Hanoi had few parks and playgrounds because many earmarked for thispurpose were being used for parking, business or other projects.
Chairman of Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association Tran Ngoc Chinh revealed this at a conference on May 6.
Chinh said it was sad that children and the elderly had so little space for outdoor activities.
Buildingserected in the 1970s, such as Kim Lien, Trung Tu, Giang Vo and NguyenCong Tru, originally had recreational areas sandwiched between apartmentbuildings, he said.
These areas were usually large and full offlowers and shady trees, as the idea was to provide space to children toplay, young people to exercise and the elderly to walk and chat withneighbours, Chinh said.
"That public space has now been slashed,destroyed or replaced by houses, walls, stores and food stalls, besidesparking areas," he said.
He said inadequate management led to the reductions in public space and shortages of playgrounds.
For instance, about 17,000 residents in Trung Phung Ward, Dong Da District, now share a playground of just 30sq.m.
As business interests started moving in, playgrounds in residential areas became degraded and unhygienic.
Parents considered them unsafe for people, particularly children, to do recreational activities there, Chinh said.
Aresearcher with a non-governmental organisation (NGO) Health Bridge,Nguyen Thi Hien, revealed there were a total of 67 parks, flower gardensand sports grounds with a total area of more than 365ha in the innerareas of Hanoi. However, they only accounted for 1.92 percent of thecity's total land area.
She said each resident in the city'sinner area now had an average of only 2.08 sq.m of park or flower gardento relax in. This was expected to increase slightly to 2.43 sq.m by2030, he added, citing the city's planning for trees, parks, flowergardens and lakes by 2030, towards 2050.
She claimed that planning for parks and flower gardens in residential areas had not been properly planned, designed or managed.
Hiensaid the capital had a shortage of recreational facilities becausepublic facilities, such as schools, roads, parking and relaxation, hadto compete with each other or with private projects for the rights topublic land. Sometimes, the land was auctioned off to the highestbidder.
"The city should stop these land auctions until itallocates enough land for public facilities in every ward and district,"Hien said.
"City authorities are now proposing to remove old factories or those that created pollution for green space," she said.
However, this required compensation and relocation.
Directorof the Architecture Institute (under the Vietnam Association ofArchitects), La Thi Kim Ngan, said that for years, the city hadconcentrated on developing houses, without paying adequate attention topublic facilities.
"The major causes were the poor management of population growth, economic difficulties and poor urban management," she said.
Theshortage of public space forces children to hunch in front of computerscreens to play games, ignoring outdoor social activities.
Adults, especially the elderly, have restricted opportunities for social communication and recreation.
"Housing is not only the house or apartment you live in, but also surrounding public facilities," Ngan said.
Public facilities, particularly green space and playgrounds, should be the top criteria for judging cities.
Ngan added that incentives were needed to make the private sector develop parks and playing grounds.-VNA
Chairman of Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association Tran Ngoc Chinh revealed this at a conference on May 6.
Chinh said it was sad that children and the elderly had so little space for outdoor activities.
Buildingserected in the 1970s, such as Kim Lien, Trung Tu, Giang Vo and NguyenCong Tru, originally had recreational areas sandwiched between apartmentbuildings, he said.
These areas were usually large and full offlowers and shady trees, as the idea was to provide space to children toplay, young people to exercise and the elderly to walk and chat withneighbours, Chinh said.
"That public space has now been slashed,destroyed or replaced by houses, walls, stores and food stalls, besidesparking areas," he said.
He said inadequate management led to the reductions in public space and shortages of playgrounds.
For instance, about 17,000 residents in Trung Phung Ward, Dong Da District, now share a playground of just 30sq.m.
As business interests started moving in, playgrounds in residential areas became degraded and unhygienic.
Parents considered them unsafe for people, particularly children, to do recreational activities there, Chinh said.
Aresearcher with a non-governmental organisation (NGO) Health Bridge,Nguyen Thi Hien, revealed there were a total of 67 parks, flower gardensand sports grounds with a total area of more than 365ha in the innerareas of Hanoi. However, they only accounted for 1.92 percent of thecity's total land area.
She said each resident in the city'sinner area now had an average of only 2.08 sq.m of park or flower gardento relax in. This was expected to increase slightly to 2.43 sq.m by2030, he added, citing the city's planning for trees, parks, flowergardens and lakes by 2030, towards 2050.
She claimed that planning for parks and flower gardens in residential areas had not been properly planned, designed or managed.
Hiensaid the capital had a shortage of recreational facilities becausepublic facilities, such as schools, roads, parking and relaxation, hadto compete with each other or with private projects for the rights topublic land. Sometimes, the land was auctioned off to the highestbidder.
"The city should stop these land auctions until itallocates enough land for public facilities in every ward and district,"Hien said.
"City authorities are now proposing to remove old factories or those that created pollution for green space," she said.
However, this required compensation and relocation.
Directorof the Architecture Institute (under the Vietnam Association ofArchitects), La Thi Kim Ngan, said that for years, the city hadconcentrated on developing houses, without paying adequate attention topublic facilities.
"The major causes were the poor management of population growth, economic difficulties and poor urban management," she said.
Theshortage of public space forces children to hunch in front of computerscreens to play games, ignoring outdoor social activities.
Adults, especially the elderly, have restricted opportunities for social communication and recreation.
"Housing is not only the house or apartment you live in, but also surrounding public facilities," Ngan said.
Public facilities, particularly green space and playgrounds, should be the top criteria for judging cities.
Ngan added that incentives were needed to make the private sector develop parks and playing grounds.-VNA
