The proclamation of Lao PDR and the establishment of the incoming regime cut off the country’s relations with almost all the other South-East Asian countries. for over ten years. From 1986 onwards the gradual opening of the regime led to increased economic trade, essentially with Thailand judging by the levels of direct foreign investment. At the same time, the Asia Development Bank, through the Greater Mekong Subregion Programme started to promote a transnational and regional integration plan, and, as a consequence, to link the Lao PDR and Vientiane with other territories. The opening up of the economy and the insertion of Lao PDR within regional networks, but also the impact of application of Western urban configuration models, produced extensive changes in the capital’s functional and spatial structure, long characterised by a pattern of villages. The Thai northeast development corridor extended onto Lao territory, from theMekong Bridge to the capital. This spatial development indicates a clear integration of Vientiane within Bangkok’s economic orbit.