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Home » What We Do » Livable Cities » Promoting a Livable City in Hanoi
Promoting a Livable City in Hanoi
Introduction
Hanoi has enjoyed rapid economic growth, which has resulted in a lot of changes in recent years. Some of the changes have improved people’s living standards. However, many of the changes are negatively impacting people’s quality of life. This is especially evident in the people’s living environment, particularly for the poor. There has been a steady decrease in the number of safe, accessible and fun public spaces in which to maintain physical activity, a lack of convenient public transit system, a fading culture of walking due to congestion, noise, and pollution caused by too many cars and motorbikes, and decreased access to healthy food.
Although several international development are assisting the Vietnamese Government to upgrade its municipal transportation infrastructure and urban planning and to reduce noise and air pollution in big cities, none are addressing the issue of making urban neighborhoods more livable and conducive to healthy lifestyles.
HealthBridge Vietnam has conducted several projects to increase the livability of
Hanoi since 2006 and achieved several notable results, including (i) increased awareness
of the current situation, problems and policy in Hanoi related to urban planning
and livable cities; (ii) increased public support to improving the urban environment;
(iii) the identification of potential partners; and (iv) improved capacity of the
HBV project team to work in the field of Livable Cities. Of particular note was the
successful launch and undertaking of the “Save Lenin Park” campaign (phase 1 – 2007
and phase 2 – 2009), which resulted in the municipal government blocking plans to
turn the park into a “Disneyland-
Objectives
HBV will work towards neighbourhoods that are designed for people, which includes increased public spaces; a safe, convenient, accessible transportation system and clean air and streets; a safe, sufficient, reliable and nutritious food supply; and neighbourhoods that are designed to honour the Vietnamese traditional culture of daily life. This will be accomplished by the following four goals:
- To re-
create a culture of walking in Hanoi - To increase the number of safe, accessible, and usable public spaces in Hanoi.
- To increase the number of people who have access to a convenient, safe, reliable and easy to understand public transit system.
- To increase access to healthy foods.
Project Results
Key deliverables for the first six months of the project include:
- 3 position papers were including: Walkability in Hanoi: the 3D Approach; Livability from a Health Perspective; Transition Fresh Markets;
- 1 project proposal was submitted;
- Desktop research was conducted about playgrounds in Hanoi and Vietnam, interviews
were held with care-
takers and children in three parks in Hanoi; - 4 neighborhood walks were held in partnership with a local organization;
- 2 workshops were organized;
- 1 presentation was made at a international conference;
- 1 guest lecture was given;
- 1 book was published and launched;
- Several networking activities took place to find collaborators for projects, and to promote the Liveable Cities Program of HB in general;
The results of these activities include increasing the profile of HealthBridge Vietnam
and increased support from policy and decision-
Lessons Learned and Recommendations
HBV LC Programme should continue to work on improving public spaces and walkability in Vietnamese cities. Currently it is the right time for these activities as many government agencies have expressed interest in working on these issues.
HBV LC Programme should try to work with other local, national and international agencies to have more influence. HBV could collaborate with them, provide more expertise and raise the issue that policy changes are needed.
Project profile
Key Partners: Healthbridge Vietnam
Location: Vietnam
Donor: HealthBridge
Duration: 2010-
Contact person:
Tran Thi Kieu Ha, Project Manager, Livable Cities
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