HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Around 400Vietnamese and international architects and master planners discussedsmart-city strategies and solutions at the 2018 International Conference ofAsian-Pacific Planning Societies which opened on August 24 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Begun in 1994, the conference is an annualforum of the Asian-Pacific Planning Community, which includes Japan, theRepublic of Korea, Taiwan (China) and Vietnam.

“The conference’s purpose is to develop anddisseminate professional knowledge, share practical experiences and increasethe capability of regional and urban experts,” Tran Ngoc Chinh, Chairman of theVietnam Urban Planning and Development Association, said during his openingspeech.

“This year, the conference is discussingsmart cities’ strategies and solutions in six categories: community,governance, urban planning, infrastructure, city education and mobility,” headded.

Vietnam has 813 urban areas, with two majorcities, Hanoi and HCM City. The urbanisation rate of the country is 38 percent,compared to the international rate of 50 percent, while the urban populationaccounts for 34 percent of Vietnam’s total population.

“The sharply increasing population hasexerted enormous pressure on Hanoi and HCM City’s infrastructure. Smart citiescan transform urban management by applying technology that meets developmentdemand,” Chinh said.

“Building HCM City as a smart city is partof the drive for socio-economic development,” Tran Vinh Tuyen, Vice Chairman ofthe municipal People’s Committee, said at the conference.

“Municipal authorities would like to hearpractical experiences, knowledge and suggestions from international experts toassist the city in coping with traffic congestion, flooding and urbandevelopment,” he added.

Experts from Japan’s University of Tokyosaid that cities are meeting places for the creation of collective life thatoffers all residents a good life based on the idea of a city as a cultural,social and political product.

“Other authors refer to rights of the cityas a collective rather than an individual right, since city transformationdepends upon the exercise of community empowerment to reshape the processes ofurbanisation,” said Claudia Sakay from the University of Tokyo.

Local incentives and active participationof citizens will result in smart and sustainable communities.

“A smart community not only involvesresidents in land governance but also allows them to participate in theproduction and cooperation of their living environment,” she added.

Other experts from the University of Tokyodescribed what good cross-border governance could be. They based their ideas onsemi-structured interviews and surveys of the main stakeholders in “the heartof the Southwestern Amazon area”, including Peru, Brazil and Bolivia.

The collected information was used todefine power relations in the governance network (social network analysis),common elements for integration, and priorities for integration (mentalmapping).

As for smart urban planning, experts fromthe University of Tsukuba mentioned the impact of reconstruction planning in creatinga vital urban space in central Hiroshima.

“A significant task of reconstructionplanning is to use the physical recovery as a catalyst for the restoration ofurban vitality to damaged areas,” Kosuke Matsubara from the University ofTsukuba said.

“After the staggering destruction of thecity, Hiroshima was able to reclaim its vitality and reinvent itself as asymbol of world peace,” he added.

Hokkaido University experts said thattechnologies and citizens should work side by side to form a strong base for asmart and resilient city, making citizens’ participation a top priority.

“Developing training andinformation-sharing programmes based on age groups, using approaches thatcombine verbal, visual and written communication in a less formal context, andexperiential training has the potential to be effective for residents,” SuguruMori from Hokkaido University said.-VNS/VNA