In 2014, Hanoi issued Decision 1495 which said that after removing industrial facilities, schools and hospitals from the inner districts of Dong Da and Thanh Xuan, land would be allocated to public works like parks and flower gardens. 

Thanh Xuan and Dong Da inner districts have the highest urbanization rate in Hanoi but the area for trees, parks and flower gardens is modest. There are 700,000 people in the districts. Many factories in the districts were removed in recent years to ease pollution and traffic congestion. 

However, after factory relocation, the land was used to build multi-story buildings and urban areas, not parks or flower gardens as Decision 1495 said. Many roads in these districts are called "forests of multi-story buildings".

For example, after factories along 720 meters of Nguyen Tuan Road in Thanh Xuan district were removed to the suburbs, leaving tens of hectares of land, this area was used to build many 20 multi-story buildings, namely Imperia Garden, TNR Gold Season, 90 Nguyen Tuan, Viet Duc Complex, Thong Nhat Complex and The Legend. 

Totaling 6,000-7,000 apartments, apartment buildings on Nguyen Tuan Road are home to 25,000 people.

Another road in Thanh Xuan district – Le Van Luong – hosts up to 40 high-rise buildings along 2km road. The best-known projects include Golden Palm, Golden Palace, 18T1 and 18T2 Trung Hoa Nhan Chinh, Star City, Hanoi Center Point and Oriental Le Van Luong with about 3,500 apartments.

Despite the high density of multi-story buildings on this road, Hanoi agencies decided to raise the permitted height of construction works. The shopping mall and offices for lease at No 19 Le Van Luong, for example, have raised the number of stories from 12 to 16, while the Hanoi Center Point project added nearly 10 stories, and the Diamond Flower project rose from 6 to 39 stories.

300,000 people: one park

While land for public works remains modest, many multi-story buildings in Thanh Xuan district threaten to overload social infrastructure like parks and entertainment sites. Nguyen Tuan, Nguyen Trai, Le Van Luong and Vu Trong Phung streets face traffic congestion at certain hours of the day.

Thanh Xuan district has 300,000 residents, but it has only one park – the 13 hectare Thanh Xuan Park, including 8 hectares of surface water and 5 hectares of gardens and trees. As the population density is high, and the green area is limited, the park is always crowded, particularly on weekends.

Local residents told VietNamNet that trying to find a place for their children to play is a headache. 

“Sometimes we walk to Thanh Xuan Park, but the park is always crowded. We have to watch the children carefully, or they may run into joggers,” said a local man named Pham Cuong, adding that the park doesn’t have a specific area for children.

Vu Diep