This section introduces the Vietnamese urban classification system, urban upgrading needs and the Association of Cities of Vietnam.
4.3.1
Vietnamese urban classification
Vietnamese urban centres are classified into six ranks on the basis of criteria including quantitative indicators (e.g., land area, inhabitants, density, and urban infrastructure system) and qualitative indicators (e.g., economic, educational, cultural circumstances)20. Accordingly, Vietnamese urban
centres consist of mega cities, known as “special cities” (Ho Chi Minh City and the capital, Hanoi) and those ranking from level I to V. Cities ranking level I can be central cities (directly under the control of national government) or provincial cities (under provincial government)21. Apart from
central cities (including mega cities and some cities ranking level I), most urban governments operate under the control of provincial governments and have limited authority in decision making and public services’ budget (including public transport, infrastructure, health, education) (Albrecht et al., 2010, p. 19). This situation has significantly motivated smaller Vietnamese cities and towns to reach higher urban ranks by promoting urban upgrading programmes – a critical way to fulfil the ranking criteria related to the urban infrastructure22. Becoming higher in urban rank, cities have
more prerogatives and autonomy with respect to the provincial government, and benefit more from various national and international funding programmes (Albrecht et al., 2010, p. 19; Chau, 2012, pp 147-152, interviews with NP1, 3; RP1).
4.3.2
Urban upgrading in Vietnam
Major urban upgrading programmes in Vietnamese cities are featured in the national urban upgrading programme (NUUP), mainly funded by the World Bank, but with other smaller
components funded by a range of international and domestic donors/investors. In the early 2000s, a
20 Based on the Decree No 42/2009/NĐ-CP dated on 27/5/2009.
21 By 2011, there were in total 755 urban centres including 2 special (mega) cities, 10 of class 1, 12 of class 2, 47
of class 3, 52 of class IV, and 632 of class V. Some cities have recently been re-classified to type one but still belong to provincial governments. This is currently a major institutional concern of the local government sector in Vietnam (based on personal experience). By 13/1/2015, in Vietnam there were 772 cities, including 2 special cities, 15 of class 1, 14 of class 2, 47 of class III, 64 of class IV and 630 of class V (Ministry of Construction, 2015). 22 The regulations are identified in Articles 4 and 9, Vietnam Urban Planning Law 2009 and Decree No.
42/2009/ND-CP. Decree No 42/2009/NĐ-CP was promulgated by the Government on 7/5/2009 to replace the Decree No 72/2001/NĐ-CP of the National Government dated 5/10/2001 on the classification of Vietnam urban system.
national upgrading programme was recommended and designed by the studies of City Alliance23. A
10 year programme, called the Vietnam Urban Upgrading Programme (VUUP), was launched in 2004, aiming to improve the urban poor’ s living conditions with an inclusive in-situ upgrading approach (Coulthart et al., 2006). VUUP was implemented in five cities, including in Can Tho, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City and Nam Dinh, with an approximate total budget of USD 417 million, which was partly funded by the World Bank, the City Alliance and other donors (City Alliance, 2016). Based on the test case of VUUP, and also the Cities Alliance funded studies’ outcomes24, in June
2009, the Vietnamese Prime Minister approved a National Urban Upgrading Program (NUUP) for the period 2009-2020 (City Alliance, 2016). NUUP was claimed to be the country’s first explicitly
comprehensive policy framework for urban upgrading (SRV 2009), targeting the upgrading of basic infrastructure and services in low-income areas in 96 cities across Vietnam through the promotion of participatory planning methods. NUUP was launched in 2011 and was provided with US$600 million
(65% from World Bank preferential loans and 35% from the Vietnamese Government) for six projects in the Mekong delta region including Can Tho, My Tho, Ca Mau, Tra Vinh, Cao Lanh and Rach Gia. Also under the NUUP framework, there were other projects in seven northern
mountainous urban centres (for the term 2015-2021) that have been started with the total cost of US$301,856 million. Both VUUP and NUUP are under the coordination of the Ministry of
Construction (Ministry of Construction, 2015).
A range of other upgrading projects has been implemented with government funding and Official Development Assistance (ODA) from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Belgium Technical Corporate (BTC) or Japanese Development Agency (JICA). Examples are: Tan Hoa – Lo Gom Sanitation & Urban Upgrading Project (1998-2001) (Standly, 2006, p.3), and the ADB upgrading programme targeting small and medium sized cities (Tuoi Tre, 2013; Ha Tinh Newspaper , 2015). The programme is being implemented from 2014 to 2018, based on a preferential loan of US$95 million from ADB for cities including Ha Tinh, Buon Ma Thuot and Tam Ky. Upgrading has become a major task of big and medium sized cities. For example, relocating 26,000 households and clearing slums along canals have been identified as one main task of Ho Chi Minh’s (HCMC) gentrification
programme25.
23 The Cities Alliance is a global partnership for urban poverty reduction and the promotion of the role of cities
in sustainable development. City Alliance official website, http://www.citiesalliance.org 24 Cities Alliance website http://www.citiesalliance.org, accessed February 10th, 2016
4.3.3
The Association of Cities of Vietnam (ACVN)
The Association of Cities of Vietnam (ACVN) is a non-profit, voluntary social association of 110 Vietnamese cities/towns from rank IV upwards (ACVN webpage, 2016). The foundation of the ACVN was laid in 1992 when Viet Tri, Nam Dinh, Vinh, Hue and Da Nang cities decided to work together to form an interest group of Vietnamese provincial cities/towns (ACVN webpage, 2014). In 2000, the association was officially recognized by Central Government and included both national and provincial cities/towns in its membership (Prime Minister’s Decision, 2000). ACVN members are represented by the Chair or Vice Chair of the People’s Committee (Executive Body) (ACVN webpage, 2016). As per the ACVN Statute (2006), ACVN is recognized as both a non-governmental organization (NGO) and as a social professional organization, being the only representative organization of local governments in Vietnam. ACVN defines its role as being a hub for building members’ capacity and exchanging their experiences in urban development and management (ibid).
By 2014, the ACVN structure included an Executive Committee, Monitoring Committee, Secretariat and administration office (Fig. 4.2). The Executive Committee included a President, four Vice Presidents and 14 executive members. The Monitoring Board was responsible for supervising ACVN’s performance and financial management. The Secretariat included three members - a Secretary General and two Vice Secretary Generals. They were in charge of consulting and assisting the ACVN Executive Committee to operate the association’s activities. The ACVN Operational Office included the Chief Officer, Vice Chief Officers and staff. At that time, ACVN had three permanent staff responsible for daily administration and three temporary staff contracted to manage
international projects. ACVN’s internal revenue was based on an annual membership fee, calculated according to members’ urban rank26. This internal source, however, was only a small part of the
organization’s revenue and was mainly used to cover administration expenses. ACVN’s member services mainly operated on international funding. For example, during 2008-2011, only 11.79% of total revenue of ACVN was from membership fees and 88.21% of the revenue was from
international projects (ACVN, 2011)
26ACVN identifies five levels of membership fee: special cities: 60 million VND/ year, city class I: 34 million VND/ year, city
class II: 24 million VND/ year, city class III: 15 million VND/ year, city class IV: 12 million VND/ year (1 USD = 21,000 VND) (ACVN statute, 2014)