GIS Application to Address Urbanization Issues and Challenges: Experiences from Vietnamese Cities

1. GIS Application to Address Urbanization Issues and Challenges: Experiences from Vietnamese Cities Nguyen Quang UN-Habitat Program Manager for Viet Nam Asia Geospatial Forum, Kuala Lumpur, 25rd Sep 2013

2. Viet Nam – Overview of the country • Population: 88.7 million (2012) • Rapid economic development in last two decades; GDP growth: Over 7% in 2000s; 6.8 % in 2010. • Urbanization: Fast. In 1986, 12 million lived in cities. 2006 doubled to 22.82 million. Now 29 million = 32.45% population). • Urban areas contribute 70% of economic outputs • Urban agenda become a priority, there are a number of challenges: over-urbanization, poverty and disparities, environmental degradation and climate change impacts, informal settlements. • It is important to capture opportunities of global trend of urbanization and free market: business booming, decentralization, scientific and technological innovation, and increasing role of civil society.

3. Vietnam’s Evolving Urban System • Vietnam is at an incipient stage of urbanization transitioning to an intermediate stage with visible administrative, physical, economic, demographic, and welfare shifts Figure 1. Vietnam’s urbanization and economic growth in comparative perspective Source: WB – Urbanization Review

5. Policy dialogues, networking/ advocacy for Sustainable Urban Development Policy research and advice on sustainable land use and housing policy Urban Observatory System to monitor and assess urban performance People-Centered Right Based Approach Cultural Appropriate Innovative Partnership Green Growth Local Development Strategy and Inniatives Technical advice for environmental friendly infrastructure (i.e, access to clean water, urban mobility) Capacity buiding on leadership and community participation

6. GIS application in urban planning and management in Viet Nam GIS has been applied and developed in Viet Nam since 1990s. GIS technology is applied to urban sector: (i) monitor overall environment; (ii) analyze planning options; (iii) guide to reduce risks; and (iv) to assist the implementation of decision Broad fields for application, among others: natural resource management, demographic change, land use planning, town planning including infrastructure services, housing, social and educational facilities… Challenges: institutional framework, financial and human resources for setting up and sustain the system, coordination among government agencies, information sharing and updating, challenges on know-how and capacity building Opportunities: high demand from all sectors, rapid urbanization and business booming, green growth policy adopted, new innovation in science and technology

7. UN-Habitat initiatives for GIS application in Viet Nam Support to setting up the urban observatory system GIS based assessment and planning for Quang Nam province GIS based climate change vulnerability assessment for Hoi An city

8. UN HABITAT Global Urban Observatory Global Monitoring of Urban Agenda with Mission Statement “Better information for better cities” • Objective: • Strengthening of local capacities to collect, select, manage, and apply indicators • and other information in policy analysis • Improve access to a variety of municipal information for planning purposes, in order to improve urban management GUO system: • UN HABITAT • Housing indicator Program (1991) • Urban indicators Program (1993) • Global Urban Indicator DB III (2005) • Address development issues at the local level • Comprehensive/ Policy-responsive • In response to Habitat Agenda & the Millennium Development Goals Local/national/Regional Urban Observatories Support to local policy formulation and monitoring systems

9. VUI (Vietnam Urban Indicators) Initiatives • The project “Urban Observatory System in Vietnam”: starting in 2009, co-implemented by UN-HABITAT and The Associations of Cities of Vietnam (ACVN) • (Other partners involved in developing VUI: GSO, UNFPA, VUDA) • Focus of the Developing Urban Indicators in Vietnam • a) Supporting the Central Government to develop a set of key urban indicators for measuring • performance of the city as a whole and for the adequate development of city policies • b) Developing a pilot urban observatory system in selected cities/towns for the identification • of priority needs that will have a positive impact on urban poverty reduction • c) Improving the capacity of central and local Governments in developing, maintaining, • sustaining the urban observatory systems for monitoring/evaluating urban indicators • at local level • d) Supporting the Central Government to prepare a guideline to be able to set up and • sustain an urban observatory system at the local level

10. UOS Application: Multi-level Analysis Urban areas employment rate of working-age population (%) Level 1 Level 2 Difference in hierarchical ranking of cities By two indicators: traffic accident per capita and number of traffic accidents Level 0 Level 2

11. Percentage of permanent housing and accessibility to clean water in urban areas

12. Urban centers in socio-economic regions and urban poverty rate

13. 6. UOS Application Analysis of Multi levels • Basic data assessment using a color based map, basic charts and graph • Data Analysis of Multi indicators using multi layers, correlation matrix, multi regions • (Correlation analysis between urban land use and poverty reduction in different cities • Developing Analytical report- City Profile • (Basic analysis tool of UOS: a spider map analysis tool ) • Further application from UOS data analysis: i.e., To assess urbanization process and existing response and capacity of urban infrastructure at city level • Suggestion of areas to develop further implication of UOS analysis: • Overall analysis of priority area to assess urbanization process & existing response and capacity of urban infrastructure at regional level • Urban environmental sustainability: i.e., Environmental depletion rate vs. economic growth • Social equity and poverty: i.e., Accessibility, quality and capacity of social welfare system • Land use and planning: i.e., Land accessibility and affordability • Formal and informal setting: i.e., Urban housing by informal settlement/ formal • Governance issues: i.e., Budget analysis vs. key priority areas of infrastructure development • Synthetic assessment on the institutional set-up: i.e., (city – city) cooperation

14. 2.1 PDS for Quang Nam Development • Socio-economic development plan (SEDP) to be strengthened by: • Strategic planning: Vision directed orientations and strategic solutions • The strategic approach with leadership orientation and community participation • Strategic solutions developoed with evident based analysis and prioritized options • Multi-sectoral stakeholder cooperation to realize the plan SEDP Provincial Development Strategy Plans/ programs of local governments Private / public multi-sectoral coalition Strategic Orientations based in Open Dialogues and Analytical Thinking and Research

15. QN PDS Process • Cross-cutting focus of strategies: • - Poverty reduction • - Scio - Environmental sustainability • Regional linkage • Human Resource Development • Facilitating resource mobilizations 15

16. LAND USE SUITABILITY ANALYSIS FOR QUANG NAM PROVINCE EASTERN REGION PLANNING Suitability analysis for three category were selected • Industrial land use: to determine the most suitable site for industrial development in term of suitable industrial type, raw material, transport, cost etc… • Tourism: to select most appropriate site for proposing tourism facilities while avoiding site which are environmentally sensitive area. • Urban Expansion: locate most appropriate area for urban expansion, indicating direction for future growth.

17. INDUSTRY SUITABILITY The final suitability map has been displayed in a gradation of red to green. The green patches represent the most suitable locations for industrial development while the red patches denote the least. The more suitable areas are the ones which have got an aggregate score close to 10 (Sources: Spatial Decision Presentation)

18. TOURISM SUITABILITY The final suitability map has been displayed in a gradation of red to green. The green patches represent the most suitable locations for industrial development while the red patches denote the least. The more suitable areas are the ones which have got an aggregate score close to 10 (Source: Spatial Decision Presentation)

19. URBAN EXPANSION SUITABILITY The final suitability map has been displayed in a gradation of red to green. The green patches represent the most suitable locations for industrial development while the red patches denote the least. The more suitable areas are the ones which have got an aggregate score close to 10

21. Vulnerability and Adaptability assessment for Hoi An city Hoi An city: provincial economic center, country’s key tourist destination, recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 and UNESCO’ ‘World biosphere reserve’ in 2009 Participatory Vulnerability and adaptability assessment conducted with support of flood modeling and GIS mapping techniques

22. Flood modeling by 2020 – Areas with different elevation inundated at different levels during flooding season

23. Impacts of flooding and inundation on basic infrastructure

24. Flood modeling by 2020 – Total land areas and percentage of roads in wards and communes inundated in flooding seasons

25. Forecast of saline intrusion in Hoi An Overlaying land use planning and salinity forecasting maps

26. River bank and coastal erosion impacts on infrastructure and residential areas in Hoi An

27. 1. New approach for GIS application Integrated approaches to competitive urban development GG Provincial and City Development Strategy: rural, urban and regional linkages, economic sustainability and green growth, social services… National Urban Development Strategy focusing on international economic integration, efficient exploitation of advantage, urban upgrading Top down and Bottom Up Integrated: Smart Thinking and Solutions to make our cities Healthier, Safer and Greener • Urban growth and economic transformation: monitoring and support decisions • Competitiveness of cities: PCI, quality of life, cost of living, quality of housing index • C. Sustainable Tourism in a Green City: multi-sectoral analysis and coordination • D. New Infrastructure development and accessibility: optimize solution and linkages • E. Urbanization and agricultural land loss: social and environmental impact assessment • F. Construction Master Plan: options for urban development direction • G. Urban redevelopment: land readjustment • H. Climate Change Adaptation and socio economic development: VAA and SEA • I. Eco system management under rapid urbanization to support sustainable city plan

28. Thank you