Smart‑city projects are spreading across Vietnam, but the real test is whether they make everyday life easier. This article explains why measuring success by concrete benefits matters for commuters, flood‑prone neighborhoods and anyone using public services.

Experts say Vietnam's smart cities should be judged by improvements in daily life—reduced traffic congestion, less flooding and faster public services—rather than the number of cameras, screens or digital systems installed (P1). At the same time, Vietnam continues to face persistent problems such as traffic congestion, flooding, environmental pollution, insufficient green spaces and overloaded public infrastructure (P11).

Kieu Viet Cuong, Acting Head of the UN‑Habitat Office in Vietnam, said the priority should shift from merely collecting information to using data effectively. He added that data must help identify needs, set investment priorities, coordinate services and evaluate outcomes (P27‑29).

According to Nguyen Anh Tuan, Government Affairs Director at Huawei Vietnam, residents judge a city's smartness by practical issues such as traffic congestion, urban flooding and lengthy administrative procedures, not by the count of installed cameras or display screens (P35‑36). A city can only be considered genuinely smart when it possesses three integrated capabilities—digital infrastructure, data and artificial intelligence—and when data is valued for its ability to connect, share and be used effectively (P37‑40).

Evaluating smart‑city initiatives by real improvements in daily life ensures that technology serves the people who need it most. For Vietnamese residents, this focus means future projects are more likely to ease traffic, reduce floods and speed up public services.