VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam now has about 800 large urban areas, of which there are more than 100 cities. The high speed of urban development requires well-trained urban management staff, said Kinh Te & Do Thi (Economic and Urban Affairs) newspaper.

Cua Lo District in the central province of Nghe An attracts millions of tourists each year. Vietnam currently suffers from a lack of highly-qualified urban management. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tung

The fast development of urban cities has contributed to the country’s socio-economic growth, however, this has also brought many challenges with it.

Population growth is causing overloading and degrading to infrastructure facilities, and increased environment pollution due to domestic waste and exhaust fumes.

Moreover, weak management in construction and land use in urban cities has adversely affected urban planning.

Associated Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Hong Minh from the Ha Noi National University told the newspaper that “Vietnam is seriously lacking a staff of high-qualified urban managers”.

“Most management staff in localities were not trained in urban planning and development”, Minh said.

Meanwhile, urban management work which is a very complicated field includes local population management, economic and financial work, environment protection, construction and architectural planning, and development strategies, Minh said.

Vietnam is in the process of modernisation and urban cities will be hubs for socio-economic development. If there is no highly-qualified staff to manage this development, the country will pay a high price in the years to come, she told the paper.

Irrationalities in urban planning and management have led to an overly dense urban population and strained transport infrastructure in major cities, affecting the lives of local residents.

More than ten years ago, an apartment in the Linh Dam urban area was the dream of many middle and low-income families in the capital, but nowadays, residents in these areas suffer from the poor decisions and negligence by urban planners. 

Many residents in the area bought apartments here with the hope that they would enjoy a good atmosphere and service. However, it didn’t quite meet expectations.

A major cause of dissatisfaction is how long they have to wait for the elevator in high rise buildings – up to half an hour during peak times.

Lines of people tired of waiting, and overcrowding in front of elevators are the everyday reality of local residents.

Every morning, between 7 and 7.30pm, people rush to their offices and schools, as a result, congestion at the elevator occurs regularly.

Congestion in parking lots has hindered residents’ living as well - shortages in parking spaces has convinced many residents not to buy cars. 

As the developers tried to heighten their buildings for profit by accommodating more residents, they neglected other factors, such as transport infrastructure and public utilities to serve residents.

In overcrowded residential areas of Linh Dam of Hoang Mai District, Xa La in Ha Dong District or Kim Van-Kim Lu, traffic on the road is a nightmare.

Vietnam needs to follow the global trend of smart cities in order to help manage the situation. 

Training high quality staff and employing them in urban management positions is essential, said Minh.

A trained manager could effectively solve the issues that face cities, she added.

Vietnam is one of the fastest growing countries with regard to urbanisation in Southeast Asia.

According to Dr. Nguyen Hong Thuc, former director of the Settlement Research Institute, 40 per cent of the total population will be living in cities in a decade.

Therefore, the country must develop a system of cities and urban areas with high competitiveness and special spaces for industry and service development.

“This absolutely depends on the human resources of urban development”, said Thuc.

Source: VNS