VietNamNet Bridge – Because of rapid urbanization, Hanoi needs a huge amount of names for new roads and streets but the bank of names, particularly the names of celebrities, has been exhausted.

Truong Minh Tien, deputy director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, said many new roads in the districts of Long Bien, Nam Tu Liem, Bac Tu Liem, Ha Dong and Cau Giay were waiting for a name but the “fund” of names has run out. 

"The names of famous celebrities have been used all so we have to collect the names of the celebrities in modern history. This fact has required us to build a bank of street names in a more extensive way," Tien said.

The development of the bank of street names is being implemented by the Heritage Division of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports. The list of names will be considered by scientists and experts at seminars.

"The difficulty is finding consultants to develop the appropriate name bank,” said Tien, who added that the department has not yet to find a suitable consultant. 

Dr. Nguyen Van Nhat, former Head of the History Institute, suggested dividing the bank of street names into categories like landmarks, characters, events ... and the development of the street name bank should be considered an annual scientific project of the Department of Culture and Sport.

Hanoi faces massive population pressure
  
Increased migration from rural areas and an increasing number of apartment blocks is meaning many of Hanoi's wards are having to deal with unprecedented numbers of residents, straining urban infrastructure.
 
Hoang Liet Ward has the highest urbanisation rate in Hanoi. Five years ago, it was still a commune with around 7,000 residents, but today its population has reached 32,000. New apartment blocks and offices are pushing population growth, with a predicted 80,000 population expected by the end of 2017.

Nguyen The Hung, party secretary of Hoang Liet, said the area had just two kindergartens, two primary schools and one secondary school despite the local area already being home to 10,000 children.

"Infrastructure development is lagging well behind population growth," he said.

Nhung, a resident in Hoang Liet Ward, said local people are lacking medical services, especially for basic services such as child vaccination programmes. "I often bring my kids to Bach Mai Hospital in Dong Da District. I'm not comfortable with the lack of services here," she said.

A similar situation is repeated in Hai Ba Trung District. Several wards don't have enough land to build playgrounds for children. In addition, congestion is a major issue, with the local authorities now agreeing to the expansion of Minh Khai Street.

In order to deal with the ballooning population, the chairman of Vinh Tuy Ward said the authorities were seeking permission to be divided into two wards. Dtinews

Le Ha