Therefore at the time of French arrival lakes and digging a series of interlinked canals to
in 1863, Phnom Penh’s building pattern reflected this provide better drainage. These canals also served
tradition: the city had grown linearly along the banks to physically segregate Phnom Penh into quartiers,
of the river, stilted above the water or floating upon based primarily on the ethnicity of residents. These
 Shelby Elizabeth Doyle

Figure 7:
Left: 1867, before the French Protectorate Phnom Penh was developed linearly along riverbank and over the water.
Right: 1890, after the French Protectorate the city became gridded and developed using French planning methods. The
orange circle denotes Wat Phnom. Both maps redrawn by author from historic maps.

comprised a quartier Cambodgienne, a quartier l’Indochine, founded by Hébrard two years earlier
Annamite, a quartier Chinoise and a quartier in Hà Nội) was responsible for overseeing the
Européen (Figure 7). systematic development and rationalization of much
of Phnom Penh.
The most important canal was built in 1894,
effectively encircling the quartier Européen, and
partially separating it from the rest of the city. This 4.2 The Golden Age
canal began at the Tonlé Sap, ran east to west along
Quai Vernéville (now Street 106) and ran north In 1940, the French Vichy government allowed
to south along boulevard Monsignor Miche (now Japanese troops to enter Indochina, which then
Monivong Boulevard), before curving eastwards became an autonomous province of the Japanese
again to flow into the Tonlé Sap at the end of empire and was eventually annexed by the
boulevard Charles Thomson (now France Street 47) Japanese Empire in 1945. Consequently, H.M. King
at the site of a former bridge, the Pont de Vernéville. Norodom Sihanouk declared an end to the French
protectorate. However, with the defeat of Japan and
Through the 1890s the development of French the arrival of allied forces, French colonial rule was
Phnom Penh grew under the direction of architect reinstated until November 1953, when Cambodia at
and town planner Daniel Fabre (1850-1904) whose last gained its independence.
work also included several buildings, most notably
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the Central Post Office, and the renovation of In 1955, Norodom Sihanouk abdicated the throne to
Wat Phnom. In 1925, architect and town-planner his father H.M. King Norodom Suramarit. No longer
Ernest Hébrard drew up a plan for the extended a monarch, Norodom Sihanouk began to build his
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urbanization of Phnom Penh, which was published in vision of a new nation. Norodom Sihanouk was a
the same year in l’Éveil économique de l’Indochine, composer, writer, poet and lyricist, filmmaker, interior
an economic publication of French Indochina. designer, and patron of the arts. His independent
Thereafter, the Indochina Town Planning Service Cambodia was open to international ideas and eager
(Service de l ‘architecture et de l’urbanisme de to emerge from its French colonial past.
 City of Water:
Architecture, Urbanism and the Floods of Phnom Penh

Figure 8:
Top Left to Right: 1867, 1890, 1910
Middle Left to Right: 1922, 1947, 1953
Bottom Left to Right: 1958, 1963, 1993

This series of maps describes the urban growth of downtown Phnom Penh (inner four kahns or districts) from the
beginning of the French Protectorate until the UNTAC period. The outlined blocks denote present day blocks and the
black infill the time of their construction. Green lines demonstrate roads which served as levees and demarcated the
edge of infilled areas.
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Redrawn by author from Bureau of Urbanism maps.

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The city of Phnom Penh became a physical Cambodian tradition. This period of innovative
manifestation of independent Cambodia through architecture and urban planning made Phnom Penh
a movement known as New Khmer Architecture, known as the ‘Pearl of the Asia’.
which blended modern architecture principles with
 Shelby Elizabeth Doyle

This period is best known through the designs of

Cambodian architect Vann Molyvann. In 1926, Vann
Molyvann obtained a scholarship to pursue his studies
in Paris, France, and completed an architecture
degree at the School of Fine Arts in Paris (Ecole
Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts). He studied in
the Arretche studio and returned to Cambodia in 1956,
the first fully western-trained Cambodian architect.
Upon his return he was appointed Head of Public
Works and State Architect by Norodom Sihanouk.

The Vann Molyvann Project, which aims to preserve

and disseminate his work, says of Vann Molyvann:
he “adapted a modern vocabulary to Cambodia’s
culture, climate, geography and its vernacular
and ancient architectural traditions. In particular,
the buildings elevate what we now call ’green‘
technologies—double roofs, cross-ventilation, brise-
soleils, indirect lighting, evaporative cooling, use of
local materials—into exquisite architectural form”
(The Vann Molyvann Project, 2012).

Building characteristics of New Khmer Architecture

include sloped roofs, tapered columns, and raised
first floors. These buildings recall traditional Khmer
forms and living practices but are constructed using
modern materials such as steel and concrete, and
embody new programmatic types, such as libraries,
concert halls, and stadiums. The New Khmer
Architecture movement came abruptly to an end in
1970 with the overthrow of Norodom Sihanouk by
General Lon Nol and the subsequent civil war.

Well known New Khmer Architecture projects include:

the Olympic Stadium, Chaktomuk Conference
Hall, several buildings at the Royal University of
Phnom Penh, most notably the round Library and
the hyperbolic parabaloid roof shelled Exhibition
Hall. Additionally, larger scale projects such as the
Basaac riverfront redevelopment included the now
crumbling ‘White Building’, which is under threat
of demolition and redevelopment. Like many other
New Khmer Architecture projects which survived civil
war, American bombings, the Khmer Rouge and the
Vietnamese occupation, the ‘White Building’ is now
a victim of the rapid and chaotic development of
Phnom Penh and the lack of available preservation
opportunities (Figure 9).
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4.3 The Khmer Rouge

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Figure 9:
Top to Bottom: The White Building Basaac Riverfront,
Everything in Phnom Penh changed on April 19, Library Royal University of Phnom Penh, Exhibition
1975. The Khmer Rouge waged war upon the city Hall Royal University of Phnom Penh, National Sports
and its population as emblems of capitalism and Complex ‘Olympic Stadium’. All located in Phnom Penh.
corruption. Photos by author.
 City of Water:
Architecture, Urbanism and the Floods of Phnom Penh

Figure 10:
Evacuation routes from Phnom Penh. Redrawn by author from images provided at Choeung Ek also known as ‘The
Killing Fields’.

David Chandler writes in Pol Pot: Brother Number One in the design community was so fortunate. Their loss
that: “within twenty-four hours the young combatants created a void in the education and continuity of the
ordered everyone in Phnom Penh to evacuate the profession, severing contemporary practice from the
city... the forced evacuation of the cities was the time of New Khmer Architecture. The ramifications
most far-reaching decision any modern Cambodian of this lost generation have far-reaching and still
government ever took” (Chandler, 2009) (Figure 10). developing impacts on contemporary architecture
and planning practice within Cambodia.
By 1975, just prior to the city’s fall to the Khmer
Rouge, Phnom Penh’s population had swollen
to 2 million people as rural Cambodians fled 5. SITUATION: CONTEMPORARY
American bombing and Lon Nol’s civil war in the
PHNOM PENH
countryside. Following the forced evacuation of
the population by the Khmer Rouge in April 1975,
approximately 50,000 people remained in Phnom 5.1 Rapid Population Growth
Penh as the new government set about to radically
reorganize Cambodia in their utopian vision of In 1979, communist Vietnam invaded Democratic
a rural, agriculture-based communal society. Kampuchea and toppled the Khmer Rouge regime.
Property ownership was eliminated and the urban Vietnamese occupation continued until peace talks
development of Phnom Penh ceased. began in Paris in 1989 under the State of Cambodia,
145

culminating two years later in October 1991 in

Estimates of the total number of deaths resulting a comprehensive peace settlement. The United
from Khmer Rouge policies, including disease Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC)
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and starvation, range from 1.7 to 2.5 million, mandated to enforce a ceasefire, address refugees
approximately one quarter of the country’s population and disarmament. A new Cambodian government
of 8 million. The list of those purged was long and was installed in 1993, a constitutional monarchy
arbitrary. Although Vann Molyvann escaped the operated as a parliamentary representative
Khmer Rouge by fleeing to Switzerland, not everyone democracy (Figure 11).
 Shelby Elizabeth Doyle

Figure 11:
Y Axis: Population of Phnom Penh 0-5 million X Axis Top: Armed Conflict and Occupation in Cambodia by Year X Axis
Middle: Governmental Administrations in Cambodia by Year X Axis Bottom: Dates 1866-Present Dates. Graph drawn by
author from the following sources:

1866: No known source. 1987: 584,000

Source: Kampuchea Needs Assessment Study (for UNDP), August 1989
1911: 30,000
Source: Source: ‘The South-East Asian Water-bound Tradition versus a 1992: 667,814
Colonial Earth-bound Society the case of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’Helen Source: UNCHS Needs Assessment Mission, May 1992.
Grant Ross
1998: 1,000,000
1926: 76,000 Source: UNFPA Cambodia population census, 1998 (estimated
Source: Pavie, Auguste, 1879-1895, Mission Exploration Work Vol 1 of population in actual urban areas).
the Indochina papers,
2004: 1.38 Million
1953: 300,000 Source: JICA report, October 2006
Source: ‘The South-East Asian Water-bound Tradition versus a Colonial
2007: 1,466,000
Earth-bound Society the case of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’Helen Grant
Source: www.nationsonline.org
Ross
2008: 1,325,681
1962: 393,995
Source: General Population Census of Cambodia 2008, National
Source: Census figured quoted in the Mekong Committee Handbook of
Institute of Statistics, Ministry of Planning Phnom Penh
Statistics and the Atlas of Physical, Economic and Social Indicators of
the Mekong, 1970 2009: 1,519,000
Source: UN Country Profile
1966: 550,000
Source: Area Handbook for Cambodia, US Government Pamphlet 2009: 14% (2 million) of Cambodia’s population
550.50, October 1968, p. 33. Source: WWF Mega-Stress for Mega-Cities: A Climate Vulnerability
146

Ranking of Major Coastal Cities in Asia

1970: 1,000,000
Source: ‘The South-East Asian Water-bound Tradition versus a Colonial 2010: 1,573,544
Earth-bound Society the case of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’Helen Grant Source: http://www.geonames.org/
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Ross
2010: 2,234,566
1974/5: 1.2-2,000,000 Source: Wikipedia which cites: http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/
Source: Estimates by UNICEF in 1975, including refugee populations map/google_map_Phnom_Penh.htm
1975-1979: 50,000
Source: Rough estimate from Year Zero, Brother Number One and
Phnom Penh: A Cultural History
 City of Water:
Architecture, Urbanism and the Floods of Phnom Penh

In a 1997 coup Hun Sen seized full control of the

government from Co-Prime Minister Prince Norodom
Ranariddh, and remains Prime Minister of Cambodia
and leader of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).
As of May 2012 Hun Sen has been in power for more
than 10,000 days making him one of the longest-
serving political leaders in the world.

During the 1990s land ownership rights were

gradually restored to Cambodians thereby releasing
Phnom Penh from the evolutionary stasis of the
previous 20 years. Since the 1975 evacuation,
development of the city was hindered, and nearly
halted, by war and occupation. As Cambodia began
Figure 12:
to politically stabilize the people of Phnom Penh Traditional stilted house in Kandal Province, which
began to physically and economically rebuild. Since geographically surrounds Phnom Penh. Photo by author.
1997 Phnom Penh has grown from a city of 500,000
to 1.5 million. If current or even accelerated growth
rates continue and as people migrate from the
provinces seeking economic opportunities, the city
could double or triple in size by 2030.

5.2 Lack of Master Plan

In 2005, the French Bureau of Urban Affairs
proposed a Master Plan for Phnom Penh: a
330-page document entitled the “Livre blanc du
développement et de l’aménagement de Phnom
Penh” commonly referred to as “The White Book”.
The document provides a comprehensive description
of both historical and current characteristics of the
capital, ending with a strategic master plan leading
up to year 2020. However, as 2020 approaches
the master plan has yet to be formally adopted
by the government and therefore remains a set of
suggestions and recommendations rather than a
force guiding the city’s development.
Figure 13:
The result is rapid uncontrolled development Typical shop houses with ground floor parking and shops and
characterized by a lack of building code, no zoning housing above. Interior living and sleeping quarters have no
access to direct daylight and fresh air. Photo by author.
enforcement, and few development laws and
regulations (Figure 14). The suburbs in particular
are experiencing sweeping changes in land use,
as former agricultural land is bought up and rapidly
developed into built projects.

For example, there is no required flood mitigation

for individual buildings. While in the surrounding
provinces, buildings are still being built in response to
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the floods - raised, floating and stilted homes - such

constructions, though once common in the city as
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well, have nearly disappeared from Phnom Penh

(Figure 12). Rather, the ground floor, often enclosed,
has become a valuable economic space for selling
goods. Sidewalks have become parking space and
nearly the entire city is paved, with few existing or Figure 14:
planned parks to absorb seasonal rains (Figure 13). A welding shop beneath a wooden house. Photo by author.
 Shelby Elizabeth Doyle

Figure 15:
Boeung Kak Lake infilled with sand in August 2012. Photo by author.

As the city changes, its most vulnerable residents (Law On Water Resources Management Of The
are being displaced by development. Rights groups Kingdom Of Cambodia) (Figure 15).
report over ten percent of Phnom Penh’s population
has been displaced in the past decade. These A recent and politically contentious example is
evictions, both legal and illegal, are extremely Boeung Kak Lake, a lake of nearly 133 hectares,
disruptive to the lives and livelihoods of the evictees filled in by Shukaku Incorporated, owned by
and their families. (Sahmakum Teang Tnaut Website, Cambodian People’s Party Senator Lao Meng
2012) Since a full cadastre map of the city does not Khin, to create a site for a “multi-purpose living
exist, evictees often do not hold ‘hard title’ and have and recreation center.” Nearly 4,000 people were
little if any political or judicial recourse. Often they are evicted to make room for the development. In a
relocated to sites without economic opportunity or recent protest 13 former residents attempted to
basic infrastructure and inadequately compensated rebuild their homes on the Boeung Kak site. They
for their lost property. were subsequently arrested, held without charge,
tried without due process, sentenced to 2 ½ years
in prison and only released after pressure from the
5.3 Lake Infilling international human rights community. (Yuthana and
Freeman 2012).
A network of wetlands, streams and ponds, which are
currently being filled with earth to create developable According to the Boeung Kak Area Drainage and
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land, surrounds Phnom Penh. This process raises Flooding Assessment by Sally Benham and Ben
both human rights and environmental concerns. Caddis (2008), following the infill of the lake “…the
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One motivation for this infilling is that water is not anticipated increase in peak flood levels and flood
a constructible area since it belongs to the State. frequency that would result without mitigation is
Therefore, developers in partnership with officials fill considered unacceptable. …This runoff has potential
in waterways, thereby transforming them into land to cause significant impacts on property and hazard
that is physically and legally suitable for construction to life downstream.”
 City of Water:
Architecture, Urbanism and the Floods of Phnom Penh

5.4 Public Parks + Open Space

Compounding the issues of lake infilling is the lack
of park space or open space to absorb rainy season
waters. The inner kahns (districts) are home to a
series of formal parks and gardens but they are
often hardscaped, formally planted and home to
decorative, rather than functional water features
(Figure 16 and 17).

149
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Figure 17:
Figure 16: Parks in Phnom Penh. Top to Bottom: Sihanouk Boulevard,
Phnom Penh 4 inner kahns. Public Parks and green space Sisowath, Russian Boulevard, Monivong Boulevard.
shown in green. Map drawn by author through survey. Photos by author.
 Shelby Elizabeth Doyle

5.5 Wastewater Treatment wastewater through its aquatic vegetable production

(van der Hoek, 2005).
A network of wetlands, streams and ponds into which
over 1 million cubic meters of the city’s household A 2007 study by the Royal University of Agriculture
wastewater and storm water are discharged of Phnom Penh entitled “Food, Incomes and Urban
daily surrounds Phnom Penh. There is no formal Waste Water Treatment in Phnom Penh, Cambodia”
wastewater treatment in the city. Instead, sewage estimated that 20% of the total daily vegetable
consumption of Phnom Penh comes from these
and other wastewaters from households, businesses
lakes and wetlands within the city. Therefore these
and industries combine in a series of covered and
wastewater-fed aquatic vegetables are, despite their
open canals that flow through the city and combine
potential health risks, very important in supplying
with seasonal rainwater and floods (van der Hoek, the city’s vegetable markets and thus meeting the
2005) (Figures 18-22). demands of the growing population of Phnom Penh.

Boeung Cheung Ek (BCE) Lake is the largest of However, as these lakes are infilled, the city’s
these water bodies, covering 3,400 hectares of wastewater is discharged more rapidly into the
land, 5 kilometers south of the city center. The lake Mekong without treatment and the need for a more
receives 80% of the wastewater from the city along formalized system grows. An infrastructure retrofit of
with untreated effluent from 3,000 small and large- this scale would be extremely costly and is unlikely
scale industrial enterprises. The lake is an effective, to happen, threatening the health of the Mekong,
low cost means of biological treatment of the city’s Phnom Penh, and its downstream neighbors.
150
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Figure 18:
Left: An open sewage canal runs the length of Street 105 and passes beneath Boeung Trabek Market.
Right: The Street 105 Canal terminates on Street 288 and Monivong Boulevard.
 City of Water:
Architecture, Urbanism and the Floods of Phnom Penh

Figure 19: Figure 20:

The Street 105 sewage canal approaches overflow during Vegetables are cultivated on the wetlands in the south of
a heavy rain mixing sewage, gray water, and trash with Phnom Penh.
storm water.

Figure 21: Figure 22:

Effluent flows from a canal into a stream south of the city. A toilet over Boeung Tra Bek the southern termination of
the Street 105 sewage canal.

its landscape and blurring the distinction between

5.6 Floods of Phnom Penh water and land. Roads become waterways and
Flood events in Phnom Penh are twofold – almost sidewalks disappear beneath the muddy waters.
daily rainy season flood events and episodic Curbs and tree roots are hidden from view, hindering
larger scale flood plain events. During the rainy walking and driving. Businesses unfurl overhangs,
season (May-October) monsoon rains fill low-lying open umbrellas, and hang tarps, expanding available
streets, some to nearly 1.5 meters deep. The dry space. The streets become a patchwork of bright
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) ponchos and headlights. Traffic slows to a near stop
has conducted over $325 million of infrastructure
as cars, motos, and bicycles navigate the water
upgrades in Phnom Penh including drinking
water supply facilities, flood protection, drainage and intermittently stall out or dip into deep unseen
improvements and the rehabilitation of the Phnom potholes (Figure 23).
Penh port (JICA Website, 2012). This work is
ongoing and retrofitting the city is a slow and costly The population anticipates the rains and has adapted
151

proposition. Although JICA’s work has reduced to the accompanying flooding and its perceived
flooding in some areas of the city, it cannot be relied cleansing effects. Nonetheless, the floods disrupt
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upon to eliminate all of Phnom Penh’s drainage

the flow of daily business and activity. Additionally,
problems or to prevent future flooding in areas
developed without flood protection. flooded streets carry potential disease as the storm
water mixes with human waste and street drains are
The near daily rain floods during the rainy season blocked by municipal trash, slowing drainage and
reframe the experience of inhabiting the city, altering posing a possible public health threat.
 Shelby Elizabeth Doyle

Figure 23:
Afternoon rain flooding near Russian Market. Photo by author.

As for larger scale flood events, Phnom Penh was in catchment areas, the damming and diversion of
founded in the alluvial plain of the Mekong River, natural waterways, and the infill of canals and lakes,
which varies upwards of 12 meters in depth between combined with no formally accepted or followed
the dry and wet seasons. The most devastating flood master plan. The four central kahns, or districts
risk comes from the Mekong River cresting over are protected by a series of semi-concentric dykes
its natural berm into the city. The volume of water built westward from the rivers that protect the most
produced by a Mekong flood could take weeks or densely developed areas from inland flooding,
even months to recede, evaporate or penetrate into virtually transforming downtown Phnom Penh into an
the ground. island and leaving the outer kahns under-protected.

However, the greater threat comes from the areas Vann Molyvann (2003) writes in New Khmer Cities:
north and west of Phnom Penh, which absorb a “The maintenance of dikes of Phnom Penh, as
huge volume of monsoon rains. This water presses
well as the preservation of the National Routes
southward to the Tonlé Sap and Mekong, through
established on the banks and dikes, are crucial to
the land, the city and a network of tributaries passing
the containment and control of floodwater. Canals
around and through Phnom Penh. A combination of
created after the Protectorate have been calibrated
both flooding events could be catastrophic for Phnom
Penh: the Mekong River flooding from the east and to absorb the floodwaters and to allow excess ground
flooding from oversaturated lands to the west and water to drain towards the river. This hydraulic
152

north. Although unlikely, the potential convergence system has been virtually without maintenance over
of the two events is within the realm of possibility. the last three decades. Indeed, it is astonishing that
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the system still functions today given these decades

The factors contributing to the potential for increased of neglect. The capacity to oversee and manage this
flooding in Phnom Penh are: deforestation, the hydraulic system must be re-established, supported
unknown impacts of climate change, overbuilding and expanded.”
 City of Water:
Architecture, Urbanism and the Floods of Phnom Penh

Figure 24:
Left: Administrative Districts of Phnom Penh
Source: Livre Blanc Right: Google Earth Map assembled by author

6. CONCLUSIONS + PROPOSALS sustained flood in Phnom Penh could undo much of

the progress achieved during the last twenty years.
To return to the notion of ‘site’ and ‘situation’: ‘Site’ The scope and complexity of urbanization touches
refers to the city’s actual physical footing, ‘situation’ upon those issues, both internal and external,
to its regional context and how it connects with the ranging from land tenure to health and climate
world. The ‘site’ of Phnom Penh, at the confluence of change to human rights. Consequently, Cambodia
three rivers, creates a city sustained by and subject once again must call upon its history of adaptation
to the cyclical floods of these rivers. and resilience to create a Phnom Penh focused
on the continual effort to find new solutions and
Its ‘situation’ connects Phnom Penh to the Lower strategies to these evolving challenges.
Mekong Basin through this shared resource,
crossing political and economic boundaries. This Many of the advancements necessary in Phnom
‘situation’ also remains deeply influenced by traces Penh- an agreed upon master plan, redeveloped
of French colonial planning, decades of war and the flood and sanitation infrastructure, a building code -
legacy of the Khmer Rouge. It also embodies the rely upon thoughtful governance, careful law making
resilience of a city that has emerged from decades and independent lobbying. Therefore, what agency
of unrest to grow and develop into a contemporary does design have to operate in this environment?
city, moving at high speed to make up for decades
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lost to war and conflict. There are several strategies available and pursued
by this project. First and most important of these
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The benefits of development, including relative strategies is the creation, collection, documentation
stability, economic opportunity, improved quality of and distribution of urban resources for Phnom
life, access to education and healthcare, thus far Penh. Such as the living archive available at www.
outweigh its costs. However, the price of urbanizing cityofwater.wordpress.com and the Urban Lab Phnom
a deltaic landscape cannot be ignored. A major, Penh www.urbanlabphnompenh.wordpress.com.
 Shelby Elizabeth Doyle

The Urban Lab Phnom Penh provides a space for Chandler, David. (1999) Brother Number One: A Political
the exchange of ideas between university students, Biography Of Pol Pot. Westview Press; Revised Edition.
architects, artists and urban thinkers about the
Edwards, Penny (2007), Cambodge: The Cultivation of a
present and future of Phnom Penh. The Urban
Nation 1860-1945. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Lab is a group of people, a website and during the
Our City Festival it will be a place, located at the Grant Ross, Helen and Darryl Leon Collins’ Building
Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center. During the Cambodia: ‘New Khmer Architecture’ 1953-1970,
Our City Festival the Urban Lab will bring together
known urban resources for Phnom Penh: photos, Grant Ross, Helen. 2005. “The South-East Asian
maps, drawings, models, videos, interactive media, waterbound tradition versus a colonial earth-bound
society.” In the annals of the conference Re-thinking and
and student projects. The Urban Lab will open prior Reconstructing Modern Asian Architecture (mAAN –
to the Our City Festival. This will allow for ongoing modern Asian Architecture Network Conference Istanbul
experimentation and free student workshops leading 27-30 June 2005) pp 283–292
up to and during the Festival.
Japan International Cooperation Agency Website. http://
Our City Festival is a platform for dynamic art www.jica.go.jp/cambodia Accessed August 2012.
and architecture events, that explore urbanism
Law On Water Resources Management Of The Kingdom
in Phnom Penh and fosters opportunities for Of Cambodia: LAW-0607-016-07-Water-Resources-
dialogue and public engagement. The Our City Mgt-E. www.opendevelopmentcambodia.net. Accessed
Festival 2012 theme is Urban Currents and takes May 2012.
as its point of departure the movements within the
urban environment: the flows between the people, Mekong River Commission (2012) Lower Mekong River
resources, environment, and landscape of the city Basin Flood and Drought Data. www.mrc.mekong.org.
Accessed June 7, 2012.
within the context of its urbanization and its impact
on greater Cambodia. Molyvann, Vann Modern Khmer Cities, Phnom Penh,
Cambodia: Reyum, 2003.
The second strategy is teaching within the local
design profession with a focus on fostering the Sahmakum Teang Tnaut. www.teangtnaut.org. accessed
development of conceptual ideas among the young June 2012.
Cambodian designers who will practice in Phnom
Steinglass, Matt (2005) “The City He Built.” The New York
Penh. An example of this work can be seen at www.
Times. May 15, 2005.
futureofphnompenh.wordpress.com.
The Vann Molyvann Project. www.vannmolyvannproject.
The Future of Phnom Penh is a collection of org. May 2012.
conceptual and analytical drawings and writings
about contemporary urban conditions in Phnom World Wildlife Fund (2009a) The Greater Mekong And
Penh, Cambodia. The work that follows was Climate Change: Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services And
Development At Risk. http://www.worldwildlife.org/
produced by architecture and urban planning
climate/Publications/WWFBinaryitem15238.pdf
students during a semester long seminar taught
in Phnom Penh during Spring 2012 and entitled World Wildlife Fund (2009b) Mega-Stress for Mega-
A Contemporary History of Urban Planning + The Cities: A Climate Vulnerability Ranking of Major Coastal
Future of Phnom Penh. Cities in Asia: http://awsassets.panda.org/downloads/
mega_cities_report.pdf

Worrell, Shane and Khouth Sophak Chakrya. (2012)

‘Boeung kak 13 to be Released” The Phnom Penh Post.
27 June 2012.
REFERENCES
Yuthana, Kim and Joseph Freeman (2012) “Storms Not
154

Benham, Sally and Ben Caddis (2008) Boeung Kak Area Done Just Yet”, The Phnom Penh Post 17 May 2012.
Drainage and Flooding Assessment.
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van der Hoek, Wim et al. Skin Diseases Among People

Campanella, Richard (2008). Bienville’s Dilemma: A Using Urban Wastewater in Phnom Penh UA Magazine
Historical Geography of New Orleans. Baton Rouge, LA: No. 14 - Urban Aquatic Production, 2005.
University of Louisiana