In-depth
Houses not mass apartment building blamed for congestion
  • | vneconomy, dtinews.vn | June 07, 2018 09:00 AM
Some experts have called for far better public transport and apartment buildings in order to deal with severe congestion problem.

   

Houses not mass apartment building blamed for congestion



The problem was discussed at the international conference about urban architecture and infrastructure in major cities in Vietnam on June 5. Dozens of experts from Spain, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, the UK and the US attended the conference.

Tran Ngoc Chinh, Chairman of Vietnam Urban Planning and Development, said high-rise apartment buildings were supposedly inevitable during rapid urbanisation. Apartment buildings that are closed to other public places and workplaces are especially favoured but result in congestion.

However, Khuong Van Muoi, vice head of the Vietnam Association of Architects, surprisingly said houses, not high-rise buildings, were the main cause of the congestions in big cities. Nguyen Do Dung from CPG Consultants Singapore agreed.

According to Dung, the number of floors and population density are different matters. Houses along the streets leave little space for other public constructions while high-rise buildings can accommodate more households. A four-storey building with 100 apartments would only occupy over 10% of a one-hectare plot of land. The rest of the land can be used for parks, parking lots or road expansion, Dung said.

"High-rise buildings provide better living conditions and deal with current urban problems. Of course, we need a stable model to call for investment from the private sector instead of depending on the state budget," he said.

Other experts claimed high-rise buildings had become safer, more convenient and effective. However, the cities need a clear planning for the high-rise buildings to be in sync with the infrastructure and be really useful.

"It's all in the hand of the urban planners. If the planners fail to have suitable strategies, they will turn the city into endless chaos," said Pham Hung Cuong from the National University of Civil Engineering.

Developing high-rise buildings along with sensible urban planning is one of the solutions for effective land-use and to avoid putting pressure on the infrastructure.

Tran Ngoc Chinh, Chairman of Vietnam Urban Planning and Development, said they would submit the gathered opinions to the prime minister.

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