At a workshop on developing Da Nang into a city worth visiting and living, held by Dau Tu newspaper and Sun Group some days ago, economists, real estate experts, and representatives of enterprises offered suggestions to help the city catch up with livable cities in the region and the world.

Vo Tri Thanh, Director of the Institute of Branding and Competition Strategy, former deputy head of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), said that urbanization is one of the factors that measure livability standards, because only urbanization can create capital in society, which then attracts investment and trade of goods and services. 

In addition, livable cities need to be green, sustainable, smart and safe. All services provided in livable cities must include a good ecosystem, including healthcare, education and public services, and utility services provided by the private sector.

The Economist has named the 10 most livable cities in 2022, including Vienna, Copenhagen, Zurich, Melbourne and Osaka.

It is difficult to compare Da Nang with these famous cities. However, the criteria for livable cities cited by the magazine such as healthcare, infrastructure conditions and access to green atmosphere can be used to build Da Nang into a livable city, Da Nang Vice Mayor Ho Ky Minh said.

Minh said Da Nang has mountains, rivers and sea, and with these favorable geographical conditions, it not only has great potential to develop tourism, but also high-class urban areas and original landscapes. This can create a new impetus for urban infrastructure, promoting the advantages of the city on the river. 

Affirming that Da Nang can become a livable city, he said this still depends on the building of a strategy on developing tourism and urban infrastructure. This is both an opportunity and challenge.

Thanh said that a livable city attracts high-quality workers to live and work there. They are the vanguards, the leaders creating trends and demands.

Riverfront urban area, marina, parks and more

Experts all agree that a livable city needs to have a happy living space, full of facilities, where people can come to settle down and enjoy their life.

It must meet the requirements on life quality for all people, from children to the elderly. One of the major criteria is to have many parks, and even marinas.

Da Nang still has no true park. The existing parks are understood as places for children to play. True parks must have greenery.

The Da Nang real estate market should be motivated to develop new complete urban areas, full of utilities and a diverse park system.

CEO of CBRE Vietnam Dang Phuong Hang commented that over the last 10 years, investment in Da Nang focused on resort real estate. And now the city needs to have new urban areas for people. In order to attract investment, policies need to be transparent to create favorable conditions for investors.

Once real estate develops well and there are civilized urban areas, more people from Hanoi, HCM City and Da Nang will flock to Da Nang City.

A good solution to the development of new urban areas is to take full advantage of the river network encircling Da Nang.

Nguyen Ngoc Thuy Linh, CEO of Sun Property, said the company is joining forces with Da Nang to create riverside urban areas with full facilities.

The urban areas along the banks of rivers need to meet criteria, including safety, personalization, adequate facilities, greenery, transport infrastructure and a civilized residential community.

The criteria and standards for a livable Da Nang are being gradually "drawn" up by high-end investors, so that the city is attractive enough to lure talented and rich people, as affirmed by Tran Dinh Thien, former Director of the Vietnam Institute of Economics. This is also the driving force for Da Nang to affirm its pioneering position as the economic locomotive in the central region.

Doan Phong