The Impact of Migrant Peasants on the Urban Space (Ho Chi Minh City — Ganh Dau)

Abstract

The term “way of living” is used in this article in its connection with “place identity” to analyze the impact of new urban residents (migrant peasants) on the urban space transformation. The urban environment of Ho Chi Minh City is considered in the context of the similarity of its development to the transformation of the space of Ukrainian cities (in the context of migrant processes). The case study analyzes the configuration of the impact of key actors (state and community) on the space of the city center. The aim of the study is to prove or disprove the impact of the “rural way of life” (introduced by migrants) on the urban environment. Observation of everyday “spatial practices” of the citizens is used to characterize the processes changing the space. The daily deconstruction of the historic part of the city is viewed in the context of the influence of “formal” planning practices applied by the city authorities and “informal” practices of space used by the local community. Turning to the hypothesis of the influence of the new residents’ “way of life”, which is different from the one of the urban residents, the study was complemented by the analysis of the spatial organization and neighborhood of the fishing village of Ganh Dau in the province of Kien Giang. The study of the space-community interactions of this sustainable rural settlement determines the similarity of the “rural identity” of local residents with the “urban identity” (autochthonous urban population of Ho Chi Minh City) in terms of perception and use of the common space. Therefore, differences in lifestyle (urban/rural) are not the main source of influence on the gradual changes in urban morphology and the loss of authentic buildings. In the current context, the impact of “consumer identity” as a manifestation of a “fluid society” that is constantly changing is more noticeable. It is important to emphasize that the influence of the local community (with any type of identity) on the transformation of the urban space occurs only through the informal spatial practices. Thus, it is not the only or determining factor. To a greater extent, the transformation of urban space is determined by the planning strategy of the city government in compliance with global standards.