Creating green spaces for the capital city
With a desire to expand green spaces and enhance its residents’ quality of life, in recent years, Hanoi has made efforts to renovate, upgrade and revitalise many parks and flower gardens. By prioritising resources from the state budget and private funding and delegating park management to the district level, many parks and flower gardens have been refurbished and become popular places for leisure activities.
Long Bien Park, with its green trees and water surface, attracts large numbers of people for leisure activities. (Photo: Dac Son)
Long Bien Park, with its green trees and water surface, attracts large numbers of people for leisure activities. (Photo: Dac Son)
From the late 19th century to 1954, Hanoi had only Bach Thao Park and 16 flower gardens. After the liberation in 1954, the capital city began to build more parks by mobilising citizens from age 18 to contribute 15 days of community service. Thong Nhat Park and Thu Le Park were built with the contributions of tens of thousands of working days by the capital city’s officials, workers and people.
Green spaces are considered the lungs of the city and are one of the types of public spaces that play a very important role in the cultural and spiritual life of urban residents.
To date, Hanoi has a relatively diverse system of flower gardens and green parks, wherein the inner-city districts alone are operating and managing 63 flower gardens and green parks with an area of 280 hectares, accounting for about 2% of the total natural land area. Many flower gardens and parks have been associated with historical events and have become cultural works of the country as well as the capital, such as Bach Thao Park, Thong Nhat Park, Lenin Park, and so on.
Ngoc Thuy Park attracts people of all ages to play and enjoy themselves. Photo: Dac Son
Ngoc Thuy Park attracts people of all ages to play and enjoy themselves. Photo: Dac Son
However, along with the urbanisation process, the rapid increase in population, the system of flower gardens and green parks is lacking compared to the rate of residential units. The management and protection of flower gardens and parks are still lax, leading to many flower gardens and parks being occupied for business purposes. Many flower gardens and parks are not regularly renovated or upgraded, leading to serious degradation of park and flower garden infrastructure, causing urban sloppiness and failure to meet the entertainment needs of the people.
Faced with a lack of usable area and the degradation of the park and flower garden system, the Hanoi Party Committee issued Program 03-CTr/TU, dated March 17, 2021, on urban development and urban economy of Hanoi in the 2021-2025 period, which includes important content prioritising the development of green infrastructure systems to serve the people. The City People's Committee issued a plan to upgrade, renovate, and build new flower gardens and green parks in the city in the 2021-2025 period, with the goal of upgrading and renovating 45 existing parks and flower gardens and building six new parks by 2025.
Long Bien Park has been renovated with a spacious and modern appearance. Photo: Dac Son.
Long Bien Park has been renovated with a spacious and modern appearance. Photo: Dac Son.
In implementing the city's plan, to date, the districts have completed the renovation of 14 flower gardens. In addition, 16 other parks and flower gardens are under urgent construction and are expected to be completed in 2024. In 2025, the city plans to complete the renovation of 11 parks and flower gardens.
As for the four parks managed by the city, namely Thong Nhat, Thu Le, Bach Thao, and Hoa Binh, the renovation will be completed in 2026.
For the six newly constructed parks, including the Chu Van An Memorial Park, CV1 Lake Park, the Southwestern Hanoi Urban Area Lake Park, Kim Quy Cultural and Recreational Park, Phung Khoang Lake Park, and Ha Dong Cultural and Recreational Park, the district authorities are coordinating with investors to focus on addressing difficulties and obstacles to accelerate the implementation progress. Some parks have completed many construction items, notably CV1 Lake Park, which has essentially been completed.
Long Bien Park has become an attractive playground for children. Photo: Dac Son.
Long Bien Park has become an attractive playground for children. Photo: Dac Son.
Ngoc Thuy Park is a safe play area for children. Photo: Dac Son.
Ngoc Thuy Park is a safe play area for children. Photo: Dac Son.
Additionally, three other large-scale parks have been added to the city’s plan, including the Astronomy Park – Duong Noi Urban Area, Friendship Park, and the northern part of the reservoir park and the southern extension of Mai Dich Cemetery.
Of which, the Astronomy Park, the northern part of the reservoir park and the southern extension of Mai Dich Cemetery have been basically completed and opened to public.
With these nine new parks, Hanoians will have an additional 320 hectares of green space in the coming time.
Notably, based on the proposals of the People's Committees of districts and investors, the Hanoi Department of Construction has compiled a list of seven parks and 104 large and small flower gardens to be added to the City's plan.
In addition to the goal of increasing the recreational space with fully equipped facilities to meet the needs of people and tourists, the construction of new public works will help to develop the city's culture and society in a green and modern direction.
A representative from the Management Board for the project of investment in technical infrastructure and agriculture in Hanoi stated that the biggest challenges affecting the project's progress were related to land clearance. The city People's Committee has resolved this by assigning the task of land clearance directly to the district levels, which will hand over cleared land to investors. This will help expedite the investment and construction of parks and flower gardens across the city in the near future.
According to Deputy Chairman of the Hanoi Municipal People's Committee Duong Duc Tuan, in the upcoming period, the city People's Committee will continue to direct departments, sectors, and district People's Committees to accelerate the progress and ensure the renovation and upgrading of parks and flower gardens are completed according to plan.
For the 111 parks and flower gardens proposed by various districts and towns, the city People's Committee has tasked local people’s committees with proactively implementing the projects, focusing on leadership, direction, and prompt completion of construction investments from now until 2025 to serve residents and enhance green spaces in the capital.
Published: October 2024
Production Managers: Kieu Huong, Truong Son
Content: Dac Son
Photos: Dac Son, Duy Linh
Design: Hoai Anh
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