INTRODUCTION

Vietnam is currently experiencing one of the most intensive urban transitions in the world. Its urban population doubled over the last thirty years (UN 2018). Since 2010, it has been growing at about 3 per cent per year, placing Vietnam’ urbanization rate above the Southeast Asian annual average (2.5 per cent) and very close to China's rate of 3.1 per cent (OECD 2018). According to latest UN projections, half of Vietnam's population will be urban by 2039 and that figure will reach 60 per cent by 2050 (UN 2018).

This shift from rural to urban society is closely associated with socio-economic reforms launched in the mid-1980s which progressively liberalized the economy and relaxed the grip of the state on population movements and activities. Known as Doi Moi (literally “new change”), these reforms removed constraints on the movement of people from rural to urban places and allowed occupational shifts away from agriculture. These policies later encouraged the physical expansion of existing urban areas and the creation of new urban-industrial space in densely settled rural communes (World Bank 2011).

As the nation's capital city and second largest agglomeration after Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi is one of the key sites of this urban transition. Vietnamese leaders acknowledge that the growth of Hanoi and other cities is crucial to the growth of manufacturing and higher-order services, as well as to the material well-being of the national population. At the same time, the rapid increase in populations and activities in and around cities placed intense pressure on local authorities to keep pace with the rising demand for infrastructure, social services, housing, environmental controls and public amenities. While there is consensus about the potential benefits of urbanization, concerns have also been raised by local and foreign academics, professionals and decision-makers about the importance of anticipating and addressing problems that flow from the urbanization process.

The mechanisms by which Hanoi authorities plan to ensure the sustainable growth and development of the city's territory, society and space are still in the making. While many problems remain to be addressed, the last two decades have seen the emergence of initiatives aimed at mitigating the negative impact of urbanization.