It was standing room only at a conference in Quang Nam as scholars, government officials and local residents gathered to discuss a broad set of topics during an urban development conference.
The main goal of the conference was to share best strategies and practices as well as review some of the most ambitious ways to provide decent homes and communities for citizens.
In a keynote address, Professor Donyun Kim from Sung Kyun Kwan University in the Republic of Korea spoke about the current movement of Vietnam to a more industrialized society and the related migration of citizens from rural settings to urban centres.
Now more than ever action is needed at the local level, Professor Kim emphasized, adding that it would take the creativity and actions of the local government working in concert with local residents to build the communities of the future.
Programs and policies, he said, would need to incorporate an interrelated mix of issues, from place-based development to transportation, from climate change to arts and culture.
Most importantly, he asserted, action plans must be individualized for each urban centre. He said Vietnam currently has nearly 800 urban areas and the figure will continue to grow in the time ahead.
At the event, there was a panel discussion on securing housing options for all, and experts discussed the interplay between homelessness, public housing, the impact of manufacturing, regional planning and more.
Nguyen Quang, director of the UN-Habitat program in turn spoke about the fast pace of urbanization noting that 40% of the nation’s population would live in urban areas by 2020 according to some projections.
Therefore, said Mr Quang its critically important for the public, private and civil society sectors to join forces to share, develop and implement best practices in sustainable urban development and environmental planning.
Source: VOV