Author:

Keywords:

Hanoi, Water Urbanism, Urbanization, Water Management, Climate Change

Abstract:

Vietnam, a rapidly developing country in the context of a transitional free-market economic system, is predicted to be one of the countries most affected by climate change, since most current urbanization lies in lowlands and the monsoon regime has become increasing complicated: there is more water in the rainy season, but less water (despite unprecedented, heavy rains) in the dry season. The response of context-specific urbanization is urgent as the country is developing on an unprecedented scale, speed and scope. The nation’s larger cities - located in the large river deltas (the northern Red River Delta and the southern Mekong River Delta) and strung along the low-lying coast - are bearing the brunt of the development pressures. In the case of Hanoi, Capital of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, a swift rural-urban transformation has adverse impacts on the environmental complex water management system of dikes, pumping stations, and sluices. Additionally, due to urbanization, the water systems and soft surfaces in the surroundings are being replaced by concrete and asphalt. Construction upstream along the major rivers, inside and outside of the country, lead to dramatic and unpredictable changes in the water regimes, which in turn lead to the frequent occurrence of severe floods and droughts, that increasingly threaten the territory. The case study of Hanoi exemplifies a number of issues that urban planners and designers, urban and water managers and civil engineers must address if urban Vietnam is to achieve any kind of “sustainable”.The research focuses on two case studies in Hanoi: The Red River - Yen So and The Day River – Chuc Son. They are in the midst of rapidly transforming from an agro-aquaculture territory with villages to a fully urbanized periphery of Hanoi. There are a great number of urban-industrial development and infrastructure projects being carried out in the areas, which is dramatically altering the natural landscape and the existing water management. As a result, they are confronting a number of pressures related to water issues which are derived from fast urbanization, infrastructure development and predicted climate change. This dissertation works across literature review, archive research, field work and critical analyses of the projects in-pipeline and chosen international case studies. Interpretative mapping is used as the main tool throughout the research to underline the existing characteristics, and logic of the Red River Delta, Hanoi and the case studies. Finally, the design research proposes landscape urbanism strategies across different scales to develop new urban infrastructure configurations, urban tissue and public (green/blue) space that simultaneously, innovatively and economically address a number of problems while seeking a new approach towards living with water in urban deltas. It integrates hard and soft engineering to develop strategies and create a hybrid dike system to work with the dynamics of water for Hanoi’s urbanization and the region’s continued agricultural production while accommodating to the logics of infrastructure and urban development. Interpretative mapping was mentioned by in the works of Corner, Harley and Shannon. Once again, in this research, it has proved a useful tool for revealing the historical relation of water, urbanization, dike construction and address challenges resulting from urbanization, infrastructural development and climate change. However, it is also an important tool to evaluate possible solutions to these contemporary challenges to sustainable development, which can be link multidiscipline and scales. The contents of the dissertation are structured in four chapters. The first chapter consists primarily of a literature review and archive research. This chapter focuses on the historical relation of urbanization, water and flood control and specifically dike construction at scales of the Red River Delta and Hanoi. Contemporary challenges which resulted from urbanization, water management and climate change are highlighted. Finally, general strategies are proposed for Hanoi and the Red River Delta. The research emphasizes giving space for the rivers, which can be fundamental solution to deal with water issues of multiple functions of finite resources, urbanization and climate change and to improve the existing productive landscape. The second and the third chapter focus on the Red River-Yen So case study and the Day River – Chuc Son case study respectively. The chapter of each case study has three components. Firstly, interpretative mapping is used to trace the historical evolution and particular relationship of the river in each case study to its water management, flood control and productive landscape. The chapter also highlights the existing spatial structures of the landscape and settlement of the case study. Combined with a critical analysis of built and unbuilt projects, this reveals the contemporary opportunities and challenges facing each case study. Secondly, two international case studies were carefully chosen and critically reviewed to address the lessons which can be learnt for each Vietnamese case study. Finally, the third component, ‘projective cartography’ develops the landscape urbanism strategies to respond the specific challenges and/or opportunities through scales of the case study, landscape of dikes and the dike itself. The last chapter of the dissertation, the conclusion, recapitulates the focus of the research in ‘water urbanism’, and interpretative mapping as a useful tool urban design and planning. This part also highlights a number of principles derived from the case studies in Hanoi both for the other places in Vietnam and for South East Asia on larger scale. “Water urbanism” and “working with natural forces” can be integrated into the process of urban design and planning by using the “bottom-up” method which might be suitable in reality and political context in Vietnam and South East Asia. It works across disciplines and scales.