TRYHANOI at the World Urban Forum
13 enero 2020
Four members of TRYHANOI will hold a Side Event at the 10th session of the World Urban Forum organized by UN-Habitat in Abu Dhabi taking place from February 8-13, 2020.
Event title: ACTIVATING PUBLIC SPACES FOR ALL IN HANOI, VIETNAM
Description: In recent years, Hanoi witnessed a flourishing of urban public space-focused initiatives and experiments conducted by civil society and non-profit organizations. These initiatives seek to activitate existing or underused public spaces in the city through mural paintings, the construction of playgrounds, etc. These projects greatly widen the range of conventional public space usage, designs, and physical forms, leading to new forms of appropriation by older and newer residents of the city. They further innovate by involving multiple stakeholders and partners in the conception and implementation of their project: local communities, NGOs, artists, the corporate sectors, social science experts, social activists, etc.
The 4 presentations and sharing-points included in this event provide different perspectives on and approach to public spaces in Hanoi of Vietnam:
1) A documentary about domestic migrants and public space in Hanoi discusses issues of public space access and use for urban-rural migrants, illuminating the difficulties they face and the coping mechanism they use to integrate into urban life.
2) Migration access to public spaces and social integration summarizes results of a study conducted in Hanoi on access and use of public space by disadvantage youth rural migrants, ie., industrial, domestic and informal workers. Living in low-income areas nearly devoid of formal public spaces, they mainly use the sidewalks and small tea stands as public space. While these spaces suit their living conditions, they play a limited role in their integration into the city life, a question in need of policy attention.
3) Sketch and public space: an association of sketchers (Urban Sketchers Hanoi) flourished in recent years that uses public space in a new way, besides traditional socializing and recreational activities. The story of this group raise new ideas about ways to organize, share and use public spaces to connect people of diverse lifestyles, in different cultures, landscapes, heritage, areas of the city, etc.
4) The mural project as public space development and community bonding is centred on the Arts Build Communities (ABC), an organization devoted to mural painting in older, lower-income areas of Hanoi. Their mural community projects opened up opportunities for social bonding and community participation in public spaces of Hanoi. ABC will share its experience and stories about how artists, communities, and other stakeholders have come together to transform public spaces functionally, spatially and perceptually in derelict neighbourhoods of the Vietnamese capital city.
The overall goal is to share and open up new perspectives on the diversity of access and use of public space in countries, such
as Vietnam, where such ideas are just starting to take root. The event will explore ways to bring more attention to ways in which
cities can better attend to the needs of different social groups in cities, vulnerable groups in particular. Research, civil societyled, and community activities are avenues to ensure fair access and use of public spaces.
Discover all the details of this upcoming presentation here.
