Parts of many parks in HCM City are being rented for cafe shops, eateries and other establishments contrary to their original purpose. (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Rapid urbanisation is eating away at Ho Chi Minh City'sgreen space, with parks coming under increasing threat from shops, cafes,office blocks and parking lots.
Ho Anh Tuan,who lives on Tan Binh district's Au Co street, has watched as greenareas disappear around his home.
Tuantold the Vietnam News Agency that he wanted to exercise everymorning but there was a lack of green spaces close by while remaining parkswere too far away. He is forced to exercise on the street.
Livingnext to Le Thi Rieng Park in district 10, Nguyen My Oanh has recently beenunable to fully enjoy the space.
She saidthe park was a place for everyone to relax after a hard day or at the weekend,but the space was increasingly invaded by shops and play areas, causingdiscomfort for local residents.
Accordingto a newspaper report, the number of parks in the city is dwindling, with manydivided into smaller areas or turned into parking lots.
Like LeThi Rieng Park, many other parks in the city are also disappearing. A buildingfor ceremonies and parties has been built in district 6’s Phu Lam Park.
Le Van TamPark in the city centre often hosts fairs and exhibitions.
Land forparks in HCM City is limited and unevenly allocated.
Forexample, in district 1, there are large parks like Tao Dan, 23/9, 30/4 and Le VanTam, while there are no large parks in district 3.
The landfund for parks in the city centre is almost non-existent, so most park projectsincluded in city planning are located in outlying areas.
Accordingto the city’s Department of Planning and Architecture, new parks are slated fordistricts 7, 12, Thu Duc, Hoc Mon, and Binh Chanh. But the spaces have not beenbuilt.
The Sai GonSafari Park project in Cu Chi district, with an area of over 456ha, has beendelayed for 15 years. No one knows when it will finally be built as theinvestor announced their withdrawal from the project, the newspaper reported.
TranQuang Lam, Director of the city’s Transport Department, said the improper useof parks was because the city did not have a master plan for parks.
Hoang Tung,Deputy Director of the city's Planning and Architecture Department, said thedepartment was assigned to adjust general planning, in which green space neededto be adjusted to fit the general planning because parks were a highlight ofthe city.
"Withlimited budget resources, the city gives priority to more urgent projects suchas roads, flood-proofing works, schools and hospitals. So many park projectshave been suspended," said Tung.
Chairmanof the city’s People's Committee, Nguyen Thanh Phong, said: "The park isfor people to relax, but there are many problems in management."
Under theplan, green space per capita is expected to be at least 7.2sq.m. In fact,residents enjoy just one tenth of this level.
This hasa significant impact on residents' health and the environment, according toPhong.
Urgentsolutions
In orderto solve this problem, the municipal People's Committee has issued an urgentorder to recover the green space.
Thecommittee has instructed relevant departments and agencies to relocatebuildings, offices, restaurants, shop and parking lots. But it is not easy toregain encroached land.
From themiddle of 2018, Phong urged sectors and agencies to recover green spaces thatwere being used improperly. However, efforts have been slow.
Phongsaid land in 23/9 Park had been reclaimed three times, but in July manyinstallations had not been dismantled, the newspaper reported.
Overlappingmanagement between committees, sectors and agencies is to blame for the slowprocess in relocation of misused land.
The cityleader also asked relevant agencies to upgrade existing parks while waiting fornew ones.
Nguyen DinhHoa, an architect who has experience in city planning, said it was time for HCMCity to increase its green spaces for residential and urban areas to improveliving quality.
The municipalPeople’s Committee should approve the construction of apartment buildings incombination with parks, said Hoa.
In thenear future, the city also plans to build five more parks in districts 12, BinhThanh and Thu Duc, according to Nguyen Toan Thang, Director of the city’sDepartment of Natural Resources and Environment.
Accordingto the city’s Department of Planning and Architecture, the city plans 11,400haof parks by 2020, of which 491ha has been completed so far, accounting for 4.3 percent.
Greenspace per capita is expected to be at least 2.4sq.m in inner areas and 12sq.min outlying areas by 2025.-VNS/VNA
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