Vietnam's Cities Turn to Parks, Public Land and Cleaner Transport to Protect the Right to Breathe

Two cities begin reclaiming space for the public

Ho Chi Minh City plans to reserve 60 percent of the 20 hectare Ben Nha Rong–Khanh Hoi port site for a public park, sharply increasing the original allocation. Another 3.7 hectares of public land at 1 Ly Thai To is also set to become green space. Hanoi is clearing more than two hectares previously occupied by offices and housing for a central plaza while upgrading Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square.

These projects address a shortage that affects daily life. Ho Chi Minh City has about 0.55 square meter of public green space per resident, while Hanoi has around 2 square meters. Vietnam's national standard for major cities seeks 7 to 9 square meters of park land per person. Places to walk, rest, play and escape the heat remain scarce, particularly in neighborhoods without public parks.

Parks, plazas, sidewalks, water bodies and tree cover serve as civic infrastructure. Like roads and drains, they perform practical tasks: helping people move, cooling streets, absorbing rainwater and providing places to gather. Their value reaches beyond appearance.

The principle often called the right to breathe connects these everyday needs to environmental rights. The United Nations Human Rights Council recognized the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment in 2021. The UN General Assembly affirmed it in 2022. Treating clean air and access to nature as rights places public space alongside basic concerns about health, social life and protection from climate hazards.

As of December 2, 2025, Vietnam's challenge is turning that principle into lasting public assets. Projects that reduce green space still move forward, weakening public trust. Stronger planning rules could protect public land and require private developments to provide accessible spaces that remain useful for years.

Ho Chi Minh City looks to idle land

The Ben Nha Rong–Khanh Hoi port site sat idle for years, cutting a key traffic route and contributing to congestion between outer districts and the city center. Allocating most of it to a park would reopen circulation and provide a waterfront space in a dense urban area.

Ho Chi Minh City has also identified dormant public plots, including 1 Ly Thai To, for park development. A review of land reserves is intended to accelerate construction. Former public uses could therefore make way for places shared by surrounding communities.

The city's target is at least one square meter of public green space per resident by 2030. Against the current figure of about 0.55 square meter, that means adding at least 0.45 square meter per person, an increase of roughly 82 percent. Even reaching that target would leave provision below the national standard of 7 to 9 square meters.

Inner districts hold much of the existing green space. Several suburban districts have no public parks, while some land intended for parks has been absorbed into road widening projects or converted into parking lots. The city has planted tens of thousands of trees and added park hectares in recent years, but officials acknowledge that results have fallen short of expectations.

Hanoi's squares meet a demand for gathering places

Hanoi's central plaza project and improvements to Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square respond to a persistent demand for safe places to walk, rest and gather. Older neighborhoods lost many ponds and green plots during earlier construction waves, reducing both public space and areas where rainwater could collect.

Protecting the water bodies that remain and reusing state land could help create linked parks and promenades. A connected network would allow residents to move between public spaces instead of relying on isolated patches of greenery.

Research tracing Hanoi's planning through the French colonial era, the Soviet period and the globalization decades found repeated ambitions to ease crowding, improve air and provide leisure space. Delivery lagged because of land use constraints, differing views of what parks should provide and a lack of lasting vision.

Hanoi's experience shows why a plan needs clear rules, incentives and institutions able to carry it out. The sequence of commitments and policy developments now stretches across several years:

• 2021: The UN Human Rights Council recognized the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
• 2022: The UN General Assembly affirmed that right.
• 2024: Japan introduced a green space law connecting parks with climate goals, biodiversity and greening incentives.
• November 2025: A national forum in Vietnam examined sustainable urban development, climate adaptation and financing.
• 2030: Ho Chi Minh City targets at least one square meter of public green space per resident and buses using electricity or other green energy. Hanoi plans to phase out highly polluting vehicles in key city rings.
• 2040: Ho Chi Minh City's revised master plan sets the horizon for a broader network of ecological corridors, transport and flood protection.

Japan shows how access can be planned before construction

Japan's zoning rules and land use standards define public space before developers begin building. Neighborhood planning seeks to place most residents within 250 meters of a neighborhood park measuring 0.25 hectare and within 500 meters of a community park measuring two hectares.

Distance matters alongside total area. A city may have a large park yet leave many residents too far away to use it easily. Small pocket parks fill gaps in older Japanese neighborhoods, while regional parks, sport forests and open zones intended for disaster safety serve wider areas.

Japan's national greening guidelines call for 10 to 15 square meters of park space per resident. Its 2024 green space law connects parks to climate objectives and biodiversity, while supporting greening on rooftops, parking lots and public buildings.

Tokyo's dense construction exists alongside substantial parks. Ueno, Yoyogi and Shinjuku Gyoen each cover about 54 hectares. The metropolitan area also includes Showa Kinen Park, at roughly 150 hectares. These examples combine neighborhood access with larger destinations for recreation.

Vietnam's figures show a different starting point. Hanoi's approximately 2 square meters per person and Ho Chi Minh City's 0.55 square meter fall well below both Vietnam's national goal and Japan's guidelines. Uneven implementation and approvals that reduce open space affect who gets access to cooling, recreation and protection from climate hazards.

Development rules decide what becomes public

Vietnam has a Planning Law, but it does not function as a dedicated urban redevelopment law. Urban planning is partly guided by a government decree, giving limited certainty to public space requirements. Cities consequently negotiate from project to project, often with attention focused on immediate outcomes.

Other countries place public space obligations within development approvals. In the United Kingdom, Section 106 planning agreements require developers of former industrial land to contribute money or built assets for public infrastructure. At HafenCity, Hamburg's major port redevelopment, projects must include a set share of public space and guarantee public access to ground floors.

New York City requires waterfront developers to build public esplanades to obtain permits. The Netherlands' Environment and Planning Act allows land exchanges that keep riverbanks publicly accessible even when ownership changes.

These approaches put parks and promenades beside the water and set buildings farther back, improving access and flood safety. Nearby property values often rise around well designed parks, helping developers recover costs. Public space can therefore create lasting value while serving residents.

Green buildings and cleaner vehicles enter the policy agenda

The Ministry of Construction has announced work on Vietnam's first national green building standards. Officials describe green buildings and clean transport as core elements of a green economy, alongside financing, worker training and standards for materials associated with lower carbon emissions.

Vietnam's construction sector has counted hundreds of certified green projects nationwide. Major cities are also piloting electric buses and charging infrastructure. Building standards and transport investment address different sources of pollution, but both influence the quality of urban life.

At November's national forum on sustainable urban development, participants explored links between planning, climate adaptation and financing. Experts urged mandatory hydrological and hydraulic simulations in plans. These are studies of how rainfall and water move, helping planners understand where flooding could occur and how proposed construction would affect it.

The forum also called for construction standards to reflect new climate data and for ministries to coordinate through shared information. Climate finance specialists urged more concessional funding, meaning finance on more favorable terms, and routine disaster risk checks in public investment decisions.

Hanoi is preparing low emission zones to phase out highly polluting vehicles in key rings of the city by 2030. Ho Chi Minh City aims for every bus to run on electricity or other green energy by the same year, supported by new charging networks. Connecting these changes with parks and public corridors would support cleaner air and safer streets together.

Floods make green space working infrastructure

Vietnam's cities occupy river deltas where wetlands and ponds once absorbed seasonal rainfall. As concrete covered those natural sponges, sudden storms increasingly sent water into streets and basements. Severe storms in 2025 left cities flooded for days, with runoff moving across paved surfaces faster than drainage systems could handle.

Several provinces are investing in early warning systems, larger drains and softer waterfronts designed to slow and store stormwater before releasing it. Trees and grass also reduce the urban heat island effect, the buildup of heat in heavily built areas.

Ponds, basins and planted riverbanks can hold water during downpours and provide recreation space in fair weather. Shaded sidewalks with surfaces that let water soak through can connect these places while helping residents walk without overheating.

Ho Chi Minh City's revised master plan through 2040 brings these functions together. It divides the city into six functional zones and proposes ecological corridors, new public transit lines and flood defenses combining tidal barriers with green infrastructure.

The plan also sets out dozens of clusters around transit nodes where living and working would be organized within 15 to 20 minutes. The aim is to reduce long commutes and car use. Delivery will take years; opening dates for the individual park and plaza projects have not been specified.

Living with water and cutting pollution

Hong Ngoc Nguyen, an environmental engineer who has studied flooding in Hanoi, argues that the capital needs to accept more frequent heavy rainfall and design its streets and rivers to live with water. Nguyen expressed that limit directly:

We cannot control the water.

Benjamin Horton, a professor of earth science at City University of Hong Kong, described the region's exposure to climate disruption:

Vietnam and its neighbors are on the front lines of climate disruption.

Designing for those conditions means preserving waterways, reopening streams enclosed in underground channels and banning construction that blocks natural drainage. Concrete structures alone cannot perform all the functions of ponds, planted areas and open waterways.

Parks absorb some pollutants and provide places away from concentrated vehicle exhaust. Emission rules, low emission zones and electric buses are needed to cut PM2.5, tiny airborne particles, and nitrogen dioxide, another air pollutant. Green space and cleaner transport serve the same goal through different means.

Ecological parks need designs people can use

Interviews with planners, designers and managers in Hue found practical barriers to ecological park design. Some stakeholders focus on quick increases in square meters per resident rather than benefits such as cooling, biodiversity and flood attenuation, which means slowing or reducing floodwater.

Native plants can be difficult to obtain, and teams have limited experience with landscapes that resemble natural habitats. Departments do not always share incentives or schedules. Practitioners and residents often prefer familiar appearances and straightforward maintenance, worrying that more natural designs might look untidy or attract pests.

A hybrid design offers a practical response. Meadows, wetlands and shade trees can sit alongside mowed lawns, unobstructed views and paths accessible to strollers and wheelchairs. Demonstration projects and education can help residents judge these spaces through everyday use.

Maintenance budgets can support crew training, contracts with native plant growers and tree care. Acceptance can grow when residents see that naturalistic parks remain safe, useful and attractive. Construction funding alone will not keep them that way.

Research on Hanoi, Taipei and Fukuoka also warns that parks created for climate adaptation can increase nearby property values, potentially pricing out communities that most need cooling and flood relief. This process is often called green gentrification.

Institutions connecting departments, developers and civil society can help address that risk through inclusive design, early community participation and attention to fair access. Many young people in Hanoi report shrinking public spaces, pushing them toward malls and cafes that serve as gathering places under private control. Transparent planning and open access could rebuild trust.

State land could connect neighborhoods rather than divide them

Vietnam controls substantial state land, including former ports, factories and rail yards within growing cities. These places could become green spaces and connections between neighborhoods. Clear requirements would help turn individual opportunities into a steady program of park development.

Cities could set minimum public space shares when disposing of state land and require continuous waterfront access. Plans could specify promenade widths, tree canopy targets and locations for playgrounds and sports fields. Developers could receive permission for additional floor area or faster approvals in exchange for delivering public assets to stated standards.

Land readjustment, which reorganizes plots to make room for shared infrastructure, and land swaps could help form continuous park corridors and plazas without forcing residents out. Japan's redevelopment model requires projects to list the public facilities they will deliver, their locations and their place in the wider network.

Contracts in Vietnam could reserve funding for parks' first years of maintenance and require performance bonds, financial guarantees intended to secure delivery on time. Ground floors beside key routes could remain publicly accessible during daytime hours, connecting private buildings with surrounding public space.

International examples show how such conditions can shape investment. The aim is to agree on shared facilities before buildings rise, rather than trying to recover space once development is complete.

Who pays, and how can delivery be checked?

Well located parks can increase nearby land values and support local commerce. Section 106 style contributions, impact fees and transparent land value capture could help Vietnam fund green networks. Land value capture uses part of the increase in land value associated with public improvements to finance infrastructure.

Public investment could concentrate on major spaces that encourage private improvements nearby. Climate finance could support sponge city projects, combining water storage basins, wetlands and tree canopy with curb and drain upgrades. Private developers already market Vietnamese projects around energy efficiency, healthy streets and community amenities. Clear rules would set a common minimum and help prevent greenwashing, or environmental claims that exceed what a project delivers.

Ministries are developing rules for green buildings and materials while cities invest in bus electrification and emission controls. The World Bank and other partners point to a need for billions of dollars in climate investment. The human benefits include fewer hospital visits during heat waves, fewer workdays lost to polluted air and healthier child development.

Practical delivery measures could bring these efforts together:

• Make public space shares binding for state land disposals and major private projects, with minimum promenade widths and connected green corridors.
• Set walking distance standards for small neighborhood parks and larger community parks.
• Require water and heat simulations for major plans, followed by designs that store stormwater and reduce heat stress.
• Publish information on public land, park projects and maintenance budgets, with online maps showing schedules, costs and contractors.
• Create a dedicated urban redevelopment law defining public facilities, standardizing contributions and clarifying land readjustment and land value capture.
• Reward delivery of shaded sidewalks, public ground floor access and tree canopy targets through incentives such as additional floor area.
• Fund ecological maintenance training, native plant supply chains, tree care and continuing upkeep.
• Involve communities early in design choices and demonstrate how naturalistic landscapes can remain tidy, safe and useful.

Annual scorecards could record park hectares added, neighborhood distances to parks, tree canopy, kilometers of shaded sidewalk and the share of residents within walking distance of a playground. Independent audits could check whether completed parks are open, accessible and maintained.

When road projects or temporary uses threaten park land, a replacement policy could require equal or better nearby public space before any loss. Young people and older residents could help monitor conditions and report problems through simple channels.

Public authorities have a stewardship role beyond developing property. Ports, factories and rail yards helped build Vietnam's industrial economy; their next use could preserve that memory while providing places to walk, play and cool down. Clear law, careful design and consistent delivery would make those spaces lasting community assets and avoid costly repairs later.

What to Know

• Ho Chi Minh City plans a park on 60 percent of the 20 hectare Ben Nha Rong–Khanh Hoi site and green space on 3.7 hectares at 1 Ly Thai To.
• Hanoi is clearing more than two hectares for a central plaza and upgrading Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square.
• Public green space stands at about 0.55 square meter per resident in Ho Chi Minh City and around 2 square meters in Hanoi, below Vietnam's national standard of 7 to 9 square meters.
• Japan combines park area guidelines with walking distance standards and redevelopment requirements.
• Vietnam is preparing green building standards, while Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have cleaner transport targets for 2030.
• Parks, ponds, planted waterfronts and shaded paths can help reduce heat and manage stormwater.
• Research in Hue identifies maintenance, plant supply and public acceptance challenges; research on Hanoi, Taipei and Fukuoka highlights displacement risks.
• Binding development rules, maintenance funding, public data and annual checks could help convert state land into accessible public space.