Hà Nội and the challenge of reorganising urban sidewalks | Vietnam Today

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0:00Now, for decades, Hanoi's pavements have

0:02served not only as walkways, but also as

0:04spaces for street vendors and small

0:06businesses. Now, the city is stepping up

0:08efforts to reclaim pavements for

0:10pedestrian. As part of a broader

0:12campaign to improve urban order and

0:14civility to help us better understand

0:16both the importance of this effort and

0:18the challenges involved, we are now

0:20joined by Dr. Toqin, a senior planner

0:22and manager from a Japan engineering

0:24consultants. First of all, hello and uh

0:27thank you so much for joining us on

0:28NewsLine today.

0:30Now, in your view, what have uh

0:32sidewalks in Vietnamese cities

0:33traditionally represented? And why have

0:35repeated efforts to restore order

0:38struggled to deliver lasting results?

0:45Well, for decades, sidewalk in

0:47Vietnamese city have been far more than

0:49just transport space. They are unique

0:51social and economic ecosystems where

0:54street vendors, small shops, daily

0:56interactions and lively street life

0:58creates a distinct energies of an Asian

1:00cities. This is most cultural identities

1:03and a major tourist appeal. So the real

1:06problem is that occupation has gone too

1:08far. public space have been overly

1:11privatized by vendors, motorbike

1:13parking, narrow local interests, often

1:16taking away pedestrians basic right to

1:18safe movement, especially for the

1:20elderly, children, and people with

1:22disabilities. So many cleanup campaigns

1:26have failed because they were mostly

1:28short-term crackdowns, true manuals

1:30lacking technology, lacking study

1:33enforcement, and the realistic

1:35livelihood alternatives. So the true

1:38challenge is not whether to remove or to

1:40preserve sidewalk life, but how to

1:43reorganize it more fairly and

1:45sustainably.

1:48>> Really interesting point of view. And so

1:49Hanoi has recently enforced sidewalk

1:51order more aggressively under plan 322,

1:54creating clearer streets, but also

1:57causing livelihoods laws and spill over

1:59into alleys and uh reduce street

2:01character. Uh so in your opinion what

2:03would be a more balanced way let's say a

2:06path forward?

2:08>> Restoring sidewalk order is absolutely

2:10necessary but since authorities are

2:12simply removing vendors without

2:14rebuilding livelihoods informal trades

2:17are quickly spilling into olives and

2:19leap over tiny public spaces creating

2:22new congestion sanitation problems and

2:25even greater fire evacuation risk. We

2:27can't solve one group's survival's needs

2:30by shifting the burden onto others.

2:33Hanoi should also avoid a

2:35one-sizefits-all approach because

2:37different districts serve different

2:39urban roles. in the old quarters,

2:41historic areas and tourist zones. Once a

2:44minimum 1.5 to 2 m pedestrian path is

2:48secured, some controls street commerce,

2:51including conditional sidewalk leasing

2:53can be allowed to preserve local

2:56correctors. By contrast, non-ourism

2:59district should focus more on safety,

3:01mobilities, and convenience. At the same

3:04time, the city need to expand open or

3:08semi-sheltered pocket vendor areas that

3:11can be seen from the street timebased

3:14vending streets and alternatives

3:16business clusters such as Singapore

3:18style hawker centers. So the right

3:21approach is smart zoning not blanket

3:24removal I think.

3:27>> I see. Uh and so how do you assess now

3:29recently Hanoi's pilot plan uh to lease

3:32sidewalks in selected qualified areas

3:34and uh what would you recommend to

3:36ensure the policy is both effective and

3:38sustainable?

3:40>> So experience from Singapore so or Tokyo

3:44shows that sidewalk business only works

3:46well when pedestrians rice come first

3:49while commercial use remains a tightly

3:52controlled second layer. So, Hanoi is

3:55moving in the right direction, I think,

3:58by limiting the leasing policy to wider

4:01sidewalks, keeping at least 1.5 m for

4:04pedestrians, and requiring neighborhood

4:06consensus. However, the current fees are

4:09still too low, which is undervaluing

4:12public's assets and simply turning

4:14informal occupation into cheap paid

4:17privilege. So the key question is not

4:20just whether sidewalk can be leased, but

4:23who gets access and under what rules.

4:26Hanoi should adopt location-based

4:28pricing, transparent digital auctions,

4:31short-term permits with regular review,

4:34and prioritize smallcale livelihoods

4:37rather than mainly favoring shopfront

4:39owners. So if done well, it could mark a

4:42real shift from short-term crackdowns to

4:45modern fair urban governance. I think

4:49>> right. Thank you so much Dr. Tokien for

4:51joining us on newsine today.

4:52>> Yes and as Dr. Dian just pointed out

4:55clearing the sidewalk is not the only

4:57and simply the solution here. The um

5:00important part here is to find a balance

5:04between public order pedestrian rights

5:07and the livelihoods that have long

5:08depended on these spaces. Now, across

5:11the capital, many business owners and

5:13residents are now adjusting to the

5:15city's stricter pavement regulations as

5:18cleaner and more organized streets

5:20gradually become part of daily life.

5:22More in the following story.

5:28Tang and his wife have been running a

5:30cafe on Latong Street for about 10 years

5:32now. Until last year, the cafe still

5:35place tables and chairs on the pavement

5:37outside for customers to sit and enjoy

5:40their coffee.

5:42Customers now have to either order and

5:44head upstairs or get their drinks to go.

5:49>> Customers who specifically prefer

5:50sitting downstairs will simply leave.

5:52I'm getting older now and there have

5:54been a lot of changes, so of course at

5:56first it felt unfamiliar and made

5:58running the business a bit difficult,

6:00but things will eventually fall into

6:02place. Everyone has to adapt.

6:11If you are on the streets of Hanoi, you

6:13will see yellow lines like these on the

6:15pavements. This side is for parking

6:17motorcycles and this side for

6:19pedestrians to walk on.

6:25The pedestrian streets around Juan Gim

6:27Lake have truly returned to their

6:28intended purpose for pedestrians. The

6:31roads are no longer occupied by street

6:33vendors or any other form of business

6:35activity.

6:37Some came to Hanoi with his family for a

6:39visit and also noticed the change.

6:44>> It's absolutely wonderful, clean and

6:46tidy compared to the last time I was

6:48here more than 30 years ago. Is at least

6:5130 to 50 times cleaner.

6:57Urban civility has improved

6:59significantly and residents have

7:01proactively adapted to the changes. In

7:03the long run, people will clearly see a

7:06cleaner, more beautiful, and more

7:08civilized city.

7:10A new habit in the way people use and

7:13treat pavements is gradually being

7:14rebuilt. Clearing the pavements is no

7:17longer just a short-term campaign. It is

7:19gradually bringing back the truly

7:21beautiful and peaceful image of the

7:23capital.

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Hà Nội and the challenge of reorganising urban sidewalks | Vietnam Today