Understanding the causes of urban fragmentation in Hanoi: the case of new urban areas

Abstract

Since the late 1990s, a new model of urban development has been promoted in Vietnam. So-called 'new urban areas' are being built on the agricultural lands at the periurban interface of cities across the country. These large-scale redevelopments feature commodity housing and public services, along with commercial and office space. Foreign scholars have criticised the lack of integration between these built environments and existing urban agglomerations. The resulting urban fragmentation is commonly blamed on the imposition of a foreign model of urban development that promotes a break with previous urban space production mechanisms. This paper provides a nuanced view on these ideas by exploring the history of housing policy in Vietnam and in the region of Hanoi in particular. This approach underscores the locally situated nature of the new urban area experiments. At the same time, it reveals the need to explore ongoing shifts in the way various groups straddling the state, markets and society interact in contemporary urban space production processes.