Some of the strongest manifestations of Vietnam’s remarkable economic growth are found in traffic. While Vietnamese cities were once dominated by bicycles and pedestrians, the growth in motorized mobility over the past decades have been astounding. In the largest cities, two-wheelers still dominate the streets—now in the form of motorbikes—but car ownership has been growing rapidly the past decade. The extent to which these cities in short time have changed into a highly pedestrian and cyclist unfriendly cities is quite remarkable. Yet in mobility terms it somehow works, much thanks to the continued dominance of motorbikes. And while these are exactly the places that need to see sustainable mobility transformations if the world is to have any hope of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, there is much to learn from the combination of vibrant street life and relatively efficient transport of millions of people that we find in these cities. Also, new changes are taking place, in the form of large public transport investments, the growth in electric two-wheelers, the resurgence of bicycling and the explosion in new forms of ‘sharing mobilities’, as well as local authorities’ policies, both towards banning motorbikes from city centres and towards making parts of these cities pedestrian friendly.
This webinar asks how we can make sense of urban mobility in Vietnam from a sustainability perspective. What can we learn from Vietnam’s past and ongoing mobility transformations and is there a possible future without gridlocked cities packed with cars?
Focusing mainly on Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City, we have invited leading international experts to help us answer these questions.
Please register at the latest one hour before start to receive Zoom link in advance:
About the panel
Hue-Tam Jamme, Assistant Professor, School of Geographical Science and Urban Planning, Arizona State University
Ivan Small, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Central Connecticut State University, and Visiting Senior Research Fellow, Vietnam Studies Programme, ISEAS
Binh Nguyen, PhD Candidate, Department of Geography, McGill University
Chair: Arve Hansen, leader, Norwegian Network for Asian Studies