Improving the Urban Living Environment through Open Space Management in Hanoi Ancient Quarter, Vietnam

IMPROVING THE URBAN LIVING ENVIRONMENT THROUGH OPEN SPACE MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY OF THE “36 OLD STREETS” QUARTER OF HANOI, VIETNAM

(Published in: Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand)

Abstract

Improving urban living environment is one important target for large cities in developing countries. Hanoi is one such city, with a rich cultural heritage reflecting nearly 1000 years of history. Open space management is key element of improving the living condition of Hanoi’s core, the ‘36 Old Street Quarter’.

Implementation of the policy of economic reform (doi moi) led to increase urbanization, causing disappearance of open space and a serious deterioration of living condition. Flawed institutions have also significantly influenced open space management. Thus, to manage effective those areas, institutions need also to be reformed.

The study is a descriptive research through sampling, interviews and secondary data to analysis existing issues in term of open space management. The main problems are over-complicated legal provisions, structure and implementation process for managing courtyards in tube houses and recreational grounds in old quarter.

In order to address these issues, specific strategies for establishing guidelines are proposed. These are regulatory simplification and adjustment, decentralization of decision- making and simplification of management process. Finally, an action plan is necessary to implement strategies successful towards effective and efficient management of open space as well as best community participation for future ‘36 old street quarter’.

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Downloadable contents:

Cover and Title

Acknowledgement; Table of Content

Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Chapter 4; Chapter 5; Chapter 6; Chapter 7 & 8 (to be uploaded upon request)

References

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“Spirit” of Hanoi Ancient Urban Area and Its Heritage

(Published in: Construction Planning Journal, Vol. 22 [4] 2006, pp.39-41)

Summary

Ancient “spirit” for anybody, it may be whatever is going to be existed, such as a vendor, unsteady street, an old house surrounding … They are physical basic partials created ancient “spirit” long time ago.

Ancient streets at present have become partly indispensable in each of us line an ancient street hidden a magnanimous period with a lifestyle, culture, belief and changes towards better future.

“Spirit” of present ancient house is intangible value which had in the past. If we can not see the value for preservation, the house will be lost its actual attraction. To push “spirit” into the house is the necessary must be carefully considered and respected “speakable things” to speak out the value of space, time, unique lifestyle of specific house.

Examining Conservation Possibilities on Reciprocal Relations between the built Environment and Heritage User: A case study of 36 Old Streets Quarter in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Ngo Minh Hung, Wong Yunn Chii, Heng Chye Kiang

(Accepted in: HERITAGE 2008 International Conference, Portugal)

Abstract

The Old Quarter of Hanoi, implies the commercial area- “Kẻ Chợ” outside the Royal Citadel, is considered the best place to experience the spirit of the one thousand year old Hanoi with values- tangible: urban fabric, tube-house architecture and historic-cultural- religious buildings; – intangible: lifestyle and ethnic standard of natives, traditional guilds with its streets (Hàng) bearing the names of the goods manufactured on them. Change of the built environment in the Ancient Quarter has been challenging heritage users (local authority, native, merchant) before current market-oriented mechanism of mega-city like Hanoi. Over the past 25 years, such three pilot projects of building preservation within Hanoi Ancient Quarter (HAQ)- covering over 800 relics that need to be urgently preserved, have been conducted by applied “reproducible preservation method” with the international assistance.

To Hanoi city, community participation plays a vital role in retaining the built heritages, which provide significant functions to the users – who enable to grasp opportunities in use of physical settings. The research aims to assess reciprocal relationship of both key elements (material elements and user’s behavior) in heritage environment (in-outdoor and sharing spaces) of 36 Old Streets Quarter that affords inhabitants (i) perceiving the environment qualities to spring potential opportunities in (ii) utilizing physical settings and; (iii) shaping variously spatial forms; and a cross- comparison of those layers is logically analyzed to formulate a notion of “interplay- preservation” at town and architectural level. It argues that for a sustainable development that would retain the identity of the heritage city, a ground-up framework (GUF) is conceptualized to emphasis on integrating actual heritage condition with traditional methods of indigenous community is recommended.

Keyword: community participation, potential possibilities, GUF, urban heritage