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Urban Transition and Public Space in

Vietnam, A View from the Streets of
Ho Chi Minh City
Marie Gibert-Flutre
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URBAN TRANSITION AND PUBLIC SPACE IN VIETNAM:

A VIEW FROM HO CHI MINH CITY STREETS
Marie Gibert
University Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, Prodig Geographical Research Unit, Paris
marie_gibert@hotmail.com
INTRODUCTION
The emerging metropolises of Southeast Asia are currently undergoing an accelerated and globally-driven urban
transition. Their economic emergence is taking place in a context characterized by an exponential urban growth, a
re-valuing of the city by the political authorities in the region and a fast process of urban renewal. Theses urban
transformations are not only architectural, but also economic and social: they lead to the reconfiguration of urban
forms, to the reshaping of the urban management, and to a renegotiation of daily urban practices. These
processes raise social and political issues about the rise of civil society in Southeast Asia. This paper aims to
address these contemporary mechanisms of urban change in Vietnam, as they can be seen from the public space,
at the street level.
Urban public spaces constitute an interesting angle from which to observe the evolution of urban lifestyle and
citizenship. Paradoxically, this object of study only found a true place within the field of urban studies at the end
of the 1990s, at a moment when the quality and the vibrancy of these public spaces appeared to be threatened by
new forms of privatization, segregation and even sometimes by violence (Jacobs, 1995; Ghorra-Gobin, 2001 ;
Decroly and al., 2003 ; Billard and al., 2005). But these analyzes mostly applied to the Northern metropolises. The
more recent exploration of this topic in the field of Southeast Asian studies constitutes an invitation to reconsider
these conclusions (Heng, Low, 2010. Goh and Bunnell, 2013). De-centering the focus allows both to enrich the
o igi all àEu opea à o eptàofà pu li àspa e àa dàtoà e e àtheàstud àofàtheàlo alàu a àfa i ài à“outheastàAsia.
“t eetàlifeàisài deedàaà ele a tà a àtoàassessàtheà ásia - ess àofàaà it .ààI àtheàViet a eseà ase,àst eetsàa eàtheà
most evident and widespread form of public spaces. Indeed, Ho Chi Minh City counts nearly no squares – which is
a major difference from the urban matrix of the European classical city (Sitte, 1889) – and the city contains only a
few parks, most of them being located in the inherited colonial centre. On the contrary, walking trough Ho Chi
Minh streets allows one to take in the pulse of city life and to experience vibrant urban rhythms.
Theà st eetà o stitutesà theà pa adig à ofà theà u a à fo à Gou do ,à à asà ità othà e odiesà itsà ide tit à a dà
reveals the mechanisms of its global functioning. Looking at urban mutations through the lens of street life
evolution allows one to consider the daily nature of urban changes. This scale is particularly relevant to Ho Chi
Mi hàCit ,à he eàst eetà ultu eàhasàal a sà ee ào eàofàtheà it ’sàst o gestàfeatu es.àTheàli ità et ee àp i ateà
and public spaces is everything but clear: the ground floor shops largely overflow onto the streets and the
do esti à spa eà isà ofte à idel à ope à toà theà passe ’sà ie à Drummond, 2000 ; Thomas, 2001 and 2002). But
today, from a neo-functionalist perspective, economic growth and new street regulations are leading towards a
shift from multiple-use public spaces to single-use ones. The ongoing urban renewal, with streets and alleyways
(hẻm) widening projects, bring into question the public space as a tool of social inclusion and the evolution of the
ightà toà theà it (Lefebvre, 1968) in the in post-reform and fast globalizing Vietnam. Such urban projects
question not only the ways a city is shaped by its inhabitants, but also the effective role, power and voices of the
various stakeholders.
Draft Copy – Not to be Quoted Without Permission from the Author 1

Usi gà Mi helà deà Ce teau’sà ideaà ofà ta ti à Deà Ce teauà età al.,à ,à theà ai à ofà thisà pape à is to analyze the
everyday strategies used by dwellers to impose their vision of the street in a transitional context. I therefore argue
that streetsà i à Hoà Chià Mi hà Cit à o stituteà spa esàofà egotiatio à atà leastà asà u hà asà spa esà ofà o t ol .à My
analysis is based on several years of participatory observation and in-depth interviews in Ho Chi Minh City streets
as part of my doctoral project. First, I conducted 30 in-depthài te ie sà othà ithà ep ese tati esàf o àtheà it ’sà
authorities at different administrative levels and with local residents. I also conducted an extensive survey of 120
qualitative questionnaires, both before and after the implementation of the alleys widening projects, in 6
neighbourhoods of the inner districts of Phu Nhuan, Binh Thanh, district 3 and district 6. A spatial ethnographic
app oa h,àfo usi gào à it àd elle s’àlo alàu a àp a ti esài à espo seàtoàtheà e à egulatio sàallows me to observe
various postures of resistance on the streets. This approach bridges urban planning, political science, and social
studies while aiming to develop an integrated understanding of the street uses in Ho Chi Minh City.
Figure 1. Location of the studied wards in Ho Chi Minh City inner districts

PART I. HO CHI MINH CITY STREETS AND TRADE, A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON SOCIAL INCLUSION IN PUBLIC SPACE
A detour via a semantics study allows for a better understanding of the particular concept of the street within
Vietnamese culture. The Vietnamese language provides a categorization of the world characterized by the use of
classifiers for nouns, according to whether they are living things (con) or inanimate objects (cái). It is quite
e eali gàthatàtheà o o à a eàfo à st eet àisàthe efo eà o đường àa dà otà ái đường .àTheàst eetàisàthoughtà
ofà i à Viet a eseà asà a à a ti eà ei g.à Theà so ialà p a ti esà o t i uteà toà defi eà theà st eet’sà ide tit à a dà the à
accompany its metamorphoses.
Trade as the Basis of Ho Chi Mi h City’s “treet Morphology
There are different ways to classify Ho Chi Minh City streets, using for example historical criteria that emphasize
the morphological differences between colonial and post-colonial streets. The first ones have been designed
following a standardized grid. Historical sources indicate that French engineers built their ideal modern city from
the street pattern itself, which pre-dated and then framed the building scheme (Bouchot, 1927). The streets of
the Chinese neighbourhood of Cholon also grew from the logical plans of merchants who placed particular
importance on having road access for all types of buildings. The streets were rectilinear and laid out in a logical
way in order to have connection links to the canal. Charles Goldblum considers that this attention to the network
provided by the roads in the organization of the city makes the Chinese compartments the first form of modern
city in South East Asia (Goldblum, 1985).
On the other hand, post-colonial streets – and especially the typical shape of the winding alley – are mainly born
out of the pragmatism of city dwellers during uncertain historical times. These narrow alleys no longer predate
the housing frames, but rather they are the result of informal settlements and historical densification processes.
Faced with the lack of available land, the urban form of the shop house is still considered today as the best way to
opti izeàe e à eside t’sàa essàtoàtheàst eetài àhighl àde seàa eas1.
Figure 2. Extract of a cadastral survey in Binh Thanh district (Ward 22): the dominance of elongated plots
1 2
The average density of population in the Ho Chi Minh City urban districts was 12 450 inhabitants/ km in 2011 (Statistical
Yearbook of Ho Chi Minh City, 2011).

The urban form of the tube house (nhà phố i à Viet a ese,à lite all à ea i gà theà houseà o à theà o e ialà
st eet àisàstillàdo i a tài àHoàChiàMi hàCit àtoda .àE e àifàtheseàhousesàa eà uiltàhighe àa dàa eàa hite tu all à
more sophisticated, the prevailing Vietnamese houses are still rectangular, very narrow and deep (around 3 to
4 m of width and 15 to 25 m of depth) and they are implemented perpendicularly to the streets (fig.2). The
houses are only open on one side facing the street. Trading functions have driven the urban housing form.
The value of the land itself is directly connected to the commercial potential of the street the house opens onto.
The larger the street is, the higher its commercial potential, and the higher the price of the land. In the same way,
living on an intersection is valued.àTheàViet a eseàe p essio à nha mặt tiề designates a house localised on a
f o tageàst eetàa dàitàisài te esti gàtoàu de li eàthatàtheà o dà tiền àalsoà ea sà o e in Vietnamese. Even
urban authorities validated this principle by evaluating land property taxes based on the same criterion. Land use
property tax is based on four types of location: from type 1 – land fronting a street with good vehicle access – to 4
– land having extremely limited access (Decree on Land Pricing, 188/ND-CP, 2004, article 10).
The Economic and Social Imperatives of Street Access
HoàChiàMi hàCit ’sàhisto i alàfeatu eàpa tl àe plai sà h à ostàofàitsà it àd elle sàa eàstillà e à elu ta tàtoàli eài à
an apartment building, since it immediately results in loosing trade capacity. Surveys conducted both among
people living in inner city alleyways and in resettlement high-rise building sites illustrate this feeling well2. This, in
turn, explains the failure of the resettlement to high-rise buildings after the implementation of an urban project3.
Public place is therefore considered as a resource intuitively used to meet various needs. Indeed, not only is the
street a place of business, but residents have also become accustomed to considering their doorsteps and street
as a natural extension of their own homes (Drummond, 2002). As a result, various domestic activities, such as
ooki g,à doi gà o e’sà lau d ,à i stalli gà o a e talà pla tsà o à u i gà oti eà o je ts,à take place directly on the
st eetsàofàHoàChiàMi hàCit .àT adi gào àtheàst eetào ào ào e’sàdoo stepàhasàalsoà ee ào eàofàtheào l à a sàtoàea à
a living in post-reform Vietnam when many people had lost their state sector positions. The renewal of the private
sector in the Vietnamese economy is thus strongly characterised by small and very small businesses4.
A riot of ad ertisi g o erhead, a l e of traders elo , e ery alley ay a

pote tial oodle stall a d e ery shady tree a possi le ar er’s shop. (Hayton,
2010).
Obtaining official usage rights on a plot of land has indeed been highly regulated by the government since 1975 in
Ho Chi Minh City, with the establishment of the residency registration system (hộ khẩu). This system aims to
control and limit rural migrations to the city. Being registered in a ward (phường) requires many administrative
procedures. Surveys show that many residents find these procedures too complex and unpredictable. The burden
of being closed off from city life and its amenities is however counter- ala edà à theà ha ke s’à elati el à f eeà
accessibility to the streets since economic liberalization. This right to street access is highly unequal but
nevertheless remains aàke àstepàtoàtheà ightàtoàtheà it .
2
People surveyed mostly insist on the importance on private land as a form of investment in Vietnam and explain that the
st eet’sàa essi ilit à o stitutesàaà ajo à ite iaàtoàassessàtheà alueàofàa house.
3
For example, in 2000, four years after the end of the resettlement programme of the Nhiêu Lộc - Thị Nghè canal project,
more than 70% of the households had resold their apartment and left the resettlement building (Castiglioni, Cusset and
Gubry, 2006).
4
Ha to à o side sàthatà ediu àa dàs allàsizedà usi essesàstillà ep ese tà à%àofàtheà ou t ’sà usi essesà Ha to ,à .

PART II. “TREET“’ “PATIAL ORGANISATION AND URBAN RHYTHMS
Despite antagonistic morphological conceptions, both the main streets and the alleyways create a strong
commercial matrix for Ho Chi Minh City. Fairly conventional main thoroughfares are the scenes of semi-
specialised or specialised trade, such as the sale of furniture, video products and labelled cosmetics. Their
catchment area can be quite extended, while alleyways are the scenes of daily proximity trade. In larger streets,
the displayed products often occupy both the eadthàofàtheà uildi g’sàg ou dàfloo àasà ellàasàtheàst ategi àshopà
frontage and street sidewalk. The sidewalk can serve both as the continuity of the shop -it usually exhibits new
goods or promotions- or can simply be converted into a motorcycle parking lot for customers. Perhaps
paradoxically according to Western conceptions of the street, one use that is not associated with Ho Chi Minh City
streets is strolling. When city dwellers want to walk, they tend to prefer parks and often walk around the park
with an athletic approach, rather than with the intention of strolling.
Though the alleyways of Ho Chi Minh City are places of trade, their functional organisation has a different nature.
The alleyways are characterised by their lack of sidewalk, which does not prevent them from having a strong
commercial use but requires a different spatial organisation. The households with small shops on the ground floor
use the space in front of their houses to display goods or install tables and chairs if they own a coffee shop.
Alleyways are most of all defined by the presence of hawkers or temporary market places that succeed each other
throughout the day (fig.3). Crossroads are considered the most strategic place to invest in, and every blind wall is
o side edà aà lo atio à toà eà f eel à usedà fo à t ade.à Theà alle a s’à u a à spa eà o espo dsà toà hatà theà u a à
sociologist Tôn Nữ Qu nh T à ide tifiesà asà theà uietà it à asà opposedà toà theà d a i à it à ofà ajo à a te iesà
(Qu nh Trân, 2007). This distinction is mainly based upon the criterion of urban rhythm.
Figure 3. The Spatial Organization of Commercial Activities Along Alleyways in district 3
O se i gàtheà altzàofàHoàChiàMi hàCit ’sàa ti itiesàallo sào eàtoàu de sta dàtheàfu tio i g of their polyvalent
nature. In such a dense city where space is a rare and precious commodity, juggling with urban rhythm is the only
way to allow every type of city dweller to benefit from everything the city has to offer (fig.4).

Figure 4. Ide tifi atio àa dàRep ese tatio àofàDail àU a àRh th sào àHoàChiàMi hàCit ’s Alleyways
The Case Study of 248/ 138 Xô Viết Nghệ Tĩ hàálle a
This analysis shows that trade cannot simply be considered as a threat to public space. On the contrary, these
a ti itiesàa eàaàt peàofàgua a teeàfo àu a àso ialài lusio àa dàfo àe e àd elle ’sà ightàtoàtheà it .àFo àtheàlastà
decade, the authorities have nevertheless questioned this specific urbanity, on that mainly results from forty
ea sàofàspo ta eousàu a àde elop e t.àTheàu geàfo à ode izatio àisài deedà halle gi gàtheàst eets’à apa it à
toàoffe àaà ightàtoàtheà it àtoàe e àe o o i àa ti it àa dàcity dweller.
PART III. NEW REGULATIONS AND CONCEPTIONS CHALLENGING THE STREET’“ MULTIPLE U“E“
The urban authorities have recently expressed a sturdy will to regulate, control, and plan the urbanization
process. This has occurred through the application of various innovative regulations and by the preparation of
new master city plans5. It is enlightening to decipher the effects of these new regulations at the local scale and to
fo usào àtheà e à ulesà ega di gàtheàst eets’àuses,à hi hà eakà ithàaà u er of former practices. Focusing both
o à theseà egulatio sà a dà o à it à d elle s’à e à u a à p a ti esà taki gà pla e,à allo sà usà toà o se eà theà o goi gà
p o essàofàaàst i te àdisti tio à et ee àtheà atego iesàofà pu li àa dà p i ate .à
5
The first Master Plan for Ho Chi Minh City was validated in 1993. Since then, it has been reviewed and followed by detailed
Master Plans for the planning of new urban areas, such as Phú Mỹ Hưng or Thủ Thiêm areas. In addition, the land law of
àa dàtheàu a àpla i gàla àofà àa eàa o gà ajo àlegislati eàtu sài àtheàu a àpla i g’sà o eptio .

New Street Regulations for a Ci ilised City
The streets of Ho Chi Minh City are also places of expression for the authorities: large banners and official
regulatory signs are multiplying along streets and alleyways. These colorful elements are part of the street
landscape and e phati all à i iteà it à d elle sà toà eha eà i à aà ultu al à a dà i ilized à a à o à theà st eet.à
Mode izatio à Xây dự g đô thị ă i h, hiệ đại) has indeed become a key concept and requires the respect
of a series of criteria laid down by the government and its local representatives. Among these criteria, the proper
uses of what a civilized street should be are very informative as to the vision of the street for tomorrow. The main
objective of these propaganda campaigns is to regulate the activities in the street and to clarify what must stay in
theàdo esti àsphe e.àThus,àthe eàisàa àag ee e tào àtheà ode à e essit àtoàde easeàtheàfootp i t of trade
stands on the sidewalks and roads, and avoid the presence of hawkers. It is nevertheless important to recall that
most of these new regulations do not yet have the value of a law and remain indicative. But these official
programmes remain the indicator of the main future trend of considering and regulating the streets.
In order to systematize the respect shown to different social criteria of what is appropriate on the street, the
government launched a programme in the late 1990s to improve the implementation of new regulations at the
e àlo alàs alesàofàtheàhouseholdàa dàtheà it à lo kà Gia đì h ă hoá, Khu phố ă hoá ). If a household meets
atà leastà %à ofà theà p og a eà e ui e e ts,à ità isà de la edà aà ultu alà fa il à a dà e a dedà ithà a à offi ialà
certificate. Furthermore, a neighbourhood block that counts more than 80% of cultural families is recognized as a
cultural neighbourhood and is awarded a conspicuous sign, which is placed at its entrance. One chief of a
neighbourhood unit6 (Tổ Dân phố) in Phú Nhuậ à Dist i tà e plai sà thatà theà ost important is to avoid people
th o i gà thei à ga ageà o à theà st eet,à ua elli gà et ee à eigh ou s,à o à t adi gà i à pu li à spa es. 7 He
highlighted the official rules displayed directly on the street near the local news board. This same local chief
describesàhisà oleàasà aàst eetà ediato .àTheàeffe tsàofàthisàoffi ialàp og a eàa eà e e thelessà i i izedà àtheà
fact that once a neighbourhood has been rewarded with an official gate, it is never taken down. In addition, an
investigation with different real estate developers in the same district reveals that status as cultural
neighbourhood does not affect land prices.
Theàst eet’sàusesà e ai à ai l àaàtopi àofà egotiatio sàa dàlo alàa a ge e tsà Koh,à .àNe e theless,à hatàisà
still possible in the local alleys is sometimes no longer possible in the main streets of the city centre, where the
authorities care more about the image of the city, which is displayed to the visitors. Studying the evolution of the
Turtle Lake area in the very heart of district 1, Erik Harms underlines that since the organisation of the Southeast
Asian games in 2003, the authorities have succeeded in clearing this popular place of the many small street
coffee-stands that characterized the Turtle Lake (Harms, 2001).
Towards New Street Conceptions
In conjunction with the diffusion of new regulations concerning the uses of the street, city authorities have been
conducting an ambitious program of urban renewal for around ten years (VUUP). This programme aims to
modernize the built environment of the street and includes providing systematic enlargement patterns. This
programme, conducted both on the main structure of the city streets and in the alleyways in the very hearts of
city blocks, is thought to be a major and necessary response to the recurring problems of street congestion. It is
true that the exponential increase in the number of motorcycles and cars travelling the streets each day makes
6
It is the smallest unit of administrative control in the city and corresponds often to one alley. At this scale, everyone knows
everyone especially into such a dense morphological urban configuration. The chief of the neighbourhood unit plays a
role of go-between for the inhabitants and the sub-district authorities.
7
Survey conducted in May 2010.

the issue of traffic flow very difficult in Ho Chi Minh City8. The lack of secondary roads and the dual city pattern
explains that the local alleyways are increasingly used by motorcycle drivers during morning and evening rush
hours. The usage conflicts that emerge from the competition between road traffic and commercial or social uses
of the alle a ’sàspa eàa eà egula l à ela edà àtheàp ess9. In this regard, the authorities have decided to improve
theà ualit àofà it àt affi à àu de taki gàaàp oje tàtoà ide àtheàst eets,à oupledà ithàtighte à egulatio àofàst eet’à
side uses. References to the functionalist movement are recurrent in interviews with district leaders and officials
of the Department of Transportation. The best incarnation of this model of urban development in Ho Chi Minh
City is without question the organization of new suburbs, which are designed and implemented from scratch and
o i i gà isio sàofàaà it àthatà a tsàtoà eà ode .
PART IV. THE VIETNAMESE STREET IN TRANSITION, A HYBRID MODEL
The E ergi g Middle Class’ Ne Ur a Pra ti es
Political management and official regulations or programmes are not the only catalysts in the contemporary
levers of the public versus private spaces dynamic. The functionalist urban planning that the authorities are
aiming for in Ho Chi Minh City streets today is fits with the new expectations of the emerging urban middle class.
E ikà Ha sà u de li esà fo àe a pleà theà i te esti gà o e ge eà et ee à theà autho ities’à illà ofà o t olli gà a dà
lea i g àtheàpu li àspa eà ithàtheà e àaspi atio sàofàtheà iddleà lass to protect their interests (Harms, 2001).
This social category, very emblematic of recent Vietnamese development, has recently accessed new property
rights, especially since the land law of 2003. Thus, they are now more willing to support a clearer distinction
between public space and private space in order to strictly identify what is their own private property. The most
visible spatial incarnation of this new trend is be the ostentatious gates that certain households erect in front of
their houses (fig. 5). The border between public and private space is now fixed and more than symbolically
marked.
8
According to the Department of transports, there were more than 4 millions of motorbikes and 400 000 cars registered in
Ho Chi Minh City in 2010.
9
Fo àe a ple:à Kẹt xe ở TP.HCM: Bầm giập hẻm dân lập à T affi àja sài àHoàChiàMi hàCit :àtheàda ageà ausedàtoàtheàalle s’à
eigh ou hoods ,àNgười lao động, dec. 2009.

Figure 5. New Gates in Front of Houses: Towards a Clearer Boarder Between Private and Public Space
Most of the households erecting gates do not own shops in their houses but work in a different area. Their
lifestyle is quite different from that of the traditional small business owners of the alleyways. Most of the time,
they commute to offices and shops in the inner districts of the city. This emergence of daily commuting on a mass
scale affects the relationship between the residents and their neighbourhood. Residential strategies are now
changing among the middle class that is looking for bigger lots and high value investments on urban land. Phú
Nhuận district, ward 13, is a good example of this evolution of the alleyways in Ho Chi Minh City today. This
district is one of the most advanced in the implementation of the enlargement of alleyway projects. The
i te ie sà o du tedài àalle a à àL àVă à“ĩàdu i gàtheà o st u tio àpe iodàsho àthatà ostàofàtheà iddle-class
residents do agree that this project is going to increase the value of their land, even though they do loose one or
two meters in front of their house10.
This evolution is much more criticized by the households running a business in the alley or who own a small
house, as they cannot sustain the loss of a part of their house. These tensions as well as the different opinions on
the necessity of this urban programme highlight the divergence of interests between the residents, which
depends on how much they have to rely on trade to survive. The notion of a neighbourhood community is
therefore questioned, and the emergence of individualistic practices clearly contributes to the new definition of
private and public spaces. These trends have just began to impact the development of the alleyways. On the
contrary, the fixed border between private and public spaces has immediately been identified as a fundamental
principle in the new peripheral urban zones, where functionalism has been the basis of the urban matrix. This
emerging trend has nevertheless been balanced out by the very creative ways in which people negotiate these
major changes.
10
Interviews conducted in June 2010.

A Negociated Street in the Course of Transition
This urban process is still incomplete and the current situation creates many hybrid cases. A business man who
has installed a massive gate in front of his house and works in the business district might continue to enjoy his
morning beverage at a sidewalk coffee stand. And a shop owner who closes his shop space with a window may
continue to display certain goods outside. There are many examples of these hybrid uses of the street today. The
multitude of individual actions carried out day after day creates strong links between the people and their urban
e i o e t,à i à aà p o essà ofà ha ge.à Mi helà deà Ce teau’sà ideaà ofà ta ti à fitsà e à ellà theà d elle s’à e e da à
strategies to impose their vision of the street in a non-democratic context. By altering the street, by adapting it to
their needs, the people are involved in the construction of the city itself. In this way, the people manage to
establish a form of continuity in their habits during a period of a significant rupture with the past. It is precisely
through these habits that the genesis of the city takesàpla eài àHoàChiàMi hàCit .àO eàe a pleàofàtheseà ta ti s àisà
the implementation of first floor balconies by the inhabitants of the alleys that have been widened. In doing this,
the residents are taking advantage of loopholes in urban regulations about the widening of streets and only
respect the compulsory new width on the ground floor (fig.6).
Figure 6. The spontaneous implementation of first floor balconies in a widened alley:

á àe a pleàofàa à u a àta ti ài àt a sitio alàHoàChiàMi hàCit
Whatever the urban evolutions may be and despite the construction of many malls along the main boulevards, Ho
Chià Mi hà Cit à isà stillà e à st o gl à ide tifiedà à itsà st eetà ultu e .à Theà a à e àto e sà appea i gà i àtheà it à
centre all open shops on their ground floor for example, a fairly different model from Hong Kong, illustrating the
capacity of the streets to sustain the deep economic and urban transformations and to smoothly integrate new
urban development tendencies.

CONCLUSION
Theà e olutio à ofà theà useà ofà theà st eetsà i à Hoà Chià Mi hà Cit à allo sà toà dis ussà theà o eptio à ofà p i ate à a dà
pu li à atego ài à o te po a àu a àViet a .àTheà apa it àofàst eetsàtoà el o eàaà ideà a geàofàpeopleàa dà
activities is linked to both the morphological frame of the city and the specific spatiotemporal organization of the
streets in Ho Chi Minh City. For the last decade, the authorities have nevertheless questioned this specific
urbanity. The urge for modernization is indeed challenging the st eets’à apa it à toà offe à aà ightà toàtheà it à toà
every economic activity and city dweller. But political management and official regulations or programmes are not
the only catalysts in the contemporary levers of the public versus private space dynamic. The functionalist urban
planning for which the authorities are aiming in Ho Chi Minh City streets today is actually in tune with the new
expectations of the emerging urban middle class, who has newly acquired extended land property rights. These
trends seem to contribute to an increasing distinction between the private and public spheres and the functions
they are associated with.
The methods used to make it happen place very little importance on the local environments and the habits of the
local people who a eà o st ai edàtoàadaptàtoàaà ode it àthatàhasà ee ài posedà àoffi ialdo .àNe e theless,à
it would be wrong to think that the citizens see themselves as being excluded from the processes of urban
change. On the contrary, they have the capacity to appropriate and often to alter urban projects and features of
theà it ,à hi hà o t i uteàtoà uildi gàtheàst eet’sàide tit ào e àaàlo gàpe iodàofàti e.à
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Producing and Living t he Cit y in Viet nam

URBAN TRANSITION AND PUBLIC SPACE IN VIETNAM:

Draft Copy – Not to be Quoted Without Permission from the Author 1

Draft Copy – Not to be Quoted Without Permission from the Author 2

Trade as the Basis of Ho Chi Mi h City’s “treet Morphology

Draft Copy – Not to be Quoted Without Permission from the Author 3

The Economic and Social Imperatives of Street Access

A riot of ad ertisi g o erhead, a l e of traders elo , e ery alley ay a

Draft Copy – Not to be Quoted Without Permission from the Author 4

PART II. “TREET“’ “PATIAL ORGANISATION AND URBAN RHYTHMS

Figure 3. The Spatial Organization of Commercial Activities Along Alleyways in district 3

Draft Copy – Not to be Quoted Without Permission from the Author 5

Draft Copy – Not to be Quoted Without Permission from the Author 6

New Street Regulations for a Ci ilised City

Towards New Street Conceptions

Draft Copy – Not to be Quoted Without Permission from the Author 7

PART IV. THE VIETNAMESE STREET IN TRANSITION, A HYBRID MODEL

The E ergi g Middle Class’ Ne Ur a Pra ti es

Draft Copy – Not to be Quoted Without Permission from the Author 8

Draft Copy – Not to be Quoted Without Permission from the Author 9

A Negociated Street in the Course of Transition

Figure 6. The spontaneous implementation of first floor balconies in a widened alley:

Draft Copy – Not to be Quoted Without Permission from the Author 10

Draft Copy – Not to be Quoted Without Permission from the Author 11

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