Mr. Nguyen Minh Duc
2. Current Situations for Urban Renewal in Vietnam
2.1 Stages of Urban Renewal in Vietnam
Urban renewal in Vietnam can be divided into three periods, as the following:
1st Period (1975 to 1990)
During the war, the urban areas in Vietnam were destroyed; therefore, urban reconstruction was the m ost urgent task during this period. The main funds for urban renewal cam e from the assistance of socialist countries, international organizations (e.g., schools built by the UNICEF), and other
countries (e.g., water supply from the government of Finland). In this period, apartments were built for urban reconstruction.
2nd Period (1991 to 2000)
The renovation policy gradually removed the subsidy mechanism, the construction sector’s focus was still limited and not well-executed (since it was built differently from planned), and there was no strict control. Private houses of one m illion m2 were built along the streets for residence and for trading. Although it could solve the housing problem s for the people, it also created problems in the management of developm ent. In this period, there was a policy of splitting the province and m any new urban centers were built.
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30.5 34 28
23 25 26.97
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2012
Figure 3_The Rate of Urbanization in Vietnam
Source: Urban Development Agency, 2011
3rd Period (2001 to Present)
The speed of urban development in this period was very fast. The rate of urbanization increased from 23% (2001) to 34% (2012) (see Figure 3). The urban area has become growth poles, contributing to Vietnam’s upward movement from the poor country group to the lower middle income country group. In this period, urban infrastructure system has strongly improved, m any buildings were built, and a lot of improvement activities had been undertaken for power supply systems, water supply, drainage, etc. However, urban renewal in Vietnam is still inadequate, especially in the field of urban m anagem ent.
2.2 The Policy on Urban Renewal in Vietnam
In Vietnam, urban renewal is assigned as follows:
Central Government (Ministry of Cons-
truction, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning and Investment, etc.): Issues regulations on urban renewal, developm ent and perform ance, and m anagem ent importance of projects.
Local Governments (three-tier system:
63 provinces/metropolitan cities, districts, and com m une governm ents): Perform urban renewal projects in their localities by the ‘top down’ process, flowing from the central government.
Private companies mostly perform new urban developm ent projects and do not have m uch interest in the renovation projects of old residential areas. Citizens renovate the houses by them selves.
In the first ten years of the 21st Century, in order to cope with the rapid urban expansion, m any laws were established, such as the construction law (2003) and the law on land (2003), law on housing (2005), among others, which together has created a comm on legal framework for
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urban renewal. But only in the recent years, the Urban Planning Act (2009) was issued to specifically refer to urban renovations.
Off-topic renovation plan also refers to the standards with land, urban infrastructure, underground space, green parks, and natural landscapes. However, many other important topics have not been touched on, such as organizational perform ance, project management, heritage conser- vation, and financial renovation. In sum, policies and institutions are weak in terms of urban renewal. Currently, the Ministry of Construction of Vietnam is drafting a law on urban areas, and urban renewal is an im portant chapter in this law.
2.3 SWOT Analysis of Urban Renewal in Vietnam
SWOT refers to the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
Strengths
∙ Reconstructing urban centers and streets
∙ Changing the structure of urban areas and m odernizing infrastructure
∙ Improving the environment, landscape architecture, and public space expansion
∙ Restoring heritage
Weaknesses
∙ Building too many high buildings in urban areas in the absence of public transport system s such as the subway, Metro Light Rail (MLR), etc, making the system infrastructure overloaded
∙ Public space has been appropriated
∙ Lack of regulations on urban renewal and urban heritage conservation; whether which areas need to be conserved and which areas rem oved are not clearly defined
∙ Method of urban renewal implementation is not up-to-date and is inefficient;
therefore, many conflicts has occurred and projects have been delayed
Opportunities
∙ Most big cities have already approved the m aster plan and are beginning to build public transport systems such as urban railways
∙ The government of Vietnam is currently very interested in urban renewal issues and the investm ent of resources to urban renewal
∙ As people have been interested in urban renewal, the number of private projects on urban renewal is increasing
Threats
∙ In the old urban areas, buildings are mainly owned by different organizations and individuals, which lead to m any difficulties in land clearance and com pensation
∙ There are not enough funds for urban renewal
∙ The urban management capacity is limited
∙ The property m arket is not favorable;
therefore, companies face many difficulties in the renovation of old apartm ent residences
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Ulsan
Daedeok
Changwon Banweol Yeochon Gumi
Mini new town
Five new towns
Mok-dong Gwacheon
Sungnam
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Bundang Ilsan Pyongchon Sanbon Joongdong
Dongback Jukjeon Chuncheon
Pohang Sanggye-dong
Figure 4_History of Korea’s New Towns
Source: Lee, 2012