Hanoi plans to open more public spaces by 2030. — Photo vneconomy.vn

The capital is in the midst of a prolonged heatwave so flower gardens and parks in the city have been popular spots recently.

Nguyen Van Mien, a man living on Hang Be Street of Hoan Kiem District, said: “On hot days, flower gardens and parks are ideal places for people, especially those living in the narrow houses on Old Quarter streets like me.”

Mien goes to Chi Linh Garden nearby Hoan Kiem Lake, where there are many old trees, to exercise and walk every day.

“If there were no public flower gardens like this to relax and do daily exercise, it would be very frustrating and uncomfortable,” he told Kinh Tế & Đô Thị (Economy and City) newspaper.

Public and green spaces are indispensable for a city to meet people's needs, but the reality is that public and green spaces are rare and their quality is low in central Hanoi.

According to statistics of Livable Cities Project of Canada’s HealthBridge Foundation in Vietnam, Hanoi needs more flower gardens and playgrounds in residential areas, especially in the inner city, where the land used for public and green spaces accounts for less than 2 per cent of the total land fund.

For example, in Hoan Kiem District, there are only 13 flower gardens, equal to a rate of 0.1 sq.m per person on average.

In the Old Quarter, the rate is even lower. Cua Dong Ward is home to nearly 70,000 people but only one flower garden while much space is used for car parking.

The city has targeted an average of public and green space of 3.02 sq.m per person for the central districts by 2030.

According to Dr Pham Quynh Phuong, an expert from the Institute of Cultural Studies, Hanoi has paid some attention to the development of public and green space such as growing more trees, building more parks and gardens and opening walking streets but the spaces have not yet met the needs of the people.

In addition, many public spaces are being commercialised and privatised. The sidewalks are occupied by business households while many public places are used for parking lots or the expansion of transport infrastructure. 

Overall harmonious landscape

The Hanoi Party Committee has issued a programme for 2021 – 2025 aiming to renovate and upgrade 45 existing parks and flower gardens, build five new parks and flower gardens and upgrade 180 streets and sidewalks in 12 districts.

Some districts have started work on hitting those targets.

For example, Hoan Kiem District People's Committee has worked with the PRX Institute - Representative of the Ile-de-France region of France in Vietnam and France’s DE-SO agency to build a project for public space planning and an eco-friendly green space management experiment.

Pham Tuan Long, chairman of Hoan Kiem District People's Committee, said because there was no land in the district available for new developments, the research plan proposed by the consulting unit – DE-SO - was to develop green spaces combined with the expansion of walking spaces to honour valuable architectural works.

The project aims to renovate the landscape and develop trade and tourism in the district including the statue of King Ly Thai To with the State Bank Square, Dien Hong Flower Garden with the Government guesthouse, and Opera House Square and Trang Tien and Hang Khay streets and Hoan Kiem Lake, Long said.

The renovation would be based on the principle of restoring pedestrian spaces in the area while expanding green spaces, the chairman said.

Also, the project would provide Hanoi with design tools for public spaces specific to the capital, particularly the old French streets.

French experts also proposed upgrading the streets of Hang Khay and Trang Tien to improve the architectural value of the street and preserve the French architectural works.

They have also suggested developing the inside of stores to create a busy commercial axis and a promenade connecting with the walking space of Hoan Kiem Lake and the Opera House, he said.

Chairman of the Vietnam Urban Development Planning Association, architect Tran Ngoc Chinh, said that over the years, Hanoi and Hoan Kiem District have implemented many projects to develop services, commerce and tourism in the Old Quarter, such as the implementation of the pedestrian route.

“This really was meaningful as Hanoi was very short of parks, squares, public playgrounds, especially for children. For tourism, the impact of the walking streets was obvious,” Chinh said.

“However, if Hoan Kiem Lake and its surrounding area are considered a transitional area connecting with the Old Quarter streets, it is necessary to have solutions to design the landscape of this area as a central park forming a space highlight and unique destination of the pedestrian streets,” Chinh said.

According to the expert, the Hang Khay-Trang Tien-Opera House route is currently an important walking centre, so it is necessary to combine the exploitation of the existing architecture works and building new commercial and service works with high aesthetic value to raise the quality of the walking space around Hoan Kiem Lake.

In addition, the city should study and implement a project that makes the French architectural streets become a heritage area to create new tourism products, Chinh added.

Source: Vietnam News

Hanoians need more public spaces

In recent years, Hanoi authorities have focused on forming many new residential areas and expanding transport infrastructure to meet the rapid speed of urbanisation and population growth.