Illegal construction produces eyesores in Vietnam
HO CHI MINH CITY - Tran Van Be may be proud of his new house at
Go Vap, just outside this south Vietnamese city, but officials and urban
experts are not likely to be as enthusiastic about it - if they knew it
existed.
For one, the house is being built without a permit and is therefore illegal.
For another, it is among the hundreds of thousands of houses constructed
in the last decade in this Southeast Asian nation's big cities that experts
say are playing havoc with urban planning and environments.
In the past several years, migrants from the provinces have been flocking
to the big cities in order to gain from the economic boom in the urban
areas. But many of them have been unable to secure a permanent
residence certificate that would give them access to jobs, as well as the
right to buy certain necessities, including a house.
As a result, these migrants are building homes without permits. This,
however, has meant rampant disregard of land use regulations and
construction codes. Often, desperate migrants have even "reclaimed"
land for their houses. In fact, the surface area of the lakes in the capital
city Hanoi has already shrunk by some 200 hectares largely because of
such "reclamation".
The West Lake, the city's biggest, has lost 40 hectares in the last five
years alone as builders filled up part of it to create "new space" for illegal
residences. Urban planners say this has worsened the usual rainy season
floods in Hanoi, since the lakes also serve as the city's natural reservoirs.
In addition, the rash of house-building has cost the capital its famous
"flower-growing villages".
Experts figure that Hanoi has about 7.5 million square meters of housing
at present, of which more than 2.7 million were built in the last decade.
Although developers are responsible for some of these new residences,
80 percent were built by individuals, the majority of whom did not secure
state approval first. Many of them also encroached on public land or
so-called "safe traffic belts" and made these part of their homes.
"Population pressure, badly planned construction and the massive filling
of the lakes are responsible for the degradation of Hanoi's environment,"
says ecologist Dang Duong Binh of the municipal Department of Science,
Technology and Environment.
Experts say other cities across the country are suffering a similar fate.
Here in Ho Chi Minh, for example, the waterway network that used to
link this city with surrounding provinces and created a temperate climate
for the area, has all but disappeared. People have filled up the arroyos
and canals so they could build houses. The city has also lost the "green
belt" that used to surround it, after peasants living on the fringe of Ho Chi
Minh sold their farmland to developers.
Nearby villages such as Hoc Mon and Thu Duc, once known for the
beauty of their floral gardens, are now home to modern but ugly
buildings. Many architects decry not only the degradation of the
environment, but also the sheer ugliness of the new construction.
According to them, the illegal residences are eyesores that destroy the
look of even the most graceful of the country's cities. This is because,
they say, there was no official supervision in how the buildings should be
constructed and how they should look.
The results include hybrid neighborhoods that play host to different
architectural styles that often do not go well together. "The melange of
Greece's columns, Russian rounded roofs, Italian bas-relief and Chinese
sculptures has created a rococo architecture in Vietnam," remarks
Professor Nguyen Hong Thuc of the Hanoi College of Architecture.
Architect Hoang Ha is more blunt: "There is much construction, but little
architecture." Nguyen Truc Luyen apparently agrees, describing the new
buildings as "architecture without soul, without author".
Urban planners and experts alike say that while officials are to blame for
poor city management, the public is also guilty of ignoring the laws.
The irony is that in the midst of such chaos, the real estate market is in a
slump. Industry insiders say sumptuous villas and luxury homes meant to
attract foreign businessmen and "Viet Kieu" (overseas Vietnamese)
remain mostly empty, and have driven some big real estate companies
into bankruptcy.
Industry insiders say burdensome regulations and policies are partly to
blame. But investors have also become more cautious about venturing
into countries like Vietnam, especially after Southeast Asia began to
experience an economic crisis in 1997.
So far, there have been no official moves regarding the expanding illegal
residential communities in Vietnamese cities. But some observers hope
the government will at least start straightening up the real estate market
mess within this year. One crucial step, they say, is the National
Assembly's adoption of a "land law" that will lay down the rules for a real
estate market and legalize land deals.
The law is not expected to create "land owners" since in Vietnam, all land
is state property. "Land users", however, will for the first time be given
rights regarding alteration, transfer, lease, inheritance and mortgage.
Overseas Vietnamese will also be allowed to purchase houses in
residential areas owned by state-owned companies.
By Tran Dinh Thanh Lam - Asia Times - February 23, 2001.
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