Toward urban development facilitation

The draft Urban Development Law is expected to bring about a major shift in the way urban areas are managed and developed. Specifically, it would move from managing what has already been established toward proactively creating space for development. To achieve this, cities need greater autonomy in planning, mobilizing resources and organizing implementation, while also being held accountable for development outcomes.

Urban development is currently posing urgent challenges that traditional management approaches struggle to address in a timely manner. As industrial parks expand and populations grow rapidly, demand for housing, schools, hospitals, transport infrastructure and public spaces also increases. As a result, infrastructure in many areas has failed to keep pace with development, leading to shortages of affordable housing, schools, hospitals, parking facilities and public amenities, as well as traffic congestion and localized flooding during heavy rains. People therefore hope the Urban Development Law will soon be passed to remove bottlenecks and facilitate urban development, particularly in special urban areas and cities.

A notable feature of the draft law is its aim to establish a more flexible legal framework for urban development. Decentralization and the delegation of authority are accompanied by requirements for power oversight and clearly defined responsibilities. This is an important condition for enabling local authorities to take a more proactive role in urban development, but it also calls for robust monitoring mechanisms.

For years, bottlenecks in urban development have often stemmed from a lack of synchronized planning and long-term vision. Consequently, many cities only find themselves encountering problems such as narrow roads, a shortage of schools and parking spaces, and inadequate public spaces once large numbers of people move in to live and work. Local authorities then have to spend substantial amounts from the state budget to address transport and other social infrastructure needs, while these shortcomings also affect the cities’ investment environment. Residents, meanwhile, face difficulties commuting and renting or buying homes. People therefore hope the Urban Development Law will establish a mechanism requiring every new urban area, industrial park or economic zone to be developed with due consideration given from the outset to transport infrastructure, schools, hospitals, drainage, waste treatment, public facilities and employment opportunities.

The measure of a livable city lies not in its land area or number of projects, but first and foremost in the quality of life of its residents. How long does it take people to get to work? How far do children have to travel to school? Do older people have places to walk? Can workers afford to buy or rent suitable homes? And after a heavy downpour, will the streets be flooded?

For a locality such as Dong Nai, with nearly 5 million people and rapid urbanization, these issues deserve even greater attention. As development space expands, the simultaneous growth of industry, logistics, services and population will create enormous room for economic growth. But if urban infrastructure fails to keep pace with economic development, those advantages could quickly become sources of pressure. Dong Nai hopes the early passage of the Urban Development Law will create mechanisms to mobilize resources for building modern, civilized and livable cities.

By Khanh Minh - Translated by Mai Nga, Thu Ha