State-led versus people-led: synergies and tensions in Vietnam's urban development
The aim of the project is to complete and synthesise my collected research on urban space production in Hanoi with a focus on the synergies and tensions between state modernisation projects and bottom-up initiatives by individuals and groups, particularly those of the urban poor. My research elaborates and expands upon the notion of state-led versus people-led urbanisation proposed by McGee (2009), and highlights the role of ‘informal’ initiatives in the production of affordable housing and infrastructures, as well as in the shaping of urban and housing policies.
The project proposes 1) to investigate recent bottom-up space production initiatives at Hanoi’s urban periphery to supplement my previous research with new typologies of people-led developments 2) to synthesise my collected research with new findings in order to provide a rich chronological account of the typologies of people-led developments through different phases of Hanoi’s development from the 1980s to the present. The goal of the synthesis work is to compile material into an edited book that highlights the spatial and political agency of the urban poor, the negotiating character of the relationship between state and society, and the crucial role played by informalised processes in Vietnam’s urbanisation. The sabbatical application includes two research stays at research centers that focus on Asian research, at the City University of Hong Kong and the University of Washington, Seattle respectively.
The project proposes 1) to investigate recent bottom-up space production initiatives at Hanoi’s urban periphery to supplement my previous research with new typologies of people-led developments 2) to synthesise my collected research with new findings in order to provide a rich chronological account of the typologies of people-led developments through different phases of Hanoi’s development from the 1980s to the present. The goal of the synthesis work is to compile material into an edited book that highlights the spatial and political agency of the urban poor, the negotiating character of the relationship between state and society, and the crucial role played by informalised processes in Vietnam’s urbanisation. The sabbatical application includes two research stays at research centers that focus on Asian research, at the City University of Hong Kong and the University of Washington, Seattle respectively.
Final report
Sabbatical project:
State-led versus People-Led: Synergies and Tensions in Vietnam’s Urban Development
The sabbatical project aims to complete and synthesize my research on urban space production in Hanoi with a focus on the synergies and tensions between state modernization projects and spatial practices of individuals and groups, particularly those who are neglected by state planning and housing provision.
The project activities include 1) investigating recent bottom-up city-making initiatives at Hanoi’s urban periphery to supplement the previous research with new typologies of people-led developments, 2) synthesizing previous research with new findings to provide a rich account of the typologies of people-led developments through different phases of Hanoi’s development, 3) compile the material into a book that highlights the spatial and political agency of urban residents, the negotiating character of the relationship between state and society, and the crucial role of people-led developments in Vietnam’s urbanization.
Results
The most important result of the project is a monograph that has been submitted to Routledge and is expected to be published in 2025, as part of the Routledge/City University of Hong Kong Southeast Asia Series. Titled “Urban Space Production in Vietnam: Interstitial Practices and the Production of Differential Spaces”, the book explores space-making practices of ordinary people outside the state planning framework through a study of a selection of people-led developments on urban interstices in Hanoi, Vietnam. By employing the notion of interstitiality and the Lefebvrian concept of differential space the book situates urban development from below within the context of state modernizing and social engineering projects and illustrates the way they are manifestations of various forms of adaptation and resistance to state-imposed spatial order. This approach is a critique of the dualistic analysis of informality versus formality commonly used to discuss space-making activities by the people outside the planning framework, assuming informality to be solely connected to the urban poor and cities of the Global South. The integration of Lefebvre’s differential space with the interstitiality perspective provides an analytical framework to discuss city-making beyond dualism (formal versus informal, center versus periphery) and the assumed priority of one (social and spatial) category over others. It enables the exploration of the multiplicity and heterogeneity of activities and urban environments created by people of different social groups in a wide range of circumstances and the power relation between these emerging practices and existing planning and regulatory frameworks.
The results also include two articles. One has been published with open access:
Tran, H.A. 2024. Beyond dualistic categories: interstitial practices in peri-urban Hanoi. South East Asia Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/0967828X.2024.2396281
The other article “Interstitial Housing Practice as a Driver of Urbanization. The mini apartments in Hanoi”, is under peer review for Housing Studies. It will soon be resubmitted with minor revisions and is expected to be published in 2025. The remaining RJ open access funding will be used to publish this article in open access.
Extended fieldwork and new empirical material
The fieldwork in Hanoi was intended to be supplementary to previous research but has grown to be more substantial and extensive to reflect recent developments in Hanoi. During the fieldwork, I found several new forms of space-making activities by ordinary people outside the state planning framework. This led to more extended fieldwork that included investigating two new case studies, in addition to the previously identified ones, which resulted in a more up-to-date analysis of the different dynamics between urban residents and the state, and a rich illustration of the role of people-led developments as drivers of urban development.
International collaboration and communication of research results
The book is a co-authorship with Yip, Ngai Ming, Professor of Housing Studies at the City University of Hong Kong. During the sabbatical, I spent a month as a visiting research fellow at the City University of Hong Kong, working on the manuscript together with Yip. Findings from the first empirical case, and the idea for the book, were presented at a seminar at the Southeast Asian Centre at the University. After the seminar, the Director of the Centre suggested the possibility for the book to be published as part of the Routledge/City University of Hong Kong Southeast Asia Series. Once published, the book will be launched both at the Institute for Urban Research (IUR) at Malmö University, as well as the Centre for Southeast Asian Centre at the City University of Hong Kong.
I also spent another month of the Sabbatical year at the Centre for Asian Urbanism, located at the Department of Landscape Architecture, Washington University in Seattle. I participated in the Centre’s research seminars and presented materials from another empirical case and the ideas for the book at one of the seminars. I also participated in the Centre’s work with a community project working with a temporary Green Street to address the need for open space, social life, and economic activities that support the local community.
I also contacted the International Institute of Asian Studies (IIAS) at the University of Leiden to communicate my research and the forthcoming book. IIAS has organized a panel discussion in which I, together with two other panelists, discuss the problems with urban dichotomies based on our research. The panel discussion was planned to take place on 26th March 2024 but was postponed because a panelist had to undergo surgery, and finally took place on 12th November 2024. The forthcoming book, once published, will be advertised and reviewed in IIAS’s newsletter.
During 2023 and 2024, I presented the research materials that form the basis for the forthcoming book at two research conferences:
Urban Affairs Association (UAA) Conference “From Global to Local: Urban Communities in Flux”, which took place in April 2023 in Nashville.
RC21 conference “The Politics and Spaces of Encounters. Advancing dialogues between and within the Global North and the Global South”, which took place in July 2024, in Santiago, Chile.
State-led versus People-Led: Synergies and Tensions in Vietnam’s Urban Development
The sabbatical project aims to complete and synthesize my research on urban space production in Hanoi with a focus on the synergies and tensions between state modernization projects and spatial practices of individuals and groups, particularly those who are neglected by state planning and housing provision.
The project activities include 1) investigating recent bottom-up city-making initiatives at Hanoi’s urban periphery to supplement the previous research with new typologies of people-led developments, 2) synthesizing previous research with new findings to provide a rich account of the typologies of people-led developments through different phases of Hanoi’s development, 3) compile the material into a book that highlights the spatial and political agency of urban residents, the negotiating character of the relationship between state and society, and the crucial role of people-led developments in Vietnam’s urbanization.
Results
The most important result of the project is a monograph that has been submitted to Routledge and is expected to be published in 2025, as part of the Routledge/City University of Hong Kong Southeast Asia Series. Titled “Urban Space Production in Vietnam: Interstitial Practices and the Production of Differential Spaces”, the book explores space-making practices of ordinary people outside the state planning framework through a study of a selection of people-led developments on urban interstices in Hanoi, Vietnam. By employing the notion of interstitiality and the Lefebvrian concept of differential space the book situates urban development from below within the context of state modernizing and social engineering projects and illustrates the way they are manifestations of various forms of adaptation and resistance to state-imposed spatial order. This approach is a critique of the dualistic analysis of informality versus formality commonly used to discuss space-making activities by the people outside the planning framework, assuming informality to be solely connected to the urban poor and cities of the Global South. The integration of Lefebvre’s differential space with the interstitiality perspective provides an analytical framework to discuss city-making beyond dualism (formal versus informal, center versus periphery) and the assumed priority of one (social and spatial) category over others. It enables the exploration of the multiplicity and heterogeneity of activities and urban environments created by people of different social groups in a wide range of circumstances and the power relation between these emerging practices and existing planning and regulatory frameworks.
The results also include two articles. One has been published with open access:
Tran, H.A. 2024. Beyond dualistic categories: interstitial practices in peri-urban Hanoi. South East Asia Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/0967828X.2024.2396281
The other article “Interstitial Housing Practice as a Driver of Urbanization. The mini apartments in Hanoi”, is under peer review for Housing Studies. It will soon be resubmitted with minor revisions and is expected to be published in 2025. The remaining RJ open access funding will be used to publish this article in open access.
Extended fieldwork and new empirical material
The fieldwork in Hanoi was intended to be supplementary to previous research but has grown to be more substantial and extensive to reflect recent developments in Hanoi. During the fieldwork, I found several new forms of space-making activities by ordinary people outside the state planning framework. This led to more extended fieldwork that included investigating two new case studies, in addition to the previously identified ones, which resulted in a more up-to-date analysis of the different dynamics between urban residents and the state, and a rich illustration of the role of people-led developments as drivers of urban development.
International collaboration and communication of research results
The book is a co-authorship with Yip, Ngai Ming, Professor of Housing Studies at the City University of Hong Kong. During the sabbatical, I spent a month as a visiting research fellow at the City University of Hong Kong, working on the manuscript together with Yip. Findings from the first empirical case, and the idea for the book, were presented at a seminar at the Southeast Asian Centre at the University. After the seminar, the Director of the Centre suggested the possibility for the book to be published as part of the Routledge/City University of Hong Kong Southeast Asia Series. Once published, the book will be launched both at the Institute for Urban Research (IUR) at Malmö University, as well as the Centre for Southeast Asian Centre at the City University of Hong Kong.
I also spent another month of the Sabbatical year at the Centre for Asian Urbanism, located at the Department of Landscape Architecture, Washington University in Seattle. I participated in the Centre’s research seminars and presented materials from another empirical case and the ideas for the book at one of the seminars. I also participated in the Centre’s work with a community project working with a temporary Green Street to address the need for open space, social life, and economic activities that support the local community.
I also contacted the International Institute of Asian Studies (IIAS) at the University of Leiden to communicate my research and the forthcoming book. IIAS has organized a panel discussion in which I, together with two other panelists, discuss the problems with urban dichotomies based on our research. The panel discussion was planned to take place on 26th March 2024 but was postponed because a panelist had to undergo surgery, and finally took place on 12th November 2024. The forthcoming book, once published, will be advertised and reviewed in IIAS’s newsletter.
During 2023 and 2024, I presented the research materials that form the basis for the forthcoming book at two research conferences:
Urban Affairs Association (UAA) Conference “From Global to Local: Urban Communities in Flux”, which took place in April 2023 in Nashville.
RC21 conference “The Politics and Spaces of Encounters. Advancing dialogues between and within the Global North and the Global South”, which took place in July 2024, in Santiago, Chile.