Seminar: 'Hanoi City Planning – A 100-Year Vision from a Non-Traditional Security Perspective'

On the morning of April 7th in Hanoi, the Institute for Non-Traditional Security (School of Business and Management, Vietnam National University, Hanoi) and the Government e-Portal jointly organized a seminar titled 'Drafting the Amended Capital Law and Hanoi City Planning – A 100-Year Vision from a Non-Traditional Security Perspective,' proposing strategic orientations for Hanoi's 100-year planning, associated with ensuring non-traditional security. The seminar was attended by domestic and international experts from various fields such as urban planning and non-traditional security. This was the second session of the Vietnam Non-Traditional Security Forum, held monthly.

Long-term Vision in the 100-Year Capital Planning

At the seminar, experts and scientists assessed that Hanoi's development of a planning scheme with a 100-year vision is a very correct policy and a necessary, breakthrough step, demonstrating high political determination in the long-term development orientation of the Capital. Unlike previous planning efforts, which were often short-term or medium-term, this planning aims for a 100-year vision to overcome the situation of 'build and then demolish, repair and then rebuild,' which causes significant waste of resources and affects sustainability.

Speaking at the workshop, Lieutenant General, Professor Dr. Nguyễn Xuân Yêm, Director of the Institute for Non-Traditional Security, emphasized that the Hanoi Master Plan was meticulously developed, with reference to international experience, and features a 9-pole development model, aiming for balanced urban development across the entire city. However, it is necessary to delve deeper into traditional security issues, especially to address four major challenges: urban overload, traffic congestion, environmental pollution, and flooding.

At the workshop, Professor Dr. Mai Trọng Nhuận, former Director of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, proposed several criteria for sustainable Hanoi planning. The first criterion is safety against incidents. The area designated for all national political headquarters and national security systems must be located at an elevation above 30m. The second criterion is that, in the current unpredictable context, a subway system is necessary.

Mr. Maksim Kurilov, First Secretary of the Russian Embassy in Vietnam, also shared insights into Moscow's subway system – a modern infrastructure with train frequencies of approximately 1 minute, contributing to the reduction of private vehicles. Concurrently, the application of smart city models also significantly helps reduce crime rates.

Integrating Non-Traditional Security Factors in Capital Planning

According to scientists, for planning to be truly effective, a comprehensive approach is required, in which the integration of non-traditional security factors becomes an urgent requirement. Professor Dr. Hoàng Đình Phi, Rector of the School of Business and Management, stated that Hanoi is facing numerous challenges such as environmental security, water resources, energy, food, and public health, along with issues of climate change, infrastructure overload, and pollution.

He emphasized the need to develop a detailed risk map as a basis for planning, from formulation to operation, to minimize risks, and simultaneously requires interdisciplinary coordination between scientists and management agencies.

From an infrastructure perspective, Hanoi's underground systems currently pose many risks due to overlaps and a lack of synchronized planning. Five critical systems, including flood drainage, wastewater treatment, water supply, electricity supply, and telecommunications, all face numerous threats.

According to Professor Hoàng Đình Phi, if technical solutions and international experience are not thoroughly researched, especially in wastewater treatment and terrain-based planning, operation will be very costly and inefficient.

He also suggested that Hanoi should be positioned as a diverse ecological Capital and should not relocate all universities, but rather retain historically valuable facilities to maintain vitality in the inner city.