Studio Booklet Cantho, Vietnam. Water and Forest Urbanisms to Address Climate Change

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SPRING STUDIO 2020

Water and Forest Urbanisms to Address Climate Change

Cantho, Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Master (of Science) Human Settlements Faculty of Engineering and Department of Architecture Promoters: Viviana d’Auria, Bruno De Meulder, Kelly Shannon Extra studio guidance: Linh Vu

Academic Year 2019-2020


Š Copyright KU Leuven Without written permission of the thesis supervisors and the authors it is forbidden to reproduce or adapt in any form or by any means any part of this publication. Requests for obtaining the right to reproduce or utilize parts of this publication should be addressed to Faculty of Engineering and Department of Architecture, Kasteelpark Arenberg 1 box 2431, B-3001 Heverlee. A written permission of the thesis supervisors is also required to use the methods, products, schematics and programs described in this work for industrial or commercial use, and for submitting this publication in scientific contests.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS 0_ Studio Challenge 1_ Fieldwork

three 5x5km sites

CAI RANG PHONG DIEN O MON/ CO DO

2_Research 3_ The Inverted Horticulture Archipelago Nathan Fredrick, Maraki Gebresilassie, Francesco Lombardi, Shriya Mahamuni, Fatiha Hamid, Alejandra Peralta

4_ Rethinking Terrain Ingrid, Juan Acosta, Rodrigo Miguel Carpio Rey, Sharmada Nagarajan, Aikaterini Ntavou, Betty Petrov

5_ Water Born(e) Saba Fazel, Shubhra Kansal, Maria Elizabeth Maldonado Marchan, Valeria Torres, Mohan Zhang, Justin Ndacyayishima

6_ Acknowledgements 5



0_ Studio Challenge Studio brief & Cantho


SPRING STUDIO 2020

Water and Forest Urbanisms to Address Climate Change Nairobi (Kenya) & Cantho (Vietnam) Viviana d’Auria, Bruno De Meulder, Kelly Shannon Jeroen Stevens, Khalda El Jack, David Njenga, Linh Vu

The visible and forecasted consequences of climate change are evident in territories

In each city, there will be a focus on three peri-urban sites. In Nairobi, the city is

across the globe. Increased temperatures and frequency and intensity of storms is

experiencing increased rapid population growth that is happening at the expense

bringing waves of both flood and drought. In deltaic and coastal cities, sea level

of nature. Climate change is manifested in terms of water scarcity and critical loss

rise and saline intrusion also pose major threats. There is a necessity to develop

of biodiversity. The western part of the city is witnessing rapid transformation. The

urbanism strategies which adapt to impacts of climate change,increasingly

largest catalysts of transformations are populist urban projects that are meant to

vulnerable environments and address the changing relations of nature/ culture,

‘free Nairobi’ from the menace of the traffic congestion. The selected sites lay in

rural/ urban and production/ consumption.

the western foothills of the Nairobi Metropolis of the Kiambu, Kajiado and Nairobi counties. For the two northern cases of Ndenderu and Kikuyu, occupation was

The spring studio 2020 will work on two cities which are facing major challenges in

dominated by sedentary agricultural communities while the southern case of

relation to both climate change and increasing urbanization. The focus will be on

Ongata Rongai pastoral communities occupied areas bordering the National Park.

peri-urban expansions—regions which are chronically under studied despite the

Located on the border between Kiambu and Nairobi, the Ndenderu site interweaves

fact that they are actually the frontier of urbanization. The impacts of transformation

‘Kianda landscapes’ that emulate agricultural valley settlements practiced by the

and intervention in these areas is incredibly strategic. At the same time, radical

Agikuyu people. Their indigenous system of subsistence agriculture and settlement

intervention is simultaneously easier than in core urban areas, since they are not

is threatened by the rapidly growing real estate market and water scarcity due to over

consolidated and do not have the inertia that results from previous investments.

consumption. A little further southis Kikuyu, a town expanding at the confluence

Hence,they are the laboratories for new forms of urbanity that balances ecology and

of newly constructed highway and railway infrastructures, fragmenting it into an

economy. Peri-urban expansions are frontiers to establish new and feasible relations

urban archipelago. The third site, Ongata Rongai,sits in the lowlands of Ngong Hills

between nature and culture. Forest and water are two main components for agro-

that form a transition to the Athi-Kapiti plains which were formerly recognized

urban balances to re-develop. The studio will develop strategies across scales—from

as the Kitengela conservancy area. Now an emerging vibrant town, Ongata

the territorial to the urban to the project. There will be group work in addition to

Rongai, adjacent to the Nairobi National Park and previously home to the pastoral

individual project development.

Maasaitribe, is confronted by dilemmas of urbanization. The predominant pastoral communities still own most of the land, but new sedentary forms of urbanization

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© Google map 2019

© Google map 2019

Nairobi, Kenya

Cantho, Mekong Delta, Vietnam

pose a stark contrast to their indigenous practices. This is more evident by rising

has historically been structured on a fine-meshed water system for rice production,

human-wildlife conflicts that expose the neglect of harmonious coexistence of both

with linear settlements following the alluvial high banks. Along the Cantho River,

man and wildlife. The Nairobi studio is hence an exercise of interpreting ‘modernity’

southwest of the city, is Phong Dien, a rural district that is founded on a rich mosaic

and accommodating urbanization frameworks where design processes prescribe

of orchards. Land is slightly higher in this area, making it more suitable for trees

future development scenarios that are inscribed within the territories and respect

(the roots of which simultaneously strengthens the land). The particular land

both their ecological and social attributes.

condition of Phong Dien is evidently related to the river system (confluences along the Cantho River). The city envisions “ecological urban development” in this area.

In Cantho, the city must urgently respond to the ever-increasing prospect of sustained

Finally, south of the city, is the recently booming area of Cai Rang which has been

inundation, severe effects of sea level rise (and salination) and vulnerability of both

rapidly urbanizing due to the massive investment in bridge and road infrastructure.

its settlement and agricultural landscape, which is the core identity of the Mekong

The highway from HCMC (and continuing to Ca Mau) lands in this area. Urban

Delta as a whole. As capital city of the Mekong Delta, Cantho will also continue

development in this area is squeezed in between industrial zones further south

to receive a large part of the internal migration in the Mekong Delta (including

and the Cantho River. Large boulevard structures superimpose an asphalt order

increasing numbers. of climate change refugees). Although accommodating more

upon the originally fine mazed organic water register of the area where formal and

than a million inhabitants, Cantho remains a provincial city in an agricultural

informal patterns of urbanism co-develop. For all three sites, the essential question

environment, where nature is omnipresent. As for all environments in the Mekong

becomes: what new forms of development can adapt to the predicted consequences

Delta, the water system is the register for the spatial structure as well as for the

of climate change and work with new economies which capitalize on the rapidly

ecological structure. The chosen sites encircle the urban core and are all rich

changing context while balancing with nature and ecology?

agricultural areas that are undergoing ad/ or slated for substantial transformation. Northwest of the city is O Mon, an area designated by the government for extensive urban expansion. In the 2013 master plan of Cantho, the ‘new town’ of O Mon was intended to become the administrative center (of city and province), an ambition that in the new revision of the master plan has been tempered. The area

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Cantho Readings Anh V.T, N.N.Chiem, Hong T.T.K, Sultana P. (2003) Understanding Livelihoods

Huong, H. T. L., and Pathirana, A. (2013) ‘Urbanization and Climate Change

Dependent on Fisheries. Vietnam PRA Report (cases of An Giang and Can Tho)

Impacts on Future Urban Flooding in Can Tho City, Vietnam’. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 17, no. 1 (2013): 379–394. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-

Biggs, D., Miller, F., & Hoanh, C. T. (2008). Making the Vietnamese Mekong Delta:

379-2013.

Water Management in Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. Kono, Y. (2001) ‘Canal Development and Intensification of Rice Cultivation in the Buys, N., Dirickx, B., Habibi, R., Tran T.D. (2013) ‘Retention Basin as Impetus

Mekong Delta: A Case Study in Cantho Province, Vietnam’. Special Issue: Land-

for Urbanism: O Mon, Cantho’. Water Urbanisms East. UFO3: Explorations in

Use Development in the Mekong Delta in the Twentieth Century. Southeast Asia

Urbanism, Shannon K., De Meulder B. (eds.) Zurich: Park Books, pp. 246-247.

Studies, Vol. 39, No.1, June 2001. Kyoto University.

Columbia GSAPP: Urban Design. (2019) Water Urbanism Can Tho: Global city

Ky Q.V. 2018. Planning for peri-urban development and flooding issues: The

and climate change studio spring 2019. Reader online CBAC’s. https://www.arch.

story of new urban areas in Can Tho City. Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience

columbia.edu/books/reader/419-water-urbanism-can-tho#reader-anchor-0 (texts,

Network (ACCCRN). https://www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/58096

pictures, videos) Le Coq, J. F., Dufumier, M., & Trébuil, G. (2001). History of rice production in the Dang N., Le D., Nguyen S. and Verdegem, M. (2005). Development of “VAC”

Mekong Delta. The Third Euroseas Conference, London. Retrieved January 8, 2020.

Integrated Farming Systems in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam: A View of a System and a Participatory Approach.

Neumann, L., Nguyen M., Moglia, M., Cook, S., Lipkin, F. (2011) Urban water systems in Can Tho, Vietnam: Understanding the current context for climate

Danh V. (2015). Household economic losses of urban flooding: case of Cantho city,

change adaption. CSIRO https://doi.org/10.4225/08/584ee8f2e3474

Vietnam. Nguyen N.H., Tran V.G.P, Tyler, S. (2015) Institutional challenges for peri-urban De Nijs, A., Jacobs, E., Nagels, L. (2013) ‘Reconfigured Emerging Urbanity: Hung

water supply in Can Tho, Vietnam. Asian Cities Climate Resilience Working paper

Phu, Cantho’ Water Urbanisms East. UFO3: Explorations in Urbanism, Shannon

series.

K., De Meulder B. (eds.) Zurich: Park Books, pp. 248-249. People’s Committee of Can Tho City (2019). Can Tho Resilience Strategy unitl Derden, D., De Nijs, A. (2013) ‘Canalizing Urban Development in an Orchard

2030. Can Tho, Viet Nam. The Rockefeller Foundation.

Phong Dien, Cantho’. Water Urbanisms East. UFO3: Explorations in Urbanism, Shannon K., De Meulder B. (eds.) Zurich: Park Books, pp. 244-245.

Shannon K., De Meulder B. (2013) ‘Revising the Cantho Masterplan, Vietnam: Pilotage of a Civic Spine in a Blue-Green Landscape Mesh’ Water Urbanisms East.

Hoang X. T., Dinh T. T. P., Dang T. T. H., and Le D. L. (2015) Ageless Consultants.

UFO3: Explorations in Urbanism, Shannon K., De Meulder B. (eds.) Zurich: Park

Urbanization and rural development in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta Revisiting

Books, pp. 138-161.

livelihood transformations in three fruit-growing settlements, 2006-2015. Takagi, H., Nguyen T. and Le, T.A. (2016). Sea-Level Rise and Land Subsidence: Hung, N. N., Delgado, J. M., Tri, V. K., Hung, L. M., Merz, B., Bárdossy, A., & Apel,

Impacts on Flood Projections for the Mekong Delta’s Largest City. Sustainability.

H. (2012). Floodplain hydrology of the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Hydrological

8.. 10.3390/su8090959.

Processes, 26(5), 674–686. Taylor, P. (2002) Indigenising modernity in Nam Bo. Fragments of the Present:

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Searching for Modernity in Vietnam’s South. Mark B. & Taylor, P., eds.) Journal of Asian Studies. 61. 10.2307/2700290. p89-118 Taylor, P. (2002) ‘Civilization in the orchard: The unpublished history of a Mekong delta village’. Fragments of the Present: Searching for Modernity in Vietnam’s South. Journal of Asian Studies. 61. 10.2307/2700290. p159-191 Taylor, P. (2013). Losing the Waterways: The Displacement of Khmer Communities from the Freshwater Rivers of the Mekong Delta, 1945–2010. Modern Asian Studies, 47(2), 500-541. doi:10.1017/S0026749X12000406.

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Cantho, Mekong Delta

Š Shannon K., De Meulder B. Revising the Cantho Masterplan, Vietnam. 2013

Vietnam

Can Tho - the heart of the watery Mekong Delta mosaic

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Engineered interplays of rivers & canals / Highlands & lowlands

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Phong Dien

14 © Google earth 2020

© Basemap_adapted from topographical survey map 2019 of Cantho city

© Google earth 2020

© Basemap_adapted from topographical survey map of Cantho city

Cai Rang


O Mon - Co Do

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Š Basemap_adapted from topographical survey map 2019 of Cantho city

Š Google earth 2020



1_ Fieldwork three 5x5km sites


South of the city, is the recently booming area of Cai Rang which has been rapidly urbanizing due to the massive investment in bridge and road infrastructure. The highway from HCMC (and continuing to Ca Mau) lands in this area. Urban development in this area is squeezed in between industrial zones further south and the Cantho River. Large boulevard structures superimpose an asphalt order upon the originally fine mazed organic water register of the area where formal and informal patterns of urbanism co-develop.

CAI RANG



36 © Kelly Shannon, 2020


37 © Kelly Shannon, 2020

© Kelly Shannon, 2020


typology + annotated plan/ section

Water Edge and Typology

Ingrid (KUL) Nguyen Minh Tri (UAH) Nguyen Quoc Thinh (TDTU)

Cai Rang has rich water system, with various types, sizes and depths of waterways and various appropriations of the water-bank edges. However, in the contemporary context of increasing urban pressure and climate change, which strategies are necessary to reconfigure both the indigenous and designed typologies in order to adapt?

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typology + process diagram

Constructing Typology/Topography

Elisa Valeria Torres Guzman (KUL) Shubhra Kansal (KUL) Nguyen Duc Anh Tuan (UAH) Vo Thanh Vy (HCMUT)

As flooding poses more a threat, is it possible to shift from simply constructing topography for building typologies towards the creation of new typologies which work with new dynamics? Can strategies be developed to both strengthen ecology and accommodate more people on less land?

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typology + collage

Waterfront productivity

Sharmada Nagarajan (KUL) Vu Thi Lan Huong (UAH) Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc (TDTU)

How can design interventions utilise the potential of existing (natural/artificial) waterfronts in Cai Rang to create an integrated system that enhances the productivity of the landscape and simultaneously provides protection against flooding during the wet seasons?

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typology + annotated plan/ section

Living with(out) Infrastructure

Mohan Zhang (KUL) Nguyen Hoang Huy (HCMUT) Bui Cong Minh (NUCE)

How does infrastructure optimize the living conditions of local residents in terms of security, hygiene, mobility and interactivity? Can new infrastructure, or modification of the existing, create stronger links to living in sink with the spirit of Mekong Delta?

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productive landscapes + annotated plan/ section

Stretching the Rural

Justin Ndacyayishima (KUL) Juan Acosta Barragan (KUL) Tran Hoai Chau (UAH) Tran Khanh Van (HCMUT)

How can the urban landscape be designed to integrate farmers and their agricultural fields, while keeping a symbiotic relationship with the river and resisting threatening floods?

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productive landscapes + process diagram

Reciprocal Assembly Lines

Francesco Lombardi (KUL) Meri Zhang (KUL) Vu Nguyen Dan Vy (UAH) Nguyen Thi Vi Anh (HCMUT)

Can a reciprocal interconnection, between Cai Rang’s traditional cultivation and resource extraction activities, such as brick and cement production, be designed to become a resilient strategy that responds to rapid urbanization?

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productive landscapes + collage

Accentuating Intensities

Marielisa Maldonado Marchan (KUL) Shriya Mahamuni (KUL) Bui Nguyen Minh Tu (UAH)

During the last decades, original forms of productivity, such as rice fields in Cai Rang were adversely affected by the growth of urbanization. Understanding that urban expansion is inevitable, how can we develop new morphologies as well as enhance agricultural productivity?

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productive landscapes + annotated plan/ section

Agri-Aqua Landscape

Alejandra Peralta (KUL) Nguyen Thi Thuy Trang (UAH) Luu Tan Phat (HCMUT)

What design strategies can be implemented to recover and upscale agri- and aquaculture in Cai Rang in order to frame a new form of urbanism?

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consumptive landscapes + annotated plan/ section

Chessboard Urbanism

Maraki Getachew Gebresilassie (KUL) Luong Thuc Anh (UAH) Nguyen Cong Minh Thuc (Yersin Dalat)

Cai Rang’s residential block developments are intended to follow new infrastructure. However, there is significant underdevelopment, resulting in a chessboard-like pattern of built and unbuilt. What urbanism strategies can be developed to capitalize on the potential of the rich mosaic and integrate productive green landscapes into the new settlement?

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consumptive landscapes + process diagram

Implicit Land Value

Nathan Frederik (KUL) Nguyen Hoang Huy (UAH) Pham Thi Ngoc Linh (HCMUT)

In Cai Rang, value is decisively market-driven. Can we think of a more implicit way of valorizing where ecology, productivity, soil, air, water and even beauty become equally important? Can development become a more integrated process, if we reconsider the value that land gives us?

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consumptive landscapes + collage

Rethinking Mobility Infrastructure

Rodrigo Carpio (KUL) Fatiha Hamid (KUL) Nguyen Minh Thuy Trang (UAH) Bui Kim Ngan (HCMUT)

Traditional and the new mobility infrastructures are embedded within the landscape of Cai Rang. Which design strategies can be developed to strength the relevance of waterways and underscore. Cantho’s identity as a “Water City”?

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consumptive landscapes + annotated plan/section

Socio-ecological Footprint

Aikaterini Ntavou (KUL) Nguyen Hoang Yen (UAH) Nguyen Doan Bao Tran (TDTU)

How do the various social-economic neighborhoods of Cai Rang differently impact the waterways in regards to pollution? What are the ecological footprints connected to different settlements fabrics? Which design strategies can effectively mitigate water pollution and create new relationships to waterways?

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Along the Cantho River, southwest of the city, is Phong Dien, a rural district that is founded on a rich mosaic of orchards. Land is slightly higher in this area, making it more suitable for trees (the roots of which simultaneously strengthens the land). The particular land condition of Phong Dien is evidently related to the river system (confluences along the Cantho River). The city envisions “ecological urban development� in this area.

PHONG DIEN



52 © Kelly Shannon, 2020


53 © Kelly Shannon, 2020

© Kelly Shannon, 2020


typlogy + collage

Reflecting the Informal

Justin Ndacyayishima (KUL) Juan Acosta Barragan (KUL) Tran Hoai Chau (UAH) Tran Khanh Van (HCMUT)

How can the new formal housing typology be designed to reflect traditional values from the informal housing that the river offers to the inhabitants in a formal modern context?

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typology + annotated plan/section

Structures of Gathering, Structures of Community

Francesco Lombardi (KUL) Meri Zhang (KUL) Vu Nguyen Dan Vy (UAH) Nguyen Thi Vi Anh (HCMUT)

In the context of rural urbanization, are there design lessons from the informal nature of various typologies of rural houses for a life based on space-sharing and community?

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typlogy + process diagram

Process of Natural Base

Marielisa Maldonado Marchan (KUL) Shriya Mahamuni (KUL) Bui Nguyen Minh Tu (UAH)

Which urban design strategies can create a more equitable appropriation in Phong Dien’s transformation and as well build a resilient system of orchards without undermining the natural resource base?

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typology + collage

Water Urbanism

Alejandra Peralta (KUL) Nguyen Thi Thuy Trang (UAH) Luu Tan Phat (HCMUT)

Water in Phong Dien is not only a conduit for transportation but its boats as well hosts various living, commercial and recreational activities. How can the wide range of “boat typologies� be inspirational for new modes of transportation and settlement typologies which are naturally adapted for the future consequences of climate change?

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productive landscapes + collage

Correlated Existence

Maraki Getachew Gebresilassie (KUL) Luong Thuc Anh (UAH) Nguyen Minh Cong Thuc (Yersin Dalat)

Phong Dien is planned to be an ecotourism center of Cantho. Can community-based tourism be a better approach than resorts in oder to conserve agricultural productivity, create a sustainable economic approach and strength social values?

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productive landscapes + annotated plan/section

A Productive Community

Frederik (KUL) Nguyen Hoang Huy (UAH) Pham Thi Ngoc Linh (HCMUT)

What is the product of a community? Can we rethink Phong Dien as a place to live together, where a shared existence can enhance social and physical productivity?

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productive landscapes + process diagram

Productive RISK resilience

Rodrigo Carpio (KUL) Fatiha Hamid (KUL) Nguyen Minh Thuy Trang (UAH) Bui Kim Ngan (HCMUT)

How can we develop forest and water urbanism strategies that simultaneously enhance local productivity and build resilience against natural disasters while catering to socio-economic and ecological justice?

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productive landscapes + collage

Productive Pollution Landscape

Aikaterini Ntavou (KUL) Nguyen Hoang Yen (UAH) Nguyen Doan Bao Tran (TDTU)

Phong Dien is characterised by different scales and types of productive landscapes such as diverse orchard mosaics, various industries and household scale vegetable, orchard, aquaculture and small husbandry gardens. Which forest and water urbanism strategies can address water pollution and ecological restoration, while also creating a new public realm?

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consumptive landscapes + collage

Consumptive Activity

Ingrid (KUL) Nguyen Minh Tri (UAH) Nguyen Quoc Thinh (TDTU)

Which water urbanism design strategies can be developed to stage local daily life while, at the same time, improve the quality of the river?

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consumptive landscapes + annotated plan/ section

Constructing City Consumption

Elisa Valeria Torres Guzman (KUL) Shubhra Kansal (KUL) Nguyen Duc Anh Tuan (UAH) Vo Thanh Vy (HCMUT)

Phong Dien is rapidly consuming its territory to urbanize: the Cantho riverfront is increasingly cluttered with construction industry activities and agricultural land vanishes for roads and allotments. Which design strategies can holistically rethink urbanization: from construction materials to morphologies?

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consumptive landscapes + process diagram

Imagineering tourism

Sharmada Nagarajan (KUL) Vu Thi Lan Huong (UAH) Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc (TDTU)

Which types of tourism can be designed for Phong Dien which avoid the creation of pseudo-eco villages that pretend to represent the territory’s essence, but in fact create nothing more than kitsch imagery. Can a new tourism fabric be developed that is environmentally, culturally and financially advantageous to the district?

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consumptive landscapes + collage

Unstable Water Mosaic

Mohan Zhang (KUL) Nguyen Hoang Huy (HCMUT) Bui Cong Minh (NUCE)

How can rural knowledge be combined with urban technology to address erosion and, at same time, avoid mindless urban development that enforces a certain rigidity upon waterfronts? Can Phong Dien’s intricate water mosaic allow the re-naturalization of certain canals with a flexible approach to secure and revitalize use and the ecosystem?

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Northwest of the city is O Mon and Co Do, an area designated by the government for extensive urban expansion. In the 2013 master plan of Cantho, the ‘new town’ of O Mon was intended to become the administrative center (of city and province), an ambition that in the new revision of the master plan has been tempered. The area has historically been structured on a fine-meshed water system for rice production, with linear settlements following the alluvial high banks.

O MON/ CO DO



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typology + process diagram

Expansion or densification?

Maraki Getachew Gebresilassie (KUL) Luong Thuc Anh (UAH) Nguyen Minh Cong Thuc (Yersin Dalat)

The rapid process of densification and expansion in O Mon/ Co Do reveals recognizable trends from the past (2008) and present (2019) that are accelerating with new investment projects. Can urbanism design strategies exploit the locational assets of contemporary development to also strengthen aquaculture and agriculture systems (offering resilience to climate change and increased flooding)?

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typology + collage

Bridgescapes

Nathan Frederik (KUL) Nguyen Hoang Huy (UAH) Pham Thi Ngoc Linh (HCMUT)

In O Mon/ Co Do, bridges are artefacts of how humans made water landscapes accessible and habitable. Today, the local artisanal legacy of bridges are being replaced by generic, permanent, and unadaptable concrete structures. Clearly, this might not be the best solution: is there a way to reinterpret local construction methods? In other words, what is monkey bridge of the future?

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typology + annotated plan/ section

Typology of Shade Provision

Rodrigo Carpio (KUL) Fatiha Hamid (KUL) Nguyen Minh Thuy Trang (UAH) Bui Kim Ngan (HCMUT)

As rising temperatures coupled with rapid urban development transforms O Mon/ Co Do into a logistics center, there is an exponential heat island effect. There is already an array of both improvised (which includes a rich public realm) and designed devices for shading. How can this intelligence be incorporated into scaled-up strategies for shade provision?

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typology + process diagram

Investing (in) Flooding

Aikaterini Ntavou (KUL) Nguyen Hoang Yen (UAH) Nguyen Doan Bao Tran (TDTU)

Which urbanism strategies be employed to reorient the present infrastructure investment projects in order to become more responsive to climate change (flooding, sea level rise) and subsidence? Can strategies create resilience and, at the same time, enhance the living quality for humans and non-humans along river edges?

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productive landscapes + process diagram

Transformation of Agriculture

Ingrid (KUL) Nguyen Minh Tri (UAH) Nguyen Quoc Thinh (TDTU)

Over the past decade, a great deal of the agriculture area has changed into urban areas. How is this process differentiated in the rice and orchard landscapes? Are there forest and water urbanism strategies which can be developed to densify while maintaining productive landscapes?

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productive landscapes + collage

Shifting Lanes: From Roads to Water?

Elisa Valeria Torres Guzman (KUL) Shubhra Kansal (KUL) Nguyen Duc Anh Tuan (UAH) Vo Thanh Vy (HCMUT)

O Mon/ Co Do’s productive landscapes are possible due to a mesh of different degrees of road and water infrastructures. Which design strategies can be developed create new hybrid infrastructures that also create a vibrant public realm?

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productive landscapes + annotated plan/ section

Integrated productivity in an urban future

Sharmada Nagarajan (KUL) Vu Thi Lan Huong (UAH) Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc (TDTU)

How can the existing rhythm of blue and green landscapes in O Mon/ Co Do be become an inspiration for the design of future urban developments without compromising productivity?

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productive landscapes + process diagram

Location, Location, Location?

Mohan Zhang (KUL) Nguyen Hoang Huy (HCMUT) Bui Cong Minh (NUCE)

In O Mon/ Co Do, there is an evident and rapid shift from rice and orchard landscapes towards urbanized areas. How can this process be rethought in order to escape the generic valuing of land in relation to the urban core? Can an emphasis on quality of the peripheral landscape change land prices?

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consumptive landscapes + process diagram

Rural Densification

Justin Ndacyayishima (KUL) Juan Acosta Barragan (KUL) Tran Hoai Chau (UAH) Tran Khanh Van (HCMUT)

Since the 1970s, there have been numerous policies in the Mekong Delta which focused on agriculture amd food security. Ever since the first Land Law in 1993, the focus shifted to real estate and investment policies. How can new development take both the productive landscape and urbanization processes into account?

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consumptive landscapes + collage

Loss of a Green Sponge

Francesco Lombardi (KUL) Meri Zhang (KUL) Vu Nguyen Dan Vy (UAH) Nguyen Thi Vi Anh (HCMUT)

Flooding is an ever-increasing threat in O Mon/ Co Do. In addition, the area is witnessing the rapid shift from porous to impervious surfaces. How can development proceed, through the design of new landscape morphologies and settlement typologies without further compromising the green sponge?

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consumptive landscapes + annotated plan/ section

Urbanized Waterfronts

Marielisa Maldonado Marchan (KUL) Shriya Mahamuni (KUL) Bui Nguyen Minh Tu (UAH)

O Mon / Co Do has a rapidly growing urban population. Which design strategies can holistically rethink urbanization as an integrated system that enhances the consumption of the landscape while taking into consideration problems such as erosion and prevention of mindless urban development that rigidly reinforces waterfronts?

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consumptive landscapes + process diagram

Adaptive Re-use Urbanism

Alejandra Peralta (KUL) Nguyen Thi Thuy Trang (UAH) Luu Tan Phat (HCMUT)

As O Mon/ Co Do urbanize, many rice factories lose their function. Which urban design strategies can be developed to capitalize on the informal appropriations of the defunct structures?

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2_Research Thesis research


INGRID

(Re)thinking water management practice for a delta city Three lessons for Can Tho

Introduction Vietnam’s Mekong Delta was formed during the second half of the Holocene by

throughout the delta (Evers and Benedikter 2009). As a result, most cities in the

floodwater sediment deposits in the wet season and by saline water in the dry

delta, including Can Tho, shifted away from natural water landscapes toward

season (Quang and Jansson 2008; Zoccarato et al. 2018). Since Can Tho City is

modern hydraulic practice (Evers and Benedikter 2009). Dikes provide temporary

located in the center of the Hau River (Bassac River), flooding has long played a

protection of land used for agriculture and settlement; however, on the other hand,

role in the local people’s livelihoods, and traditionally has been considered a gift

dikes also interrupt the natural process of sediment deposition on the floodplain.

from nature. The “water-moving season” (or Mùa nước nổi) lasts from August to October, and acts as a natural mechanism to transport fertile sediment from

Over time, the sediment supply to the Mekong Delta has decreased because it

upstream and help the lowlands keep up with sea-level rise (Ky 2018). Floodwaters

has become trapped in upstream dams; this decrease has also been attributed to

also improve soil quality by reducing extreme pH levels, cleaning away pesticide

decreased tropical cyclone activity over the Mekong River Basin (Zoccarato et al.

residue, preventing salt intrusion, as well as contributing to wetland protection and

2018). Furthermore, the dike system also prevents wild fish from entering protected

biodiversity conversation (Duc Tran et al. 2017).

areas, and as a result, people who depend on subsistence fishing have lost their income (Huu 2011). The river embankment in Can Tho also has no ecological

Before the 1960s, traditional dike practices for rice and fruit plantation fostered

value to support the river ecosystem. As a result, by 2009, up to 95% of total fishery

annual sediment deposition of 2–3 cm and 4–5 cm, respectively (Ni 2020). The

products in Can Tho were produced in aquaculture, whereas in the past the fishery

delta’s socioeconomic policies underwent significant changes in the late 1980s due

industry relied on wild fish catch from the river (Evers and Benedikter 2009).

to the economic reform policy of doi moi and the goal of attaining self-sufficiency

Geographically, the delta has experienced accelerated land subsidence due to the

in rice production (Duc Tran et al. 2017). City governments constructed numerous

massive extraction of groundwater, infrastructural loading, and illegal sand mining

compartments (polders) enclosed by semi-dikes and high-dikes with the goal of

(Zoccarato et al. 2018).

intensifying rice cultivation and protecting people from especially severe floods (Duc Tran et al. 2017). Following construction of the dikes, various hydraulic

This study will re-evaluate the strategy of water control management to minimize

management devices such as pumps, flood gates, and sluices have also been

the future negative impacts of flooding and dike systems. Through findings from

implemented in many parts of the territory (Evers and Benedikter 2009). In the

fieldwork, and by learning from three case studies that focus on different problems

late 1990s, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) received

in water management practice within urban settings, this study aims to explore the

financial support from the World Bank to carry out large-scale hydraulic projects

possibility of rethinking water management practice in Can Tho.

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© https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/29/climate/coastal-cities-underwater.htm

Old projection of 2050

New projection of 2050

In 2019, The New York Times released an image of an area in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta affected by sea-level rise and climate change as it might appear in 2050, based on Scott A. Kulp and Benjamin H. Strauss’s research. The left image shows the old projection of sea-level rise impact, and the right image is a new projection based on the new digital elevation model (DEM) and NASA’s SRTM. The research estimated that more than 20 million people in Vietnam would lose their homes (Kulp and Strauss 2019).

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01_Regional challenge for the delta PUBLIC SEDIMENT FOR ALAMEDA CREEK

2018

© SCAPE

California, USA

SCAPE

From upstream to downstream Tidal ecosystems function as a cushion that protects the urban edge of the Bay

strategies include rethinking the upstream dam and reservoir infrastructure in order to

Area. Yet despite their great importance, such tidal ecosystems are at significant risk

harvest sediment and move it downstream (SCAPE 2018b). In the downstream, rather

because of human intervention and sea-level rise that accelerate the loss of sediment,

than hardening the river edge—which offers no contribution to the ecosystem—

without which the bay land will drown. According to existing research, most of the

the team attempted to re-sculpt the canal, make a fish passage at the bottom, and

sediment is trapped in the upstream dam, and only 40% of the sediment that enters

apply a “living levee” consisting of a modular concrete unit that can be assembled

the channel reaches the bay (SCAPE 2018b). Public Sediment for Alameda Creek

to stabilize the new edge while simultaneously creating space for people to interact,

addresses the challenge of sediment scarcity in the San Francisco Bay Area and

enabling vegetation to grow, and providing shade for migratory fish (SCAPE 2018b).

focuses on redesigning the waterbody to create a system that sustainably transports

Furthermore, the living levee will encourage the formation of a sediment channel

sediment, provides habitat for fish, and creates space for people (SCAPE 2018a). The

where it is too shady for plant growth (SCAPE 2018b).

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Upper Mekong Basin

China

Human Intervention

Natural Process

Sediment harvesting

Fresh water

Hydropower electricity

Fertile sediment

Aquatic products

Traped in the dam

Dam

Vietnam

Can Tho

Thailand

Cambodia

Major dams along Mekong River

Lower Mekong Basin

Groundwater extraction

Rain and high tide

Concrete embankment

Land subsidence

Illegal sand mining

Sea level rise & saltwater intrusion

Can Tho

Legend Existing dam Underconstruction dam

Fragile delta ecosystem

Extreme flooding

Planned dam

Transboundary issue in the Mekong Delta

Drought

© Author

© Author, redrawn from internationalrivers.org

Lao PDR

2014). Naturally, the land subsidence, sea-level rise, and saltwater intrusion will be balanced by freshwater and sediment from upstream; however, under the current

A similar yet more complex situation is present in the Mekong Delta. The Mekong

circumstances, groundwater extraction, concrete embankment, and illegal sand

River’s water sources originate from the icy headwaters of the Tibetan Plateau that

mining are worsening the situation. As a result, a fragile delta ecosystem, extreme

flow through China, known as the upper basin, and through the lower-basin countries

inundation, and drought are inevitable.

of Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia before arriving in Vietnam (Lovgren 2020).

A lesson to be learned from this case is that massive cooperation from upstream to

Starting in the early 1990s, the Chinese government began to build a series of large

downstream is needed in order to protect the delta ecosystem. Such an idea is difficult

dams on the upper Mekong (International Rivers 2013). In total, across the Mekong

to apply in practice for the Mekong Delta context where economic and political

River basin, 140 dams have either been built, are under construction, or are planned.

interests are embedded—and often at odds—in every development. However, on

Under the full build-out scenario, the cumulative sediment trapping would be 96%,

the city scale, the attempt to re-sculpt the riverbank can be applied to improve the

leaving a mere 4% or less of pre-dam sediment to reach downstream (Kondolf et al.

ecosystem.

87


02_Reshaping urban waterways ZHANGJIABANG PARK

Sasaki Associate 2015

Š Sasaki Associate. Inc.

Shanghai, China

De-canalization The idea of de-canalization or re-naturalization of riverbanks in urban areas has

which will improve water quality, create habitat opportunities, and provide flood

emerged as an attractive possibility. Such developments would help return the

protection for the surrounding area (Tian and Wang 2016). The park design includes

waterways to a condition nearer to their natural states by removing artificial obstacles,

integrating green infrastructure into surrounding urban development. Stormwater

such as concrete embankment (MĂźller and Koll 2004). In this case, Zhangjiabang Park

biofiltration systems, under-drained street tree trenches, and the use of structural soils

introduces sinuous riparian corridors that are in stark contrast to Shanghai’s engineered

beneath sidewalks will increase sub-surface stormwater storage capacity, which will

canal typology. Rather than maximizing the space for urban density, the park design

later improve water quality throughout the park (Tian and Wang 2016). Furthermore,

enables the restoration of local biodiversity. The strategy includes connecting

the park will also improve the microclimate by maximizing thermal comfort and air

fragmented patches of existing vegetation into a new, integrated forest ecosystem,

qualities for the surrounding urban area.

with a series of wetland, woodland, and recreational spaces (Sasaki 2016; Tian and Wang 2016). This sinuous riparian corridor will increase the surface of waterways,

88


© Author, analysis and redrawn from Dyke System Planing: Theory and Practice in Can Tho City, Vietnam

Region II

Region III

Region I Region IV

Legend

Region V

Natural waterways Canalized waterways and irrigation waterways World bank planned embankment project World bank embankment project Regional planning dike Region I: dike planning sub-area Bassac river Region II: Can Sai northern sub-area dike planning sub-sub area Region III: Can Sai-Thot Not dike planning sub-area Region IV: Thot Not-Omon dike planning sub-area Region V: Omon-Xa No dike planning sub-area

Canalization The domestication of Can Tho’s landscape can be traced back to the colonial era.

the same time they interrupt the natural and vital process of sediment deposition on

In the early 19th century, the French built an extensive canal network, mainly for

the floodplain.

strategic and agriculture proposes (Biggs 2004). Canals were created by clearing and

A lesson to be learned from this case is that hard engineering technologies such

draining swamp forests, and those activities inflicted irreversible damage to the delta’s

as concrete embankments, dikes, and polder systems cannot simply be applied

ecology (Huu Nguyen et al. 2016). Following Vietnamese reunification, dikes and

indiscriminately in every place as though they were the solutions to every challenge.

canals began to be built across the city. In December 2013, the World Bank launched

In Can Tho, the ecological, socio-cultural, and economic values must be taken into

the Resilient Cities Program, which includes Can Tho as one of 90 cities around the

account in order to re-integrate waterways within the urban fabric and agricultural

world being impacted by climate change (World Bank 2019). This program includes

landscape.

the construction of the polder system and concrete embankments along the Hau River (Frouws et al. 2019). Dikes and polder systems provide temporary protection, but at

89


03_The cycle of water BISHAN-ANG MO KIO PARK

Atalier Dreiseitl- Ramboll Group 2012

Singapore Control room Treated water for playground Water playground

Cleansing biotope

Control room Kallang river

Stormwater cycle in Bishan Ang Mo Kio park

Treated used water Stormwater management

Sea

Rain

Treatment of used water at 4 water recalmation plants Indirect potable use 5 NEWater factories Direct nonpotable use

Collection of rainfall in 17 reservoirs

Collection of used water in 3.500km of sewers and DTSS

3 desalination plants

Industries

Cleansing biotope

Transmission and distribution network (5.500km) Treatment of raw to potable water at 8 PUB water treatment plants

Beyond the ABCs of water

Households

© Author redrawn from watercenter.sas.upenn.edu

© Patrick Bingham-Hall;australiandesignreview.com

© Atelierdreiseitl

Overflow cascade

Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park is part of Singapore’s Active Beautiful Clean (ABC) water

2013). This technique provides the park with a sustainable water cycle system that

program, which focuses on transforming channelized river into natural and meandering

also supplies the water playground with clean water. Before the ABC water program,

waterways that create new spaces for community and recreation (PUB 2016). The

Singapore’s stormwater management concept relied on concrete channels to shunt

unique feature of this park is the application of soil bioengineering techniques such

rainwater away and into the ocean as quickly as possible (Dreiseitl 2019). Presently,

as gabions, brush mattresses with fascines, and geotextile wrapped with soil-lifts

in contrast, Singapore maximizes rainwater collection through green stormwater

(PUB 2018). The natural embankments included in this program stabilize the river

infrastructure (PUB 2019). Singapore currently uses a closed-loop system that

banks and form natural habitats that encourage wildlife to settle and flourish. The

continuously collects and treats all water, including sewer water (PUB 2019). By using

park also features a cleansing biotope, which is a special plantation terrace that

this practice, Singapore aims to achieve water self-sufficiency before the water-supply

naturally purifies stormwater by filtering pollutants and absorbing nutrients (Abelson

contract with Malaysia expires in 2061 (PUB 2019).

90


The old way In Can Tho’s urban area, piped water is supplied by WSSC. The water is extracted

Can Tho: piped water, surface water, rainwater, and groundwater (M. N. Nguyen et

from the rivers and treated at water treatment plants (WTPs) before being distributed

al. 2011). On the other hand, the sewer network is available only in the urban area,

to households and businesses (M. N. Nguyen et al. 2011). However, this treated

and combines wastewater and stormwater system before discharging them directly

water does not meet a potable standard; families use additional treatments such as

into waterways (M. N. Nguyen et al. 2011). A lesson to be learned from this case

boiling and filtering to make the water appropriate for drinking (M. N. Nguyen et al.

concerns the implementation of a closed-loop system that continuously collects and

2011). In the peri-urban area, CRWSS (Centre of Rural Water Supply and Sanitation)

treats all water. In Can Tho, there is no integrated plan for managing stormwater and

builds and manages small-scale rural water supply systems that extract water from

treating wastewater. In fact, under the threat of saline water intrusions, it is now more

the community groundwater to supply clean water to households (M. N. Nguyen et

crucial than ever that a sustainable water system be developed to replace the current

al. 2011; H. Nguyen et al. 2016). In general, there are four types of water sources in

practice of groundwater exploitation.

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Conclusions Water management practice in delta cities faces various challenges, such as

conceptual re-thinking. Water is a cleansing and life-bringing force. Yet, it is equally

politicization of the upstream water, urbanization along the river, exploitation of

a threatening force. Water management demands human vigilance and ingenuity

the delta landscape, and climate change. Since Vietnamese unification, Can Tho

regarding the imposition of control. Human culture and civilization has always

relies more on “hard engineering” and hydraulic practice technology to control

– and will always – require the control and appropriation of water” (Feyen and

flooding. As illustrated by these three lessons of water management practices in

Shannon 2009). The challenge that remains, then, is to apply these findings to water

delta cities, there is a possibility of adopting an alternative design approach of so-

management practice in Can Tho. Now, more than ever, the shift to a new paradigm

called “soft engineering.” The “Public Sediment for the Alameda Creek” project

is necessary to underpin resilient urban development in a delta city.

shows that by re-sculpting the riverbank, it is possible to enhance sediment formation and transportation to improve the delta ecosystem. The Zhangjiabang Park project shows that the re-naturalization of riverbanks and application of green infrastructure in urban areas can increase sub-surface stormwater storage capacity and also recharge the groundwater. As stated by Müller and Koll (2004), the main concept is to bring waterways closer to their natural state rather than to attempt to re-create a truly natural or pristine state. The re-naturalization project should therefore balance a community’s cultural values with the existing urban fabric to create an optimal solution (Müller and Koll 2004). Singapore provides an excellent example of how water scarcity prompts water self-sufficiency. Singapore’s water recycling strategies not only provide the city with fresh water, but they also protect the city against flooding (Jacobson 2012). In addition to integrated cooperation from upstream, reshaping the urban waterways, and closed-loop systems for the water recycling process, the parallel case studies that accompany each lesson show that it is crucial to work with water rather than against it. The people of Can Tho have a long history of living on the large water surface and interweaving river system. The indigenous practices of living in harmony with the river delta should be a basis for re-establishing people’s connection with water and the notion of living with water. Landscape structure is the foundation for a new regional and urban form; green and blue structure defines the urban platform—not the other way around (Shannon 2013). Indeed, it required intelligent water control, which has also been recognized by Feyen and Shannon: “Worldwide, urban water challenges demand

92


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95


JUAN CAMILO ACOSTA BARRAGÁN

How can the Landscape be more resilient through SUDS in Cantho? Three Case Studies

Introduction Over the last 50 years, climate change has led to heated discussion in many science

Control of Urban Runoff ” guidelines were published. For 2000 the term sustainable

fields like biology, engineering, and also across various political fields. Many

urban drainage system was formalized in Scotland, Northern Ireland, England, and

questions have come to the fore with the most basic being on how to mitigate

Wales, countries that have constructed a considerable high quantity of SUDS in

climate change?

the world (Fletcher et al. 2015). The implementation of SUDS (sustainable urban drainage systems) in cities like Cantho is necessary not only to make the city less

For cities to manage climate changed is not an easy task, especially when they are

vulnerable to floods but also to address the social issues that floods bring into

trying to control floods. The public sewer systems are not prepared to drain the

the cities. Moreover, it is also necessary because due to urban development, the

quantity of water that can drop in a single event, which is much more massive and

impermeable surface has increase disrupting the natural hydrological pattern of

intense that years before (as a consequence of climate change). That is why the

evaporation, permeation, and retention from vegetation and soil. In that sense,

governments and all the stakeholders are in the necessity to seek new adaptability

SUDS can recover a small percentage of the natural hydrological pattern in the city.

strategies that somehow could answer to these extreme events as nature used to do.

The precipitation in Cantho is around 1500 mm (Trepat 2013) which makes the city

One of the strategies of adaptability to floods is to develop sustainable urban

vulnerable to floods, not only by the high quantity of rainwater that drops in the

drainage systems (SUDS), in which the principal function is to mimic the

impermeable surface but also because of the flat topography that does not allow the

natural hydrological process offering benefits to water quality, biodiversity, public

water to run over the surface like in cities with higher slopes.

amenities, and flood risk management (Susdrain 2010). SUDS can take many forms, both above and below ground. “Some types of SUDS include planting, and

SUDS in Cantho will not only improve the quality of life of the inhabitants, giving

others include proprietary/manufactured products. In general terms, SUDS that

a better flood manage but also giving to the population new green public scapes,

are designed to manage and use rainwater close to where it falls, on the surface

joined with shades, decreasing the heat effect island and giving to the city a lively

and incorporating vegetation, tend to provide the greatest benefits” (Beven 2012).

environment. Some of these infrastructures have been applied around the world,

Most SUDS schemes use a combination of SUDS components to achieve the overall

Taipei, Enfield, and Seattle are great examples of them. In the next section, three

design objectives for the site.

cases are going to be deployed and explain how they could be applied to the

Its first implementation was in the late 1980 in the UK, and in 1992 “Scope for

Vietnamese context, with SUDS assesment diagrams.

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Sustainable Urban Drainage System TRANSFORMATION OF A CITY DISTRICT

Atelier Dreiseitl 2012

Š Juan Acosta

Taioei Taiwan

Transforming the city district is a project developed by Atelier in 2012 in the city

It is essential to highlight the similarities weather conditions that Tapie has

of Taipei, which main idea, beyond the regeneration fo the city district, giving

concerning Can Tho. In Taipei, the average rainfall precipitation is around 2400

more flexibles and mix used spaces, was the implementation of a multiple SUDS

mm (Yu, Yang, and Kuo 2006) if it is compared with the 1400 mm that Can Tho has,

infrastructure like Green Roof, swales or public storage and recirculation tanks

then the implementation of this infrastructure at the neighborhood scale would be

makes the project much more efficient in terms of flood retention and also in

necessary In order to mitigate the drawback generated by the floods.

microclimate generation.

97


Dreiseitl ,A. (2014) Waterscapes Innovation . Hong Kong. Birdeye view of the north park


As it has been seen, cities like Cantho and its differents district need to built a more resilient space, swales and green roof connected to the public sewer system and two the river at the ones proposed in the last image, should be implemented. Nevertheless, it is essential to connect all this structure between then so they can work as a single system and not individual structures. In that way, the process of infiltration, retention, water storage will be much more efficient, making the city not only more environmentally friendly but also much more prepared for extreme events in the future. In that way, the process of infiltration, retention, water storage will be much more efficient, making the city not only more environmentally friendly but also much more prepared for extreme events in the future.

99


ARTIFICIAL WELTANDS AS SUDS FIRS FARMS WETLANDS

2016

ŠJuan Acosta

Whichmore Hill, Enfield

Turfdry

The Firs Farm Wetland is a project located in Whinchmore Hill - Enfield and designed by Turfdry in 2016. The project was constructed entirely in a public space. The main idea of the project was to reenergize the site with wildlife and a more comfortable space reducing the properties’ likelihood of flooding and also giving cleaner water to the public sewer system. The project consists of three artificial wetlands connected to the public drainage system and could store around 30.000 m3 of water. It is composed of threes, bioretention plants, and one pond. Beyond the benefits in the water issues, many other benefits were

100

achieved, increment in the wildlife, generation of microclimate and cycleway, and multiple seating areas are some of them. Even if the weather conditions are not similar between Enfield and Cantho, some characteristics are comparable. In urbanized areas like Cairang, where the reduction in the permeable layer has increased dramatically, this artificial green infrastructure could be built up. Taking advantage of the topography and the existing natural depression is essential to select the place where this wetland can be created. Nevertheless, as happened in the study case, it is vital to be sure that the evaporation and infiltration are less


Š https://www.susdrain.org/case-studies/pdfs/suds_awards/015_18_04_18_susdrain_suds_ awards_firs_farm_wetlands_london.pdf

than the capacity of the wetland to retain water, that would be a challenge due that, as is well known, Cantho has scorching weather, but is a very hydric reach area that could afford this condition. The implementation of this artificial green structure would help to mitigate climate change, the heat effect island, replenish groundwater, clean and release slower water and generate wildlife and recreational space to the inhabitants. Make a shift in the industrial water treatment plant into this more environmentally friendly

infrastructure, will not only reduce the use of chemists, could be more economically accessible, and also is naturally renewable. The final image is a representation of how wetlands can be introduced in public spaces, give to them variability between impermeable and permeable areas, flexibility to endure local flood, and also diversity in social and wildlife activities. Specifically, the image is an example located in Phong Dien. It is located next to the Cantho river, in front of a temple, and surrounded by commercial spaces but with a lack of green layer.

101


102

©Juan Acosta


03_Case 3 title HIGH POINT REDEVELOPMENT

2009

©Juan Acosta

SEATTLE

SVR - ARCHITECTS

High Point Redevelopment is a neighborhood of 34 blocks that have had a remarkable intervention in the SUDS context, due that this intervention is one of the most significant SUDS interventions built in the USA. The neighborhood located in Seattle. The SUD intervention consists of multiple SUDS infrastructure attached between them; some of these structures are swales, porous concrete, stormwater retention ponds, rain gardens, and forest. All of them distributed around the 34 blocks of the neighborhoods. For instance, regarding swales, “each one is designed to treat the runoff from the street and housing of the adjacent

block” (Ruíz 2015). The whole system can treat around 10% of the long Fellow Creek Subbasin, and it is also connected to the public drainage system. Concerning Cantho, many of these structures can be adapted into its context. Swale and wetlands can be designed as was possible to see in the two first cases, but also porous concrete, slotted pipes to let the water drain into the soil, but also new threes and vegetation could be introduced into the site. These interventions would provide to Cantho, and its districts, green space, and shade in urban areas, that are needed in places like Omon Codo, for instance.

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SVR Architects (2009) High Point Redevelopment. https://static.squarespace.com/static/528fd58de4b07735ce1807b2/t/ 541a1962e4b0ff885640d370/1410996578257/HighPoint-SelfGuidedTour.pdf

On the other hand, some of these structures are visible in the Cantho’s landscape, as is possible to see in the photograph below, a sort of linear wetland, separating the rails of the road, with a slope that let the water flow in direction to the river, is a demonstration that because of flooding issues that the city has, the implementation of this structures is in the Cantho’s resilient city’s agenda. Finally, the last image is an example of how the introduction of SUDS could bring benefits into a typical street in Cantho, with phenomenons like evapotranspiration, infiltration, and retention, the flood vulnerability could be reduced significantly providing climatic comfort to the population that lives in with extreme heat.

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105

©Juan Acosta


Conclusions Addressing floods implementing SUDS infrastructure is not enough if they are not

water retention that the SUDS has, they could be implemented at the district scale,

implementing as a whole system. It is not enough to construct a wetland or to build

a generate a resilient city with more adaptability to extreme water events and with

up a green roof or a swale in the same area if they are not connected through the

more flexible infrastructure bringing benefit to the public, private and communal

slope, a pipe, or through the ground floor. A combination of components (open

scapes.

water, vegetated, and hard landscape above and below ground)is required to deliver an effective surface water drainage system (Beven 2012). On the other hand, SUD in cities like Cantho can have a significant effect on cooling down urban life. Adding trees to provide shade, wetlands to provide microclimate, green roof to insulate building or vertical garden to support natural ventilation are some of the examples of the benefits that SUDS can bring to the city. If those effects are giving to the inhabitants, it is clear that a more equitable and socially sustainable city is being created, because the most significant interventions belong to the public and communal spaces. Furthermore, if the built environment is more friendly and comfortable for the inhabitants, then the use of private vehicles would be less and deseire to walk and enjoy the streets would be higher. The reduction of non-renewable energy to drain, clean, and retain water are also some of the indirect benefits that SUDS could bring, not only to Cantho or Vietnam but also to any site in any country. It is essential to consider the security factor when SUDS are in the design stage so that they could manage the highest historical runoff and be sure that they are not only providing aesthetic landscape and natural aesthetic of buildings and places but also floods, contaminants, and climate change mitigation. “So it is essential that where appropriate, an interdisciplinary team (including planner, landscape architects, architects, and drainage engineers) should work together from the outset and thus obtain better results� (Beven 2012). Finally, Cantho is a city where the overexploitation of water has brought issues like the high rate of subsidence, which makes the city more suitable for floods. Nevertheless, whit the three cases studied above, a contribution could be implemented to mitigate these effects. Thanks to the high rate of infiltration and

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References Beven, K. 2012. The SuDS Manual. Dempsey, Nicola, Glen Bramley, Sinéad Power, and Caroline Brown. 2011.

Trepat, Oriol Martinez. 2013. “2D-Hydraulic Model and Flood Hazard Maps of Can Tho City.” Euro Hydro-Informatic and Water Management 1.

“The Social Dimension of Sustainable Development: Defining Urban Social

Yu, Pao Shan, Tao Chang Yang, and Chun Chao Kuo. 2006. “Evaluating Long-

Sustainability.” Sustainable Development 19 (5): 289–300. https://doi.org/10.1002/

Term Trends in Annual and Seasonal Precipitation in Taiwan.” Water Resources

sd.417.

Management 20 (6): 1007–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-006-9020-8.

Fletcher, Tim D., William Shuster, William F. Hunt, Richard Ashley, David Butler, Scott Arthur, Sam Trowsdale, et al. 2015. “SUDS, LID, BMPs, WSUD and More – The Evolution and Application of Terminology Surrounding Urban Drainage.” Urban Water Journal 12 (7): 525–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/1573062X.2014.916314. Long, Nguyen Van, and Yuning Cheng. 2018. “Urban Landscape Design Adaption to Flood Risk: A Case Study in Can Tho City, Vietnam.” Environment and Urbanization ASIA 9 (2): 138–57. https://doi.org/10.1177/0975425318783587. Rojas, Claudia, Bruno De Meulder, and Kelly Shannon. 2015. “Water Urbanism in Bogotá. Exploring the Potentials of an Interplay between Settlement Patterns and Water Management.” Habitat International, 177–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. habitatint.2015.03.017. Ruíz, Arróliga Araica; Blandón. 2015. “City of Seattle - Stormwater Low Impact Development Practices” 3 (2): 54–67. http://repositorio.unan.edu.ni/2986/1/5624. pdf. Son, Nguyen Thanh, and Bui Xuan Thanh. 2018. “Decadal Assessment of Urban Sprawl and Its Effects on Local Temperature Using Landsat Data in Cantho City, Vietnam.” Sustainable Cities and Society 36 (September 2017): 81–91. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.scs.2017.10.010. Susdrain. 2010. “Sustainable Drainage.” SUDS. 2010. https://www.susdrain.org/ delivering-suds/using-suds/background/sustainable-drainage.html. Tilt, Bryan, Yvonne Braun, and Daming He. 2009. “Social Impacts of Large Dam Projects: A Comparison of International Case Studies and Implications for Best Practice.” Journal of Environmental Management 90 (SUPPL. 3): S249–57. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2008.07.030.

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RODRIGO MIGUEL CARPIO REY

CHANGING LANES TO BUILD A RESILIENT CAN THO Reconnecting the city through three perspectives

Introduction “Mobility may be considered a universal human right, yet in practice it exists in

to new changes; recent trends propose adaptation policies to make roads resistant

relation to class, racial, sexual, gendered, and disabling exclusions from public

to flood and precipitation.

space, from national citizenship, and from the means of mobility at all scales”.

Rethinking the way we move also includes solutions with a focus in water as a

(Sheller 2016)

resource of connectivity. Water networks provide a sensitive and resilient answer to

The “new mobility” paradigm shifts the past vision of a petrol age urbanism to

the mobility issues evidenced nowadays. Even going further, leaving behind road

a completely new focus, which includes innovative networks as an alternative of

networks as the only way of mobility but thinking about new mobility solutions

transportation. Most of the settlements in Vietnam are far away from one each

which uses the existing waterways as transport infrastructure. All of this, in order to

other. This dispersion has led to reconsider the mobility systems in order to provide

deal with the ever-expanding urbanization and climate change. The paper’s principal

connections between these remote isolated areas. New perspectives, such as looking

consideration is to provide a new insight to rethink connectivity as well as a modal

back to water as a way to connect and new types of shared systems for instance, are

shift in roads. In addition, a review of relevant literature, that includes the analysis

reflection points these days. Furthermore, climate change has become a potential

of three study cases, will be undertaken as a way to approach the essential mobility

threat all over the world. Vietnam’s development will be also vulnerable to these

issue. The aim is to identify potential design strategies from those referents, that

climate change effects. In that sense, climate change adaptations through resilience

could be implemented in Vietnam’s context; study findings that could be effective

are significant components to look at while creating new policies and designing, not

in achieving the desired country scenario.

only for the present but also for the near future. (Chinowsky et al. 2012) Vietnam is one of the five countries most extremely affected by the impact of climate change and sea level rise. According to estimations, if see level rise is 0.2 to 0.6 m, between 100 – 200 thousand hectares of Vietnam’s plains will be flooded. (Vo Thanh Danh 2014) Chinowsky (2012) states that, in the worst climate scenario, the total damage cost in road infrastructure is as high as US$55 billion over the period 2010 – 50. In light of the mentioned above, is more than evident that roads and mobility systems have to be reconsidered in such a way that allow them to be more resilient

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Š Author 2020

Over-sized road in Can Tho, 2020

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01_Case 1 Public service boats BANGKOK TRANSPORT/WATER CANAL (KHLONG) SAEN SEAP

1990

© Bangkok’s Transport System. (2012). http://www.danielmcbane.com/thailand/bangkoks-water-transport-system/

Bangkok, Thailand

BMA

Khlong is the Thai name that canals receive. Canals can be found everywhere in Bangkok. The water transport route was built in 1837, and it became one of the longest canals in Thailand. The canal boat service was introduced in 1990 (Fernquest 2015). Nowadays, the passenger boat service in the city of Bangkok connects the city from west to east serving passengers crossing the Chao Phraya River as well as certain canals, and serves around 60 000 passengers weekly; the service became a bypass to deal with the traffic-congested in the city.

“The Venice of the East”, as it has been known Bangkok, keeps the tradition of using waterways as a mean of transportation. The success of this system is owing to the affordable price but also because it is a fast-public transport service. Boats usually run every 20 minutes, however, during peak hours they can run as often as every minute. This system is also well integrated with the rest of Bangkok’s transport network, and boat piers which provide these bus connections and can be found along the river.


Š Retrieved from http://www.langeasy.com/images2/bkk11/canal2.jpg

This project is an example of the traditional mobility system that still works today. It is also integrated with the natural context provided by existing waterways and canals. In Can Tho, the possibilities are similar due to existing water networks that provide opportunities to create new water systems all connected.

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02_Case 2 Looking back to tradition ‘LÍNEA AZUL’ PROJECT

2019 – In construction

© Alcaldía de Montería

City of Montería, Colombia

SIGMA GP

Fluvial Passenger Transport System of the Sinú River “Línea Azul” is one of the main axes of mobility for the Strategic Public Transport System; this is the first organized passenger river system project. It was designed by “Sigma Gestión de Proyectos” firm. One of the main objectives of the plan is to restore the importance of the Sinú River, as an axis for the social, territorial, touristic and environmental development. “Línea Azul” will connect the city from south to north and allow integration with the other modes of public transportation in the city: the bus system and the bicycle system.

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The total length of the project is 14 kilometers and includes 15 piers distributed along the two banks of the Sinú River. Understanding the river not only as a mean of transportation but as a source of tourism in favor to the economy of the site. It will promote the urban development around the river, consolidating areas of commerce and urban densification; its purpose is to generate new nodes of commercial activities in a sustainable way. The proposal also contemplates the use of solar panels to supply electricity to the piers.


Š Retrieved from: https://www.lapiragua.co/proyecto-piloto-linea-azul-presentado/monteria/

This example in particular evidences that indigenous mobility systems can be integrated with more contemporary systems. However, it is necessary to implement new facilities to attract people. The project provides also a clear example of integrated connectivity that’s works in an efficient way, connecting the disperse city from one side to the other side.

The context of Can Tho, it is also a disperse territory connected by waterways. In that sense, using them as an alternative of transportation results as an adequate solution for the mobility issue. Nowadays, sustainability is an important factor al over the world, providing opportunities to develop innovative solutions to deal with the transport issue it is essential.

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03_Case 3 Miltimodal street BROOKLYN WATERFRONT GREENWAY

2004 - In construction

Š https://nycdotprojects.info/greenways/brooklyn-waterfront-greenway-implementation-plan

Brooklyn, USA

Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, Inc.

The project is a planned 26-mile route for pedestrians and cyclists along the Brooklyn Waterfront. It is expected to be completed by 2021. Its intention is to provide to people recreational opportunities as well as public access to green spaces and the waterfront. The design process included an analysis of the existing conditions, that exposed an over dimension of the road network. The proposal was determinate under suitability and sustainable considerations. Green infrastructure was also taken into account while designing. Trees were used to create a link to

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the natural environment, providing shade, but also to help to deal with the urban heat effect island. Green systems also provide a buffer between pedestrian and vehicular traffic. To help improve water quality in local water bodies, a sustainable stormwater management was implemented. To include sustainable stormwater management techniques such as rain gardens or bioswales became a primary goal of the project due to the proximity to the waterfront.


Š https://nycdotprojects.info/greenways/brooklyn-waterfront-greenway-implementation-plan

Existing conditions on West Street

Possible reconfiguration of West Street

The lessons learned from this practical example, can provide a new insight at re thinking roads to improve the natural ecologies but also the quality of the settlement. For instance, Cai Rang is one the places which presents more overdimensioned roads than any other. New urbanizations are taking more land than required. As a consequence, rainwater cannot drain in a proper way. Returning soil permeability is necessary; it will allow to reduce the risk of floods.

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Conclusions Nowadays, mobility plays an important role in human life. Improving mobility

the infiltration of stormwater runoff. In addition, those solutions reconnect the city

solutions is a must-to-do; solutions that ensure the needs of everyone but also that

with its natural heritage, Can Tho as a water city.

response accordingly the current and futures requirements. Rethinking mobility

Green infrastructure is also a vital component while creating streets for the people.

based on concepts such us climate change and resilience will provide the tools to

Trees canopy and bioswales reduce stormwater runoff, while providing shade.

deal with the upcoming issues.

Trees also deal with the heat effect island but also helps to mitigate flood effects.

The main challenge is to integrate the new solutions to the existing and provide an

In addition, they reduce fossil fuel consumption by cooling buildings and reduce

efficient way of urban mobility. It is not only about social and economic aspects but

air conditioning usage. The shift also helps to increase the space for public use and

also environmental. Promoting mobility environmentally friendly should be one of

commercial activities; it provides multiple options to get a better-quality life but

the main principles by urban planners while designing. The river as articulator of

also it improves the economic growth.

urban planning it is a good starting point to take into consideration in Can Tho’s development. Hậu and Can Tho rivers could become real routes to transport goods and services integrated with other modes of public transportation in the city; at the same time, it will boost economic development and regional integration. In that sense, it is required to support the adoption of measures and / or agreements to facilitate navigation, framed within the concept of enabling the movement of people. Regions of Cai Rang, Phong Dien, and O Mon / Co Do are over expanding settlements. To provide connectivity between them is it essential to the city’s development. It has to be efficient and adequate, but also it has to address the climate change issue in a sustainable way. In that respect, reconsidering indigenous mobility systems offers resilient solutions to the current problems. Those solutions should also have to be linked with a total new connectivity system. Rethinking streets also includes reprofiling roads. A modal shift is more than required when a space is devoted merely to cars or motorcycles. Streets must prioritize the mobility on pedestrians, but also provide bicycle infrastructure. These considerations increase the overall efficiency in transportation. By reducing the total of number of vehicles on the street, the carbon footprint is also minimized; it means healthier environments for all the citizens. These strategies that can be implemented in the context of Can Tho, where it is evident the over-dimensioned road infrastructure. Rethinking mobility anticipates further advantages of using waterways as sustainable solutions. By re-profiling roads, creating green areas and reducing the percentage of pavement, it is possible to create new roads that allows

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References Books and scientific articles :

temas/Monteria-implementara-un-sistema-de-transporte-de-pasajeros-por-el-

Chinowsky, Paul S, E Amy, Niko L Strzepek, and Kenneth Strzepek. (2012). “Working

rio-Sinu 123552

Paper No . 2012 / 80 Road Infrastructure and Climate Change in Vietnam” 21 (3):

Motivate International, Inc. “Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway.” Citi Bike NYC.

1–9. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)IS.1943-555X.0000235.

[online] Accessed May 20, 2020. Available at: https://www.citibikenyc.com/rides/

Vo Thanh Danh. (2014). “Household Economic Losses of Urban Flooding Case

brooklyn-waterfront-greenway.

Study of Can Tho City, Vietnam.” Asian Cities Climate Resilience. https://pubs.iied.

New York City, DOT. (N/D) Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway Implementation

org/pdfs/10715IIED.pdf.

Plan. [online] Accessed May 18, 2020. Available at: https://nycdotprojects.info/

Sheller, M., (2016). Uneven mobility futures: a Foucauldian approach. Mobilities 11 (1), 15–31.

Wancharoen, Supoj. (2016). “Saen Saep Boat Operator Faces Suspension.” [online]

On-line documents and websites : Diario Digital La Piragua. (2018). Proyecto piloto ‘Línea Azul’ es presentado. [online]

Available

greenways/brooklyn-waterfront-greenway-implementation-plan

at:

https://www.lapiragua.co/proyecto-piloto-linea-azul-

presentado/monteria/ Fernquest, Jon. (2015). “Bangkok Canal Cleanup Begins.” [online] Available at:

Available at: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/887056/saen-saepboat-operator-suspended. Zea, R. (2018). El transmilenio del Río Sinú. [online] Available at: https://www. semana.com/contenidos-editoriales/monteria-diez-anos-despues/articulo/eltransmilenio-del-rio-sinu/566466

https://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-news/761692/bangkok-canalcleanup-begins. Island Press. (2018). Multimodal Streets Serve More People. [online] Available at: https://globaldesigningcities.org/publication/global-street-design-guide/definingstreets/multimodal-streets-serve-people Long-Awaited Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway Gets 2021 Finish Date. Brooklyn Eagle, August 7, 2019. https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2019/08/07/longawaited-brooklyn-waterfront-greenway-gets-2021-finish-date/ Khlong Boats - Saen Saep Boat Service. Transit Bangkok. [online] Accessed May 20, 2020. Available at: https://www.transitbangkok.com/khlong_boats.html. Knowledge Base Saen Saep Canal. Bangkok Tourism hub. [online] Accessed May 20, 2020. Available at: http://www.thaibis.com/bangkok/transport/canals/saensaep/knowledge-base. Montería implementará un sistema de transporte de pasajeros por el río Sinú. (2018). [online] Accessed May 20, 2020. Available at: http://www.catalogodelogistica.com/

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SABA FAZEL

Future Rural Economies Competetive economy approaches

Introduction Poverty and environmental degradation are widespread in Cantho, Vietnam.

2019) Planting Bamboo, a local plant in Cantho, is considered as a lucrative green

In general, in the Mekong Delta, agriculture is the largest sector of the economy

economy for rural areas.

however it is threatened by increasing water pollution, water salinity, drought, and

The second theme introduces renewable energy production to boost economic

climate change. In the face of climatic environmental challenges, like the decline in

growth in rural areas. Bioenergy has the potential for alleviating poverty in rural

productivity of agricultural lands, rural residents may be forced to migrate towards

communities and developing them. (Ackom, Mathilde, and Christensen 2011) This

cities for seeking jobs. (Hunter 2007) These issues reveal the necessity of thinking

approach is seen to be sustainable since there are ecological and economic reasons

to diversify the rural economy and shift to other types of development. Therefore, it

for having renewable energies. (Brohmann, Fritsche, and HĂźnecke 2006) Due to

is crucial to look for new innovative ways to improve rural economies.

the rapidly increasing population in Mekong delta and the economic development requirements, the energy consumption needs will rise. (Tuan 2016, 78) Moreover,

The economic solutions in the context of Cantho should not only make economic

Mekong delta is well recognized for agriculture and aquaculture which is promising

growth in rural areas, but also to notice environmental and social aspects at the

for rich biomass provision. So, this region is quite favorable for the potential

same time. Having all this in mind, this paper is proposing three main themes for

development of renewable energy resources in different types and levels. (Tuan

the future rural economic development in Cantho that is further explored by a

2016, 70)

case study. Taking into account the environmentally high value of Mekong Delta,

Finally, the third theme discusses the idea of digital hubs in rural areas. In the digital

the first proposed theme for boosting the economy is green economy. Forests of

world of today, the Urban-rural the digital divide is getting job opportunities from

Mekong delta are under threat and a significant portion of forests in the region has

the people who live or want to live in rural areas due to poor internet connection.

disappeared since last decades. Agricultural lands expansion and heavy logging have

So, not having access to great broadband infrastructure and not being educated

led to extensive forest loss and degradation of land. (Reytar, Stolle, and Anderson

enough for working online and digitally are threatening the competitiveness of the

2019) So it is about repositioning forests in rural economic development, to improve

rural economy. (Philip et al. 2017) Modern trends create new potentials for the

the environmental quality as well as the economy. Because trees stabilize soils in

development of rural areas and the emergence of new rural businesses. The Internet

place and prevent land subsidence and protect crops, while forests help regulate

and other digital technologies bring the ability to surmount geographical distance

rainfall and water cycles. Wood and other forest products provide food, materials,

and establish new ways of connecting to knowledge, markets, and networks. (ENRD

and economic opportunities in rural communities. (Reytar, Stolle, and Anderson

2017a)

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© Fieldwork Group 2020

Poor condition of a rural house in Cai Rang, peripher of Cantho

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01_Green Economy BAMBOO FORESTRY & INDUSTRY

1990s

© INBAR 2018

© Nilsson 2013

© Flickr 2007

© Kathleen Buckingham 2011

Anji County, Zhejiang Province, China

Anji County government

Anji is a middle-income county located in the subtropical region of China. (Maoyi and Yang 2004) This case can be seen as “a source of new interconnected and embedded ecological and economic innovation and strategic regional planning.” (Marsden, Yu, and Flynn 2011, p.219) The various values of Bamboo plant are often underestimated as it is recognized as ‘Poor man’s timber’. (Ruiz Perez et al. 1999) Nevertheless, bamboo had a significant role in the economic and social development of Anji. The county government developed the bamboo industry to

make it as a major source of income for the local people. This county is officially abeled as ‘China’s bamboo hometown’. (Maoyi and Yang 2004) In 1998, according to the Anji Forestry Bureau, there were 18,900 workers in the bamboo industry of the county generating a production value of 107 million US$. (Maoyi and Yang 2004) A circular economy has been nurtured by the bamboo cluster – bringing together production, primary and secondary processing and further uses for byproducts. (Marsden, Yu, and Flynn 2011) Combining the high demand for bamboo


Š Xinhua & Jin 2012

Š Xinhua & Jin 2012 Š Flickr 2007

and setting up an associated local industry led to the successful rural development in Anji. (Maoyi and Yang 2004) By planning and managing bamboo forests and industries in Vietnam, it is expected that the lower-income groups will stay in rural areas as it brings economic profits for them. Also, with considering massive productive land loss and land subsidence in Mekong Delta, Bamboo plantation will restore degraded lands, prevent soil degrading, and mitigate deforestation and illegal logging. (Flynn et al. 2017) Since

bamboo is a local plant in Vietnam, bamboo forestry could be an effective response to rural poverty. As women are active in working in the society in Vietnam, they can be engaged in the bamboo clusters, specifically in the processing phase and crafting by-products like handicrafts. The bamboo products have the potential to be exported in the international market. Without a doubt, bamboo forestry should be accompanied by growing and keeping other local plants and trees to maintain the ecological balance and the biodiversity of the Mekong region.

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02_Renewable Energy Supply THE BIOENERGY VILLAGE

2006

© FNR 2008

© Lohrengel 2013

© FNR

© Cyclifier

JÜHNDE, GERMANY

University of Göttingen

The village of Jühnde was the first Bioenergy Village established in Germany. It was basically the idea of the University of Göttingen to implement a biomass strategy to begin the transition to an energy-self-sufficient society by the use of biomass from agriculture. The initial goals were to improve local economic growth and environmental sustainability through the preservation of biodiversity and reduction of the use of mineral fertilizers. (ENRD 2019) Having a step-by-step approach, Jühnde was selected based on cultural, infrastructural, natural, and

122

social criteria. The village established a cooperative to plan the project and get the required investment subsidies. About 70 percent of the population are members of the cooperative. (IEA Bioenergy Task 37 2009) The bioenergy plant is located at the edge of the village in a short distance from rural houses. The biogas plant generates about 5000 MWh of electricity per year which only half of this amount is enough for supplying the demand of the village. (IEA Bioenergy Task 37 2009) Selling biomass products, including crops and forestry residues, to generate


© Christian Mühlhausen

© Lohrengel 2013

bioenergy provides a new revenue stream for local farmers. This new source of income, unlike the conventional agricultural market, would be available constantly during the entire year. Due to the steady rise in fossil fuel costs, economic success can also be achieved in the long run. (Brohmann, Fritsche, and Hünecke 2006) In Vietnam, with having many agricultural products and also the need for electrical power in rural areas, bioenergy production can fit the condition. Agricultural residues including rice straw, coconut husk, sugarcane, bamboo, etc. are proper

resources as biomass. Producing energy from renewable sources will provide many jobs to the villages. Farming, engineering, and constructing biomass plants would create a number of jobs. The operation and maintenance of plants will create long term secure jobs as well. (IZNE 2005) Also, in Vietnam, the sunlight of the tropical climate gives an appropriate opportunity for generating solar energy to supply the electricity deficiency of the area.

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03_Rural Digital Hub LUDGATE HUB

2016

© Ludgate Hub

Skibbereen, West Cork, Ireland

Rural digital hubs are focal points in rural areas providing digital infrastructure and support services for rural businesses and communities. (ENRD 2017a) Ludgate Hub is a digital hub opened in 2016 in Skibbereen, a small town with less than 3,000 people in Ireland. (Interreg Europe 2018) The main purpose of establishing the Ludgate Hub was to exploit the potentials of Skibbereen and the surrounding communities by proposing creative working space, excellent broadband connection, and offering services as a digital entrepreneurship incubator. (Interreg Europe 2018) In the beginning, the region had a very poor broadband infrastructure that even some areas did not have any fiber connections

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(ENRD 2017a) but after implementing the project, it got 1000Mb connection. The hub building, formerly a cinema and later a bakery, has been converted to a digital community hub to provide co-working spaces, private offices, meeting rooms, hot desks, and video conferencing facilities. (ENRD 2017a) “This rural area has become more attractive to both people and digitally-enabled businesses like web developers, designers, and online services. More than 250 people visit the hub every month and it has already facilitated the creation of 100 direct jobs and 140 indirect jobs. Also,15 new Hub members have permanently moved to this region with their families.” (Interreg Europe 2018)


Š Ludgate Hub

Imagining rural hubs in Cantho, they can bring economic, social, and ecological opportunities to people. They can be planned as part of a social facilities network in the area. Places for co-working, meeting new ideas, offices for startups, educating local people in the digital aspects, including farmers, women, and teenagers. However, the presence of motivated professionals is more essential than providing only available spaces. (ENRD 2014). A rural digital hub can ensure local businesses to grasp the economic opportunities, becoming available by digitalization and bring some of the so-called urban services to the rural people. By accessing fast broadband infrastructure in villages, farmers can connect to a broader network of

market to sell their products. High-speed internet access can also attract educated and professionals to the countryside to work remotely while enjoying rural life.

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Conclusions The future of the rural economy in Cantho can be imagined in different themes

It is recommended that government finance providing high-speed broadband in

and scales. Participation in the development of the community, social cohesion,

remote areas. Private investors can take the initiative and run digital hubs. It is

economic profit, and not harming the natural setting are the points that make

also recommended not to see these hubs just as a digital place but as a kind of

the mentioned ideas sustainable. However, long-term success requires changing

hybrid spaces that act simultaneously as a community hub, cultural center, library,

attitude toward the potential of rural business development and growth, and

or suchlike.

carefully targeted programs. “This is not about ‘business as usual’, but nor are we typically talking about high-tech research and innovation.” (ENRD 2017a, 2)

Finally, it should be mentioned that there is not a one-fit-size-all economic scenario that could be advised to all contexts. The ideas should get improve in the local

Bamboo forestry can have positive environmental and economic impacts in Cantho.

framework. Many factors should be considered within the context when proposing a

It is recommended to Plant bamboo forests on higher lands to keep the land safe

plan for the development of a rural area. All often than not, a number of stakeholders

from subsidence. It also empowers rural residents by bringing numerous jobs to

are involved in these projects, including farmers, foresters, government, private

them, ranging from forestry, transportation, processing, and making products out

investors, and so forth, so there might be some contradictions in their demands

of bamboos. It is crucial to shift from selling raw material to making high-added-

and interests. Analyzing the socio-economic aspects of each area and taking into

value products. It is also necessary to plan a circular economy, including all the

account all the partners are crucial.

partners, to have a highly effective sustainable economy. Identifying the popular bamboo by-products in the market is important for devising the business plan for export. For keeping women active in the villages, it is possible to include them in this economic circle.

References

Currently, most of the electricity production in Vietnam is generated by burning

Ackom, Emmanuel, Brix Mathilde, and John Christensen. 2011. Bioenergy: The

non-renewable sources like coal, oil, and gas fuels in thermal power energy

Potential for Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation. GNESD (Global Network

plants. Shifting from thermal energy to renewable energy production would be a

on Energy for Sustainable Development). www.gnesd.org.

sustainable solution for mitigating and adapting to climate change. (Tuan 2016)

Brohmann, B., U. Fritsche, and K. Hünecke. 2006. “Case Study: The Bioenergy Village

Before constructing bioenergy plants, it is necessary to do a feasibility study and

Jühnde.” Darmstadt, Germany. http://www.iinas.org/tl_files/iinas/downloads/bio/

devise an effective business plan. The farmers and foresters of the village will

oeko/2006_Case_Study_Juehnde_CA.pdf.

become partners of the bioenergy plant in order to get long-term contracts for biomass supply combined with stable biomass prices. (IEA Bioenergy Task 37 2009) As we are all experiencing digital transformation in all aspects of life, it is important that rural areas do not be left behind this technological progress. Although the digital rural hub is a quit new idea in the world and is being practiced in the world, it can bring more jobs and economic opportunities for rural people in Cantho.

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Buckingham, Kathleen, Paul Jepson, Liangru Wu, I. V.Ramanuja Rao, Sannai Jiang, Walter Liese, Yiping Lou, and Maoyi Fu. 2011. “The Potential of Bamboo Is Constrained by Outmoded Policy Frames.” Ambio 40 (5): 544–48. https://doi. org/10.1007/s13280-011-0138-4. ENRD (European Network for Rural Development). 2017a. “Re-Imagining Rural Business Opportunities.” Eu Rural Review. Brussels. https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/.


———. 2017b. “Seminar Report on ‘Revitalising Rural Areas through Business

Product Systems, edited by Koen Kusters and Brian Belcher, 1-Asia:241–58. Jakarta,

Innovation.’” Brussels.

Indonesia. www.cifor.org/publications/pdf_files/Books/.../TOC-Chapter5.PDF.

ENRD (The European Network for Rural Development). 2019. “Mainstreaming the

Marsden, Terry, Li Yu, and Andrew Flynn. 2011. “Exploring Ecological Modernisation

Bioeconomy.” Eu Rural Review 28. https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/.

and Urban-Rural Eco-Developments in China: The Case of Anji County.” Town

Flickr.

2007.

“No

Title.”

2007.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/

generalec/24007147613/in/photostream/. Flynn, Andrew, Kin Wing Chan, Zhao Hua Zhu, and Li Yu. 2017. “Sustainability, Space and Supply Chains: The Role of Bamboo in Anji County, China.” Journal of Rural Studies 49 (February 2019): 128–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2016.11.012. FNR (Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V.). 2008. “Wege Zum Bioenergiedorf Leitfaden.” Gülzow, Germany. https://www.fnr.de/. Hunter, Lori M. 2007. “Climate Change, Rural Vulnerabilities, and Migration.” 2007. https://www.prb.org/climatechangeinruralareas/. IEA Bioenergy Task 37. 2009. “The FirsT Bioenergy Village in Jühnde / Germany. Energy Self Sufficiency with Biogas.” BIOGAS IN THE SOCIETY. INBAR (International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation). 2018. “Review: Sustainable Bamboo Development.” 2018. https://www.inbar.int/review-sustainable-bamboodevelopment/. Interreg Europe. 2018. “The Ludgate Hub Good Practice Brings Connectivity and Digital Entrepreneurship to Rural Ireland.” 2018. https://www.interregeurope.eu/ policylearning/news/4718/the-ludgate-hub-good-practice-brings-connectivityand-digital-entrepreneurship-to-rural-ireland/. IZNE (Interdisciplinary Centre for Sustainable Development at the University of Göttingen). 2005. “The Bioenergy Village.” Göttingen, Germany. Lohrengel, Heiko. 2013. “Jühnde Bio-Energy Village in Germany.” CNE (Centrum Neue Energien). Maoyi, Fu, and Xiaosheng Yang. 2004. “Moso Bamboo (Phyllostachys Heterocycla Var. Pubescens) Production and Marketing in Anji County, China.” In Forest Products , Livelihoods and Conservation: Case Studies of Non-Timber Forest

Planning Review 82 (2): 195–224. https://doi.org/10.3828/tpr.2011.13. Mühlhausen, Christian. 2018. “Kaum Noch Führungen Durch Die Jühnder Biogasanlage.”

2018.

https://www.hna.de/lokales/hann-muenden/tausende-

besucher-aus-alles-welt-kamen-nach-juehnde-13795087.html. Nilsson, Erik. 2013. “Rural Bamboo Business Thriving.” 2013. http://www. chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-05/05/content_16476735.htm. Philip, Lorna, Caitlin Cottrill, John Farrington, Fiona Williams, and Fiona Ashmore. 2017. “The Digital Divide: Patterns, Policy and Scenarios for Connecting the ‘Final Few’ in Rural Communities across Great Britain.” Journal of Rural Studies 54: 386– 98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2016.12.002. Reytar, Katie, Fred Stolle, and Will Anderson. 2019. “Deforestation Threatens the Mekong, but New Trees Are Growing in Surprising Places.” World Resources Institute.

2019.

https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/10/deforestation-threatens-

mekong-new-trees-are-growing-surprising-places. Ruiz Perez, Manuel, Zhong Maogong, Brian Belcher, Fu Maoyi, and Xie Jinzhong. 1999. “The Role of Bamboo Plantations in Rural.” World Development 27 (1): 101– 14. Slow Boat to China. 2008. “Anji Bamboo Forest.” 2008. https://slowboattochina. aminus3.com/image/2008-08-15.html. Tuan, Le Anh. 2016. “An Overview of the Renewable Energy Potentials in the Mekong River Delta, Vietnam.” Can Tho University Journal of Science, no. Special issue: Renewable Energy: 70–79. Xinhua, and Tan Jin. 2012. “Prosperous Bamboo Industry in SE China’s Zhejiang Province.” 2012. http://www.china.org.cn/travel/2012-03/31/content_25036617. htm.

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NATHAN FREDRICK

Urban drainage in a landscape of flooding Sustainable Urban Drainage System’s (SUD’s)

Introduction How can water be water managed in an environment where water is abundant and

change (urban heat islands).’ (Huong & Pathrina 2013)

capricious? It is a question that was answered in most diverse ways through history,

Historically, a much more integrated approach between city and water systems

but one thing is certain, we should rethink the way it is done now.

created cities thriving on water. In citadel cities like Hue or Thanh Long in Hanoi

Thirty years of urbanisation has rolled the city out as an impermeable carpet

for example, based on the Chinese imperial city model, the construction of water

over the landscape in Can Tho. The current way of urban drainage followed the

systems played a prominent role in the cities lay-out. An ingenious manmade moat

positivistic belief in a modern approach of city development. A landscape of streams

system with craved out perimeter channels as a defence and inner channels for

and channels was closed up and made place for road infrastructure and housing.

household use and spiritual elements structured the city. The idea that water is a

As sanitation and efficiency became dogma’s for the new city development, fast

vital element for urbanity and the importance of a symbiotic relation with the water

construction, underground drainage and eradicating the vegetation layer where the

systems is well understood in those older city models.

custom. An approach that can be recognised in many places but very questionable and out of place in a context where the movement of water has always played a

Rethinking the drainage system is more than a mere problem-solving task. In Can

life-defining role. The approach creates many issues for the city today. Problems

Tho it is about rethinking the relation to water in an urban environment, finding

of heavy rainfall burden the city at the peak months of the wet season. Undersized

ways in which water can be acknowledged and even benefit the liveability of the

and combined drainage systems, combined with highly variable water levels create

city. More sustainable ways of urban drainage systems can address many of the

paradoxical situations where, for an important period in time, mean water levels

mentioned issues. More permeable areas increase water infiltration and flow

are above the sewage level, making the whole system deficient. A lack of urban

resistance. The system needs to allow flexibility for different water regimes in

permeable spaces make that streets are flooded during rainy season peaks and

different seasons. Rain water is separated from waste water and can become an

hot and dry during dry season. Huong and Pathirana discuss four main issues

apparent element in the city. The systems can work as water treatment machines

concerning increased flooding for Can Tho:

where new forms of fresh water collection can provide water in moments of need.

‘(i) the effect of climate change driven sea level rise, (ii) likely increase of river runoff

The following case studies exemplify some of these concepts and demonstrate how

due to climate change, (iii) increase of urban runoff driven by imperviousness and

the current linear way of conceiving urban drainage can be completely reversed,

(iv) enhancement of extreme rainfall due to urban growth-driven microclimatic

creating multiplicity rather than specificity.

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© vietnamnews.vn

© reddit.com

© saigoneer.com

Can Tho city centre during 2019’s rainy season

2020, extreme droughts created problems of accessible drinking water all over the delta

French map of Hue’s citadel city, 1885

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01_Central drainage system QUNLI STORMWATER PARK

Turenscape 2011

Š google earth

Š Turenscape.com

Qunli (new district), Harbin, China

0

1

2

3

The Qunli stormwater park is a 2733 hectares wetland park located in the middle of a dense, recently developed area in the city of Harbin, northeast China. New development caused problems of flooding in the area. In order to compensate flood and water log created by future development, an existing piece of wetland is turned into a stormwater park, simultaneously saving the wetland that was suffering from drought. Rainwater from surrounding residential areas, that would otherwise drain away in the river, is now collected in a vast wetland.

130

4 km


© Turenscape.com

cutted pond for water filtration

© Landezine.com

© Turenscape.com

filled mound ring

elevated and ground pathways The systems consist of two parts: a manipulated ‘necklace’ and a restored wetland. The necklace is a system of small basins created by cutting and filling the edge of the site. Native wetland grasses filter incoming water in these basins before it is transferred to the wetland. The manipulated edge is accessible by elevated pathways and ground paths while the entire wetland is a place for vegetation, water and biodiversity and thus inaccessible for human activity. The idea of a water cleaning machine in the form of a wetland park, fitting in a rigid structure of

development, can directly be applied in the context of Can Tho. The inclusion of a wetland inside the urban area could bring back native vegetation and landscapes known for working with changing water regimes. The project is a strong statement for water and an example that including space for water in an urban project on such a scale can create a space that is more than just a water machine.

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02_Linear drainage system CHEONGGYECHEON STREAM RESTAURATION

2005

© google earth

© Seo, D. and Y. Kwon 2018, traced by author

Seoul, South Korea

Seoul Metropolitan GovernmentSeoAhn Total Landscape

0

1

2

3

4

5

The Cheonggyecheon used to be small stream running through the heart of Seoul. It was a clean stream and a community place for inhabitants but by the 1950’s , it turned into an open sewage and a poor area because of rapid urbanisation. During the 60’s the stream was covered up by a new highway. The restauration project in the early 2000’s was to remove the highway and bring the stream back to the surface.

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6 km The project has brought some remarkable changes in air quality, heat island effect and number of fish and bird species in the centre of Seoul. A comment to be made on the projects is that due to its very fast execution (because of political interests), far-going ecological aspects are not entirely included in the project. Also the artificial need for water sources during dry periods conflict with the claim of being highly ecological.


© Seo, D. and Y. Kwon 2018,

1950’s Today

© greaterauckland.org.nz

1970’s

©Mikyoung Kim design

© greatruns.com

©urban-waters.org

Even though the restored project is not the natural stream it used to be but the water is diverted from a river. It is the idea of subverting the drainage system and bringing back the stormwater to the surface, while drastically increasing the space for stormwater (form a small pipe to an entire stream), that can be taken from this project. Also the strong will for change, stepping away from previous investments in big infrastructures is to be noticed. Bringing back natural elements, even if there is nothing natural about it anymore can bring liveliness and qualitative public

spaces. Another aspect is that such changes go together with rethinking entire mobility systems and reducing space for the car (implementation of rapid transit busses). Can Tho’s fast road expansion over the last decades created an oversized system of infrastructures, perhaps some of the intervention can be rethought to reduce urban flooding, the heat island effect and increase urban biodiversity.

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03_Landscape drainage system TRAM CHIM NATIONAL PARK

IUCN, Mekong River Commission & UNDP 1998

Š google earth

Š Duong Van Ni et al. 2006

Dong Thap, Vietnam

0

3

6

9

12

15

18

21

24

Tram Chim national park is a protected wetland some 70 kilometres northwest of Can Tho. The park is a remnant from the plain of reeds that used to characterise the entire area. The plain of reeds is a natural depression of 750.000 hectares that flooded according to tides and seasons. All of this creating a multitude of wetness conditions going together with different types of vegetation. Intensive works have turned the entire area into a productive rice plain, channelizing water and making the fields controlled environments.

134

27

30 km

The park is a controlled floodplain, since natural water regimes are heavily disturbed by the surrounding paddy fields. Sluices and gates control especially the water outflow. Variations in microtopography create areas with different types of vegetation, ranging from lotus flowers to wetland grasses, wild rice and floodable cajuputi trees. The floodplain is not only a place for vegetation but also surrounding communities use the park for sustainable fishing, wetland resources such as, roots, wild rice, fruits and lotus and for tourism. Tram Chim is also home


© Yhila via flickr.com © Duong Van Ni et al. 2006

© Vietnam Rustic News via twitter.com

© WWF via mekoneye.com

to the eastern Sarus crane bird, almost entirely vanished in the rest of the delta. The park is one of the few areas in the Mekong delta where the floodplain, its vegetation and biodiversity is kept intact. Contrary to the urban environment now, the landscape of the floodplain is shaped by flooding and droughts and flourishes on the variations of water regimes. Tram Chim shows how an area most adapted to natural conditions looks like in the context of the Mekong Delta. We can imagine such floodplain as vast flood unburdening areas around the urban

centres, especially for upstream and tidal flooding. With such an approach, the city and its surrounding landscape can work together in adapting to intensified future flooding.

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Conclusions Cases can be seen as examples to act upon problems of water management that the city is facing today and prepare the city for adaptation to future changing climate conditions. All of the cases are in river cities/environments and deal with periods of heavy rainfall and flooding. The cases also highlight that the conception of sustainable urban drainage system are developed on different levels, whether it is the urbanist with his/her creativity and convictions, the city council with a clear vision or a government and a park management engaged in a project. In the conception of urban drainage, the solely engineered solution with a one-on-one problem and solution approach does not seem to work for the context of Can Tho. The cases offer alternative approaches to the engineered tucking away of drainage systems. The cases of Qunli and Cheonggyecheon exemplify solutions for stormwater drainage inside the urban context. Both are about understanding that giving more space to water reduces many of the problems otherwise created by water. Simultaneously they address aspects of water retention, heat island effects, shifted mobility and increased biodiversity. In the context of Can Tho, where water masses are vast and at certain moments come from everywhere, urban drainage systems might not suffice to absorb the incoming water. Water used to be assimilated by entire landscapes. The case of Tram Chim shows how the landscape can also play it’s part in creating higher water inertia. Not one solution can be seen as the optimal response to problems of deficient drainage systems and flooding in urban Can Tho but combinations of ideas can provide more all-encompassing ways of thinking. The cases underline the idea that a drainage system can not only address the issue of leading away unwanted water, but, when given enough space, thought and prominence, can entirely change the face of the city and the quality of urban life. Today’s conflicting relation towards water should not be. In a place where water is such a defining element there seems no point for the opposing attitude towards water in the urban water management. In Can Tho, urban drainage is partially about creating retention, spillways and permeable soil in the city itself. On the other hand the forces of water are of such a scale that controlling water in the city is also about rethinking entire landscape elements that historically acted as water inertia machines but, because of productive reasons, got fragmented and closed off from natural regimes. Perhaps, the notion

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of water as a structuring, sanitising, attracting and nourishing element in older city models like Hue can be reconsidered and adapted to today’s needs. The idea that the lay-out of the city will ever more have to consider the presence of water in the context of the Mekong Delta, indicates that a more integrated approach is needed. When water plays such an important role and simultaneously forms such a threat for urban life, considering it as a primary element to structure the city should be included in future planning.


References Books and scientific articles :

Mikyoung Kim design. (no date). ChonGae / Cheonggye Canal Source Point.

Duong Van Ni et al., 2006, Integrated water and fire management strategy Tram Chim national park Huong, H. T. L. and A. Pathirana, 2013, Urbanization and climate change impacts on future urban flooding in Can Tho city, Vietnam, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 379–394 Minh, Truyen Duong et al., 2014, The water management at Tram Chim national park, Asian J Agri Biol 2(2), 86-95. Seo, D. and Y. Kwon, 2018, Sustainable Strategies for the Dynamic Equilibrium of the Urban Stream, Cheonggyecheon, Series: Earth and Environmental Science 143 Tran, Triet and Jeb Barzen, 2018, Tram Chim: Mekong River Basin (Vietnam), The Wetland Book 1793-1799

[online] Available at: https://myk-d.com/projects/chongae-canal-restoration/ [Accessed 12 Jun. 2020] Reddit. (2011). French map of Hue Citadel - Old capital of royal Vietnam 1885. [online] Available at: https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/1vl9cv/ french_map_of_hue_citadel_old_capital_of_royal/ [Accessed 12 Jun. 2020] Saigoneer. (2020). Mekong Delta Slammed by Worst Drought, Saltwater Intrusion in Decades. [online] Available at: https://saigoneer.com/saigon-environment/18538mekong-delta-slammed-by-worst-drought,-saltwater-intrusion-in-decades [Accessed 12 Jun. 2020] Society for ecological restauration. (no date). Vietnam: Wetlands Restoration in the Tram Chim National Park (Dong Thap Province). [online] Available at: https://www.ser-rrc.org/project/vietnam-wetlands-restoration-in-the-tram-chim-

Woo, Seong-Hoon and Takeshi Ito, 2010, A Study on Mercantile Facilities of Hue, the Capital of the Nguyen Dynasty, Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 9-16

national-park-dong-thap-province/ [Accessed 12 Jun. 2020] Turenscape. (2017). Qunli Stormwater Park: A Green Sponge For A Water-Resilient City. [online] Available at: https://www.turenscape.com/en/project/detail/4646.

Yi, Chang and Yoon-Joo Jung, 2017, Role of Governance in Urban Transformation of Seoul, Best Practices, The Seoul Institute

html [Accessed 10 Jun.2010] Urban waters. (no date). Cheonggyecheon [online] Available at: https://urban-

On-line documents and websites :

waters.org/en/projects/cheonggyecheon [Accessed 12 Jun. 2020]

Greater Auckland. (2010). Tearing down highways to fix congestion [online]

Vietnam news. (2019). Urban areas in Mekong Delta face serious flooding [online]

Available

Available

at:

https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2010/06/19/tearing-down-

at:

https://vietnamnews.vn/environment/536377/urban-areas-in-

highways-to-fix-congestion/ [Accessed 12 Jun. 2020]

mekong-delta-face-serious-flooding.html [Accessed 12 Jun. 2020]

Great runs. (no date). Cheonggyecheon Stream [online] Available at: https://

Vietnam rustic news. (2017). [online] Available at: https://twitter.com/

greatruns.com/seoul-cheonggyecheon-stream/ [Accessed 12 Jun. 2002]

vietnamrustic/status/838968596327882752 [Accessed 12 Jun. 2020]

Hue

Monuments

Available

Conservation at:

Centre.

(2010).

The

Citadel.

[online]

http://hueworldheritage.org.vn/TTBTDTCDH.

aspx?TieuDeID=59&KenhID=0&ChuDeID=0&TinTucID=65&l=en [Accessed 10 Jun.2020]

WWF. (2018). Only 11 sarus cranes spotted at Tram Chim National Park. [online] Available

at:

https://www.mekongeye.com/2018/07/24/only-11-sarus-cranes-

spotted-at-tram-chim-national-park/ [Accessed 12 Jun. 2020] Yhila. (2013). View of Mekong Delta from the observation tower of Tram

Landezine. (2014). Qunli National Urban Wetland. [online] Available at: http://

Chim National Park. [online] Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/

landezine.com/index.php/2014/01/qunli-national-urban-wetland-by-turenscape/

yhila/49936239868/... [Accessed 12 Jun. 2020]

[Accessed 10 Jun.2020]

137


GETACHEW GEBRESILASSIE

Agroforestry a resilient remedy Exploring the narratives of edible gardens

Introduction Agroforestry, the practice of planting trees and purposely conserving them with

ecosystems and biodiversity and damages the long-term capacity of production.

crops and livestock, has been practiced all over the world, throughout history

Contrarily, even though forests can’t have a market price, it can be a backbone of

(Cannell 1988). Before, it was formally defined by J. Russell Smith (M. A. Gold

a self-regulatory ecosystem (McNeely 2004), providing additional nutrients; soil

2017) as two-story agriculture with tree crops as ‘permanent intuitions’ protecting

stability by protection from flooding and erosion while keeping the biodiversity

the landscape (Smith 2009, xii), expanding vertically like a multistory building and

intact (Cotthem 2020).

capitalizing on an existing resource, than expanding horizontally (Ojo 1966). The concept of integrated farming is not new for Can Tho either. ‘VAC’ is a traditional

With Can Tho’s mission to achieve the 2020 modern city goal, it is observed to have

and locally practiced integrated system of Vietnamese agriculture. It is based on

been going through rapid urbanization (Resilience 2014), where agricultural lands

nutrient cycling of nature and human activities, where V stands for orchards,

are being replaced by impermeable urban structures, accelerating natural threats

A ponds and C animals, or to the broader concept Commercial. However, the

of flooding, erosion, saltwater intrusion and subsidence. Integrating agroforestry,

scope is wider than agroforestry, including off-farm integration of processing

urban forestry, orchard science, and plant breeding are ways to recover and improve

industries, commerce, and between farms benefiting socially, economically, and

urban ecology and productivity (Mann 2014). Integration of Urban Agroforestry

environmentally (Nhan et al. 2005).

into a landscape requires a potent mix of planning and integration of rural, urban, and forest lands(USDA 2011), that are intentional and constant woody food-

Contrary to integrated practice, it is common to chop trees down to create larger

producing machines for a sustainable and resilient urban society (Mann 2014).

agricultural land and focus on mono agriculture, because forests can’t also provide

This can be achieved by a forest garden where wildlife and cultivated plants coexist

the quantity of food people need (Cotthem 2020). After the doi moi reform in the

(Wiersum 2004) or home gardens related to planting the right tree at the right

mid-1980s, Vietnam being the second rice exporter is focused on intensive rice

time and place. Through incorporating the systems of Agri‐silviculture (crops,

production for self-sufficiency and export (Dung 2007). This capacity of production

vegetables, fruit trees, and fuel trees), silvopastoral (livestock, crops, vegetables,

doesn’t come naturally but rather with intensive use of agrochemicals, on one hand

and crops) and agrosilvopastoral (primarily cattle, trees, and crops ), immediate

benefiting the farmers’ income with surplus production and on the other, negatively

domestic needs can be solved and economic stability can be achieved while keeping

affecting the environment and peoples living around due to the nutrients emitted

the ecosystem sustainable.

in the soil and water (Dung 2007). It interferes with the natural cyclic system of

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https://civileats.com/2019/01/07/silvopasture-can-mitigateclimate-change-will-u-s-farmers-take-it-seriously/

Agroforestry, Row of trees in farmlands

Agroforestry, livestock in forest

139 http://blog.worldagroforestry.org/index.php/2016/06/11/ agroforestry-is-a-win-win-for-developing-nations/


This paper discusses the relation, advantages, and integration extent of Agroforestry in different scales from the neighborhood scale to the territorial scale of rural and urban settlement with three chapters. 1.Agroforestry for communal self-sufficiency, Helsinge garden city 2.Finding Aesthesis in multi production, Quzhou Luming Park

(Nhan et al. 2005,10)

https://www.purprojet.com/agroforestry-and-reforestation/

3.Agroforestry for climate mitigation, The great green wall of Africa

Advantages OF agroforestry in farm lands

140

VAC , bio-resource flow diagram


01_Agroforestry for communal self-sufficiency HELSINGE GARDEN CITY

2016

https://www.karresenbrands.com/project/helsinge-nord

Helsinge, Denmark

Karres Brands, Atkins, CBFO,Trafikplan

Helsinge garden city, village of tomorrow aims to create a self-sufficient cluster of settlements in a peri urban area of Copenhagen, Denmark. The project intentions to transform the homogenous agriculture fields to a multilayered ecofriendly productive, communal, denser twenty-five cluster of sustainable settlements (HELSINGE GARDEN CITY n.d.). The design plans to increase the biodiversity by integrating access to surrounding agroforestry, orchards, wetlands and meadows to the neighborhood settlement while creating communal and affordable urban

life by providing all the enmities. The existing detached housings are substituted by diverse type of organically arranged housing clusters in terms of material, size, ownership ,and form promoting shared food production and productive communal spaces and sense of community for each cluster .Each cluster is arranged around a pond , square or a communal area where the public life is going to take place while leaving a semi private area for each residence . (Helsinge Haveby - Village of Tomorrow 2018).


https://www.karresenbrands.com/project/helsinge-nord

As the intention of the site is promoting self-sufficiency with food, water and energy, the site also include a food hub where the different villages will come together with each other and the outside world, creating focuses to the inland productivity of the agroforestry, orchards and ponds, social and economic values. (HELSINGE GARDEN CITY n.d.).

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02_Finding Aesthesis in multi production QUZHOU LUMING PARK

2015 - 2017

http://www.abitare.it/en/gallery/habitat-en/landascape-design-en/luming-park-green-lung-of-themetropolis-quzhou-gallery/?ref=232353&foto=18#gallery

Quzhou,Zhejiang,China

Turenscape

Agroforestry is not only responsible for food security and mitigating the climate change, but also be a base and showcase for public parks and recreational areas. In Quzhou Luming Park multifunctionality is seen beyond the ecological value of agroforestry, but “characterized by strong social, economic, cultural, moral and environmental capital” (Wilson, 2008, p. 368). It promotes environmental sustainability, enhanced food quality fostering local/regional embeddedness (Barbieri and Valdivia 2010). It is a 31.3-hectare park on a Shiliang Riverbank, transforming a degraded and abandoned flood plain to an urban park with ecological infrastructure and an integrated ecosystem (Mózo 2017).The transformation of the

park is nature friendly where the existing nature and process were unchanged but enhanced by removing concrete embankment and plantation of coastal trees near the river encouraging a natural flow of the river and also help to hold excessive water on the wet season to use it for the dry. A productive land of crops and herbs with tree boundaries are introduced, that changed seasonally and create active interaction for the visiting people. In summer and fall sunflowers, in spring canola, and in winter buckwheat are presented for the visitors from the elevated pathways in addition to the existing natural vegetation, landscape (Mózo 2017).

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http://www.abitare.it/en/gallery/habitat-en/landascape-design-en/luming-park-green-lung-of-the-metropolisquzhou-gallery/?ref=232353&foto=18#gallery

The existing irrigation and paths were also preserved as “evidence of human presence “(Mózo 2017), that are integrated with the new pavilion buildings and elevated walkways that are permeable to create less intervention to the natural soil drainage (Framing Terrain and Water: Quzhou Luming Park 2016). The project followed the existing natural structure by “befriending the flood” working with the natural floodability and dynamics of the river using low design intervention. Finding Aesthetics in productivity by integrating seasonal production as a show chase to the public by mixing with the public design of walkways and pavilions (Mózo 2017).

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03_Agroforestry for climate mitigation THE GREAT GREEN WALL OF AFRICA

2007

https://www.slideshare.net/CIFOR/africas-great-green-wall-building-prosperity-and-resilience

Widou Thiengoly , Senegal

GGWSSI

The great green wall of Africa is an initiative started between 11 African countries (Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Djibouti) launched in 2007 currently including about 25 countries. The initiative aims to stop the Sahara desert expanding to the southern shale region(Eliding 2015) . The initiative developed from the a literary meaning of “ wall of trees to keep the desert back ”covering 8,000 km-long and 15 km-wide corridors to a symbolic wall with a mosaic of green projects. It is changing to indigenous, cheaper, and effective land management techniques using simple water harvesting technique’s

to protect trees in the farmlands, than just “planting forest at the edge of the desert” (Morrison 2016). Agroforestry is considered as a technique because as defined by Cotthem, it is a way to resolve the economic and natural problems, it means fewer crops for the farmers but with a better lifespan and natural fertility (Cotthem 2020). It aims to restore degraded land, improve poverty, food security, job creation, and manage natural resources (Bascombe 2012). Lately, the initiative claims 15 % of the droughtresistant trees are planted and the 4 million hectares of land is restored out of the 100 million hectares expected (Bilski 2018).

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https://www.irishaid.ie/stories-of-progress/casestudies/ archive/2013/april/great-green-wall-senegal/ https://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/senegal-builds-africasgreat-green-wall-trees#slideshow-8

(Wade et al. 2018) https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jun/28/ senegal-green-wall-desrtification-caramel

Widou Thiengoly , Senegal The regreening project in wildo, Senegal is one of the first of many projects on the ribbon of the great green wall initiative project. Nature is regenerated and job opportunities are created using drip-irrigated water management from the existing pump stations. While trees are planted in the rainy season to protect the area from soil erosion, reducing the dust and the sand expansion, gardens and horticulture are managed by the local women to be used as their diets and to sell the surplus production (Powers 2014).

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Mainly the process in Senegal is following the natural regeneration process, where farmers allow the natural vegetation to grow and plant food crops around it. The project is not just focused on planting trees but food security, rural development, and sustainable land management. In every parcel, the farmers look for the best trees to grow naturally. The newly planted ones are protected by unplanted strip boundaries, but also with a flexible system that acts as feeding banks for livestock on harsh years. The trees are indirectly related to a livestock life’s because it traps more water and increases the groundwater level (Bascombe 2012).


Conclusions As Can Tho is the biggest city in Mekong delta and planned to become a center

and agrochemicals, air pollution, noise screening and enhancing biodiversity.

of development from promoting food security to becoming technology , agro – industry , high-tech , tourism and trade center (Resilience 2014), with an increasing

Using the existing multicommodity integrated farming systems to intensify

natural disasters traits .A resilient path of the development is critical to sustain

production is the sustainable way for small scale farmers (Nhan et al. 2005). Because

and achieve a permanent and sound development. In an increasingly urbanization

of the socio – economic, bio- physical, integrated technology and environmental

process, the potential of an urban area to meet the ecological, social and economic

factors, the VAC system can be even more advantageous if it is developed from home

future and present needs is through sound design, planning and management (Wu

gardens to a bigger scale forest food gardens. Agricultural landscape integrated

2008). As illustrated by the three cases learning from nature and coping nature

with tress can be seen as a new opportunity for the city to restructure Can Tho

by understanding the cycles for long term solutions is the most sustainable way

territory in the setting of complex urbanization .(Van Long, Cheng, and Le 2020).

of keeping the ecosystem while achieving economic sustainability. As Shannon

The existing feature of Can Tho landscape, represented by the lowland rice fields

explained, “the synergy between urban and rural, the consumptive and productive

and the high land orchards and ponds (Shannon 2009), can be further ecologically

landscapes, can become a guiding principle for new urbanization” (Shannon 2009,

advanced by a micro adjustment of terrain in the paddy fields, river line strips and

p.41).

undeveloped areas of the city. Tress can be incorporated for the various economical and ecological reasons.

In collective and productive urban and sub urban settlements agroforestry and urban forestry are way for a main source of goods and ecosystem service. They are a way of supplying daily goods (Food, medicine, wood and water), regulating ecosystem (climate regulation, natural hazards, waste management, pollution control), cultural service (intellectual. spiritual development , recreation and aesthetic values ) and habitat service (diversity of plants and animals ) (Carreiro MM, Song YC 2007). Contributing to health, wellbeing, quality of life for the people especially for the poor, with easy access of opportunities and resources. Natural or constructed wide Agroforestry areas, have the power to change the climate, in addition to all the benefits mentioned above. Furthermore, in Public spaces park forests can be used with crops to regenerate accessible, attractive and ecologically sound green networks. It will also elevate the challenge of a mutual use of urban spaces by creating a multilayered and functional spaces. A productive forest mosaic can be beneficial in regulating the microclimate and fighting against climate change challenges. A multiple and single row of Hedgerows, windbreaks and shelterbelts provide a microclimate benefiting crops and animals. In an urban setting, adjacent to streams, Riparian forest provide massive impact by filtering soil

147


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by H.E Garrett. American Society of Agronomy, 677 S. Segoe Rd.: Madison, WI.

Bascombe, Bobby. 2012. Senegal begins planting the Great Green Wall against

Gold, Michael A. 2017. “Agroforestry.” Encyclopædia Britannica. December 15.

climate change. jul 12. Accessed 5 2, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/

Accessed 5 3, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/science/agroforestry.

environment/2012/jul/12/senegal-great-green-wall.

Gordon, A.M., N.V. Thevathasan and P.K. Nair. 2009. “An Agroecological

Cannell, M. G. R. 1988. “Agroforestry - A Decade of Development. Edited by

Foundation for Temperate Agroforestry.” In North American Agroforestry: An

H. A. Steppler and P. K. R. Nair. Nairobi: International Council for Research in

Integrated Science and Practice, by H.E. Garrett. American Society of Agronomy.

Agroforestry (1987), Pp. 335,” Experimental Agriculture 24 (3): 393–393. https:// doi.org/10.1017/s0014479700016252. Carreiro MM, Song YC, Wu J. 2007. S PRINGER S ERIES O N Chernobyl : A Policy Response Food Web Management : A Case. Berg, Håkan. 2002. “Rice monoculture and integrated rice-fish farming in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam—economic and ecological considerations.” Ecological Economics 41 (1): 95-107. Bilski, Andrew. 2018. Africa’s Great Green Wall: A work in progress. August 03. Accessed 4 9, 2020. https://news.globallandscapesforum.org/28687/africas-greatgreen-wall-a-work-in-progress/. Cotthem, Willem Van. 2020. Agroforestry: Boost Food Production And Reduce Climate Change. May 27. Accessed 6 3, 2020. https://desertification.wordpress. com/2020/05/27/agroforestry-boost-food-production-and-reduce-climatechange/. Dung, Nguyen Huu. 2007. Economic and Environmental Consequences of Agrochemical Use for Intensive Rice Cultivation in the Mekong Delta , Vietnam. Dixon, R.K. 1995. “Agroforestry systems: sources or sinks of greenhouse gases?” Agrofor. Syst. 99-116. ElSiddig, Elnour. 2015. “Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI) Sudan,” 1–78.

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Ojo, Afolabi GJ. 1966. Yoruba culture : a geographical analysis. London: University of London Press. Powers, Diana S. 2014. Holding Back the Sahara. 10 18. Accessed 6 01, 2020. https:// www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/business/energy-environment/senegal-greatgreen-wall-sahara-desert.html. Raskin , Ben , and Simone Osborn. 2019. “The Agroforestry Handbook: Agroforestry for the UK.” Soil Association Limited. Resilience, Enhancing Urban. 2014. “Enhancing Urban Resilience Note to the Reader,” no. June. Shannon K (2009) Landscape as urban structure: the case of Cantho,Vietnam. Landscape–Great Idea! X-LArch III, 54 Smith, John Russell. 2009. Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture. Washnigton Dc : Island press. Tanwar, S.P.S Tanwar, and J.C Tewari. 2017. “Agroforestry and integrated farming system .” In Drought mitigation and management , by Tanwar S.P.S , Singh Akath Kumar Suresh, 181 - 193. Delhi : Scientific publishers . USDA. 2011. “USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework , Fiscal Year 2011 – 2016,” no. June 2011. Wiersum, K. F. 2004. “Forest gardens as an ‘intermediate’ land-use system in the nature-culture continuum: Characteristics and future potential.” In New Vistas in Agroforestry. Advances in Agroforestry, by Rao M.R., Buck L.E. Nair P.K.R., 123-

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ELISA VALERIA TORRES GUZMAN

URBAN FORESTRY Forest as a potential ecological and social infrastructure Introduction Forests are ecosystems that support interacting units including trees, plants, bodies

to tackle urban issues previously addressed with engineered solutions that often

water, soil, insects, animals, and humans. Generally, we can assume that the more

involve concrete, asphalt, and steel. Properly planned, green infrastructure can

complex the structure, the greater is its species diversity. (Nix, Steve. 2020). Due to

be cheaper to establish and maintain than engineered solutions while performing

their biodiversity, forests are characterized by being environments somehow stable

similar functions.” (FAO 2018) Invest in making forest becomes a cost-effective

and resilient. Moreover “forest can be considered as self-regenerating ecosystems”

way to address some of the expensive problems cities face, (American Forest 2012)

(De Meulder and Shannon 2014) which not only cleans the air and restores soils,

solving several environmental issues while enriching social aspects.

but also plays a critical role in mitigating climate change. However, mostly since the industrial revolution until nowadays larger extensions of forest are gone. “An

The context of the Mekong Delta is not the exception. Huge engineering

average of 28 million hectares of forest have been cut down annually since 2016,

interventions such as long concrete dikes, that seem to work as barriers between

and there is no sign of a slowdown”. (Scientific American editors 2020) This fact

water and land, “no longer suffice to fight with feasible means and at reasonable

contributes in some way to promote several disasters and imbalances worldwide,

costs”. (De Meulder and Shannon 2014) However there are several proposals led by

including, for example, the spread of new viruses. (Scientific American editors

designing with nature, instead of against. Historically the landscape that surrounds

2020) Nevertheless, along history, humans have been planting, maintaining,

the Mekong Delta has been transformed by the human; a dynamic mud plain,

and occupying as renewable resources. Been aware of the multiply benefits the

has been drained by canals, dikes, ditches, making disappear the gradients between

forest brings. This awareness of the great value the forest conveys is and must be,

wet and dry (De Meulder and Shannon 2013) and with that all the productive and

implemented in one of the most consumptive environments: the cities. which

biodiverse variations that it implies. However, a good planning planting has the

account for more than 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and consume

potential to be a flexible boundary, that mediates the shifted line between wet and

two-thirds of the world’s energy; in accordance with the Food and Agriculture

dry; this forest edge seeks to recuperate the wetness gradient to harbor in their

Organization of the United Nations (FAO) they are ideally positioned, therefore, to

transition a richness and variated of productive and ecological shades

drive local action. (FAO 2018) One of these actions should be implemented forest as an indispensable infrastructure in the cities.

Below are presented three cases over the world, that have used urban forestry as a strategy to address contemporary issues; each one from different perspectives, that

There are more and more cases of urban forestry that at the same time as functioning as ecological support at the regional level, the city itself is enriched by its benefits. There are countless examples of how urban forests have been used to create more resilient environments. Helping manage stormwater, preventing soil erosion, creating microclimates, reducing energy demands, among other ecological benefits. Furthermore, its profits extend to the physical and emotional health of its inhabitants, reducing levels of violence, and strengthening community ties. (American Forest 2012) The awareness of all these benefits has generated a shifting paradigm from “traditional infrastructures such as pipelines, buildings, and roadways to forest, wetlands, and other green spaces”. Cities “are investing in green infrastructure

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somehow could bring and act as inspiration for the Cantho context.


Cai Rang, 2020

151 ŠField work Forest and Water Urbanism. Ku Leuven.


01_Linking the forest network SPECIAL PURPOSE FOREST

2010

© FAO 2018

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Municipality

Ljubljana is a city with the great fortune to have a forest just next to it; In 2010 there was an initiative to designate 1150 hectares as “special purpose forest. Forests with this status are designated primarily for recreation with a view to strengthening the physical and mental fitness of residents and visitors.” (FAO 2018) In order to achieve this status, the main and basic spatial necessities were set: having public accessibility by paths and trails; extending the existing forest in order to be adjacent to residential areas or other land uses, and enlarging and connecting the existing forest patches. “The main goal was to interlink the entire urban and peri-urban forest through a network of paths, trails, skid roads, and other forest

152

infrastructure”. (FAO 2018) This initiative that connects the plots in order to generate a continuous corridor of forest, could be interesting in the case of Cantho; because is not only articulating a linked network that would bring ecological benefits but also is an opportunity to diversify the afforestation, by embedding different kinds of forest into the between plots; such as woodland forest, public forest parks or even communal orchards; making diversity on the spatial conditions. Therefore Ljubljana have been using it as a recreational and educative place, strengthening its presence not just by linking it with new patches but also by introducing social infrastructure,


Š FAO 2018

as the forest classroom, which consists of an “access path, a sand platform, and a wooden terrace, and it is enclosed on three sides by a wooden fence.The aim of the classroom is to raise awareness about the differences between city parks and natural forests.� (FAO 2018) Due to the growing urbanization of Cantho and its surroundings, the productive landscape, specifically the orchards, the ones that are placed in higher land is at risk. Thus, one strategy to strengthen the existing forest might be embedded in its social infrastructure. Not only to merge the edges between the orchards and the urban tissue but also to overlap and diversify uses inside the orchards; why

not orchards could become a terrain not just to produce food but also to recreate and educate.

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02_Forest as a ecological infrastructure FOREST PARK BOCA DEL SAPO

2015

Š FAO 2018

Lima, Peru

Municipality - PREDES

The second case is in Lima, Peru, a desert city. There are more than 2 million people living on the periphery in houses built on hillsides.The project consisted of planting 3000 native trees mainly in order to stabilize slopes. The project had the aim on one hand preventing rock falls and retaining mud and sediments when rains; and on the other hand framing the expansion of new urbanization. Nowadays is also a public space with trails, viewing points, and family recreation spaces. An important part of the project was to involve the people who live there, in order to ensure its success. (FAO 2018) The park forest Boca del Sapo became a pilot project. Now there is a plan to create 7 new forest parks with similar characteristics. (FAO 2018)

154

Although the topographic conditions of Cantho are obviously different from the slopes of Peru. The Lima case reinforces the idea of how planting forests could address with success to stabilize the soil in general and particularly on the ravines; Although using forest systems to stabilize and generate more soil is a strategy that has been used for a long time in the internal channels of the Mekong Delta. The planting of forests with their status as soil generators can be used in figures that are not necessarily linear, (along the river) but in patched figures serving as a framework for new settlements, as is the case of Lima Peru.


155 © FAO 2018


03_Forest as a social infrastructure PHILADELPHIA ORCHARD PROJECT

2007

Š POP 2019

Philadelphia, US

POP

Philadelphia Orchard Project is an organization that has been working since 2007 planting and supporting community orchards in the city. Philadelphia as many other cities in the us is a postindustrial city with more than 40,000 vacant lots. So the organization saw this situation as an opportunity to grow fruit for the people. The way that it works is that they planted and the partnerships take care of the orchards, these partnerships could be from schools to churches and another different kinds of communities groups. The Philadelphia Orchard Project is an organization that has been working since 2007 planting and supporting community orchards in the city. Philadelphia as many other cities in the US is a postindustrial city with more than 40,000 vacant lots. So the organization saw this situation as an opportunity to grow fruit for the people. The way that it works is that they planted and the partnerships take care

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of the orchards, these partnerships could be from schools to churches and others different kinds of community groups. They see it as a powerful tool for building community, using orchards spaces as gathering spaces in their neighborhoods. Normally the neighborhoods get involved through different activities for example they use to organize seasonal harvest festivals. The orchard is planted with permaculture design. So there are not just trees but also other plants to help build good soil and attract beneficial insects. As we know orchards have environmental benefits absorbing carbon as other trees do, but also they reduce food miles. The presence of the system is also an opportunity to teach ecology. They believe that every school in the city should have an orchard. According to Phil Forsyth the director of the organization, Cities have traditionally


Š POP 2019

regarded urban agriculture as temporary land use; but because of the presence of trees orchards have a greater sense of permanence than do vegetable gardens. (POP 2020) The project is interesting for Cantho as an engine of building community; the management and care of orchards as a community-building makes the presence of orchards permanent within the urban fabric. It becomes more evident, easy, and powerful when there is a community that supports it, becoming a structural part of the urban fabric. This strategy could work in the case of Cantho where new urbanization is taking over the productive landscape; by strengthening the orchard structure in order to maintain and embed open and ecological spaces into the urban tissue.

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Conclusions It becomes evident, either from Cantho or other parts of the world, that from an

In the main, in order to maintain and strengthen the forest and orchard structure

ecological, social, and even economic point of view the forest as an infrastructure

in Cantho city, it is necessary to, first at all being aware of the environmental issues

for the cities brings many welfares. From simply but not less important cleaning

it is addressing, spacially the paper is playing as the mediator between water and

the air and cooling the weather, to address in a resilient way some of the disasters

land. The forest as a resilient edge. Secondly, the value it has, as structure, to lead,

caused by climate change; from bringing recreational spaces to working as an engine

frame, and complement urbanization, to reconfigure environments with more

building community; from being a source of local economies to saving money by

capacity to address challenges of climate change; and finally taking into account

invest in a self-regeneration infrastructure. However, behind this generous system,

the relationship forest and orchard has with the social tissue. How at the same time

it is always appropriate not only to have good management of it but also to plan it

it could be a powerful engine to build community, also needs the community to

with relevant design strategies that can take advantage of its full potential.

remain as a solid structure.

I would say that one of the main matters of designing urban forestry is the necessity

To conclude, either in Cantho or any other part of the world in terms of ecology,

to look at it as an interwoven tissue. We can learn from the system of forest itself

economy, education, community building, and food access forest should be accepted

how it supports the interaction of different units organized by vertical substrates;

and promoted as a permanent of city infrastructure.)

So, the question here is how the vertical structures of forest inspire the urban structures? knowing that “it is generally accepted by now that zoning is outdated and that planning should rather facilitate vertical superposition.” (Wambecq 2019) On the other hand, this superposition should work as a connected network; from patches embed into the city to a “larger system that extends as a continuous, interconnected regional system.” (Shannon 2018) as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says “although every tree makes a contribution to the quality of city life, the integration of trees and forests into networks of green spaces will maximize the benefits.” (FAO 2018) Based on that it is important to think about how these green networks overlap with the urban network and vice versa; how these two systems could coexist and maybe become a larger one? because having a fenced and closed forest into the city, (or surrounding it as a green belt) will not really contribute in a fulfilling way. Under the assumption that “it is evident that the monofunctional specialization of space, in the end, leads to a loss of ecological systems and biodiversity.”(Wambecq 2019) and by understanding the system has a wide shade of benefits crossing different scales, it becomes an incentive to design its integration on the tissue with as many variations as purposes.

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References Books and scientific articles :

thoughtco.com/how-forest-ecosystem-is-defined-1342812 (accessed June 9, 2020).

American Forests (2012) Urban Forests Case Studies: Chalenges; Potential and

Philadelphia Orchard Project POP (2020) https://www.phillyorchards.org/

Succes in a Dozen Cities. Scott Steen Publisher.

programs/

De Meulder, B. and K. Shannon. (2013). Mangroving Ca Mau, Vietnam. Water

The Editors Scientific American (2020). To Stop Pandemics, Stop Deforestation” in

and forest as development frames. In Water Urbanisms East, B. De Meulder and

Scientific American 322, 6, 8

K. Shannon (eds.), 118–137. Zurich: Park Books, UFO Explorations of Urbanism 3 De Meulder, B. and Shannon, K. (2014)‘Forests and Trees in the City: Southwest Flanders and the Mekong Delta’, in Revising Green Infrastructure: Concepts Between Nature and Design, eds. Daniel Czechowski, Thomas Hauck and Georg Hausladen (London: CRC Press, FAO (2018). Forests and sustainable cities Inspiring stories from around the world, Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Shannon, K., (2019) Urgent internventions needed at the territorial scale, now more than ever. The Politics of Designing for the Future: Ethics and Sustainability’ in Routledge Research Companion of Landscape Architecture, E. Braae and H. Steiner (eds.), London: Routledge, pp. 207-218 Wambecq, W. (2018).Abstract Urban forestry in transition,Ku Leuven, 1.

On-line documents and websites : American Planning Association. (2020)APA https://www.planning.org/blog/ blogpost/9101370/ Left Michael (2016)The Vibrant Cities Lab Urban Forestry Toolkit The Sustainable Urban Forest: A Step-by-Step Approach. U.S. Forest Service and Davey Institute https://www.vibrantcitieslab.com/toolkit/ Nix, Steve. “Understanding Forest Ecosystems and Biodiversity.” ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-forest-ecosystem-and-biodiversity-1342815 (accessed May 30, 2020). Nix, Steve. “How a Forest Ecosystem is Defined.” ThoughtCo. https://www.

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FATIHA HAMID

DECODING SLOW TOURISM An exploration of the multi-dimentional sustainable alternative

Introduction CanTho famous for its water-borne transport, diverse landscapes and intriguing

advocates the conservation of cultural values, traditional practices and architectural

culture has procured a robust international tourism identity over the past years.

pattern language. Stemming from the “slow food” philosophy that took birth in

Tourism as of now is an enormous global business entailing 10.4 per cent of global

Italy in the early 2000’s as a reaction to the fast life lived in contemporary society. It

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 10 per cent of global employment. (Joppe

conserves and preserves not only the culture but is an innovative and educational

2020) This global industry has been rapidly shifting from a steady structure into a

approach that promotes a deeper understanding of others’ cultures in both tangible

dynamic one as it caters to the ever increasing demands of tourists. (Özdemir and

and intangible prospects. The movement, along with the change in the concept of

Çelebi 2018) With the positive impacts such as economic growth, it is also bringing

travel, has also brought about a change in the use of time during one’s trip. (Valls,

negative impacts such as ecological degradation due to the carbon foot-print of

et al. 2019)

travel and increasing the climate change vulnerability. Following the triple bottom line approach, “caring for the integrity of physical As tourism grows, it pressurizes certain global standards of living upon different

ecosystem, economic viability and social responsibility” (Singh 2012) Dodds claims

regions ignoring the context and vernacularism in the form of hotels and public

it “shifts the balance of social power and decision making to local stakeholders and

spaces to cater to the international audience and users. This leaves the locals with

places a greater priority on supply-side issues and concerns of tourism destinations”

underused public spaces as observed in the urban cores of Can Tho. With the

“shifts the balance of social power and decision making to local stakeholders and

construction of roadways, impermeable promenades and concrete platforms the

places a greater priority on supply-side issues and concerns of tourism destinations”

area is becoming more prone to flooding and other natural disasters. Such impacts

(Dodds 2012) creating a sustainable model for ecological and economic growth on

have led people to search for alternative responsible ways. Although, concerned

various scales while responding to challenges of climate change. It empowers the

tourism has always existed, more sustainable ways are being devised and modified

local communities by encouraging community participation, power redistribution

overtime as new models for tourism. One such alternative way is slow tourism.

and regenerating local economies in the form of Community based tourism and

Slow tourism can be taken as viable approach to a low carbon economy that

local homestays.

supports the wise-use of resources with consumption not exceeding the ability of the host destination in order to maintain their long term viability. (Butcher 2012) It

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Break down of slow tourism framework

161

© https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/SLOW-TOURISM-AS-THE-SUSTAINABLEALTERNATIVE-FOR/d387f3b17f2a945f8ea547b48e5d10ec6ea0e8ea


Šhttps://www.mytaiwantour.com/news/detail/2

1) Slow Tourism as a sustainable Alternative: the case of Agritourism and local economies (Wellawaya Rural Farmstay, Moeragala district, Uva, Sri Lanka) 2) Slow travel, Conservancy and Contextual Development through Community based Tourism (Fisherman Homestay, Nelayan Pantai Suri, Kelantan, Tumpat, Malaysia) 3) Slow Tourism as an Institution of exchange of Cultures, Education, Recreation and Innovation (New Space Art Foundation, Hue, Vietnam; AFD LVS, Pakistan)

Š https://www.themiracleisland.com/rural-farm-stay.php

This study aims to explore the dimensions of slow tourism as a sustainable alternative to mass tourism by classifying the research into 3 chapters:

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Conceptual framework for community-based action to influence tourism

163 Šhttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/258161249_Community_Behavior_and_Sustainable_Rural_Tourism_Development/figures?lo=1


01_Slow Tourism as a Sustainable Development Alternative: the case of Agritourism and local economies WELLAWAYA RURAL FARMSTAY

Year Unknown

Š https://www.vanverre.be/sri-lanka/hotels/wellawaya/rural-farmstay.htm?img=358746

Moeragala district, Uva, Sri Lanka

Private Ownersh

Agricultural communities usually face slow economic development as less-favored regions. Tourism acts as major source of supplementary income for the farmers especially to help manage the risk in farming occurred due to uncertainties of production and marketing. Agri-tourism as a mix of two of these sectors: agriculture and tourism is used as a risk managing strategy to diversify farm businesses. It is a practice of attracting visitors and tourists to rural communities for a form of relaxation that follows the growing trend of slow tourism that is both educational and recreational (Mahaliyanaarachchi 2016) One such example is the Wellawaya

Rural Farmstay. Located in the Moeragala district in Uva Province of Sri Lanka, Wellawaya rural farm stay is an example of shifting the balance of social power and decision making to local stakeholders. (Dodds 2012) Away from the busy and frenetic city life, the farmstay is an exemplary eco getaway. Eco cottages with traditional spatial arrangements are built with local materials within a working farm consisting of various types of crops and orchards including Orange, Banana, Papaya, and Mango covering 30 acres of land. The farm stay overlooks a natural lake which is frequently visited by herds of wild Elephants as well nearly 30 different


© https://www.vanverre.be/sri-lanka/hotels/wellawaya/ rural-farmstay.htm?img=358746 © http://www.srilankansafari.com/cultural-and-wildlifeexperince-in-rural-farm-stay.php

© http://www.manjulikapramod.com/2018the-kingdom-experiencing-the-wilderness-outside-yala-in-sri-lanka/travel/

varieties of birds. (Sri Lankan Expeditions 2016). “A concentration on following features can be observed: slowness and the value of time; locality and activities at the destination; mode of transport and travel experience; and environmental consciousness” (McGrath and Lumsdon 2011) The tourist motivation factors are catered to, “In terms of push factors, relaxation, self-reflection and discovery, escape, novelty-seeking, environmental concern and social interaction are identified, along with Engagement as a pull factor.” (Özdemir and Çelebi 2018) On the one hand it helps generate sustainable

economic solutions for the rural communities driving contextual development with the possibilities of developing alternative job options. And on the other it allows the tourists to experience, understand and learn the local culture by living in vernacular homes and following the local practices by working in farms – growing, harvesting and buying production directly from the farmers. This also creates a sense of trust and belonging among the locals and the tourists.

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02_Slow Travel, Conservancy and Contextual Development through Community-Based Tourism FISHERMAN HOMESTAY NELAYAN PANTAI SURI ©Sustainable Tourism Model Source: Sanagustín Fons M.V. Moseñe Fierro J.A., Gómez y Patiño M. – “Rural tourism: A sustainable alternative”, 2011, p. 552

Kampung Pantai Suri Village, Kelantan, Tumpat, Malaysia

community benefits -participation -education -health -employment -visitor satisfaction

COMMUNITY BASED ECONOMICS

Community Ownership 1995

economic benefits to locals and other stakeholders -economically viable industry

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

CONSERVATION WITH EQUITY

ENVIRONMENT ECONOMY INTEGRATION

-resource benefits -minimal resource degradation -acceptance of resource values matching of supply and demand

Community based ecotourism projects have already been initiated in south Asian countries. Taking the case of Fisherman Homestay Nelayan Pantai Suri in Kelantan district of Tumpat province, Malaysia – in 1995, the Malay government launched a homestay program aiming to boost the participation of rural communities in the sustainable tourism sector to elevate economic level in the underprivileged areas with minimum hindrance to the ecological element. A small village situated in the Kelantan state which is a rural state in the

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northeast of peninsular Malaysia – a deltaic region where more than 30 islands are situated around the estuary of Kelantan River. This particular Island is one of the 13 inhabited Islands where the Kelantan River functions as the major source of living and communication for the inhabitants. It is a fishing community where the traditional practices and culture of the village has been preserved throughout the ages. Almost all of the 150 family units in this community participate in the homestay program. The village is dotted with coconut trees which give them the


Šhttps://muhammadismailibrahim.wordpress.com/2011/10/21/the-kelantan-delta-pulau-suri/

opportunity to sell products grown and harvested in the farms directly to the tourists giving them a more authentic experience. Where they not only enjoy the fresh farm grown products but also get a firsthand experience at the practices related to agriculture and local gastronomy. The primary way to reach this village is by boat and water mobility is much more in use than road infrastructure making it a car-free zone. (Ibrahim 2011) Local floating markets are also managed and owned by the community with the homestays. The

local mobility factor promotes slow travel with slow tourism as the tourists use local mode of transport allowing contextual infrastructural development, not only responding to climate change challenges and achieving long-term sustainability but also giving a more authentic experience to the tourist.

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03_Slow Tourism. Travel as an Institution of Exchange of Cultures & Shared Education NEW SPACE ART FOUNDATION

Le Ngoc Thanh & Le Duc Hai 2008

© https://alternativeasia.net/en/report/1771/

© https://www.booking.com/hotel/vn/new-space-arts-stay.en-gb.html

Lai The Village, Phu Thuong commune, Phu Vang District, Hue, Vietnam

A space dedicated for those who seek to learn local cultures through the lens of fine arts, an independent art space was founded by the Le twins in Hue city named as The New Space Art Foundation [NSAF]. The aim of the homestay/art residency is to bring together national and international artists on a common platform; a place for people to meet and create. Focusing on increasing the appreciation for different art forms, mainly contemporary, mongst general public; the main activities at NSAF include financially and spatially supporting artists and young Vietnamese students by providing them with a platform and giving them opportunities to express their ideas. (Thanh&Hai 2010) Also, to cooperate and collaborate with different artitsts and tourists from different cultures and backgrounds making it’s also a platform for cultural exchange.

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For the tourists who are not from the field are given a tour and learning classes about the local culture and traditional art and are engaged in such activities so they can also join in and play their part; a place where the tourists are not just learning and taking in but are also giving back. (Ogawa 2016)


LAAJVERD VISITING SCHOOL

2014

Š http://lvs.laajverd.org/

Pakistan

Zahra Hussain

The nature of tourism is multifaceted. As some travel to relax, self-reflect and discover, others move in search of shared knowledge as seen in the case of a research lab in Pakistan called as lvs (Laajverd Visiting School) under the project AFD (Academy for Democracy). Expanding the horizons of slow travel, it deals with sites of prone/post conflict and disasters by bringing together practitioners and students with the local community to generate effective responses to the challenges by understanding and learning the local practices. “The immediate goal of the AFD is to collaboratively engage with the community under study in order to analyse the context and experiment multiple ways of reconciliation. The visiting school further composes a trans-disciplinary curriculum for higher education, presenting a workable and academically feasible design for shared knowledge building under the AFD visiting school auspices� says Hussain as she explains the major aim of the organization (Hussain 2011). The visiting school has

been actively running since 2014. The local community hosts the students and experts where a potent exchange of knowledge takes place between the two parties over the days that are spent there. Lvs interprets slow tourism framework as an opportunity to not only visit the diverse landscapes and cultures but also develop an in-depth understanding of the evolution of these cultures and map the causes of socio-cultural and ecological degradation in order to catalog them and revive them. and the lower share in agriculture GDP (Long et al., 2010). Its rural areas have the smallest farming holdings, characterised by high level of mechanised agriculture, producing mainly rice, vegetables and cash crops. Fishery industry, here, is the most developed of the country, representing almost the 7 per cent of the cultivated lands (Fanfani and Brasili, 2010; Khan et al., 2008; Ling and Weimin, 2010).

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Conclusions Slow tourism can be seen as a movement that brings together different concepts of

offering homestay experiences that deliver glimpses of rural life to curious guests”

travel and visit that call for respecting the socio-cultural and ecological values and

(Kontogeorgopoulos, Churyen and Duangsaeng 2015). During field-research, it

structures of the destinations. It advocates “less rapidity and more tranquility” as

was observed that the authenticity of the homestay programs was questionable and

a research held in Maderia describes, “seeking to discover the small, the peculiar,

such issues direly need to be addressed.

and the personal; an alternative way of approaching routes, local culture, and zerokilometer products; keen awareness and care of the environment; and emphasis on

In order to solve one issue without giving birth to another, it is essential to have

the search for authentic experience” (Valls, et al. 2019)

a balance and not embrace inauthenticity in the process of introducing tourists to the local culture, which can prove to have a long-term negative impact on the

With its diverse landscapes and related local cultural practices, CanTho –where

ecology and can put the local practices of the destination at risk. Especially, after the

water is the main identity; the major mode of transport, commerce, production

covid-19 pandemic, it has become more attractive or rather essential to get back to

and entertainment, there is seen a dichotomy of new and old development. With

nature. And more than ever the implementation of slow travel and slow tourism in

the rapid urbanization, mass tourism is also spurring causing evident damage with

a more balanced way has become crucial. As to conclude, this research explored an

large carbon footprints. Through incorporating the different types of slow travel

analyzed the diverse layers of slow tourism as it emerges as a sustainable alternative

such as agroforestry, CBT (Community based tourism), slow travel etc., the notable

for tourism allowing socio-economic growth while respecting the environment and

degradation of permeable landscape, local water and agricultural practices will be

cultural facets.

revived and revitalized throughout the region driving regional development with more job opportunities feeding rural economic growth while keeping the ecological and socio-cultural equilibrium. For instance, PhongDien has a future prospect of becoming an eco-tourism city and as witnessed during site visit a number of inhabitants and local are increasingly involved in the homestay business promoting slow tourism. However, Slow Tourism in the contemporary society can be seen as “a double-edged sword”. In the case of CanTho, on the one hand, it is responding to the challenges and negative impacts of mass tourism “giving real substance and content to the concept of tourism valorizing the authenticity of the experience at the destination. As opposed to mass tourism which negates the essential meaning and nature of tourism and makes the destination a standardized product for mass consumption” (Moira, Mylonopoulos and Kondoudaki 2017) But on the other, the success of slow-tourism is further leading to issues of authenticity, commercialization and face-keeping of local culture. “Notwithstanding such challenges, the rural communities will have to respond to tourist demand for novelty by commercializing their homes and

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References Books and scientific articles :

On-line documents and websites :

Butcher, Jim. “The Mantra of ‘community Participation’ in Context.” In Critical

Hussain, Zahra. Academy for Democracy. 2011. http://lvs.laajverd.org/ (accessed

Debates in Tourism, by Tej Vir Singh, 95. Bristol, UK: Channel View Publications,

June 4, 2020).

2012.

Ibrahim, Mohammad Ismail. “The Kelantan Delta: Pulau Suri.” The Kelantan Times.

Dickinson, Janet E, Derek Robbins, and Les M Lumsdon. “Slow travel: issues for

October 2011. https://muhammadismailibrahim.wordpress.com/2011/10/21/the-

tourism and climate change.” Journal of Sustainable Tourism , 2011: 281-300.

kelantan-delta-pulau-suri/ (accessed March 20, 2020).

Dodds, Rachel. “Questioning Slow as Sustainable .” In Critical Debates in Tourism,

Joppe, Marion. “The coronavirus will hit the tourism and travel sector hard.” The

by Tej Vir Singh, 380-384. 2012.

Conversation. Febuary 2, 2020. https://theconversation.com/the-coronavirus-will-

Gunesch, Konrad. “The ecological and social power of slow tourism for sensitive

hit-the-tourism-and-travel-sector-hard-130872 (accessed June 1, 2020).

yet profitable environmental sustainability: international insights for airline and

Ogawa, Nozomu. ALTERNATIVE ASIA. March 30, 2016. https://alternativeasia.

business travel from intercultural student and spiritual stakeholders .” Review of

net/en/report/1771/ (accessed May 20, 2020).

Socio-Economic Perspectives, 2017: 125-138.

Satli, Jamal. “Circular economy: the key to a sustainable tourism industry.” Turismo

Kontogeorgopoulos, Nick, Anuwat Churyen, and Varaphorn Duangsaeng.

Sostenible. June 20, 2019. http://www.jamalsatli.com/en/economia-circular-la-

“Homestay Tourism and the Commercialization of the Rural Home in Thailand.”

clave-para-un-sector-turistico-sostenible/ (accessed June 1, 2020).

Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 2015: 29-50. Mahaliyanaarachchi, Rohana. “Agri Tourism as a Risk Management Strategy in Rural Agriculture Sector: with Special Reference to Developing Countries.” Journal of Agricultural Sciences , 2016: 1. McGrath, Peter, and Les M Lumsdon. “Developing a conceptual framework for slow travel: a grounded theory approach.” Journal of sustainable tourism, 2011: 265-279. Moira, Polyxeni, Dimitrious Mylonopoulos, and Aikaterini Kondoudaki. “The

Sri Lankan Expeditions. 2016. https://srilankanexpeditions.nl/rural-farm-stayexperience.php (accessed March 10, 2020). Thanh, Le Ngoc, and Le Duc Hai. New Arts Space Foundation. September 2010. http://www.newspacearts.com/index.php/home/news/36 (accessed March 15, 2020). Valls, Josep-Francesc, Luis Mota, Sara Cristina Freitas Vieira, and Rossana Santos. “Opportunities for Slow Tourism in Madeira.” MDPI; Sustainability , 2019.

Application of Slow Movement to Tourism: Is Slow Tourism a New Paradigm?” Journal of Tourism and Leisure Studies , 2017: 1-10. Özdemir, Gökçe, and Duygu Çelebi. “Exploring dimensions of slow tourism motivation.” Anatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, 2018: 540-552. Singh, Tej Vir. Critical Debates in Tourism. Bristol, UK: Channel News Publisher, 2012.

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SHUBHRA KANSAL

Urban Rural Metabolism Investigating synergies, speeds and flows

Introduction The definition of metabolism as abstracted from a human body refers to reactionary

concept advocates for, both societies are manmade systems representing different

processes defined by flows and speeds that survive an ecosystem. The concept of

speeds and metabolic components.

urban metabolism has got much attention in a rapidly urbanizing world. Beginning from Metabolism of cities by Wolman (WOLMAN 1965) to multi-disciplinary

This is especially true of Cantho, Vietnam- a largely rural society experiencing

alignments in urban ecology, political ecology, industrial ecology etc, urban

recent shift towards urbanization. The rural here is dominated by rows of farm

metabolism is understood as “exchange processes whereby cities transform raw

units as conceptual factories for processing water, soil and air into food surplus

materials, energy, and water into the built environment, human biomass, and waste”

while also producing human biomass and generating wastes. The urban core in

(Decker et al. 2000)(Broto, Allen, and Rapoport 2012) Extending this concept

Cantho are dominated by fast vehicle-munching roads servicing dense human

beyond the urban, the relation between urban and rural can be understood in the

colonies using water, food and energy from elsewhere to feed itself and mutate.

same light.

With this dichotomy causing environmental and social instability, the urban-rural metabolism looks at a synthesis between the two ecosystems, which could help them

The urban was formed as an advancement in the rural society by reaching sufficiency

both become sustainable territories. As gathered from site visits and meetings, the

in agriculture. It has evolved to a point where the urban and rural are regarded as

rural in Cantho is highly disconnected from urban amenities and a site of ground

antagonistic and dichotomic worlds that embody an urban rural continuum. This

water and soil pollution while the urban is increasingly facing issues of surface

essay wants to however want to urge to look differently. As stated by Koolhaas “it

flooding, concrete sprawl and air and water pollution.

will no longer be about meticulous definition, the imposition of limits, but about expanding notions, denying boundaries, not about separating and identifying

Is there a way to bring the urban to enrich the rural and the rural to find a place

entities, but about discovering unnameable hybrids” (Koolhaas 1995). “It seems to

in the urban? Can the relation between these two ecosystems evolve to include a

me that there exists a city versus village concept with an emphasis on cities.” - Kisho

synthesized synergetic connotation? Can these two systems be sustainably linked

Kurukawa (ArchEyes 2016) We as humans are beginning to realise that expanding

in metabolisms that survive and enrich them both?

our presence to every corner of earth would be a dangerous idea. (Wilson 2016) Looking at the rural and urban as ecosystems, which is what the metabolism

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Š OSA KU Leuven

Photographs of rural and urban ecosystems as presently defined in Cantho, Vietnam, 2020

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01_Synthesizing Speeds JIN-MEI PARASITIC PATHWAY

2008

©google images

Yilan City, Taiwan

Fieldoffice Architects

Yilan is considered “as a rural county with a city at its heart” (Huang and Hung 2016). Fieldoffice architects have been working in the area for several years now. Their work is focused on redefining the urban rural relationship to create a way of living in the urban rural mix. Through their projects they are constantly trying to blur boundaries and create new hybrids. The Jin Mei pedestrian bridge is called “parasitic” in the way that is has leeched on to the motor bridge that spans from the urban city to the rural agricultural landscape of Yilan.

The project began on the city side, where an open space corridor was defined in the spaces found between public institutions and neighborhoods next to the riverbank. The project was then extended to flow to over the river as an infrastructural component and connect to the larger rural territory on the other side. (Huang and Hung 2016)


© Huang and Hung 2016

While one part of the bridge caters to fast moving, polluting vehicles, the “parasite” encourages slower modes of walking, cycling and play. The architectural elements of the bridge use modular replaceable materials like bamboo, wood and metal to create an alternative way to flow in the landscape of Yilan. The bridge can be considered a synthesis of two very different speeds belonging to different ecosystems of urban and rural, to create an infrastructure that reflects an ‘urbanrural mix’. In the process it alters the flows and speeds that define the metabolisms of the two ecosystems.

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02_Urban flowing to the Rural City AGRICULTURE CITY

1960

©ArchEyes 2016

Aichi, Japan

Kisho Kurokawa

The Agriculture City is a project by Metabolist architect Kiro Kushokawa for the rural towns of Aichi, Japan. Aichi had been devasted by a massive typhoon in 1959 that caused severe flooding in the rural areas. As a response to this, the architect proposed the idea of a rural city that would be built 4m above the ground and be structured in a grid of social and infrastructural amenities to prevent loss of property and life in case of future typhoons and provide a frame for the settlement to grow. (ArchEyes 2016) He believed that “rural communities are cities whose means of production are

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in agriculture”. He advocated the existence of different kinds of cities to create compact communities that are linked by an urban system. (ArchEyes 2016) And so he created a project to frame the present and future development of an agriculture city. (Urban 2011) The settlement consists of a basic grid unit of 500m x 500m that has community and education facilities at the core. For enabling a common handling of architecture works, the grid comprises of mushroom-shaped house units connected by linear network of roads, monorails, electricity and water services. (ArchEyes 2016)


Š ArchEyes 2016

The houses are conceptualized as living quarters for an agricultural society and contains storage for equipment and produce. These are lifted off the ground and housed in the structurally stable core of the mushroom unit. Each house is connected to the grid that provides basic amenities and enriches public social life. (ArchEyes 2016) The project breaks the urban rural continuum by advocating a future vision for a rural society that grows not to become a city as we define it today, but as an agricultural city.

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03_Slowing the urban VAC-LIBRARY

2018

Photographer- Thai Thach, Viet Dung An, ArchDaily, 2020

HA NOI, Vietnam

Farming Architects

Vietnam has a cyclic nutrient concept of farming called the VAC system. This system loops the inputs and outputs from the linked productive systems of horticulture, animal husbandry and aquaculture to create a synergetic module of agriculture. (Farming Architects n.d.) Farming Architects based in Hanoi, Vietnam have been working to bring these rural concepts to the urban to create sustainable didactic environment friendly architecture.

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The project uses a system of aquaponics to create a cyclic water loop where the excreta from the koi fish in the pond acts as nutrients for the potted plants in the frame. By accommodating renewable solar energy panels in the design, the structure becomes a modular self-reliant unit. (Gonzålez 2020) The architects imagine this model as being manifested in different combinations and intensities as per the user’s needs. The library assumes a didactic role for the urban kids by teaching them an important concept of the rural society of Vietnam.


Photographer- Thai Thach, Viet Dung An, ArchDaily, 2020

The project brings the learning from a rural society to the urban to create a new model of architecture that is synonymous with flows of nature, environment and self-sustenance. As stated by the architects, “We are like farmers who sow green in the urban fields

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Conclusions The projects set in the asian contexts of Taiwan, Japan and Vietnam show a way

Speeds

forward for visualizing projects that synthesize and interact with synergies, flows

The infusion of a slower pace in the urban by inclusion of natural cycles in the

and speeds.

form of urban farming, ecological infrastructure and water ecology can moderate and sustain its ecosystem. While the integration of urban facilities and structure

Synergies

in the realm of habitat, public space and infrastructure and amenities can increase

Learning from concepts of hybridization and going beyond antagonisms in urban

social justice and quality of life in the rural areas and provide a new rural growth

rural definitions, the two ecosystems can produce different hybrids depending on

paradigm.

their local contexts. The urban city could benefit from the rural city by provision of food from agriculture, fisheries, etc. The agriculture city could gain from the urban

In a dominantly rural society like Cantho, projects that create hybrids and facilitate

city, innovations in goods and services like transport, machines, communications.

a metabolic exchange between urban-rural ecosystems rather than a linear

They are both societies with different means of production and different operational

continuum will help redefine the way of living and growth in Cantho.

speeds that metabolize their territories. Flows There is a didactic element nurtured in every form of society. The experience of a society creates learnings that are embedded in its cultural context but have larger meaning that could benefit another societal system. In Vietnam the rich culture and practices produced by its largely rural history, while it reflects itself in the urban culture, can be further interpreted and integrated to create meaningful flows of exchange.

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References ArchEyes. 2016. “Agricultural City, 1960 / Kisho Kurokawa.” Archeyes Timeless Architecture. 2016. https://archeyes.com/agricultural-city-kurokawa-kisho/. Broto, Vanesa Castán, Adriana Allen, and Elizabeth Rapoport. 2012. “Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Urban Metabolism.” Journal of Industrial Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-9290.2012.00556.x. Corner, James. 2012. “Terra Fluxus.” Lotus International. Decker, Ethan H., Scott Elliott, Felisa A. Smith, Donald R. Blake, and F. Sherwood Rowland. 2000. “Energy and Material Flow through the Urban Ecosystem.” Annual Review of Energy and the Environment. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev. energy.25.1.685. Farming Architects. n.d. “Thư Viện VAC Phố Thị / VAC-LIBRARY.” Website. Accessed June 10, 2020. http://farmingarchitects.com/project/thu-vien-vac-phothi--vac-library/15/. González, María Francisca González. 2020. “Vac-Library / Farming Architects.” ArchDaily.

2020.

https://www.archdaily.com/908873/vac-library-farming-

architects. Huang, Sheng Yuan, and Yu Hsiang Hung. 2016. “Fieldoffice Architects In Situ: Reflecting on the Rural-Urban Mix in Yilan, Taiwan.” Architectural Design. https:// doi.org/10.1002/ad.2068. Koolhaas, Rem. 1995. “Whatever Happened to Urbanism?” Design Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.2307/4091351. Parvu, Sandra. 2016. “Indefinitely Intermediate: Processes of Ruralisation in Chisinau, Moldova.” Architectural Design. https://doi.org/10.1002/ad.2064. Urban, Florian. 2011. “Kenzo Tange and the Metabolist Movement.” The Journal of Architecture. https://doi.org/10.1080/13602365.2011.598725. Wilson, Edward O. 2016. “Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life,” 272. WOLMAN, A. 1965. “THE METABOLISM OF CITIES.” Scientific American.

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FRANCESCO LOMBARDI

Public spaces as infrastructures New types of public parks/spaces

Introduction The tradition and development of public spaces in Vietnam are connected to

environment the main terms that emerge are the savage and unruled urbanization

historical and socio-cultural factors. Looking into the different phases that the

and the increasing unpredictability of rainfalls, heavy storms, and floods.

country has gone through, from the pre-colonial period and the French colonization

In the climate change perspective, these two terms are strongly connected

to the socialist nation and the post-socialist open market government, the role of

and interdependent, since not only “urbanization invariability increases the

formal and designed public spaces has always been uncertain. Few are the pieces of

flood risk as a result of heightened vulnerability” (Hong, 2013, p. 380), but it

evidence of social spaces in the pre-colonial Vietnam, while the imposition of the

also leads to the modification of the microclimate of the local environment.

distinction public/private has come with the French colonial regime, which tried

Indeed urban centers, together with the increase of impermeable soil lowering

to formalize the multi-use spaces of the streets into single-use ones. Furthermore,

the ground filtration, generate the ‘heat island effect’, developing higher

the socialist regime, developed after the I and II Indochina war, has been a great

temperatures, up to 25% more than the surrounding regions. Along with

promoter of propaganda public spaces, in which monumentality is the key feature.

the risks related to the water, biodiversity and surrounding nature are also threatened by the sprawling outskirts. In this frame, the role of new urban

However, after 1986, with the economic renovation of the open market, the

parks and public spaces become fundamental to generate synergies able

importance of the state has declined, leading to a loss of the authority and the

to address at the same time equality, social life, and climate change issues.

development of practices of informality and temporary appropriation of the streets and monumental squares. Today the social life of Vietnam is so defined by a

Among the different strategies that can be developed, three case studies have been

dichotomy: on one side, the attempt of the state to maintain control and on the other

chosen in relation to the way they deal with the necessity of a place for urban

the booming of informality as a way to reclaim and shape the living environment. The

relations and climate change policies:

goal is then to overcome this dialectical relation through the design of new formal

• Chulalongkorn Centennial Park: public space as an infrastructure for water;

public areas, taking the positive features from each of the typologies: the legality

• Jiading Central Park: public space as an infrastructure for water and biodiversity;

and organization of formal spaces and the vitality and richness of the informal ones.

• Parque Garcia Sanabria: public space as an infrastructure for biodiversity.

In this context, it is also necessary to take a position, through design, in the climate change discussion: when addressing the topic in the Vietnamese

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Š Google Street View Š N. Fredrick

Two sides of Can Tho: above, Ho Chi Minh Monument and, below, one of the alleys of the rural district of Phong Dien.

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01_Public Space as Water Infrastructure CHULALONGKORN CENTENARY PARK

Landprocess + N7A 2012-2017

Š Landprocess

Bangkok, Thailand

The park is designed to face future uncertainties of climate change and provide to the city of Bangkok a needed outdoor public space of 4,5 hectares. As Can Tho, the climate-vulnerable city has faced rapid urbanization, which has broadened the surface of the impermeable ground and increased the subsidence of the soil, that today is assessed to be two centimeters a year. In this context, the park is not only green public space, but also the largest planted roof of Thailand, an urban forest, and a container for water. Indeed up to one million gallons of water can be stored up, reducing the risks associated with

184

seasonal rains, flooding, and the urban heat island effect. The system is extremely simple: using only gravity, by sitting on a 3-degree slope, the park can sustainably collect, treat, and hold water, generating a complete water circulation and purification system. Natural depuration and phytoremediation techniques are applied: the water, passing through the rain gardens and cascading weirs, is filtered in the constructed wetland and then goes into the retention pond, where can be stored in three underground tanks that can hold enough water to irrigate the park for up to a month.


Š Landprocess

The project features also a detention-lawn, allowing space for severe flooding and retention pond overflow: the design takes into account a 50-year return period precipitation intensity, providing a space that, more than a public park, is an efficient infrastructure for heavy and seasonal rainfalls and floodings. The biodiversity of the area has been restored: following the planting concept of the urban forest, 300 varieties of plants and trees have been grown, among lowmaintenance native grass and weeds, planted to attract local birds and insects.

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02_Public Space as Water and Biodiversity Infrastructure JIADING CENTRAL PARK

2013

©SASAKI

Shangai, China

Sasaki

With its area of 70 ha, Jiading Central Park is the largest urban park in one of Shanghai’s most rapidly expanding district. The project acts as a walkable green corridor, connecting otherwise separated neighborhoods, with a sustainabilitydriven design, able to create public open spaces and restore natural systems. Due to years of poor practices, the water and ground of the site, which was previously a broad floodplain, have been polluted by the surrounding agricultural and industrial activities. In this context, the project is designed to act as a living filter sponge to enhance the ecological system, introducing wetlands, a stormwater

186

management system, woodland with native plantings, limited artificial lighting, and efficient reuse of existing materials and on-site structures. Among the new wet and woodlands, which host 21’000 native plant species coming from the environment of the Yangtze river, some zones are off-limits for humans. The isolation of these regions allows for better control over the conservation of the natural environment, providing the site with a strong chance to restore its biodiversity naturally. Furthermore, wildlife land bridges are constructed to facilitate the movement of animals throughout the project.


Š SASAKI

Besides the positive social outcome of the diverse programs of the public spaces, targeting different users in age, interest, and schedules, the ecological impact is massive. Indeed the quality and biodiversity of air and water have been improved drastically, clear water and fishing activity are present now, where once were algae, pollution, and dirt.

The project has remarkably increased the biodiversity of the site, with the increase of herring, egrets, and pollinators, providing further indication of improved water and air quality.  

The wetland also works as a retention pond for the neighborhood, doubling the stormwater catchment area, and rainwater harvesting have decreased potable water demand by 3.3 million gallons per year.

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03_Public Space as Biodiversity Infrastructure PARQUE GARCIA SANABRIA

2012-2017

© Google Maps

© Paltab - Palerm & Tabares de Nava

© Diario de Avisos

Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife

Paltab - Palerm & Tabares de Nava

The Parque Garcia Sanabria, sited in the core of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, capital of the Canary Islands Archipelago, is more than just a park, but an open-air museum, mixing environmental, botanical and artistic values, able to reconcile the nature with the city. Even though the archipelago is a center for vegetal biodiversity, the city of Santa Cruz hosts also the second biggest tourist port of Spain, which has led to strong urbanization. In this context, the Parque Garcia Sanabria is an example of a public space of biodiversity, deeply integrated into the urban context, through a fenceless

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border, free botanical visits, and internal avenues designed as extensions of the roads. It can be then considered a ‘small jungle’ in the city. The park, whose first proposal dates back to 1881, was inaugurated in 1926, but went through deterioration and has been restored in 2006 by the landscape studio Paltab – Palerm & Tabares de Nava. The idea of the 2006 project is to reconnect the park with the community and transform it, from a simple green area, into a public botanical garden, with artistic and public spaces embed in the vegetation.


Š Google Street View

Š Gestor Patrimonio Cultural

Four hectares, out of the total seven, are given to the flora: 200 native and exotic species are hosted here, with more than 70 different varieties of flowers, creating an organism full of richness and variety. The botanical promenade, introduced in 2006, is organized around a spiral path, opening the rigidity of the twentieth-century axes, but keeping the spatial organization. Thanks to the project of renovation, meant to increase the botanical wealth with new species and restore the micro-environment, the fauna biodiversity has been restored, with the return of birds and reptiles in the urban context.

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Conclusions The proposed case studies have been selected in relation to the way they address

Vietnam’s need for new public spaces and the increase of actions against climate

social and climate change issues. These spaces propose programs that are able to

change call for an integration of the strategies, to increase the resilience of the cities

integrate attractivity for different categories of users and strategies to mitigate and

and generate at the same time stronger sensibilization, community engagement,

restore the natural conditions of the environment in a smooth and efficient way.

and local identity.

Indeed, despite being designed, a certain freedom of use and informality is present in the spaces: in Chulalongkorn Park, the proximity to the university is an occasion to design open-air classrooms, located on the sides of the main lawn. Furthermore, the seasonal presence of water in the detention area develops a set of interesting un-planned activities.

References

Unforeseen uses of the space, such as fishing, are also present in Jiading Central Park, while the avenues of the Parque Garcia Sanabria can easily turn into a crowded

Books and scientific articles :

vital street during the many celebrations of the island.

Donelli, Andrea, 2017, Drawing to Restore and Represent Urban Green Space

To tackle the climate change issues, the size of the area is something relevant, but the examples from Thailand and Canary Islands underline the possibility to act even on the small urban scale, producing infrastructures for water control, enhancement of biodiversity and reduction of the urban heat island through the mitigation of the

in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. UpLand-Juournal of Urban Planning, Landscape & Environmental Design, vol. 2, p. 117-135 Drummond, Lisa B. W., 2000, Street Scenes: Practices of Public and Private Space in Urban Vietnam. Urban Studies, vol. 37, pp. 2377-2391

microclimate. On the other side, Sasaki’s project, covering an area of 70 hectares,

Grimm-Pretner, Dagmar, Roland Wuck, 2009, Sustainability in Park Design.

can restore in a stronger way the natural conditions of the original wetland and

Landscape - Great Idea!, p. 78-81

provide a space in which, thanks to the design of off-limits woodlands and natural

Huong, H.T.L. , Assela Pathirana, 2013, Urbanization and climate change impacts

bridges connecting the riverbanks, humans, flora, and fauna are on the same level. Design strategies to address the water-related threats must play a primary role in the definition of public spaces for Vietnam since the flood and stormwater hazard is the main concern of the area.By exploiting the low topography of the Mekong Delta, public spaces can then become sponges to absorb water run-off, but also be

on future urban flooding in Can Tho city, Vietnam. Hydrology and Earth System Scinces, p. 379-394 Lara-Hernandez, Jose Antonio, Alessandro Melis, Claire M. Coulter, 2020, Temporary Appropriation and Informality. Temporary Appropriation in Cities, p. 59-77

integrated with wastewater natural treatment systems and collectors for the dry

Li, Feng, Rusong Wang, Juergen Paulussen, Xusheng Liu, 2004, Comprehensive

season. A strong green system, both along the streets and in strategical nodes, is

concept planning of urban greening based on ecological principles: a case study in

something still missing in most of the urban areas of the Delta, something that

Beijing, China. Landscape and Urban Planning, p. 325-336

could “increase the evapotranspiration and hence the latent heat flux.” (Huong,

Miao, Pu, 2001, Asia Public Places: Characteristics, Challenges, and Responses.

2013, p. 380)

190

Public Places in Asia Pacific Cities: Current Issues and Strategies, p. 273-93


Wolch, Jennifer R., Jason Byrne, Joshua P. Newell, 2014, Urban green space, public

Available at:https://landprocessdesign.wixsite.com/landprocess/cucentenarypark

health, and environmental justice: The challenge of making cities ‘just green enough’.

[Accessed 11 June 2020]

Landscape and Urban Planning, p. 234-244

Paltab.com, Restauración del parque García Sanabria [online] Available at: http://

Thomas, Mandy, 2002, Out of Control: Emergent Cultural Landscapes and Political

paltab.com/proyecto/restauracion-del-parque-garcia-sanabria/ [Accessed 11 June

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2020] Sasaki.com, Jiading Central Park [online] Available at: https://www.sasaki.com/

On-line documents and websites : Asla.org (2019), Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park [online] Available at: https://www.asla.org/2019awards/620062-Chulalongkorn_University_Centenary_ Park.html [Accessed 11 June 2020] Eldia.com (2019), José Manuel Ledesma Alonso - Parque García Sanabria, un jardín histórico [online] Available at: https://www.eldia.es/santa-cruz-detenerife/2019/08/25/parque-garcia-sanabria-jardin-historico/1003128.html

projects/jiading-central-park/ [Accessed 11 June 2020] Sasaki.com, Jiading Post-Occupancy Evaluation [online] Available at: https://www. sasaki.com/voices/jiading-central-park-three-years-later/ [Accessed 11 June 2020] Worldlandscapearchitect.com

(2019),

Holmes,

Damian

-

Chulalongkorn

Centenary Park: Green infrastructure for the city of Bangkok [online] Available at:

https://worldlandscapearchitect.com/chulalongkorn-centenary-park-green-

infrastructure-for-the-city-of-bangkok/ [Accessed 11 June 2020].

[Accessed 11 June 2020] Gestorpatrimoniocultural.cicop.com, Alboleda del Parque García Sanabria [online] Available at: http://gestorpatrimoniocultural.cicop.com/Santa_Cruz_de_Tenerife/ Arboleda_del_Parque_Garc%C3%ADa_Sanabria [Accessed 11 June 2020] Interjardin.com, Parque García Sanabria. Santa Cruz de Tenerife [online] Available at:

http://interjardin.com/proyecto/garcia-sanabria-ingenieria-embellecer/

[Accessed 11 June 2020] Issuu.com (2016), Tan Chin Hwa Joel - Jiading Central Park, FuturArc [online] Available at: https://issuu.com/sasakiassociates/docs/jiading-futurarc [Accessed 11 June 2020] Landezine.com, Jiading Central Park Sasaki [online] Available at: http://landezine. com/index.php/2016/08/jiading-central-park-by-sasaki/ [Accessed 11 June 2020] Landezine-award.com, Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park [online] Available at: https://landezine-award.com/chulalongkorn-university-centenarypark/ [Accessed 11 June 2020] Landprocessdesign.wixsite.com, Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park [online]

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SHRIYA MAHAMUNI

Waste Management Towards a sustainable water system in Can Tho

Introduction Can Tho City is a major urban center in the Vietnamese part of the lower Mekong

simultaneously affecting groundwater quality also as communities in peri urban

Delta. It comprises of nine districts with 5 being urban and 4 rural districts. There

areas are supplied water through groundwater schemes. The sewer network is an

is a lot of diversification present, infrastructure of water network tends to be lagging

intricate system of canals and creeks which also used for wastewater and stormwater,

in inner community parts, hence most of the peri urban areas don’t have clean

it concludes that there needs to be introduced a specific infrastructure for waste

water. Can Tho City has developed rapidly over the previous two decades, with

water management and that storm water cannot be merged with waste water, it’ll

significant economic growth and increased urbanization. It has developed around

save on treatment facilities and can be used differently.

the water since ages, water has played an important role and before urbanization

The current study shows that only 54% of households are connected to public sewers,

the river bodies were the main source for living, but its changed and the river has

the rest discharge waste directly into canals and creeks. Apart from residential

been exploited with waste increasing flooding risks and future climate change

the industrial sites also discharge directly into waterways. Anticipating the future

complications. At present there is a lack of clean water supply and sanitation in peri

growth of can tho, it has become a necessity to introduce a sustainable waste

urban areas, although the extent of access is highly varied between urban and rural

management system that also focuses on keeping the water quality from degrading.

areas.

This research paper will focus on studying and learning from case studies of diverse

The future of Can Tho sees a continued growth of residential, commercial and

scales from city scale to individual household to tackle and mitigate solutions for

industrial, there is an anticipation of rapid growth which will increase the pressure

treatment, supply and sewerage, taking into account the environmental impacts

of access to clean water, which will be achieved through the natural environment,

and climate change implications. Apart from just domestic use, stormwater and

waterways and groundwater. Groundwater is excessively used; it is used for domestic

wastewater separation needs to be taken into account, agriculture waste also needs

purposes in the rural area. In the Can Tho masterplan for 2030 the development is

to be considered carefully, agriculture being the prime source of income. It is seen

planned away from the main rivers, the location such being to reduce the threats of

that not only domestic waste but also agriculture waste that leads to pollution of

pollution increase on water quality.

river and increase in groundwater salinity. A proper waste management system can

The current wastewater network is a combined system of collection of wastewater

also control future impacts on flooding and climate change.

and stormwater, the current scenario of discharge shows that the waste is discharged directly into the river without any treatment, depleting the water quality and

192


Š Kelly Shannon, 2020.

Rapid urbanisation in south of vietnam polluting the canals, 2020.

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01_Case 1 Treatment TAN HOA LO GOM CANAL SANITATION PROJECT

Government implemented 2006

Š BTC 2014

Ho Chi Minh City

After the implementation of doi moi reforms in 1986 Vietnam developed at a rapid speed, it evolved at a very high speed which resulted in poverty making the south of Vietnam a poverty driven region, it was identified as a middle-income country. In Ho Chi Minh city the major canal networks were heavily polluted and increase in population saw overcrowding along the canals as well as small scale and large-scale industries. The city lacked a sewerage system and it caused environmental impacts like flooding the quality of canals was compromised, infrastructure development around solid waste collection was missing, this caused environmental degradation in Ho Chi Minh city.

194

HCMC decided to tackle the pollution and poverty along the canals and requested international assistance for the same, Belgium had contributed to the project tackling environmental, housing and social challenges along the Tan Hoa Lo Gom canal. The project included series of pilot projects having two sides, the hardware side and soft side. The hardware side would focus on upgrading activities, social housing, solid waste and wastewater treatment and introducing a collection system. The soft side invested in development around the community and generating activities for economic growth.


Š Kelly Shannon, BTC 2014

The project helped to simplify and reorganize the waste collection system in four wards. A 30ha aerated lagoon was built for wastewater treatment, it was built in one of the wards, compared to the classic treatment systems it was a cheap alternative with limited amounted of side effects make it effectively feasible for long term. The lagoon site was situated in the peri urban area of edge of the city, but with urbanization it is now surrounded by new construction of housings, leaving it still effective, it provides a rare green area and a park amidst the busy life of city.

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02_Case 2 Recreation SEMAKAU LANDFILL

Commissioned in 1999

© Author unknown https://www.towardszerowaste.sg/ semakau_landfill/

© Stacy Wong http://what-on-earth.weebly.com/the-scoop/ semakau-landfill-not-just-a-rubbish-island

Singapore

Government implemented

Singapore is a small island nation highly urbanized compared to Vietnam. The waste disposal by citizens rose to six-fold between 1999-2000, the government decided to tackle this in an environmentally friendly manner and welcomed ambitious projects for the same. Semakau landfill was the result of this ambitious project, it is world first offshore landfill giving rise to different and innovative possibilities to tackle waste management. It is created over time by reclaiming two small islands which were fishing villages before but were just barren islands now off the coast of Singapore.

196

Even though being a landfill, it focused on creating a new landscape that kept a balance between urban development and nature conservation, it was anticipated to create new living conditions in future on the island. It is expected to function as a landfill till 2040 studying the waste generated by the citizens, eventually it’ll be an island created entirely out of waste. The perimeter bund wall is composed of impermeable membrane substance, keeping the surrounding water body pollution free. I July 2005 the island was


Šhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulau_Semakau

opened up for public introducing recreational activities and biodiversity, since then it is widely known for its efforts of recycling the waste at a large scale creating a completely different landscape out of it.

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02_Case 2 Root zone waste water treatment AUROVILLE

1968

Š https://www.auroville.org/contents/1127

Pondicherry, India.

Roger Anger

Root zone wastewater treatment is widely used in industrial as well as residential sectors, it makes use of biological process and physical topography to remove pollutants from the wastewater, it is highly cheap and efficient and negligible maintenance. It functions as a pert of ecosystem. It consists of planted filter beds containing gravel, sand and soil. It takes into account the natural topography of land, taking benefit of the natural slope, so that water flows from one pit to another without use of any external energy making it feasible even for rural areas, it is embedded into the land making it a part of the

198

landscape. Auroville has been experimenting with this system for last 15 years recycling the wastewater, almost 70% of effluents are reduced making it effective to be reused for domestic and agricultural processes, the treated water is free from bad odor, even the plant system in itself is free from bad odor making it possible to be constructed around living conditions. Auroville practicing sustainable living conditions, uses the treated water for agriculture and construction purposes, decreasing the overall cost of living in a feasible manner.


SAVDA GHEVRA

2011

Š Julia King

Delhi, India.

Julia King

Savda ghevra is a resettlement colony in Delhi, it adopted the decentralized method of sanitation, root zone wastewater was a part of this system, it treated the black water from individual households in a similar manner. The treated water was used for domestic purposes, being a resettlement colony, the economic conditions were poor of the families living here, this treatment method proved to be sustainable and cost efficient to the community in long term.

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Conclusions Addressing waste management can highly benefit the livelihoods and give positive impacts on the environment. Access to clean water in can tho is typically same to the whole of Vietnam, can tho is a heavily urbanized area, there is no centralized water network, wastewater and stormwater is not separated. Most of the rural houses survive on rainwater and groundwater. After briefly studying the case studies its clear that can tho needs a better waste management infrastructure. Each case study focused on waste management but also focused on community involvement and recreational activities. The new masterplan for 2030 doesn’t focus on waste management infrastructure, along with urbanization and growth of urban land, factors such as water network, collection of waste, wastewater treatment can be considered. The case studies provide sustainable solutions and the same can be applied in Can tho. Water fundamentally supports the production in can tho hence giving attention to agriculture waste should also be a priority in future development plans. Studying the science behind the case studies and focusing on community development at different scales a sustainable water system for waste can be created. A proper waste management system can also control future impacts on flooding and climate change.

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References Books and scientific articles : Various authors. Reflection and discussion paper (2007). THE URBAN [F]ACTOR: “Challenges facing sustainable urban development”. pp.36-38. Anh, L.D., Legrand, B. & Van Lint, J. (2007) Tan Hoa Lo Gom – building a new life 43rd ISOCARP congress 2007.

singapore/environment/spore-aims-to-send-one-third-less-waste-to-semakaulandfill-by-2030-amy-khor [Accessed 12 June. 2020]. towardszerowaste.sg. (2020). An Engineering Marvel and Haven for Biodiversity. [online]

Available

at:

https://www.towardszerowaste.sg/semakau_landfill/

[Accessed 12 June. 2020].

Julia, King. CURE. ARCSR. DECENTRALIZED URBAN SANITATION: a proposal for Savda Ghevra resettlement colony, Delhi. CURE report. “Sanjha Prayas: Bhagidari with the Poor” 2010 Dupont, Veronique. Slum Demolitions in Delhi since the nineties: In whose Interest? Economic and Political Weekly, Mumbai, Vol. 43, 2008, No 28 (12 July), pp. 79-87. Jan Feyen, Kelly Shannon, Matthew Neville. (2008). Water and Urban Development Paradigms: Towards an Integration of Engineering, Design and management approaches. Heverlee, Belgium. Luis, Neumann. Minh, Nguyen. Magnus, Moglia. Stephen, Cook. Felix, Lipkin. (2011). Urban Water Systems in Can Tho, Vietnam: Understanding the current context for climate change adaption. Case study on Urban Water Systems in Can Tho, Vietnam. CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship.

On-line documents and websites : Auroville. (2015). Decentralised Waste Water Treatment Systems in Auroville. [online] Available at: https://www.auroville.org/contents/1127 [Accessed 4 April. 2020]. wikipedia, Pulau semakau (2020). Semakau landfill. [online] Available at: https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulau_Semakau [Accessed 10 June. 2020]. waste management world (2009). Semakau Landfill. [online] Available at: https:// waste-management-world.com/a/semakau-landfill [Accessed 10 Jun. 2020]. The Straits Times. (2019). Singapore aims to send one-third less waste to Semakau Landfill by 2030: Amy Khor. [online] Available at: https://www.straitstimes.com/

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MARÍA ELIZABETH H MARCHÁN

GREEN GROWTH ECONOMY. Opportunities for rural areas in the Mekong Delta, Can Tho city Summary of resource efficiency dimensions

Rural green growth economy for the development of the Mekong Delta, Cantho In the 1940s, rural poverty in Vietnam manifested itself as the effect of the change

In this context, the general aim of the research was to investigate some of the

and reaction imposed by the French colonial government on territories of Southeast

programs to reduce rural poverty and create new future economies, which have

Asia. Subsequently, rural poverty was attributable to a combination of factors

been implemented in countries such as South Africa and China, whose agricultural

produced during the civil conflict between the north and the south, the resistance,

resources are vast. It is intended to clarify with case studies, which is aimed to alleviate

the struggle, and the uncertainty during the US military presence (Loaiza and Reyes

poverty and facilitate inclusive growth from schemes such as the establishment of

2012).

agricultural villages, towns and strategic economic zones.

It should be noted that, Can Tho is a city in southern Vietnam’s Mekong Delta

With a “green economy” which offers economic opportunities and sustainable

region. It is the fourth largest city in Vietnam, the logistical center of the entire

development conducive to human well-being in harmony with the management

Mekong River Delta, Vietnam’s main agricultural production center and where live

of natural resources. The transition to the green economy while improving

approximately one-half million inhabitants (Promperú 2016).

people’s livelihoods in rural areas also improves people’s quality of life, striking

Can Tho city contributes to logistics development, high-yield farming and

the balance between the environment (the use of natural resources) and economy

information technology. Cooperation between localities and institutions in the

(the maintenance of income) in compensation for the risks of a change and the

region to attract investment and improve highly qualified human resources are

opportunities that such a change will bring in the future. The interrelationships

considered a driving force to promote the local economy and growth in this area.

between rural and urban areas are also important, since ‘green’ activities can

The agreement is being implemented to improve its investment environment (Tuấn

contribute to environmentally sustainable growth agricultural model in both rural

2018). However, chronic natural phenomena seasonal flooding causes significant

and urban areas (European Commission 2017).

economic damages, which hinders the ability to realize its fullest potential. On the

The need to promote future-oriented integrated management, in order to shape the

other hand, resilience systems are also crucial in frequently flooded areas, with severe

institutional framework conditions that allows to transform the socio-economic

impacts on its economy (Roquet 2020). The premise maintained that Vietnamese

potentials of the Mekong Delta into scenarios of economic and socially inclusive

poor population did not have sufficient opportunities to escape from poverty over

development. By focus on specific fields such as: transformations in the agricultural

the past several decades, sometimes with limited conditions but sometimes with no

sector, migration, urbanization, industrialization, and the links between them

choices (Loaiza and Reyes 2012).

deserve more attention in future research.

202


Š Kelly Shannon

Phong Dien, a rural district founded on a rich mosaic of orchards. 2020

203


01_A Contemporary New Rural Life CROSSWAYS FARM VILLAGE

2010

Š Crossways Farm Village

Thornhill, Eastern Cape, South Africa

CMAI Architects

The Crossways Farm Village, located on the outskirts of the Baviaanskloof Mega World Heritage Reserve in the Eastern Cape, is a project executed as it is planned, where new opportunities are created for those living in the countryside. Its design promotes an outdoor lifestyle, where the community can interact in balance with nature, where resources are renewable and nothing is wasted, and where the soil and labor are cared for (Gated Estates n.d.). The CMAI architects looked at traditional farmhouse architecture through sustainable architecture as a sustainable farmstead. It is the first project of its size in South Africa to integrate a sciencebased on agricultural activity with a rural village and, in doing so, create a growth

204

point in poor rural areas (Crossways n.d.). The project extended over 520 hectares is divided into three nodes of equal size. In short, it is based on the concept of integrating commercial agriculture, conservation areas and mixed-commercial properties, including a wide-range of affordability for residents (Estate Living n.d.).


https://crossways.co.za

Š Michelle Jarvis

In the case of Vietnam, according to a 2015 study, which held that the relationship between production areas and urban centers becomes the key factor for poverty alleviation and rural development. Small-scale production and livelihood diversification based on market relationships between farmers and traders could be a potential for these settlements, since the development of non-agricultural employment and the increasing demand for fresh fruit in urban areas have improved in prosperity to various settlements in rural areas in the Mekong Delta (Hoang Xuan Thanh et al. 2015). Crossways Farm Village project brings a great insight by thinking about Vietnam’s situation, which would contribute more

detailed understanding of how to improve it, by maintaining that agricultural lifestyle with access to urban services and technology for all, where occupants have the possibility of developing different ways of life to invest in a new rural economy. Thus, this involves all members of the community of living near fertile farmland. Considering sustainability as the main feature of design, based on principles of food security, rural development and infrastructure to reduce poverty and create jobs.

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02_An Integrated Community Hub TEMPORARY GALLERY IN SHICHENGZI VILLAGE

2019

©Yingbin Fu

Qinglong County, Hebei province, China

Fuyingbin Studio

Shichengzi Village, located in Qinglong County, Hebei Province, was the main venue for the 2019 Chinese Farmers Harvest Festival. The result of this transformed space was successful, combining the exhibition of the alleys into the village, which would therefore attract tourists to the village to perceive its distinctive rural space. The media center is located in a farmer’s house with local features, a temporary quiet place that has been briefly restored. The construction of the temporary media center required meeting the demand for interviews during the harvest festival and therefore providing a window for a large number of courtyards in the village to be shown and promoted to the outside world through the exhibition of this

206

patio. After the festival, all buildings are removable and recyclable. Therefore, the impact on the village’s environment could be minimized. The construction of the complex and the exhibition corridor at fast speed and low cost were less than ten thousand Yuan. Despite the fact that professional workers led the implementation of scaffolds, villagers did the rest of the work. (ArchDaily 2019)


Š Yingbin Fu

Considering the rural areas in the Mekong Delta, it is known that farmers are affected due to what they are experiencing now, which leads to uncertain future for them. Due to this situation, family support is one of the main ways that villagers may face uncertainties. Fully aware of problems that threaten agricultural activities, some families recognize the importance of education for a better life for their children, parents sacrifice their own lives for their children, providing them a good education for a better life and better future (Shibuya 2015). Rural revitalization is not only reflected through increased incomes and productivity, but it is also breaking the limitations inherent. In this way, The Temporary Gallery

is a great example to be applied in Vietnam since it shows that more than being a performance for adults, it is also a stage for children in the countryside. The revitalization of rural areas is, in short, the revitalization from younger and older people. In addition, it could be said that takes into account the importance of children and young people since they are the makers of a future sustainable world.

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03_Technology Integration for Rural Communities TAOBAO VILLAGES

2009

©Alibaba Group

China

Private Internet enterprises

China is one of the world’s fastest urbanizing and growing economies countries. Although it decreases every year, about 45% of the population of China still lives in rural areas, equivalent to about 600 million people (Yifei 2017). In 2009, groups of rural online entrepreneurs began to emerge in China, opening stores in the Taobao marketplace, known as “Taobao Villages” (Viñuelas n.d.).Dongfeng in Shaji City, Jiangsu Province was the first agricultural village to engage in e-commerce, where more than 1,000 households joined the digital economy by making furniture and selling manufactured goods online. In Hebei and Zhejiang provinces, two other “Taobao towns” emerged respectively, in the same year. Thus, the number of

208

Taobao towns has been increasing, gaining importance in the development of rural e-commerce in China (Gutiérrez 2018). The Taobao model covers 3,202 towns and 363 cities in China. The “Taobao village phenomenon” is an important sign that e-commerce is promoting the development of China’s rural economy, as well as increasing farmers’ incomes (Yifei 2017). Vietnam has suffered from similar problems; where large numbers of people moved to the cities in search of work due to lack of infrastructure, low incomes, and other factors that have affected rural development.


Šhttps://www.shine.cn/biz/finance/2005299123/

ŠBoxing County

Vietnam also has a technological gap between sites. Generally, in rural areas where the country largest population is more concentrated, being a potentially provider for the e-commerce market. However, it should be managed in the right way, so these large gaps do not hinder healthy development of e-commerce and the sustainable economic development (Linh 2020).

technology. Since this project connects many rural populations to the e-commerce economy. It would expect to stop the large number of farmers who move from villages to big cities. It should be borne in mind that in order to develop this initiative, the communities should meet the criteria, which includes the community development and training for people with the e-commerce learning.

Taobao Villages is a model that could be adequately managed and applied in other countries, in this case, Vietnam would stand to benefit from China’s initiative, thus helping to combat poverty and increase community income through e-commerce

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Conclusions The research concluded that, in generally , the highest relative poverty rate is in

A green economy can contribute to all economic sectors.

rural areas, knowing that the inhabitants of rural areas are dependent on natural

The relationship between the rural and urban areas are also important, since “green”

resources and agriculture for their subsistence, but they do not receive state support

investments and activities carried out in rural areas into a well-managed natural

and have very little savings.

environment can contribute to economic growth in urban areas, and vice versa. Rural development programs can play a key role in the poverty alleviation effort,

Poverty in Vietnam is concentrated in the highlands mountains of the northeast

through effective, efficient and equitable use of resources, as well as promoting the

and northwest of the country, the central coastal region and in areas of the central

sustainable management of natural resources in a wide variety of economic sectors,

highlands; and the Mekong Delta, where ethnic minorities live (The World Bank

not only in forestry and agriculture (European Commission 2017).

2012). Indeed, there exists case studies of executed investments and projects that help This study determined a big process of rural transformation from the three case

create jobs and support economic growth through resource efficiency and a low-

studies. Therefore, a rural transformation in Vietnam is also needed and should

carbon economy, some of them were shown during the research. However, it will

be integrated with the analysis presented from the previous case studies regarding

be necessary to adopt best practices, as well as generate new ideas, technologies and

particular fields of green agriculture and land reform, rural-urban migration and

actions. The case studies investigated could make important contributions to our

urbanization, and agro genetic technology.

understanding of the current situation of Vietnam about a future development of new rural economies.

The first case study identified some new challenges that were designed for a new “farming village” concept, including both active and passive sustainable features

In short, Vietnam would take advantage of a green economy where ecosystems are

and a modern residential design. The key concept for the Crossway was the

best preserved, which in turn results in a better household income supporting less

sustainable eco-friendly.

favored areas, as a part of a strategy to eradicate poverty. Eco-friendly Farming practices improve performance of farmers whose livelihood

The second case study identified by the introduction of a sustainable temporary

depends on agriculture. These “green” investments would also favor new rural

gallery, where the rural space is perceived in a friendly environment; and children

regions and the development and use of new technologies bringing future economic

are a fundamental key of this exhibition as actors for a better future.

growth: based on renewable energy and energy efficiency programs.

The third case shows a challenge that has been achieved in relation between the government and e-commerce businesses, participating in overall organization to achieve sustained poverty reduction and support economic growth in rural areas.

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References Books and scientific articles :

On-line documents and websites :

Assche, Kristof. (2013). Epistemic cultures, knowledge cultures and the transition

ArchDaily. 2019. “Temporary Gallery in Shichengzi Village / Fuyingbin Studio.”

of agricultural expertise: Rural development in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Georgia.

2019. https://www.archdaily.com/926050/temporary-gallery-in-shichengzi-village-

zef working papers bonn university.

fuyingbin-studio.

Hoang Xuan Thanh, Dinh Thi Thu Phuong, Dang Thi Thanh Hoa, and Le Dinh Lap.

Estate Living. n.d. “Crossways Farm Village.” Accessed May 29, 2020. https://www.

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SHARMADA NAGARAJAN

NEW ENERGY LANDSCAPES Future of integrated energy systems in peri-urban Can Tho

Introduction Can Tho lies in the centre of the Mekong Delta, a region that is highly vulnerable

consumption. (Frolova, Nada, and Cases 2015) The exclusionary nature of such

to the threats of climate change. Its dense network of rivers and water canals form

large-scale projects has led to the failure of engaging local communities in the

an integral part of the local people’s livelihood and economic development. The

energy transition processes. “This seemingly imposed character of many renewable

Resilience Strategy for the city aims to achieve urban development through nature-

energy projects and the perception of them as being an unfair method of exploiting

based infrastructure that utilises the potential of the local population, geography

local resources manifest themselves in various forms of dispute, most typically

and natural resources (People’s Committee of Cần Thơ City Vietnam 2019).

between the ‘winners’, who took advantage of this approach to renewable energy

The government seeks to develop collaborative urban design strategies to tackle

and development (electricity companies, some city councils, landowners), and the

issues such seasonal flooding, sea-level rise, water pollution, land subsidence and

others.”

uncontrolled urban growth. Such efforts provide the opportunity to rethink and design innovative mechanisms to meet the energy requirements of the region.

As Alain Nadaï and María-José Prados state, “Landscape has a multiple existence.”

This paper aims to explore the concept of new energy landscapes through a brief

It is both a material and a spatial component. (Nadaï and Prado 2015) The strong

understanding of specific case studies and to look at how these solutions can be

links between renewable energy technologies and the built environment has been

applied to the context of Can Tho.

widely discussed across various academic, professional as well as political platforms. Technological advancements have aided the development of creative and practical

“Landscape is often invoked as an aesthetic or environmental argument against

solutions that integrate energy infrastructure with urban expanses and productive

the development of renewable energy.” This perspective often views energy

landscapes.

infrastructures as purely industrial installations that damage the landscape. While this is partly true, it dismisses the multidimensional nature of project development and landscape processes, and the potential of integrating these domains to create viable solutions. Examples from Europe show that these ‘new energies’ that are executed through private establishments have unclear connections “territorial scale and energy demand”, leading to a disconnect from local investment and

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Productive landscape at O Mon / Co Do, Can Tho, 2020

213 © Studio Landscape Urbanism 2020, MaHS- MaUSP, KU Leuven


While considering the reconfiguration and establishment of new energy landscapes in a region like Can Tho, it is also essential to understand the informalities that exist in the region, as commonly seen in areas that transition from a rural to urban framework. As Ananya Roy states, “Informality is back on the agenda of international development and urban planning.”(Roy 2005) She explains that in many parts of the world, rural-urban interfaces function as points of new informality; she argues that informality provides insight and understanding of the heterogeneity of cities in developing nations. “The heterogeneous nature of informal urbanism therefore requires us to consider more than the implication of elites in informality.” (Varley 2013) Such insight provides a wider understanding of the context and allows urban designers and planners to provide solutions that provide integrated spatial and energy components to bolster socio-economic development without compromising on environmental conservation. The following case studies focus on three spatial entities with integrated energy systems: 1. Public spaces 2. Productive landscapes 3. Residential spaces The study attempts to provide an understanding of how these projects implemented in different contexts can find a place and meaning in the future development of peri-urban areas of Can Tho.

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© Studio Landscape Urbanism 2020, MaHS- MaUSP, KU Leuven

New urban public space along the river at Phong Dien, Can Tho, 2020

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01_Case 1 Energy + Public space PHOTOVOLTAIC PERGOLA, ESPLANADE

José Antonio Martínez Lapeña & Elías Torres 2004

© José Antonio Martínez Lapeña & Elías Torres Architects

Barcelona, Spain

This large structure was constructed in 2004 for the opening of the Forum of Cultures in Spain. The structure consists of 3000 solar panels, covering about 3,780 square metres in area. (Lapeña and Torres 2004) The panels are inclined and oriented to the South, generating power that is equivalent to the consumption of 160 houses. This massive urban project is an example of the creative integration of energy production in public spaces. (Architecture & Sustainability 2019) New urban neighbourhoods in Cai Rang and Phong Dien, especially along riverfronts, house large open public spaces that serve as recreational and relaxation spots. Due to the large amount of incoming solar radiation, future urban projects

can use the potential of integrated solar energy infrastructure that functions as canopies in large open areas. Such projects help connect the public with the production of renewables, a necessary component that is lacking in many large scale energy production processes.


© José Antonio Martínez Lapeña & Elías Torres Architects

Collective spaces that are easily accessible to the public often represent and nurture common goals shared by the people and their governments. The use of such spaces to encourage clean energy transitions enhances access by local communities and ensures that they are not alienated from the process. The inclusive nature of the project can help increase awareness and thereby strengthen the support for a transition that would benefit the environment as well as the public.

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02_Case 2 Energy + Productive landscapes SOLAR SHARING PROJECT- AGRIVOLTAICS

Akira Nagashima, APV-RESOLA 2004

Š https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/

Chiba prefecture, Japan

Solar Sharing Field Test by Akira Nagashima In 2004, Akira Nagashima developed a concept to integrate solar farming with agricultural productivity. His research concluded that the shading area can go up to 32% to produce considerable power without affecting the productivity of the land. This allowed farmers across the regions to develop models that combined power generation with farming. This innovative mechanism is also being extended to combine aquaculture with solar farming. (Movellan 2013) The vast productive landscapes of Phong Dien and O Mon / Co Do can provide the necessary space to establish such integrated farms with intensified production. This

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will provide additional economic benefits to local farmers and can be extended to function and support new forms of collective farming. There have been a large number of investments to develop Phong Dien into an eco-tourism centre. By utilising the potential of clean energy sources, the sustainability factor of the region can be enhanced to a greater scale. This can also provide opportunities to develop a hybrid system that can extend support to tourism infrastructure.


Productive landscapes of O Mon / Co Do

219 © Studio Landscape Urbanism 2020, MaHS- MaUSP, KU Leuven


03_Case 3 Energy + Residential spaces BEDZED ECO-VILLAGE

2002

Š https://www.zedfactory.com/bedzed

London, United Kingdom

Bioregional, ZEDfactory, Arup

The BedZED eco-village was conceived as a zero-carbon neighbourhood that involved multiple stakeholders and collaborations. It is a mixed-use sustainable community with a hundred dwellings, office space, a college and community facilities. (Bioregional 2018) It houses an on-site water treatment plant, solar panels on roofs, green roofs, sky gardens, wind cowls and is designed to allow passive heating and cooling for maximum energy efficiency. (Zedfactory 2018) This provides an excellent and practical example for the development of landbased settlements in peri-urban Can Tho. The new urban neighbourhoods in the

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region receive sufficient sunlight that can be used to generate solar power and dwelling units can be designed to enhance ventilation within homes, and reduce the energy consumption of the area. Spatial design combined with urban forests and urban agriculture can improve the ecosystem and quality of the settlement.


SCHOONSCHIP

Space & Matter, Metabolic, BartelsVedder and others 2019

Š http://www.spaceandmatter.nl/schoonschip

Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Schoonschip is an example of amphibious settlements with integrated energy and waste management technology. The project is currently under development and consists of 46 dwellings and a collective space. It has 500 solar panels, waste water treatment systems and green roofs where residents can grow their own food. (Space & Matter 2019; Schoonschip Amsterdam 2019) The community’s structure can be applied to future settlements in regions of Cai Rang, O Mon and Co Do that have the potential to develop into amphibious settlements. Coexistence with water is an integral part of the region and the

livelihood of communities is highly dependent on water for economic activities. Amphibious settlements that use innovative energy solutions to improve the efficiency of residential units, combined with new forms of urban landscapes and waste managment techniques can help improve resilience of the community against the threats of flooding and fluctuating water levels. Such projects can also help improve the water and ecosystem quality in the vicinity.

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Conclusions Addressing the energy efficiency can strongly impact and enhance the sustainability

The potential of available technology is a major advantage while developing

of settlements. The development of ‘new energy landscapes’ is closely linked with

solutions for new urban areas such as Can Tho. These examples depict a strong

the community and lifestyle of the local population and geography. The regions

sense of contextual understanding of their sites to arrive at specific solutions for

of Cai Rang, Phong Dien, O Mon and Co Do are highly productive expanses with

the envisioned clean energy transitions. Innovative urban design strategies and

a rich microtopography and biodiversity. Therefore, it is essential for new energy

urban landscape interventions can use the knowledge of current informalities that

infrastructure to be seamlessly embedded in this system of productive sustenance.

exist in Can Tho and develop new energy systems that articulate and enhance the

The case studies provide a clear understanding of how energy infrastructure can be

community lifestyle and natural ecosystem of the region.

linked with inhabitable and productive landscapes. The following are specific design learnings that can be adopted to suit future urbanism in peri-urban Can Tho: 1.Introduction of large scale solar farming in public spaces with canopies and other structures that can use the received sunlight and simultaneously provide shade to users. 2.Integrated farming techniques that combine agriculture and aquaculture with clean energy production. 3.Residential settlements with passive heating and cooling designs, collective green roofs/ gardens and waste management techniques to improve the energy and sustainability coefficient. 4.Collective infrastructure at neighbourhood scale to support composting and biogas production. 5.PV fixtures that can be accommodated on roofs, footpaths and other common areas exposed to long duration of sunlight. 6.Development of amphibious dwelling units with waste water treatment recycling facilities to help maintain the quality of the water bodies in the vicinity. 7.Use of creative landscape solutions to purify water, increase natural shade in urban areas and natural riparian corridors to restore damaged waterfronts and prevent increasing effects of urban heating and pollution.

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References Books and scientific articles : Frolova, Marina, Prados Alain Nada, and Southern European Cases. 2015.

Schoonschip Amsterdam. 2019. “What Is Schoonschip?” 2019. https:// schoonschipamsterdam.org/#nieuws.

Renewable Energies and European Landscapes. Renewable Energies and European

Space & Matter. 2019. “Schoonschip.” 2019. http://www.spaceandmatter.nl/

Landscapes. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9843-3.

schoonschip.

Nadaï, Alain, and María-José Prado. 2015. “Landscapes of Energies, a Perspective

Zedfactory. 2018. “BedZED.” Zedfactory. 2018. https://www.zedfactory.com/

on the Energy Transition.” In Renewable Energies and European Landscapes, edited

bedzed.

by Marina Frolova, María-José Prados, and Alain Nadaï, 25–40. Springer. https:// doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9843-3. Roy, Ananya. 2005. “Urban Informality: Toward an Epistemology of Planning.” Journal of the American Planning Association 71 (2): 147–58. https://doi. org/10.1080/01944360508976689. Varley, Ann. 2013. “Postcolonialising Informality?” Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 31 (1): 4–22. https://doi.org/10.1068/d14410.

On-line documents and websites : Architecture & Sustainability. 2019. “Visit to the Photovoltaic Pergola of the Forum in Barcelona.” Architecture & Sustainability. 2019. http://arquitecturaysostenibilidad. com/en/2019/03/visita-a-la-pergola-fotovoltaica-del-forum/. Bioregional. 2018. “BedZED - the UK’s First Large-Scale Eco-Village.” Bioregional. 2018.

https://www.bioregional.com/projects-and-services/case-studies/bedzed-

the-uks-first-large-scale-eco-village. Lapeña, José Antonio Martínez, and Elías Torres. 2004. “FORUM 2004 ESPLANADE.” 2004. http://www.jamlet.net/projects/01_publicspace/PS17/index. html. Movellan, Junko. 2013. “Japan Next-Generation Farmers Cultivate Crops and Solar Energy.” Renewable Energy World. 2013. https://www.renewableenergyworld. com/2013/10/10/japan-next-generation-farmers-cultivate-agriculture-and-solarenergy/#gref. People’s Committee of Cần Thơ City Vietnam. 2019. “Cần Thơ Resilience Strategy.”

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JUSTIN NDACYAYISHIMA

SOCIAL FORESTRY The orchard city Social forestry, commonly referred to as one of its types ‘community forestry’, refers to

because it involves societal mechanisms that are potential to incorporate in

self- management and use of trees and perennials to improve the livelihoods of local

different models where sustainability is an issue, for example; urban environments

people especially the economically disadvantaged ones in a sustainable way, using

since urban forests have been of interest recently due to the recognition of their

participatory methodologies which involve project design and implementation.

ecological value to the urban fabric. Given examples such as Cantho city that

This definition is a common denominator for forest practitioners (FAO 1994)

already have an identity of fruit trees which can not only provide food but generate

despite different interpretations existing for the term. Two main concerns are at the

eco- economic and agricultural- tourism to give a pleasant urban landscape

root of social forestry; the global deforestation phenomenon and the local need for

(Shannon , De Meulder and De Nijs 2011 ) and being seen as grounds in which

improved livelihoods for households. Thus, the need for numerous social forestry

‘social forestry’ can afforest unused land with orchards, which can be maintained

activities that either decrease forest consumption or expand forest production

and harvested by the community for their economic benefit (Nguyen , Yuning

(Hyde and Köhlin 2000).Given the failures of western forest practices in developing

and Ngoc Le 2020). Through the study of different cases with different contexts,

countries(Beaudoin 2007;Beinhocker; 2006;Chambers 1983;Westoby 1989). Social

the introduced important elements of social forestry such as ownership, different

forestry is expected to be for the people and involving the people, as well said it

actors, participation, local livelihoods, and their impacts on forests preservation

“must be forestry that starts at the grassroots”(FAO 1978).

or growth will help establish lessons for sustainable city development that could intertwine urban forests with socio- economic benefits of urban dwellers.

Social forestry is said to come from India or China(FAO 1994;Foley and Barnard 1984),(Lacuna-Richman 2012), around the 1950’s. For China, it was reforestation of degraded and eroding mountains while providing locals with timber for building and fuel wood. For India, it was a reforestation of community irrigation reservoirs implemented by local highly autonomous village councils. The success of the Indian model is highly attributed to the autonomy, and sharing 50% of the timber products while in China, the often argued poor survival of planted forests (Foley and Barnard 1984) might be attributed to the centralized process. Many countries, now, do recognize social forestry under their national forestry policy in different types as (Kirchhofer and Mercer 1986) describe; the most wide spread and the most difficult to practice is termed “community forestry”. Community forestry is practiced by smaller and often isolated communities and their local government units, they might be supported by NGOs or other groups, commonly implemented on common land, which is not privately-owned but sometimes can be on private land (Lacuna-Richman 2012, 8). The latter type of social forestry “community forestry”, is the object of this study,

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Social forestry, India

225 Šhttps://www.techgape.com/2015/06/social-forestry-india.html


01_Case 1 Reforestation and protection RE- VEGETATION OF MADHUPHUR FORESTS

2010

© AlescaLife: https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-102756

Bangladesh

Bangl. Forest Department

Quickbird satellite data dating October 2003, the Madhupur Sal deforestation

Being 4.7 % of the total woodland in Bangladesh, the Madhupur Sal forests are the 3rd largest forest and are both ecologically and economically valued. They are located in Mymensingh and Tangail districts, also known as Madhupur Garh (Rahman, 2003).Surrounded by dense settlements, with ethnic minorities, they have been homelands for the Garo people and others such as Koch (Ahmed, 2008). It still has a lot of diversity even if centuries of exploitation led to animal and plants extinction (NSP 2008). since the most dominant deciduous trees are commercial (Feeroz and Islam 2000). This was the reason for the forest department (FD) of Bangladesh made it a priority ints 1980’s social forestry programs (Muhammed, et al. 2008) (GOB 2010).

226

Traditionally, the Garo practiced “Jhum”, a shifting cultivation under a traditional “zamundari” forest management system that allowed them to rent forestland for homestead and cultivation under the Garo king. The cultivation was practiced opening a ground by burning the area for cultivate for 3 years in a reciprocal way to families then left to regenerate till the 10th year, As population grew they practiced also wet rice cultivation in low lands of the forests. They were under obligation of planting the valuable jagari tree in the fallow lands or regenerated naturally otherwise (Poffenberger 2000).


Madhupur forests 2012

Madhupur forests 2016

Madhupur forests 2017. After 2010, the forests has extended.

In 1951, jhum was banned. In 1950-1970, the FD’s social forestry to re-introduce jhum failed due to provision of 80 years for shifting cultivation instead of 10 which presented no benefits to farmers (Poffenberger 2000). The forests kept reducing and increased conflicts Due to similar non-satisfactions of locals until 2010.

guardians of the forest, as Community Forest Workers. They were trained in other economic activities such as fisheries, poultry rearing, cattle fattening, apiculture, pisciculture, vegetable gardening, compost preparation, jam and jelly production, forest fire protection and could be paid for work (Poffenberger 2000). The participants had additional income from agro-forestry in given forest plots. The farmer shares half tree products with FD, and agriculture fully for the farmer, thus they acquired livelihood security. The project was a success , because people’s livelihoods were based on all types of capital (Al Faruq, Zaman and Katoh 2017) and increased the conservation of forests.

ŠGoogle earth 2020

Madhupur forests 2003

Re-vegetation of Madhupur Forests (RMF project) was introduced as an attempt to fix previous failures by learning to address the needs of the locals. It involved forest users and locals together to develop conservation and social development activities for sustainable forest management. The participants were first, 500 encroachers+200 poor families, then 5500 families forest dependent who became

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02_Case 2 Participatory forestry GEBRADIMA FORESTS

2010

Šhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2ZJ3NW5Zgc

Oromia, Ethiopia

PFM

Discussuon of locals on forest management Rejection of restriction to forests in order to protect them led to the idea of Participatory Forest Management (PFM) in Ethiopia, because from a social perspective, such restrictions were considered unsustainable. Mainly introduced by NGOs, PFM consist of sharing responsibilities, costs and benefits between communities and landowners of forests (Winberg 2011) through empowering social interactions, and decision making (Kelbessa and De Stoop 2007). This is a solution looked up to save the Ethiopia 14,000 hectares lost each year (FRA 2005). PFM are driven by 6 actors in several sites in the country. The community adjacent to forests experience considerable changes in the way they use the forests.

228

The extraction is allowed only to ecologically sustainable practices, introducing alternative livelihoods such as bee-keeping and nurseries whose products are sold to improve livelihoods of the inhabitants, agro- forestry incorporating coffee, spices and others were also allowed (Winberg 2011). One of the priority forest areas is the Gebradima forests. In 2010 to 2015, participant groups were formed that were called Forest User Groups (FUG) with the help with FARM-Africa. The FUGs started to manage 29,901 ha of the natural forest and more 2000 households were participating in 2015.


Alternative economies introduced

Tulusuna forests 2014, decreased since 2003

Tulusuna forests 2020. After 2010, the forests has stopped decreasing.

The project objective is to i) manage forests sustainably by creating a local institution made of local people (FUG), ii0 to strengthen the forest department actions, iii) to increase the value of commodities produced from alternative economies in the forests to reach a sustainable development (FARM-Africa 2014).

led to increased gain in forest protection. Two thirds of the areas are reported to have ceased from decreasing (even if they have not been increasing), in the third of areas there is natural regeneration even if no initiatives for tree planting. The forest quality improved as well as water quality (Winberg 2011).

ŠGoogle earth 2020

Tulusuna forests in Gebradima 2003

The results of PFM in Gebradima forests were that the participants benefited much more from the forest products in alternative economies (Tadesse, Woldetsadik and Senbeta 2017), even if there were restrictions to extract trees for timber and charcoal or any other items that would be unsustainable (Winberg 2011). This

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03_Case 3 Social interaction for forestry SADHANA FORESTS,

Yorit and Aviram Rozin 2003

Šhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2ZJ3NW5Zgc;

Auroville, India

Auroville design, 1951

Auroville today, (Auroville 2020)

While in 1951, Chandigarh was methodically designed by Le Corbusier to become a new ideal city in India, the South was a ground for other group of people whose reaction was an alternative, more humane and peaceful society in the borders of Pondicherry and Chinnai. This marked the birth of Auroville , imagined by a French woman, Mirra Alfassa and designed by a French Architect, Roger Anger (Bhatia 2015). The city was considered for 50,000 people., but today only 2345 residents live in Auroville and originate from 49 different Nations, made of 42% Indians, and others such as French, German and Italian. The inhabitants engage in

collective works in small projects and in small groups. The projects are based on land reclamation, reforestation initiatives, sustainable architecture and commerce. Even it is now not working as planned but its successes are remarkable in terms of innovative ecofriendly designs, organic farming, afforestation, upliftment of villages around, with the biggest one being its impacts on ecology converting infertile and unlivable land, lack of ground water, uncultivated and salt intruded red deserts into a thick green forest with over 2 million trees planted in 3 decades. It is within such an environment tha Sadhana Forests started in 2003 by Yorit

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Š https://www.givingway.com/organization/ sadhana-forest-india

Sadhana settlements evolution since 2003 (VATRAPU 2019) & some volunteers

Sadhana forests 2014

Sadhana forests 2020. After 2010, the forests has started increasing since 2003

and Aviram Rozin, a family whose purpose was to transform 70 acres of severely eroded, arid land in the peripheries of Auroville. With the same idea of peace as Auroville, the aim of Sadhana forests is to introduce to many people, an alternative sustainable living, to food securing through ecological sustainable manipulation, wasteland reclamation, and healthy lifestyles such as veganism that is claimed to impact less the environment. While doing this, the ultimate goal remains a creation of a vibrant, indigenous tropical dry evergreen forest (TDEF) (Sadhana n.d.). In order to achieve its goals, Sadhana receives 1000 volunteers per year.

They contribute to tree planting, and water retention activities such as creating sponges. The people perform different activities, have workshops, learn, play, as part of vacations, this make them attracted to the area and contribute through their works to the ecology. The restored ecology helps the surrounding populations to cultivate, get water and therefore not leave for cities (Sadhana n.d.).

Š Google earth 2020,

Sadhana forests 2003

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Conclusions

References

There have been failures of western forest practices in the developing countries

Ahmed,, A.I.M.U. 2008. Underlying causes of deforestation and forest degradation in Bangladesh. Global forest coalition (GFC). Accessed June 14, 2020. https:// globalforestcoalition.org/.

(Lacuna-Richman 2012) even projects might have best intentions, very strict adherence to proven techniques in developed contexts, they will still fail

public development must therefore be forestry for the people and involving

Al Faruq, M.A., Sourovi Zaman, and Masato Katoh. 2017. “Perceptions of Local People toward Community Developmentand Forest Conservation in Bangladesh: The Caseof Sal Forests.” J.For.Plann.22 1-13.

the people. It must be forestry which starts at the ‘grass roots’” (FAO 1978).

Arnold, J.E.M. . 1992. Community forestry. ten years of review. Rome: FAO.

From its inception, therefore, social forestry was seen as being, by definition,

Auroville. 2020. Land and nature. May 27. Accessed June 15, 2020. https://www. auroville.org/contents/517.

participatory and directed towards rural needs - in particular the needs of the rural

Beaudoin , SM . 2007. Poverty in world history. . London: Routledge.

or succeed temporarily, even at a great social cost to the local population (Beaudoin 2007;Beinhocker; 2006;Chambers 1983;Westoby 1989. Forestry for

poor, both women and men. A distinguishing feature of the first generation of projects and programmes in support of community forestry has as a consequence been an attempt to build them on active participation of the population, with external involvement being of a supportive rather than management nature. (Arnold 1992). However as seen in the three projects there are elements that can help in developing social forestry in urban environments by drawing lessons. Different actors need to be mingled in order to have proper results, both government or NGOs, public and private, participation even during the planning stage is needed to learn local practices such as traditional cultivation practiced in Cantho and so that residents develop a sense of belonging, local livelihoods need to be creatively improved so that residents have interest to take care of urban forests.

Beinhocker , ED. 2006 . The origin of wealth: evolution, complexity, and the radical remaking of economics. . Boston: Harvard Business School Press, . Bhatia, Bina. 2015. Auroville: A Utopian Paradox. MSAUD,GSAPP,Columbia University. Blaint, P.J . 2006. “Improving community based conservation near protected areas: the importance of development variables.Environ.Manage.38:137-148.” Environ. Manage.38 :137-148. Chambers, R. 1983. Rural development: putting the last first. London: Longmans Scientific and Technical Publishers. FAO. 1978. Forestry for local community development. Forestry Paper 7, Rome: FAO.

Such practices have shown to improve the reforestation and protection of forests.

FAO. 1994. “Timber harvesting and the problem of deforestation.” Forest Harvesting Bulletin 4(1) 1–3.

Cantho as a historically rich setting of traditional cultivation closely tied to water, in

FARM-Africa. 2014. Five years report on strengthening sustainable livelihoods and forest management program in Ethiopia,. Project Summary Report. , Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.: FARM-Africa.

its urban developments, can benefit from the water availability and its benefits of rich fertile soil formation in the new urban developments. The existing social ties, that are enhanced by communal sports in the city can extend to food production. The largely unused plots that are subject to pollution accumulation can be transformed into orchards that serve as urban forests while strengthening social interactions through working and protecting shared lands. The orchards can be integrated with settlements, acting as economic agents but also for recreational and eco-tourism activities.

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Feeroz, M.M, and M.A. Islam . 2000. “Primates of West Bhanugach Forest Reserve: major threats and management plan.” In Bangladesh Environment, by M Ahmed, 239-253. Maulvibazar: BAPA Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon. Foley , G, and G Barnard . 1984. “Community forestry.” In Farm and community forestry, by Earthscan, 107–123. London: the International Institute for Environment and Development, Energy Information Programme.


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Kirchhofer , J, and E Mercer . 1986. “Kirchhofer J, Mercer E (1986) Putting social and community forestry in perspective in the AsiaPacific Region. In: Fujisaka S, Sajise P, del Castillo E (eds).” In Man, agriculture and the tropical forest: change and development in the Philippine Uplands., by S Fujisaka, P Sajise and E del Castillo , 323–335. Bangkok: Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development,. Lacuna-Richman, Celeste. 2012. Growing from Seed:. London: Springer. Muhammed,, N, M Koike, F Hauqe, and M.D Miah. 2008. “Quantitative assessment of people-oriented forestry in Bangladesh: a case study in the Tangail forest division.” Environ.Manage.88 83-92. Nguyen , Van Long, Cheng Yuning , and Tu Dam Ngoc Le. 2020. “Flood-resilient urban design based on the indigenous landscape in the city of Can Tho, Vietnam.” Urban Ecosystems 23 675–687. NSP. 2008. “Framework management plan for Madhupur National Park, Nishorgo Support project, Bangladesh.” Accessed June 14, 2020. http://nishorgo.org/wpcontent/uploads/2017/02/4-16-NSP_Project-Completion-Report.pdf. Poffenberger, Mark. 2000. Communities and forest management in South Asia. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Rahman, , M.M. 2003. “Sal forest.” In Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh 9, by S Islam and S Miah, 28-29. Dhaka: Asiatic Soc.Bangladesh. Sadhana. n.d. THE COMMUNITY. Accessed June 14, 2020. https://sadhanaforest. org/about-us/. Shannon , S, B De Meulder , and A De Nijs . 2011 . “From Above/From Below: The

233


KATERINA NTAVOU

THE FUTURE OF WATER MANAGEMENT IN MEKONG DELTA / CAN THO

In general, the water management in non-western countries is a big issue in the

because of rapid urbanization and industrialization. As regards water pollution, the

terms of global warming and sea level rise. However, according to Fuchs as “the

problem is quite serious if one considers that it is not only about surface water , but

appropriate risk reduction measures have not been implemented or even seriously

it also affects the groundwater which is used for agriculture ,aquaculture, supply of

considered in many Asian coastal cities.” The most affected cities in Asia are the river

urban water and both industrial and domestic needs. The construction of dams in

-Deltas in the south-coastal parts and they are named “Hot spots of vulnerability”

neighboring countries from China through Laos and Cambodia is also a fact with a

by the IPCC. (Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change).(Fuchs 2010)

huge environmental effect on the river, especially regarding natural sedimentation

Among them is the Mekong Delta in the southern Vietnam which faces a lot of

patterns. At the same time, there is lack of appropriate infrastructure such as good

challenges as regards water management.Τhe existing rivers in Mekong Delta had

pipe networks especially in rural areas. According to statistics, the water extracted

already started becoming canals in the 18th century and this phenomenon has

from the rivers is treated at one of 11 water treatment plants (WTPs) before

continued during the colonial French occupation when this strategy was used for

distribution to households and businesses. [Neuman,2011 :3]. While the demand

the military control.(18th -1945). The colonial regime has a big impact on water

of fresh pure water is increasing because of population growth, the water resources

management strategies in terms of technology. (The water resource management in

are gradually degrading.

Vietnam was focusing on the control of the flooding and on activities that supply

Problems regarding extreme weather conditions and consequently extreme

with clean water the agriculture, but after 1980, this situation has gradually changed.

flooding or drought and the ever -increasing sea level rise should be also taken

In recent years, there are a lot of reforms in this sector that are characterized by a

into consideration in collaboration with the factor that these problems will be

tendency for environmental concern. Despite the effort to tackle water issues in

deteriorated in time because of climate change. Water and flooding is part of

a context that responds to economic transition of the area, there are still many

Vietnamese everyday life and curries great history, but when there is no proper

problems and challenges around water management which should be addressed.

management, it is considered as a problem that affects economy and society.

Can Tho is a rapidly urbanized area and the biggest city in the Mekong Delta. In

Considering the above issues and the urgent need of the Delta to adapt to the ever-

contrast to north and central Vietnam, the south area was in Vietnamese occupation

changing conditions in terms of climate change, the question that raises is which

for the past 3 centuries. (Shannon,Kelly:2010).However, the historical facts affect

water management techniques would be appropriate to be adopt in the Mekong

also Can Tho in terms of water management as regards both the large-territorial

Delta in the area of Can Tho? There is a big debate and research around this question

scale and the smaller changes. The existing water landscape is a result of different

that needs a multidisciplinary approach. Focusing on 3 completely different case

human interventions through time. Today, the whole area is suffering from pollution,

studies, various strategies and water management methods will be proposed.

234


source: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/dc0a/2c7776a2759327abbc0feb748919e4b6bc64.pdf

The photo shows the construction process of the French channel Cho Gao(1875). In general the French occupation brought new technologies to Vietnam and it is accompannied with the construction of canals and tendecy to improve the agricultural sector.

235


01_Case 1 Beijing Horticultural Expo 2016 Landscape Masterplan WATER MANAGEMENT AND AGRICULTURE

SCAPE 2016

© https://www.scapestudio.com/projects/beijing-horticultural-expo-2019landscape-masterplan/

Beijing China

Intro_ The first case study is a landscape masterplan proposal of Scape office for the

whole area.

Beijing International Horticultural Expo in the Gui River region in southern part of

In this case, the ambition of the designers is not only the water treatment but a

China. The proposal is characterized by regenerative site-specific strategies in order

long-term strategy for the restoration of the site. The exhibition in the recreational

to create an appropriate environment to host the International Horticultural Expo.

park around this proposed water system is a way that water management served

The existing ecology is used as a design tool that develop a series of experiences

for agriculture and also as a tourist attraction. Water is at the center of an event

regarding the exhibition. The main idea is the space not to be abandoned after the

which connects land and water, since it connects agricultural cycles accompanied

exhibition, but on the contrary, the environmental restoration occasioned by the

with water circulation systems .This strategy that water treatment systems supply

exhibition will be achieved. As Scape mentioned: “After the expo, some elements

the agriculture with clean water is very important especially in non -western

of this ecological infrastructure are absorbed into the site, while other elements are

countries that there is lack of the appropriate infrastructures and the pesticides are

expanded to restore and revitalize the regional ecology overtime.”

transferred directly into the rivers and the canals. The importance of the interaction

As regards the water management strategies, the aim is to improve the quality of

between agriculture and water is very important in Can Tho, since the way the

water through several water treatment systems. Firstly, the water is collected and

whole system works is holistic. According to McGrath: “the deltas agricultural

then it is filtered through different ponds and wetlands. Finally, the clean water ends

territory is generated through the inscription of canal system -pre- colonial and

again in the Gui River. The proposal is a sustainable water circle that aim not only to

French- in the natural water structures that interact as warp and woof.(McGrath

reduce the pollution, but also to create a site -specific landscape experience around

2013).” The connection between agriculture and water structures has already been

the water .A series of irrigation systems for the crops, wetlands, water collectors for

crucial during the history. For this reason, this interaction between land and water

the stormwater and pools are designed with the intention of the regeneration of the

management should be taken into consideration in providing solutions in Can Tho.

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Š Author

As it is known, the Delta of the Mekong River is both agriculturally and aquatic

the importance of river to local economy and production in Can Tho area, one

highly productive and a major contributor to the region’s food production and

similar water management strategy could be appropriate. Especially in the area of

export earnings.[ Ian White ,2002].However, the drainage ditches that transfer

Phong Dien which is a highly productive and rapidly ecotourism developing area.

pollutants into the Mekong river contribute to the water degradation .The lack of the

(PHOTOS ARE TAKEN BY STUDENTS AND PROFESSORS DURING FIELDWORK ,CAN

appropriate infrastructures has a big impact to the quality of the water. Considering

THO,2020)

237


02_Case 2 Waiatarua Reserve WATER MANAGEMENT: CONSTRUCTED WATER RESERVE OF LOW BUDGET AND THE ROLE OF MUNICIPAL AUTHORITIES

City of Auckland 2004

©https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/parks-recreation/getoutdoors/aklpaths/Pages/path-detail.aspx?ItemId=62

Auckland, New Zealand

Intro_ The project named Waitarua Reserve is located in Auckland, New Zealand

drains, sediment traps, ponds, wetland channels and weirs in order to collect the

and it is about the transformation of a drained swamp into a new regenerating

water, purify the contaminants and to control the flow rates. According to results of

wetland for the city’s runoff. It is the biggest urban wetland in New Zealand and

research, “the wetland filters and cleans 130 tons of sediments and pollutants”which

the Auckland city won the Arthur Mead Environmental Award and the inaugural

reduce the quality of water and damage in long -term the waterways. The project is

New Zealand Contractors’ Federation Environmental Excellence Award for the

a reserve of fresh water provided for the city needs.

construction of this project. In general, the intervention area used to be a Tamaki

In general, the main aims of this project was to protect the area of increasing flow

River’s valley that was affected by the lava of eruption of the volcano named

of stormwater, to catch approximately 80% of the sediment improving in this way

Maungarei Mt Wellington many years ago. The ash of this eruption contributes to

the water quality and to provide a unique experience both to local community and

the creation of the wetland. Τhe drainage of the swamps around the lake started in

to visitors. It is especially important the fact that the project was designed by the

1879 because of a trench at the South and it completed in 1912 by initiative of the

Auckland City and was implemented with low budget. The whole area belonged to

Waitarua Drainage Board.

the Auckland City Council and was provided for the creation of the park. In this

The whole proposal was designed with respect to the existing ecosystem since it is

way, the water management was a project of the City in cooperation with local

a protected area for fauna and flora and as a park that provides various activities

stakeholders. After the implementation of the project in 2004, an Operational

to visitors. In the context of water management, the stormwater wetland purifies

Management Plan was made which ensures through monitoring that the function

through a system of different filters the pollutants before they end in Orakei Basin

of the wetland will be based on the proposed design for the next 2 years .Similar

and Waitemata Harbour. More specifically, the stormwater is collected and through

monitoring conditions also happened in 2007 and 2010.The overall process of

pipes reaches the wetland where is purified. The project consists of a system of

planning and construction lasted 16 years.

238


Š Author

The area of O Mon is characterized by various paddy fields that take the appropriate

finally clean and storage it for the dry season is suitable. Constructed wetlands with

from their nutrition elements from water. The most important problem of the area

natural ways of treatment can work as freshwater lakes for O Mon.

is the lack of freshwater during the dry season and their seasonal floods during

(PHOTOS ARE TAKEN BY STUDENTS AND PROFESSORS DURING FIELDWORK ,CAN

the wet season .For this reason, a system that collects water the wet season and

THO,2020)

239


03_Case 3 Wusong Riverfront: Landscape Infrastructure WATER MANAGEMENT IN URBAN AND INDUSTRIAL AREAS

SWA 2010

© https://www.asla.org/2012awards/196.html

Kunshan, China

Intro_ The masterplan of SWA for the riverfront of the city Kunshan, in China

discharged water. The water treatment system is about both the polluted river water

focuses on the restoration and conservation of the Wusong River that is suffering

and the collected stormwater. According to the designers, both passive methods

from water degradation. Wusong River is the main transportation waterway in the

(constructed wetlands ) and active techniques such as aeration ponds for water

Delta of Northern Yangtze. For this reason, people took advantage of the river and

treatment were proposed, since it was necessary to make the water from low quality

built an industrial zone along the river front. The aquafarm villages, that used to be

(Classification of water :Class V) appropriate for the recreation uses of the park

part of the identity and culture of the area, have been replaced by huge industries. This

(Category of Water: Class III).The flow rates, the time of water residence in the

fact in association with the growth of the population and the rapidly urbanization

ponds, the volume and velocity of water were taken seriously into consideration for

has a huge impact on the quality of water. The river was transmuted into a “drainage

the creation of the project.

ditch” for the industrial waste and lost its previous status and meaning .For all

It should be also mentioned that the proposal is a pilot project. That means that

these reasons, a competition was organized by Planning Bureau which aims to a

the masterplan was based on the research and the analysis of the site -specific

masterplan proposal for the regeneration of the area. The SWA‘s masterplan is about

characteristics of the landscape. The whole design is based on the existing topography

the planning of the riverbank as a public space with both cultural and economic

and cut and fill operation that matches to the existing landscape. The provided for

meaning for the city. Through strategies and design elements that have to do with

water treatment cells were designed according to contour lines. Another significant

sustainability, the goal of the proposal is the environmental development of this

part of the design is that it is supposed to be flexible for different conditions such as

polluted area. The whole proposal is based on a multidisciplinary work of landscape

periods of drought or flood and different seasons.

architects, environmentalist, biologists and other scientist in order to create a

Overall, the goal of this project was not only the ecological development of the

landscape infrastructure for environmental conservation. The future development

area, but the creation of a Treatment Wetland Park which provides a lot of activities

of the project is going to be in phases. (1st phase in 2010, 2nd phase in 2012…etc.).

and experiences in order for the social life to be connected again with the river.

Because of the industrial past of the intervention area, more intense water treatment

The park has also educational character through a serious of activities in designed

techniques were necessary. More specifically, a series of pools, channels and ponds

public space and gardens. The most important thing in this case study is how water

were proposed in order to filtrate through various treatment plants and aerate the

management could be applied in an urban area with industrial zone.

240


Š Author

Cai Rang is the most urbanized area that is suffering from the industrial waste that

Cai Rang operation. The use of the topography of the area is also crucial in order to

ends up in the river. At the same time, concrete dikes replaced the natural river

create purification wetlands cells and protect the existing settlements by flooding.

edges and as a result, people do not interact with the water. Because of that , the

(PHOTOS ARE TAKEN BY STUDENTS AND PROFESSORS DURING FIELDWORK ,CAN

more intense purification technologies of SWA proposal and the expansion of water

THO,2020)

edges in order to connect again the city for the riverfront could be also applied in

241


Š https://www.asla.org/2012awards/196.html

case study 3: flood control /cut and fill operation and soil conservation

242 Š https://www.scapestudio.com/projects/beijing-horticultural-expo-2019-landscape-masterplan/

case study 1:water system served for agriculture


case study 2 : water treatment and sediment purification

243

Š https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/parks-recreation/get-outdoors/ aklpaths/Pages/path-detail.aspx?ItemId=62


Conclusion Although the above case studies are very different to each other in terms of scale

project was the sediment trap and its purification that aim to the improvement of

and design regarding different challenges and water landscapes, some water

the water quality. These above strategies should be appropriate in Can Tho and

management principles are common: all the projects aim to regenerate polluted

especially in the area of O Mon which must faces challenges such as seasonal floods

areas considering the meaning of time in their design, they collect and clean both

and droughts in association with rapid urbanization. Wetlands that collects water

stormwater and river water .There is a tendency to design places that host social life

during wet season and storage it for the dry season is a suitable solution.

around the waterways. Taking into account the situation in Can Tho and the water management problems, some of the above strategies could be partially implemented

Finally, the last case study of Wusong Riverfront includes some technologies and

in a critical way.

methods regarding the regeneration of polluted industrial areas which could be adopt in the area of Cai Rang in Can Tho. In Cai Rang there is a need for a

As regards the proposal of Scape for the Gui river, it is important that provides

more intense water treatment system and a new design that will bring people in

solutions about how a water treatment system could supply clean water for

the city again back to water. Using some of the ideas of SWA such as purification

agricultural activities. The Scape’s strategy could be applied in the area of Phong

technologies and maximize the water edges and adapting the design in needs and

Dien in Can Tho ,which is highly productive and at the same time “ one of Can Tho’

tradition of Vietnam, this case study could be an example of water management for

s key ecotourism destinations during the 2020-2030 period”(Theo 2016).In this

this area.

context, water management techniques that aim to restore the environment with regenerating parks and also to supply collective fields offered for ecotourism with

In conclusion, the situation of Mekong Delta in terms of its climate change and

clean water could be a suitable proposal for the development of the Phong Dien

pollution is very crucial .For this reason , serious measurements should be taken by

in Can Tho. These productive and regenerating places could replace the existing

the local governments as regards the water management’s policies and regulations

empty public spaces and redefine the existing pseudo-ecotourism villages .

in order for the area to deliver to future environmental challenges. Many concerns arise from the proposed water management strategies in Can Tho and if they

In the case of Waitarua Reserve, the most important strategies and the way the water

should be based on adaptation to the existing situations or to control more the

is (re)stored were developed by the Auckland Council. The idea of a freshwater

environment .As Mira Kakonen mentioned : “ the Mekong Delta is now at the

lake could be easily applied in Vietnam in order to solve the problem of the lack

crossroads”.(Käkönen 2008)

of the freshwater during the dry season. Another especially important part of the

244


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245


MARIELA ALEJANDRA PERALTA DIAZ

BLUE RECREATIONAL LANDSCAPES A re-conceptualization of the public space for Vietnam

An approach to the use of the public space in Vietnam Throughout history, Vietnam has been subject to a tradition of change rather than

with nature, either the sea, a river or a wetland, people seem to be attracted to

continuity (Drummond 2000), which had a radical impact with the implementation

the places where they can be in contact with it (Iwa). However, it should not be

of the “doi moi� law in 1986, which sought a socialist oriented market economy.

considered only as a decorative element or attraction, it can represent the solution

This law profoundly affected the Vietnamese context, not only economic but

of social, environmental and cultural problems, and it can modify the perception

also cultural, modifying their customs and reflecting them in the use of space by

and functioning of a city. In fact, in urban planning there is a new concern that

starting the so-called streetscapes that defined the extremely important use of

a public space should also provide solutions for water management and, thereby,

streets as public spaces for Vietnamese culture (Drummond 2000). However, with

improve biodiversity and the quality of the common good (CABESpace 2008).

its economic growth and rapid urbanization, the conception of public space must be reassessed and ensured in better planning that can guaranteed the design and

In this framework, flood management, and the recovery of the landscape and water

access to more livable public spaces (Hoang, Apparicio, and Pham 2019).

fronts, are used to exemplify the participation of water in public spaces and to

With the emergence of a new approach, new strategies and trends must be applied

illustrate potential strategies that can improve living conditions in a context such

that can correct the design of public spaces in Vietnam, responding to the natural

as Can Tho . These approaches not only represent the management of public spaces

and social conditions of its environment. In the context of Can Tho, different nuances

conceived as a form, but are accompanied by natural, cultural and political problems

can be seen in the conformation of its public spaces. On one hand, a reclaimed

that design generally ignores, generating catastrophes. A more resilient approach

coastal park remains empty, while the rest of the river, flanked by flood walls, keeps

should be considered, in which floods can be welcomed and accommodated with

people away from the shore. It is difficult to define the solution for this irony, but

innovative solutions that can incorporate drainage or water storage practices,

it is still clear that a connection between people and the natural conditions of their

generating an impact for the common good (Le, Devisch, and Trinh 2019). Or in

environment must be considered.

which the water fronts can represent more than the constant political debate to

This research aims to offer an approach to new public spaces for contexts such as

privatize the public with the aim of exploiting a market, destroying the relationship

Can Tho, characterized by rapid development and growth, and which are deeply

between people and the river (Boland, Bronte, and Muir 2017). In this scenario, a

influenced by water. Although most of the time perceived as a threat due to

new conception of public spaces is needed, having as main objective the relationship

flooding, water can also be considered as the connection that people can maintain

between design, people and natural conditions.

246


© Ingrid

Phong Dien, 2020

247


01_Case 1 A resilient recreational landscape YANWEIZHOU PARK

2014

Š Turenscape

Jinhua, Zhejiang, China

Turenscape Landscape Architecture

The site is located at the meeting of the Wuyi, Yiwu and Jinhua rivers; in an area originally characterized by riparian wetlands that have gradually disappeared due to the construction of concrete walls as a strategy to respond to the annual floods that affect the region. The rivers separate densely populated communities from the city of Jinhua and make it difficult to access the opera house and the green spaces built next to the remaining 24 ha wetland. In an environment affected by natural hazards and a lack of social cohesion, the project seeks to encompass natural floods, and uses them as the main resource to recover the original wetlands and establish a dialogue between the community

248

and the forgotten landscape. Through the important use of cut and fill strategies, different designs are proposed to mitigate the mentioned floods and to break the barriers imposed as previous solutions. As an alternative to the flood walls, a terraced embankment is proposed to absorb the flood water of the site, including that from the closest pavements, and use it as nourishment for the new flora. This strategy not only encourages the inclusion of natural species, but also breaks the barrier that existed between the water front and people. Following the same line, by using gravel, permeable surfaces are created in the interior spaces to mitigate rainwater.


Š Turenscape

Categorized as a resilient landscape (Landezine), the park creates a “network of meandering roads and elevated bridges� (Dezeen) to connect communities to the existing facilities in the park and wetlands, which are also intended as recreational spaces. In this way, different routes are enabled for the use of people, as an attempt to strengthen their relationship with nature.

repelling them. The previous use of the concrete wall in Jinhua can also be seen throughout Can Tho, especially in urban areas, where they begin to create a fragmented structure that separates people from the landscape, showing how water is perceived as a threat. In this context, the strategies must be redirected in order to accept and include floods as part of the landscape.

The project shows strategies that can be clearly interpreted in contexts that address the monsoon season, such as the Vietnamese, and that can help improve the environment by adapting human needs to natural conditions, rather than

249


02_Case 2 Natural recreational spaces ST JACQUES ECOLOGICAL PARK

2013

ŠBruel-Delmar

Saint Jacques de la Lande, Ille & Vilaine, France

Atelier des paysages Bruel-Delmar

In a context marked by the duality of its economic development, based largely on an agricultural tradition, and its residential growth; the park works as a connector that reconciles these two elements, softening their edges and penetrating them with a sequence of spaces that integrate the traditional landscape of the area and allow access for people. The park is not shaped like conventional ways; a specific form is hard to define and boundaries are difficult to establish. However, it is through the use of this imperceptible form that it relates to the different scenarios around it. Through the use of gentle gestures, the park penetrates the landscape and strengthen

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its relationship with people, allowing them to inhabit it. The existence of a lake stands out through the use of oaks and strategically defined spaces through the placement of small buildings that allow different activities with which people can be in contact with nature and feel welcome. It also creates a reed bed to provide phyto-purification of runoff water accompanied by structures to collect and discharge water. This with the aim of not obscuring the topography of the site and preserving natural environments by creating ecological systems that promote the spread of various natural species.


ŠBruel-Delmar

In the park converges the different landscapes that have being built through the development process of the zone, same that now characterize it. It reunites the traditional agricultural activities with the original forested landscape of the site, as an attempt to re-naturalized it. These elements are organized in a well-defined spine that has water as its main motive, and which is presented in different scales. The different concepts and ideas applied in the park can be interpreted in the context of Can Tho, the most important being to have water as the main element of its structure. This project does not represent the sometimes preconceived idea of what a park should be, with the long and wide concrete paths or the always

attractive playgrounds surrounded by trees. Instead, their strategy is executed in what might be called an acupuncture approach, which always considers the natural conditions of specific contexts. In places like Can Tho, full of developing districts, the gap between the new and the existing is a constant part of its landscape and the use of a connection begins to be necessary. The insertion of recreational spaces that take advantage of the different nuances that make up the landscape can help hybridize the site, making people part of this process.

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03_Case 3 Recreational opportunities within the industrial landscape YANGPU RIVERSIDE PUBLIC SPACE

2016

ŠYong Zhang

Shangai, China

Original Design Studio

The project represents a prototype for the development of a public space along the 45 km of the Yangpu River bank, located in an area characterized by the presence of industries that have led to the marginalization and privatization of the river bank. Using primarily passageways, the project seeks to restore and return the river to the community, allowing them to traverse it and establish a connection to the lost landscape.

have a history and represent heritage for the locality. The proposal is inspired by the tectonics of this industrial heritage and is materialized through the colors, textures and shapes that are created; it also uses part of the water plant infrastructure as the basis for new construction. Also seeking to restore the ecological environment, the project uses a valley located behind the flood wall to create a wetland that can incorporate different species of flora and fauna, and can also collect rainwater.

Although the presence of industries on the site has overshadowed people’s participation in shaping the landscape and has conditioned it in many ways, they

The project clearly recovers the relationship between people and the river, same had been ignored for many years and, which reflects a typical scenario of

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ŠYong Zhang

places that have water fronts and an economic development based on it. This privatization of the riverside is also present in the rivers of Can Tho, especially on those who have encouraged the origin of the cities and to whom people’s access is limited and undervalued. Many nuances can be discovered in these places that can explain its operation which is commonly represented as a battle between policies, heritage and economic development, same that have isolated people from its water landscape. For the community is unimaginable to take walks on the water front, be part of it and to contemplate the ever-changing landscape that surrounds them. The strategies used by the project offers people the opportunity

to reconnect with the river and actually enjoy it, managing and including the important industrial landscape with which the city is related.

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Conclusions Throughout history, public spaces have always been recognized as places shaped

This new approach should redirect the traditional concept of public spaces,

by different nuances that people use to reflect their traditions and customs. The

abandoning old practices and reinterpreting their use. The squares, parks and

management of these spaces in cities like Cantho is difficult to describe and, at

waterfronts should no longer be recognized only as the places that can house trees,

the same time, it shows the reality of many places in the world. These developing

benches and playgrounds, and where people can gather and enjoy a quiet afternoon

contexts are characterized by economic growth and rapid urbanization that results

talking and contemplating the landscape. An awakening and a commitment are

in a constant debate on land use and neglects the cultural, social and ecological

needed, in which public spaces are conceived not only to meet human needs, but

values of their context. So, it is normal to find water fronts monopolized by

also natural needs, reconciling people with nature and allowing the city to have its

industries, waterfronts deformed by flood walls or rivers undervalued and ignored

endemic landscape as part of its common good.

in the design of the city. It is clear that many of these phenomena occur to improve economic development or to avoid a natural disaster and, in many cases, they have

The use of new strategies and techniques not only has to benefit the natural

obeyed a tradition of many years; however, they have also created barriers for

environment, but can also create more attractive public spaces, where people can

people to enjoy the common good, condition their public realm and defining their

feel welcome and excited to visit. The creation of parks that contain wetlands in

public space.

the urban heart, the recovery of passageways on the waterfronts or the integration of a river in the city landscape, can function as urban lungs that detoxify the air

With a society in decline, fraught with natural disasters and social inequalities, a

(IWA), and provide people the opportunity to be in contact with nature remaining

change in traditional design and the use of innovative strategies are required to

in its urbanized landscape. For booming cities like Cantho, these opportunities are

repair the damage caused by previous generations and reinvent the concept of public

still available, but they can only be implemented with social, political and cultural

spaces. This requires creative solutions that cover the natural conditions of each

support.

site and that, instead of repelling them, find a way to include them in the designs, with the aim of obtaining spaces in which not only people can relax and speak, but also create ecological pockets to promote the original landscape, allowing the growth of different natural and animal species. Cities that coexist with floods can be imagined, leaving aside the customary built environment (Liao 2012).

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References Books and scientific articles : Boland, Philip, John Bronte, and Jenny Muir. 2017. “On the Waterfront: Neoliberal Urbanism and the Politics of Public Benefit.” Cities 61: 117–27. CABESpace. 2008. “Adapting Public Space to Climate Change,” 1–8. Drummond, L. B.W. 2000. “Street Scenes: Practices of Public and Private Space in Urban Vietnam.” Urban Studies 37 (12): 2377–91. Hoang, Anh, Philippe Apparicio, and Thi-Thanh-Hien Pham. 2019. “The Provision and Accessibility to Parks in Ho Chi Minh City: Disparities along the Urban Core— Periphery Axis.” Urban Science 3 (1): 37. Le, To Quyen, Oswald Devisch, and Tu Anh Trinh. 2019. “Flood-Resilient Urban Parks: Toward a Framework.” Area 51 (4): 804–15. Liao, Kuei Hsien. 2012. “A Theory on Urban Resilience to Floods-A Basis for Alternative Planning Practices.” Ecology and Society 17 (4).

On-line documents and websites : ArchDaily. (2020). Demostration Section of Yangpu Riverside Public Space/ Original Studio Design. [online] Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/930494/ demonstration-section-of-yangpu-riverside-public-space-original-design-studio [Accessed 8 Jun. 2020] Dezeen. (2015). Terraces of plants in Yanweizhou Park “control floods in an ecological way”. [online] Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2015/12/07/ terraces-of-plants-yanweizhou-park-control-floods-ecological-turenscapelandscape-architecture-china [Accessed 8 Jun. 2020] IWA. (2015). Benefiting From Integrating Water Into Public Spaces. [online] Available

at:

https://iwa-network.org/benefiting-from-integrating-water-into-

public-spaces [Accessed 7 Jun. 2020] Landezine. (2015). Yanweizhou Park in Jinhua city. [online] Available at: http:// landezine.com/index.php/2015/03/a-resilient-landscape-yanweizhou-park-injinhua-city-by-turenscape [Accessed 7 Jun. 2020]

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BETTY PETROV

Transition of housing forms (collective, co-housing)

Introduction The housing production of the housing market is monotonous and targets, in general,

in 525 BCE, when “Pythagoras founded Homakoeion” (Vestbro and Horelli 2012),

nuclear families. As such, housing production is not adapted to demographically

since then there have been various incarnations serving numerous purposes,

defined changes in societal needs and economic possibilities. How can alternative

including living, working and commercial purposes. The co-housing modern

forms of collective and co-housing drive new development?

movement of today is based on that of the Danish from the 1960’s when architect Jan Gugmand-Hoyer investigated other options that was not the “outdated single-

The housing market has traditionally targeted, the nuclear family, consisting of

family house….a vision of a housing form made up of several individual units

two parents and children in a family unit/home. This model today, in many cases

devised to foster the interplay between common and private spaces”. (Larsen 2019)

around the world does not cater to current societal needs or is an economically

This model in the last 50 years has been established worldwide as an alternative to

viable option for many. The single-family, owner-occupied, home on land with a

the single dwelling nuclear home.

lifetimes mortgage, is no longer feasible. Therefore, alternative forms of housing

These co-housing communities when co existing within or closed proximity

such as collective and co-housing may be a more viable option for many seeking a

of public amenities allows for a more sustainable way of living due to being able

home.

to access all that people require within the co-housing community or in close

Collective or co-housing is housing that comes in various forms and varying

distance. These “models appearing after 1970 have sought to promote community

levels of ‘shared spaces’, unlike co-living (that sees the sharing of private spaces)

and cooperation among the neighbours.” (Vestbro and Horelli 2012) and therefore

“Cohousing’s are intentional communities in which each family unit has its own

increasing a sense of neighbourhood and community.

living space, but certain amenities are shared, such as laundry facilities, gardens

An investigation of co-housing models was undertaken to gain further

and a common space where residents can meet and eat together.” (Esther 2018)

understanding in a housing model that could cater for the present-day and future

Sharing such amenities allow for the provision of smaller dwelling size and fewer

needs of communities facing life in the Mekong Delta, specifically the Can Tho

resources being utilized for individual use, for example the use of shared cars and

region. The investigation examined three cases of co-housing from across the

bikes. “The term collaborative housing is recommended to be used when referring

world. In Asia, Pangyo Housing B5-2 Block, located in Seongnam South Korea, by

specifically to housing that is oriented towards collaboration among residents,

Riken Yamamoto Architects, built in 2011. In Europe, built between 2012 and 2018,

while communal housing ought to be used, when referring to housing designed to

Vandkundsten Architects, the Diakonissestiftelsen- Masterplan, in Frederiksberg,

create community.” (Vestbro and Horelli 2012)

Copenhagen Denmark and from Africa, located in Casablanca, Morocco, Dar

Although co-housing has a long history, evolving from the first recorded community

Lamane Housing, built in 1985, by Abderrahim Charai and Abdelaziz Lazrak.

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01_Case 1 PANGYO HOUSING B5-2 BLOCK

2011

©Yamamoto, Riken

Seongnam, South Korea

Ricken Yamamoto Architects

A low-rise, high density (3 or 4 floors high) co-housing development, for low income residents. Pangyo Housing consists of 9 clusters, with each housing cluster consisting of 9 to 13 dwellings. “In contrast to standard housing developments that are designed solely to ensure a high degree of privacy, these units were signed both to generate interaction with surrounding community, and to create

new communities.” (Yagi 2012) Public communal decks on the second floor of each cluster, connect the dwellings together and a ‘shiki’ which is a large entrance, space off communal deck that can be used as a, shared function space, a home office.

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ŠYagi, Yuna

Lessons that can be learned for Can Tho Vietnam from the Pangyo example include cluster living which is appropriate for the extended family structure prevalent in Vietnamese culture. Shared spaces that also work as workspaces can provide for local business ventures as well as shared space for community activities.

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02_Case 2 THE DIAKONISSESTIFTELSENMASTERPLAN, IN FREDERIKSBERG

Vandkundsten Architects 2012, 2018

©Vandkundsten Architects

Copenhagen, Denmark

“Gradients between the private, semiprivate and the common in the outdoor spaces was emphasized” (Vandkunsten 2020) in the Diakonissestiftelsen Masterplan. A low-rise, high density (3 or 4 floors high) comprising of clusters of dwellings and singular residential blocks. A diverse range of dwelling typologies and amenities will cater for a wide range of ages and needs. The Masterplan includes, care units, elderly housing, co-living and co-housing, guest accommodation for the older residents. Student housing and schools for the younger generations and for all to share a medical center, large communal kitchen, cafés, orchard, bakery and laundry. “The flat roofs of the development can be used for recreational activities, furnished

with raised green beds and green houses, integrated with the architecture. The roof terraces are shared and is a place for the residents to grow social bonds and community.” (Vandkunsten 2020)

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260

© https://rpubs.com/chidungkt/505486 (accessed 22 May 2020)

©Vandkundsten Architects

Vandkunsten Architects, Diakonissestiftelsen is an interesting example for the Vietnamese context, showing the multi-generational integration of people in cohousing. In the next 30 years Vietnam will have its highest proportion of 65+ year old’s. Diakonissestiftelsen is an example of ensuring the elderly remain within the family realm and continue Vietnamese family structure traditions.


03_Case 3 DAR LAMANE HOUSING

1985

© Khan, Aga

Casablanca, Morocco, Africa

A. Charai and A. Lazrak

Winner of the 1986 Aga Khan award for housing. A residential community of 25,000, low income residents “formerly rural or nomadic people.” (Khan 2018) The individual apartments consist of multiple rooms and at least 2 balconies that allow for passive cooling. Arranged in housing clusters the attached apartment blocks of only 4 and 5 floors high, each cluster having public amenities (retail, education, childcare facilities etc.) within its core.

A successful project not only for winning the Aga khan award, the project was delivered under budget and on time, it provided employment opportunities for locals and utilized local, traditional materials and resources.

Private residences are located within the clusters and are connected via “entrances face each other and open staircases act as communal balconies.” (Khan 2018) The communal balconies create the first layer of public shared space. The second being “4000 units organised around a large central square in which the mosque, markets and festival hall are located.” (Khan 2018)

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Š Khan, Aga

The lessons we can take from Dar Lamane Housing is community and cultural/ historic sensitivity and use of local labour and materials. A sense of community is bought together at Dar Lamane Housing via a central square with religious and public amenities. Within the Vietnamese context in Can Tho, this same sense of community can take place in the new communities that are formed on the water terrain for commerce, and community activity. Dar Lamane also incorporated traditional forms and urban spaces seen further afield within Morroco, such as community balconies, a narrow street pattern connecting the community and arched architecture. Vernacular forms and materials can also inspire the proposed architectural forms in Vietnam through the use of light weigh buildings appropriate for Vietnamese weather conditions and local materials. Dar Lamane Housing used both local labour and materials, in Vietnam local labour and use of local building materials such as bamboo and reeds will not only increase employment but also provide ongoing employment through agro-business.

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Conclusions In conclusion, the co-housing model is one of the appropriate solutions and models

(Hirschman and Loi 1996) and also a close network of extended family that includes,

for future housing within the Vietnamese context specifically the Mekong Delta

aunts, uncles, cousins in close local proximity. Household size in the south is usually

and the Can Tho region due to ongoing environmental issues, its topography,

higher than those living in the north, in both urban and rural settings “ranging

population growth and traditional Vietnamese family structure. Co-housing is

from a low of 4.4 persons in the northern city to a high of 6.0 in the southern

growing in popularity, after its recent start with shared workspaces. Vietnam, is

city”. (Hirschman and Loi 1996) Extended family units are also not uncommon, in

expected to follow suit with other parts of Asia, trying to find a solution to housing

the south with about “one third of rural households and almost one -half of urban

affordability.

households consisting of extended family units”. (Hirschman and Loi 1996)

There are numerous environmental stresses that effect the lower Mekong Delta; they

Considering Vietnamese multi-generational and extended family structure, the co-

include, flooding, drought, saline intrusion, heat waves, subsidence and erosion, as

housing model could provide options for patrilocal family living in a way that is

well as ongoing water issues caused by dams that commence in China via Laos and

designed and implemented specifically for traditional Vietnamese family structure,

Cambodia. Other social strains such as rapid urbanisation and population growth;

without having to adapt current physical structures, as can be seen in existing

“Can Tho recorded an increase of 36.7 percent in population between 2015 and

examples such as the KTT apartments “The individual units were originally designed

2020”. (Quy 2020) With a current population of 1.5 million people and growing.

for a nuclear family. But many residents are living with their extended family

Along with decaying existing housing/buildings and urban infrastructure, that is

members. In some cases, a family of three generations (6-8 people) share a space of

set to fail in the long term.

35m2. Residents have informally extended their apartments.” (Kimhur 2019) Cohousing specifically designed for a Vietnamese context, allows for a continuation of

The topography of Can Tho and the surrounds Cai rang, Phong Dien and O Mon

family structure and tradition. Therefore, “co-housing is seen as a promising model

is low, and with an abundant network of natural and manmade canals, rivers, and

for urban development, and most empirical case studies report active and diverse

dykes, making it prone to seasonal flooding in the present and in the long term

communities, creating and maintaining affordable living environments”. (Tummers

finding itself mostly submerged in flood water due to climate change and sea level

2015)

rise. In order to utilise the highest ground for food production, cultivation and farming, housing/buildings will need to adapt to water and earth (amphibious) as well as taking up less physical space/ground, that will become non-existent in the floods. The co-housing model, due to its sharing of spaces will allow for smaller dwelling size, therefore being able to increase population density and preserve the higher terrain for food production, cultivation and farming. Vietnamese family’s structure is mostly based on a patriarchal, patrilineal and patrilocal system, this has some variation dependant on the region. In southern Vietnam the general “family would be ‘semi-nuclear’ with parents and grandparents living with the family of the eldest son, other sons having independent households.”

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References Droste, Christiane. 2015. "German co-housing: an opportunity for municipalities

Postmus, Martijn. 2020. Archello. Accessed March 23, 2020. https://archello.com/

to foster socially inclusive urban development?" Urban Research and Practice -

project/pangyo-housing-b5-2-block.

Volume 8, Issue 1 79-92.

Quy, Nguyen. 2020. VNExpress International. January 11. Accessed May 21, 2020.

Esther, Jones. 2018. Metropolitan Barcelona-Another way to live. January 1.

https://e.vnexpress.net/nwews/news/can-tho-world-s-second-fastest-growing-

Accessed May 20, 2020. https://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/features/report-

urban-area-report-4040294.html.

cohousing/.

Tummers, Lidewij. 2015. "The re-emergence of self-managed co-housing in Europe:

Hays, Jeffrey. 2014. MEN, GENDER ROLES, THE ELDERLY AND FAMILIES IN VIETNAM. May. Accessed May 21, 2020. http://factsanddetails.com/southeastasia/Vietnam/sub5_9c/entry-3389.html. Hirschman, Charles, and Vu Manh Loi. 1996. "Family and Household Structure in Vietnam: Some Glimpses From a Recent Survey." Pacific Affairs, Vol. 69, No. 2 229-249 . www.akdn.org/architecture/project/dar-lamane-housing. Kimhur, Boram. 2019. Urbanet-News and Debates on Municipal and Local Governance, Sustainable Urban Development and Governance. May 9. Accessed 25,

2020.

https://www.urbanet.info/when-communities-transform-old-

socialist-housing-into-adequate-housing-part-1/. Larsen, Henrik Gutzon. 2019. "Anti-urbanism and segregation." In Contemporary Co-housing in Europe, by Henrik Gutzon Larsen, 23-37. Routledge. Larsen, Henrik Gutzon, and Peter Jakobsen. 2018. "An alternative for whom? The evolution and socio-economy of Danish cohousing." Urban Research and PracticeVolume 12 414-430. Ngoc, Bich. 2018. Vietnam Investment Review. March 17. Accessed March 23, 2020. https://www.vir.com.vn/co-living-to-be-new-residential-trend-in-vietnam-57293. html.

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Vandkunsten, Architects. 2020. Vandkunsten Architects. Accessed May 21, 2020. https://vandkunsten.com/en/projects/seniorfaellesskab-diakonissestiftelsen. Vestbro, Dick Urban, and Liisa Horelli. 2012. "Design for gender equality - the history of cohousing ideas and realities." Built Environment. Volume 38, Number 3. 315-335.

Khan, Aga. 2018. Aga Khan Development Network. Accessed May 22, 2020. https://

May

A critical review of co-housing research." Urban Studies, 53(10) 2023–2040.

Viet, Han Duc, Kenji Hotta, and Kyoichi Okamoto. 2004 . "A Study on Environmental and Social Problems in Deeply Flooded Areas of the Mekong Delta, Vietnam." EcoEngineering, Volume 16 Issue 45-52. Wordpress. 2018. Housing our mature elders. August 17. Accessed May 21, 2020.

https://housingourmatureelders.wordpress.com/2018/08/17/tour-

diakonissestiftelsen/. Yagi, Yuna. 2012. World Architects. July 31. Accessed May 21, 2020. https://www. world-architects.com/en/architecture-news/reviews/pangyo-housing. Yamamoto, Ricken. n.d. Ricken Yamamoto. Accessed March 12, 2020. http://www. riken-yamamoto.co.jp/index.html?page=ry_proj_detail&id=17&lng=_Jp.


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MOHAN ZHANG

Multifunctional resilient blue-green infrastructure Remission water pollution and creating a sustainable water-based neighbourhood

Waste management in Can Tho Due to the accelerating of industrialization and urbanization, many benefits for

resources provide the foundation for local life and production. Therefore, the

economic growth and urban development have gradually emerged. However, at

treatment of water pollution is the biggest concern and challenge in the Mekong

the same time, the impact of waste which generated during development on the

Delta. The wastes, as mentioned above of household, industrial and agricultural

environment and public sanitation has become more and more evident. Before

are all factors that directly cause water pollution in the Mekong Delta. In Can Tho

industrialization era, the waste generated by human daily life and production

City, the primary measures of waste management are sewage treatment plants,

activities can be treated through some lower-tech and cost-effective measures. At

landfills and waste incineration. However, through on-site fieldwork research, it

the same time, nature also had the ability and capacity to digest the reasonable

can be found that the phenomenon of directly discharging solid wastes into the

amount of waste. Nevertheless, due to a large amount of waste contain the chemical

natural environment without any treatment is still widespread. Even if solid waste

ingredients caused by industrialization which could put the environment and

is treated by landfill or incineration, the landfill leachate will contaminate the soil

human health in danger, waste management has become an inevitable means to

and water resources in the long term with hard access to control. (Duc Luong et

balance the pollution caused by human activities and the carrying capacity of the

al. 2020) Considering a significant amount of local agricultural activities, a series

environment. Waste can be mainly classified into liquid, solid and gas waste. Waste

of chemical products such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides will increase

management needs to be able to deal with waste from different sources, such as

agricultural output and economic contribution while directly polluting water

domestic household waste, industrial waste and agricultural biological waste.

resources. In Dong et al.’s article, agricultural discharge is the major contributor to

(“Editorial Board/Aims And Scope� 2014)

pollution and eutrophication of rivers and lakes. (Dong et al. 2009) Such a series of phenomena directly led to the worsening of local water pollution. Since a large

Vietnam is a country with a relatively heavy waste burden in the world, with an

number of low-income population living in rural areas could not access tap water

average annual waste output of 440 kg. One-quarter of the cities have to extend

supply, they must rely on natural water which has been contaminated for daily life

the solution of the waste crisis from the urban to the rural. (Du 2013) Compared

and livelihood sources such as rivers and lakes causing severe harm to their water

to rapid urban development, the level of waste disposal is still relatively backward,

safety and health.

even in the larger cities of Vietnam, such as Hanoi and HCMC. For the Mekong Delta, a considerable number of rivers, lakes and relatively abundant groundwater

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Š Mohan Zhang

Boats and floating garbage on water, 2020

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01_Ecological restoration from a former industrial site SHANGHAI HOUTAN PARK

2010

© https://www.turenscape.com/project/detail/443.html

Shanghai, China

Turenscape

“Constructed Wetlands are an effective, environmentally friendly means of treating liquid and solid waste” (Wastewater Gardens International (WWGI) 2012) Houtan Park is located on the east bank of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, with a total length of 1.7 kilometres and a planned area of 14.2 hectares. (Zhang, Yue and Jing 2010) Houtan not only became one of the core landscapes during the 2010 Shanghai World Expo but also became a public green space in Shanghai after the Expo. The location of Houtan Park was formerly industrial land. During the industrial production process, the soil and water resources have been contaminated to

268

some extent. After the urban transformation, the factories relocated, and Houtan became a wild and polluted urban land. For such a challenging area, the traditional pollution treatments will not only invest considerable infrastructure costs but also unconducive to the restoration of ecological diversity. As a result, the concept of constructed wetlands was adopted. In the ten years from 2010 to the present, Houtan Park has achieved significant results in soil pollution, sewage treatment, and ecological restoration, at the same time effectively used the city’s abandoned land to create a sustainable public space for the inhabitants. As mentioned in Liu’s


Š https://www.turenscape.com/project/detail/443.html

article, the constructed wetlands in Houtan Park is capable of processing 2400 cubic meters of sewage per day through a series of the green terraces, which could save 500,000 US dollars per year compared with traditional methods. (Liu 2012) In Can Tho, the expansion of the city and the increase of industrial land require the construction of wastewater treatment plants with a more extensive treatment capacity. However, the construction itself has the risk of damage to the ecosystem and requires a large amount of investment and maintenance costs. For a city

with a relatively weak economic foundation and abundant natural resources, sustainable sewage treatment is necessary. Constructed wetlands could increase sewage treatment capacity by combining existing wastewater treatment plants. The sewage discharged from agricultural activities could also be treated utilizing constructed wetlands.

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02_Multifunctional urban park TRIN WARREN TAM-BOORE WETLANDS

2006

© http://urbanwater.melbourne.vic.gov.au/projects/wetlands/wetlands-sample-project/

Melbourne, Australia

CoM, OCG

“The Trin Warren Tam-boore wetland has been constructed in Royal Park, four kilometres north of Melbourne’s central city. The five-hectare wetland takes stormwater from surroundings, cleans it, and stores it to irrigate the park.” (The State Government of Victoria, City of Melbourne 2010) The Trin Warren Tam-boore wetland is a waste treatment project integrating sewage treatment, flood discharge, green land irrigation and urban parks. At the same time, the consideration of topography situation in the design allows the flow of water

270

following the gravity as much as possible, reducing the intervention of the machine and the later maintenance cost. The traditional sewage treatment system requires a large area of land with constrains by a series of regulations and codes. In this project, the constructed wetland, reservoir and green space are compacted designed enables it can be integrated through a more intensive urban area. In the current urban development of Can Tho, it can be found that the urban construction represented by Cai Rang is carried out at the expense of agricultural


Š http://urbanwater.melbourne.vic.gov.au/projects/wetlands/wetlands-sample-project/

land and natural environment. If the public space provided in the newly built city could meet the needs of ecology, sewage treatment, rainwater management and open green space in a multifunctional and intensive manner, the urbanization with limited land can be more efficiently developed.

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03_The “garbage” with biological value VALDEMINGOMEZ FOREST PARK

2013

© https://www.archdaily.com/795780/valdemingomez-forest-park-israel-alba-estudio

Madrid, Spain

Israel Alba Estudio

Although Valdemingomez landfill digested hundreds of millions of tons of solid waste for Madrid during its 22-year operating, the waste disposal method such as landfill itself is not sustainable, therefore, how to reuse it after stopping the waste disposal has become a challenge. Through afforestation and introducing public facilities, the local ecosystem will be gradually restored, and public space for leisure activities such as hiking and cycling will be provided. “The project for the restoration and transformation of the Valdemingomez landfill in Madrid

272

brings together four basic actions: sealing the surface of the landfill, extracting the biogas accumulated within it for use in generating electricity, while transforming the surface of the landfill into a public park of enormous biological value.” (“Valdemingomez Forest Park / Israel Alba Estudio” 2020) Can Tho’s most massive landfill ceased operation in 2014. (“Can Tho Unsure Of Where To Dump Rubbish” 2020) because the hazardous leachate produced


Š https://www.archdaily.com/795780/valdemingomez-forest-park-israel-alba-estudio

by the garbage has severely affected the growth of the surrounding crops and the ecological environment. (World Bank Group, DFDRR 2014) The landfill is still abandoned due to lack of funding and technical inadequacies. However, according to Madrid’s experience, the extraction of biogas from landfill for electricity generation or other energy sources could bring local economic effects in the short term. Through a certain period of investment and return, the local government could have sufficient funds for further ecological restoration, thereby

improving ecological diversity and water quality affected by the leachate in longterm operation.

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Conclusions Waste management is an essential part of sustainable development. For the vast

is also a problem for some developed countries. The suspension of Can Tho’s main

majority of developing countries, economic development and ecological protection

landfill gave local area opportunities to improve the ecological environment and

always seem to be out of balance. Due to the need for more efficient industrial

reduce pollution.

production to promote social-economic development, fast-running cities have become the focus of development in developing countries. The negative impact of

Afforestation could improve the ecological foundation of the land, to re-start

this is that pollution and large amounts of garbage need to be treated by efficient

agricultural activities, and extract biogas for power generation can directly create

and sustainable means.

economic value and indirectly save resource consumption. Through on-site fieldwork and literature studies of Can Tho, it can be concluded that the local waste

Can Tho, the largest city in the Mekong Delta. The treatment of waste generated

treatment methods need at least to meet the requirements of lower construction

during the urbanization and industrialization process is a bit challenging for the

and maintenance costs; the efficient use of urban and agricultural land through the

city in this developing country. Through three case studies, it was found that

combination of multifunctional public use; taking the protection of the ecological

constructed wetlands provide very high sustainability in the treatment of water

environment as the prerequisite; ensuring long-term sustainable operation.

pollution while ensuring lower construction capital and more wastewater treatment efficiency. Can Tho’s widely distributed rivers and lakes provide excellent natural conditions for the constructed wetlands. At the same time, in the area represented by O Mon, the integrated system of paddy fields and constructed wetlands could not only treat agricultural discharge but also carry out fish and shrimp farming and irrigation with purified water. Increased income for the agricultural population while reducing expenditures on irrigation water. Constructed wetlands could also play a role in flood retention. Due to urbanization, during floods, surface water cannot penetrate the ground, causing a long flood inundation period and a series of economic losses. In densely populated urban areas like Can Tho centre and Cai Rang, the intervention of constructed wetlands can not only effectively reduce the threat of flooding, but also provide ecologically diverse urban public spaces. The landfill has become a common practice of waste disposal in many developing countries because of its lower upfront investment and maintenance costs. (McNally 2003) However, such an approach to waste management only serves short-term interests. From a sustainable perspective, this approach consumes non-renewable land resources. At the same time, due to the destruction of the surrounding ecological environment, activities such as agricultural production could not be carried out for long decades. As can be seen from the third case study, the treatment and use of landfill after close

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References Books and scientific articles : “Editorial Board/Aims And Scope”. 2014. Waste Management 34 (3): IFC. doi:10.1016/s0956-053x(14)00026-9. Du, Yuying. 2013. “The Research On Disposal Of Vietnam Hungyen City Municipal Solid Waste”. Master, Guangxi University for Nationalities. Duc Luong, Nguyen, Hoang Minh Giang, Bui Xuan Thanh, and Nguyen The Hung. 2020. “Challenges For Municipal Solid Waste Management Practices In Vietnam”. http://dx.doi.org/10.12777/wastech.1.1.2013.17-21. Dong, Bin, Zhi Mao, Larry Brown, XiuHong Chen, LiYuan Peng, and JianZhang

“Valdemingomez Forest Park / Israel Alba Estudio”. 2020. Archdaily. https://www. archdaily.com/795780/valdemingomez-forest-park-israel-alba-estudio. Alba, Israel. 2018. “A Recovered Landfill in the Construction of a Metropolis: The Valdemingómez Project, over Time”. Ri-Vista 16 (1), 68-89. https://doi. org/10.13128/RV-22989. “Can Tho Unsure Of Where To Dump Rubbish”. 2020. Vietnamnews.Vn. https:// vietnamnews.vn/environment/249661/can-tho-unsure-of-where-to-dumprubbish.html. World Bank Group, DFDRR. 2014. “Enhancing Urban Resilience”. Can Tho.

Wang. 2009. “Irrigation Ponds: Possibility And Potentials For The Treatment Of

McNally, Laura. 2003. “Protection Of Water Resources In Landfill Siting In Vietnam”.

Drainage Water From Paddy Fields In Zhanghe Irrigation System”. Science In China

Master, University of Toronto.

Series E: Technological Sciences 52 (11): 3320-3327. doi:10.1007/s11431-009-03641. Wastewater Gardens International (WWGI). 2012. “CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS TO TREAT WASTEWATER”. FRAMEWORK AND SCHEMATIC OVERVIEW. https://www.wastewatergardens.com/pdf/WWG_AboutConstructedWetlands.pdf. Zhang, Yinjiang, Dong Yue, and Jin Jing. 2010. “Ecological Restoration And Landscape Design Of Houtan Waters In The World Expo Park”. Garden 8. Liu, Yong. 2012. “Landscape Renewal Design Of Urban Wasteland - Take Shanghai World Expo Houtan Park As An Example”. Journal Of Xi’an Polytechnic University 26 (5). The State Government of Victoria, City of Melbourne. 2010. “Trin Warren TamBoore Wetlands”. Melbourne: The State Government of Victoria, City of Melbourne. http://urbanwater.melbourne.vic.gov.au/projects/wetlands/wetlands-sampleproject/. City of Melbourne, City of Port Phillip, City of Stonnington, City of Yarra. 2007. “Water Management For Open Space - Technical Notes And Case Studies”. Inner Melbourne Action Plan. Melbourne: City of Melbourne, City of Port Phillip, City of Stonnington, City of Yarra.

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3_ The Inverted Horticulture Archipelago Nathan Fredrick, Maraki Gebresilassie, Francesco Lombardi, Shriya Mahamuni, Fatiha Hamid, Alejandra Peralta


N. Fredrick, 2020

Water means a lot of things for the people who live here. It has been the main reason they settled in this area and it is still the driver for many of the activities, although this is tending to change.

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Water is an element of production Water fundamentally supports production. The territory is characterised by low-lying rice paddies, where intensively cultivated land goes hand in hand with highly controlled water systems and fruit orchards growing on slightly higher ground. N. Fredrick, 2020

Water is a place to live Rivers and canals set the lines of development creating linear settlements, often composed of stilt housing adapted to changing tides. The new living ideal, however, is the suburban allotment grid, sprawling across the marshy landscape. F. Lombardi, 2020

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Water is a place for commerce Trading has found in water an efficient and iconic solution, epitomized by the renowned floating markets and typical markets along the waterways are places where all harvests from the productive territory are gathered. Waterways act as catalysts for bigger and smaller industries, producing and transporting their goods. N. Fredrick, 2020

Water is a way of moving Existing rivers and man-made canals form an efficient system for moving around. More than 500,000 boats navigate across the Mekong delta on a daily basis. The larger boats stay within the main rivers, while others enter deeper in the territory. Recent urban development is superimposing a different network on the water-based territory. This road system, often oversized, causes permeability issues in the urban centres. N. Fredrick, 2020

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Water is a threat Water is a threat and lives and livelihoods adapt to it daily. Small walls are built next to roads and hard edges prevent erosion and flooding. While waterways are often treated as backsides, polluted by both rural and urban practices. F. Lombardi, 2020

Water is a good place Water nonetheless remains an attractive and entertaining element, creating places for contemplation and places for widespread enjoyment, or simply good places. F. Lombardi, 2020

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A map of 1969 shows that Can Tho was a small city at the confluence of the Hau and Can Tho rivers, surrounded by a landscape of paddy fields. The urban center was located on higher ground and a fine mesh of waterways and related linear developments supported the territory’s productivity.

with a higher elevation. All activities generate pollution of different kinds, mainly originating from urban life and intensive agriculture. Water spreads it easily across the territory.

Since then, a shift in Vietnam’s economic policies towards an open market system has encouraged 40 years of rapid urbanization. In Can Tho urbanization sprawled into the rural areas, guided by infrastructure that is rolled out over the landscape. Intensive rice production is partially converted into orchards, especially in areas

Can Tho map - 1969

Can Tho map - 2003

Coliforms and ammonium contamination in Can Tho

Hypoxia contamination in Can Tho

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Can Tho analysis map - Actual state

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Definition of a spine and the conformation of cells

In the vision for Can Tho, large rivers and urban centers are seen as selfstanding elements, deserving specific strategies. Along the main river, a fruit park located on higher ground and lower flooding areas guide the city’s expansion. An urban spine, benefitting from existing infrastructures, becomes the place for new development in the park. The park and spine create a mediating system between urban and rural logics, multiplying and hybridizing forms of living, recreation and mobility.

Fruit Park Collage

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Creation of ponds in the orchards and rice fields


The remaining landscape, is interpreted as a constellation of cells of different sizes, production types, topographical conditions, and development potentials. A specific water system is tailored to their needs, an interwoven urban system, ponds for water retention, and flooding areas on lower topographies to absorb water. Confluences in the rural area become places of densification and for introducing new facilities and the new water system reinforces the shift from intensive rice cultivation to a horticultural city.

The larger rivers become lines of water-based public transport, complemented by the urban spine hosting a transversal tram connection. The remaining territory relies on the fine-grained network of waterways for shared water transport.

Vision proposal for Can Tho

The visible and forecasted consequences of climate change are evident in territories across the globe. Increased temperatures and frequency and intensity of storms is bringing waves of both flood and drought. In deltaic and coastal cities, sea level rise and saline intrusion also pose major threats. There is a necessity to develop urbanism strategies which adapt to impacts of climate change, increasingly vulnerable environments and address the changing relations of nature/ culture, rural/ urban and production/ consumption.

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Water is an element of production We can imagine a landscape of acknowledging the presence of water, where the urban and the rural work together as equivalent parts, where the city is something accessible, but where is not a must to move to find a better life.

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O Mon/Co Do

Cai Rang

Phong Dien Cai Rang - Inverted Garden Archipelago The inverted horticultural archipelago is defined by 3 different types of cells, each cell relates to common topics in their own specific way: - water system - earthworks - productive landscape - development - reinforcing rural area These elements are addressed with an atlas of interventions, different blue systems act for retention, detention and purification, new productive green systems work together with the blue one and different housing typologies to better adapt to different environments.

Phong Dien - Inverted Orchard-Pond Archipelago

O Mon/Co Do - Inverted Wetland Archipelago

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Water and Green Systems

Expansion area

Linear constructed wetland

Retention basin

Detention basin

Microclimate spillway

Constructed wetland

Productive plot

Wetland tree nursery

Spillway linear park

Erosion control terraces

Intercropping allotment gardens

Agroforestry orchard

Urbanisation

Interstitial urban housing

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Urban spine

Wetland stilt housing

Collective orchard housing

Garden house


The concept of cells is used to define proposals for the three different sites, developing strategies that responds to specific characteristics.

Phong Dien - Proposal

Cai Rang - Proposal

O Mon/Co Do - Proposal

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CAI RANG I MARAKI GEBRESILASSIE & FATIHA HAMID

A

B

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Heat island effect and flooding diagrams

CAI RANG _ PROPOSAL

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MARAKI GEBRESILASSIE I SITE A

Existing plan of the site

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Inverted garden city archipelago. Cai Rang can be seen as a strategically located district due to Can Tho’s urban expansion towards the south east. That is caught between two identities , On the one hand a global and generic development is characterized by speculative real estate expansions creating a checkerboard-like configuration hosting built and unbuilt spaces. and on the other hand, a contextually-driven development following canals, agricultural plot lines and orchards - that is to be developed into the near future. Water and horticulture are the core elements of the region. They appear to have been overlooked in the course of rapid urbanization processes. As roads and other impermeable infrastructures continue to replace the productive landscape, yielding to the pressures of development, its identity and resilience are dissolved, contributing to climate change vulnerability. The location is defined by the Hau river and the highway, hosting a dialogue between the organically formed and grid-based settlement. Where the highest part is following the streams and the cleared development sites with roads. The soil is cut to create ponds on the lower levels that will be used to form a higher topography level around the road and establish connecting platforms with orchards throughout the site.

Topography

Highest level

Proposed earth work

Cut

Lowest level

Fill

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Ponds , river and channel

Inland housings

A

Public buildings

A Existing housings

Existing housings

Amphibious settlements

Trees

Proposed plan

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Ponds and wet land

Orchards , Agroforestry and public parks

The wetlands and ponds introduced will have an interconnected water cleaning system that supports a productive settlement with fresh water management for irrigation, also catering for aquaculture, and offering communal ground for social spaces and settlements. The existing orchards are injected with ponds, and they are extended towards the grid, penetrating its voids and connecting the gridded

Public parks

Inland settlement with orchards and Agroforestry

Wet and inland settlements

and the organic developments. Islands of wetland settlements are introduced inside the orchards around the ponds which act as sponges and help expand the orchards into the agricultural fields , where settlements perform according to the different levels of wetness and types of water.

Floating settlement

Amphibious settlement in a wet land

Section AA in dry session

Public parks

Inland settlement with orchards and Agroforestry

Floating settlement

Floating amphibious settlements

Section AA in wet session

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FATIHA HAMID I SITE B Cai Rang is a strategically located district due to Can Tho’s urban expansion towards the south east. It is caught between two identities: a global and generic development is characterised by speculative real estate expansions and a contextually-driven development following canals, agricultural plot lines and orchards - that is to be developed into the near future. Water and horticulture are the core elements of the region. They appear to have been overlooked in the course of rapid urbanization processes. As roads and other impermeable

Existing plan of the site

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infrastructures continue to replace the productive landscape yielding to the pressures of development, its identity and resilience are dissolved, contributing to climate change vulnerability.


As a response, the expanding gray, gridded development is modified and connected to settlement pockets embedded within a green and blue system inside the agricultural fields, orchards and constructed wetlands, and creating an inverted garden archipelago.

Existing Topography

Proposed earth work

Cut

Fill

Manipulated Topography Where the higher grounds cleared for future development are seen as potential hosts of agroforestry. While the soil is taken from lower grounds forming ponds, to fill in strategically identified points.

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The cell can be identified as a transition point - defined by canals and the main road.

Ponds

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Ponds with less depth

Productive + Purification Wetlands


Dry Season

Wet Season

Spillway and roadside swale

New buildings

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Existing Trees

Proposed Fruitpark Forest

Urban Park

The topography is altered to further strengthen the urban rural connection through the green structure, moving along the site in the form of various productive gardens, decoding the grid in some parts and letting it extend in others. Also allowing permeability in the urban area. Followed by a network of spillways enabling the water to flow through swales from smaller ponds (urban core) into productive floodplains for preservation and sustainable usage, reinforcing the urban rural

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Floriculture

Agroforestry

relationship.The existing development pattern, this way, is balanced. New housing typologies are introduced in accordance to the altered topography,integrated with social and communal spaces forming self sustaining neighbourhoods.


A’

A

Captions xxxxxx

Captions xxxxxx

Garden Villa Housing + Private Homestays

Urban Co-Housing

Amphibious Housing

Public Facilities

Aquaculture

Orchard settlement (Co-Housing) + CBT (Community based Tourism)

Wooden Stilt-Housing (linear purificationwetlands)

Urban Interstitial Housing

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Stilt-Housing on linear wetlands

Section A A’

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Agroforestry communal gardens

Inter-stitial Housing

Existing Urban Center


Captions xxxxxx

Captions xxxxxx

Vision collage and proposed stilt and floating housings Maraki Gebresilassie & Fatiha Hamid

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PHONG DIEN I FRANCESCO LOMBARDI & ALEJANDRA PERALTA

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Aerial view of the orchards, Phong Dien [K. Shannon, 2020]

VAC system, Phong Dien [F. Lombardi, 2020]

Alley in the rural area, Phong Dien [Ingrid, 2020]

Urban/Rural interface, Phong Dien [K. Shannon, 2020]

Phong Dien Map - 5x5 km - Analysis Map Paddy field Built fabric Road infrastructure Industries Waterbodies

Urban river park, Phong Dien [F. Lombardi, 2020]

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5 km


Phong Dien, an inverted archipelago of orchards and ponds

Phong Dien Map - 5x5 km - Project Map Waterbodies

Green Structures

Built Fabric

infrastructures

Rivers & Canals

Raised orchards

Existing fabric

Tram line

Pond

Urban park

Impermeable ground

Waterborne public transport

Floodable areas

Erosion control terraces

New housing

Pathways on exiting dikes

Public facilities Visualization of the project

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308 Section - Project

Section - Existing

Process Diagram


Water Scheme - Dry Season

Water Scheme - Wet Season

The ponds are designed to be efficient and work during both wet and dry seasons. In the former, rainwater is stored, containing severe flooding; and during the dry season the stored rainwater can be used for irrigation. This is managed through sluices that are introduced to control in and out flows.

0

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310 Informal Public Spaces

Productive Landscape - Income Projections


Productive Landscape - Existing

Productive Landscape - Project

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Earthworks

Blue system

Green system

Existing situation abandoned areas, canals, topography

FRANCESCO LOMBARDI I SITE A

Phong Dien, A Big Water Machine The integration of blue and green systems turns the urban part of Phong Dien into a machine for water harvesting and depuration. The natural surrounding enters the town center, as orchards, allotment gardens, or parks, in which plants are chosen to act as a tool for phytoremediation to address coliforms and nitrate pollution. Canals are re-opened, becoming along with green areas, hotspots for social life.

Infrastructure renovation - Existing

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Infrastructure renovation - Pedestrian street

Infrastructure renovation - Spillway


Phong Dien as a Water Cleaning Machine

0

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2 km

Sections - Existing (above) and Project (below)

0

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30 m

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314 0


Riverfront Park The riverfront park becomes the new social hub for the urban part of Phong Dien. The project, which is the renovation of the underused existing park, is part of the bigger vision of Phong Dien as a Big Water Machine. wetland tree nursery, wastewater management ponds, and phytodepuration systems become not only technical tools but also a stage for the public life of the town. The terraces, a traditional strategy to reduce erosion naturally, are a way to reclaim the riverfront and introduce a park, orchards, and a floating dock.

315 1 km


Urban Spillway

Collective Orchard Housing

Urban River Park Existing

316 Dry Season Wet Season


The project aims to define a set of strategies to make Phong Dien more resilient to the challenges brought by climate change. The design moment becomes an opportunity to enhance the social life of the urban area, through the new areas, that work both as a space for gathering and community life, but also as proper infrastructures.

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ALEJANDRA PERALTA I SITE B

Phong Dien sits on higher ground, renowned for its orchards and overall landscape. The orchard area has its counterpart in an urban center driven by infrastructures, based on a rigid grid. Oversized roads are problematic for urban life, creating heat islands, impermeable ground and social disconnection. While unregulated settlements along Can Tho river’s bank sever the relation with water.

Phong Dien has two faces: a rural area awaiting development, but still with a human scale and an infrastructure-laden urban part. The small cells, defined by a fine mesh of canals, create an orchard landscape that merges into nature and hosts an increasingly established eco-tourism.

K. Shannon, 2020

K. Shannon, 2020

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Can water detention and retention strategies define new spaces for aqua and horti cultural productivity, community life and urban livability, turning the productive landscape into an inverted archipelago of orchards and ponds?

city center densifies but is increasingly embedded in the surrounding blue and green systems, while products from the via waterways fields are collected here. The riverfront is reclaimed through a terraced park and a water cleaning machine serves as the new structure for urbanization.

New topography, sensitive to levels of wetness and dryness, defines artificial ponds, managing water seasonality. Connected by pathways, these basins are spaces for the unfolding of social life and the confluences of different cells become spaces for densification, hosting facilities and crop-processing units. The

On the other hand, the rural landscape shifts from a purely productive territory, into an orchards and ponds archipelago, that attracts tourists and creates virtuous cycles for waste management, harvesting processes and social life.

Existing situation

Original topography

The countryside of Phong Dien is characterized by small canals and a variety of orchards that are hidden behind the barriers of row houses. Inside each of the so-called cells, the lower areas are identified for the creation of ponds. These follow the plots and are designed at different levels and spaces to house aquaculture activities such as: aquaponics, fishing, shrimp farming.

Ponds system GSPublisherVersion 0.0.100.100

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N

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Aquaponics and aquaculture

And also irrigation: the land excavated to form the ponds is used around them to create new orchards; And for the development of new settlements on-site and at the confluence points, creating a new topography; And a new rhythm of activities inside the cells.

Cut and fill

Fill +0.7m

+0.5m

-2m

-1.25m

Cut

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50

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New orchards

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Final proposal

housing

communal facilities

Section sketch

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Communal ponds The ponds are considered a new type of community space where facilities can be placed and where settlements can be developed. These can then be connected to the confluence points through different greenways while, these confluence points, in turn, will house a system of homestays to improve tourism.

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Communal ponds

Confluences

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OMON - CO DO I NATHAN FREDRICK & SHRIYA MAHAMUNI

B

A

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2.5 km


Collage - vision of the site B

OMON - CO DO EXISTING MAP

paddy field built fabric road infrastructure industries waterbodies

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B

A

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OMON - CO DO VISION MAP waterbodies

built fabric

rivers & channels

existing fabric

pond

new housing

floodplain

public facilities

green structures raised orchards

development spine infrastructures

extensive wetland vegetation

tram line

urban park

waterborne public transport

wetland park

pathways on exiting dikes

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NATHAN FREDRICK I SITE A

1. vast paddy fields and embanked channels for irrigation

2. rural housing in the ricefield, surrounded by small orchards

3. landscape of rivers, channels and small bridges

4. urban expansion in the rural area

O Mon can be seen as an urban island in a productive rice landscape. This productive landscape is divided in big ‘cells’ by the major rivers. Smaller channels and ditches penetrate the cells to irrigate the fields. Lines of development follow rivers and are strongly linked to the territories productivity, while recent and planned urban expansion is starting to infiltrate in the last green areas surrounding the city and the rice fields. The highly productive rice cultivation has important environmental consequences on the territory. Since three or more yields per year are expected, the farming goes together with intensive use of fertilisers and a high need of controlled water systems. During wet season fields are closed off from the natural flooding systems, creating vast plains where the flow of water is interrupted. Dry seasons become increasingly dryer and impact the availability and the levels of water during this period. And with subsiding land and increasing

sea levels, salinity intrudes deeper into the Mekong delta, threatening the rice cultivation. This project intends to rethink the high reliance on mono-cultivation of rice in the area and explore alternative forms of productivity that might better adjust to the current changes in the delta.

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A blueprint for a productive ribbon O Mon’s rural area, characterised by intensive rice cultivation symbolises a long process of intensification, efficiency and an ever increasing search for maximal yield. A long process of eradicating natural systems to make place for paddy fields seems to have created a loss of memory of how rural landscapes in Vietnam used to look like and how natural systems of agriculture were interwoven with the movement and temporality of water. Every historical intervention was a step away from accepting natural flows and thus of the specificities of the place. What if an alternative future reconsiders the values of pre-intensive landscapes, alongside a shift in agriculture mode so that production and natural processes can exist simultaneously? Paddy fields are gradually turned into raised orchards attached to the higher embankments along the bigger rivers. Cooperative exploitation of the orchards with average sizes of 5ha restructure the existing linear settlements along the rivers into communities perpendicular to the river, inhabiting the orchards. A cellular structure of perimeter production allows vast wetland plains inside the cell

where variations in wetness create a multitude of natural conditions. These plains of wetland grasses and floodable forest create a territory of water inertia relieving the surrounding area of today’s water pressure (both in wet as in dry season). The wetland also functions as a vast water cleaning machine, creating more balanced system between productivity and ecology, responding to today’s issues of urban and agricultural water pollution. The diversity of natural wetland vegetation plays an important role in the selfsufficiency of communities. Local plant species can be used as construction material, food (fruits, vegetables, nuts), biomass, new ecosystems & biotopes, water buffers, tourism, but evenly so as a place of wonder and rediscovered nature. Zooming in on a specific section will try to exemplify the idea of living in a reinvented memory landscape. The project can be read as a ‘blueprint for a productive ribbon’.

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existing topography

manipulated topography

cut & fill section creation of productive levels

1.1 earthworks The existing topography shows high embankment along the rivers and narrow embankments along smaller channels. Minimal variations (between +1.1 and +1.4m MSL) constitute the paddy field plain. The idea of earthworks is to strategically rethink this flatness by creating height differences where new forms of productivity can appear. Intervention of cut & fill create piers of new productivity in the flat landscape. Related to existing topography, different productive platforms (beds) on different elevation levels create a multitude of wetness conditions. Closed water systems are created inside the highest parts, disconnected from the flood dynamics, creating

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1.2

1.3

1.4

1.5

1.6

1.7 1.8 1.9 2.0 m elevation levels MSL

a self-sufficient water supply. Cut and fill processes are proximate ‘movements’ of earth: earth of the ponds and ditches is dug out to create adjacent orchard beds, slight movements from low to high beds create different levels around the raised orchards. The remaining rice plain is mainly left untouched except of the breaking of the embankments to let water flow freely.


plan of the earthworks

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existing situation People settle on higher embankments, close to the river and surrounded by small orchards. The remaining landscape consist of vast paddy fileds.

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creating new ‘conditions’ The earthworks create new forms of production and productive piers infiltrate the floodplain.

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(left) plan: blueprint for a productive ribbon The manipulates edge creates a serrated border of wetness conditions. Vegetation types range from highly productive to mainly extensive, going together with degrees of human implication. New collective housing types move away from the riverfront, framing the raised orchard plots. The extensive floodplain is foremost a place for nature and water but also plays an important role in the self-sufficiency of the inhabitants. The blueprint is a set of ideas on how to divert productivity away from intensive rice cultivation and how to live in such renewed landscape in a more integrated way.

(above) productive section during wet and dry season Different types of water systems are created, with variable dependency on floodwater. The elevated orchards have an independent water system, disconnected from flooding while the productive beds are in contact with floodwater regimes. The closed system is to create a self-sufficient fresh water supply where during wet season water is collected in the pond and during dry season irrigates the raised orchards. Since the raised beds are more reliant on flood regimes, different types of cropping are possible during different seasons.

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recycled riverfront platforms shared mobility, production, loading, recreation by recycling housing structures along the river

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inhabiting the orchards collective housing on higher ground at the border of the productive orchards,

the extensive plain renaturalised floodplain with vegetation types related to wetness conditions


present qualities Today, many elements that constitute the project are already present. The whole is mainly about rethinking the status and use of the elements, the rice plain stays a plain but can partially become a floodplain, some embankments (higher and strategic ones) are kept to make the plain accessible and the logic of the settlements is kept to attach the new productive piers.

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(previous page) section The sections show different types of vegetation and cropping made possible by creating different conditions of wetness and human control. The productive section is where highly controlled water systems and beds on different heights generate high profit horticulture and flood-dependent rice cultivation. The extensive plain is not controlled and permanently subject to natural water variations. Although extensive, the plain forms an important element for the resilience of the local economy. The plain is an additional provider for the productive common and a place for new biodiversity.

(left) sections of relations Rather than a mere design project, the blueprint fo a productive ribbon intends to implement a strateggy in which a rethought relation bewteen rural and urban areas can be conceived, together with integrating ecological systems. The idea is to find the links between the territory and the urban centre, find the overlap where both can benefit from each other. A drastical environmental, social and economical shift can only be put in place if all elments of the system are working in a same vision. In the case of O Mon, a search for how a developing city and a surrounding landscape of intensive rice cultivation can shift towards a self-sustaining horticulture, a city development based on local techniques and production and a hub for research on alternative agri- and horticulture methods. Ideas of ‘collectivity’, ‘proximity’ and ‘nature based solutions’ are key in this approach. Productive, social, knowledge, ecological and energy aspects relate elements from the rural to the urban, acknowledging the distinct difference between both areas and demonstrating potential symbiosis.

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SHRIYA MAHAMUNI I SITE B The existing map of site conditions in Omon Co/Do shows big patches of paddy field make up a landscape defined by its flatness, where slightly higher riverbanks become the place for settlements and narrow orchard lines. The vision Map for Omon Co/Do shows the linearity of the paddy fields meets the urban area concentrating most facilities and investments. The question for the project is ‘What if we rethink urban-rural relations, turning the intensive rice machine into floodable and productive cells, composing an inverted wetland archipelago?’ Lower-lying areas are given back to water, creating a constellation of extensive wetlands, and unburdening the city and the productive landscape from flooding and droughts.

Identifying the permeable landscape in urban center O Mon / Co Do can be seen as an urban island surrounded by a vast productive landscape.

Existing Topography The existing topography displays the differences between permeable and impermeable spaces with the potential of creating a green sponge

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Cut and Fill Plan (Red- Fill, Blue- Cut) Potential of making room for variations and a variety of purposes. The manipulated topography creates a print plate for different degrees of wetness, levels and sizes.

341


Amelioration of permeable landscape Marshy land is converted into a wetland which functions as a water garden where water purification and small-scale aquaculture take place. green water treatments are created along the road and inside the water garden. while conserving and making the landscape productive the density continues to grow on elevated ground. focus on taking benefits of existing infrastructure and adaption of new methods.

342


Section through the wetland watergarden.

Section through Plant filter beds along the road network.

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4_ Rethinking Terrain Ingrid, Juan Acosta, Rodrigo Miguel Carpio Rey, Sharmada Nagarajan, Aikaterini Ntavou, Betty Petrov


Š Adapted from internationalrivers.org

Introduction

Major dams along Mekong River Legend Existing dam Underconstruction dam

CAN THO

Planned dam

The Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam is a highly productive region where the Mekong River meets the East Sea through two primary distributary channels. The delta currently faces severe threats from the consequences of climate change. In addition, construction of dams upstream from China, through Laos and Cambodia have affected natural sedimentation patterns.

346

Can Tho, established in 1739, lies at the centre of the delta and is part of vast fertile alluvial plain. It has abundant and vast rice fields and orchards, an intricate network of rural canals and is home to the colourful and dynamic floating markets along the Can Tho River.


© Kelly Shanon

During the last 20 years, Can Tho experienced rapid urbanization, whilst also facing numerous environmental challenges such as saline intrusion, storm surges, flooding, extreme heat waves, land subsidence, water scarcity, drought and erosion. In addition, the city is threatened by ageing infrastructure that is bound to fail in the long term and a widespread reduction of its natural water and vegetation systems.

Current trends of urbanization are restricted to higher ground that has been created by radically altering the topography via earthworks. Inconsiderate road based urbanization has created stress on the land; instead of utilizing potential water- permeable surfaces, which would allow for even dispersal of water on the terrain.

© Kelly Shanon

“How we can reconfigure the terrain and productive landscapes of Can Tho into a resilient water territory?”

347


© Google Earth 2020

0

348 5 10 KM


0

5

10 KM

Water body < 1m 1m - 2m 2m - 3m > 3m

Topographical Analysis The micro-topography of the region has a strong impact on the existing patterns of productivity and settlement expansion. The Rethinking Terrain vision extends this knowledge of the territory, its interaction with the existing water systems and potential flooding to define future urban growth and its characteristics.

349


0

5

10 KM

Existing settlements Transformed settlements

(from land-base to stilts or amphbious)

Waterbody Purification wetland Retention pond

350

Constructed wetland A system of constructed wetlands is introduced. Purification marshes to reduce the impact of urban water pollution and retention ponds serve the dual purpose of flood prevention and water storage.


0

5

10 KM

Existing settlements Transformed settlements

(from land-base to stilts or amphbious)

New amphibious settlements Waterbody Purification wetland Retention pond

Settlements Existing settlements are mapped and areas prone to flooding are transformed into stilt houses or amphibious structures depending on the intensity of floods. New terrains are identified in strategic locations for amphibious settlements in low lying areas along existing streams and water channels.

351


0

5

10 KM

Existing settlements Transformed settlements

(from land-base to stilts or amphbious)

New amphibious settlements Waterbody Purification wetland Retention pond Transformed agriculture area from paddy field to orchard New intergrated farming

352

Restructured landscape The landscape is restructured based on the topography, through a series of deliberate cut and fill operations to function as integrated farms and orchards.


O Mon/ Co Do

Phong Dien Cai Rang 0

5

10 KM

Existing settlements Transformed settlements

(from land-base to stilts or amphbious)

New amphibious settlements Waterbody Purification wetland Retention pond Transformed agriculture area from paddy field to orchard

Hybrid mobility network A hybrid mobility network is superimposed to aid this new system of simultaneously living on land and water. This new vision for Can Tho merges urban development with a robust green and blue system and a means of resilient sustenance.

New intergrated farming Hybrid mobility network

353


SITES 5x5 : Introduction The proposed interventions have a strong focus on three rapidly transforming peri-urban areas of the city- Cai Rang, Phong Dien and O Mon/ Co Do.

Cai Rang is a rapidly developing urban fabric in close proximity to the city centre. Located at relatively lower topography, the area faces issues of salinity and seasonal flooding. The key challenge is to develop solutions that integrate and enhance rural-urban interfaces, reduce urban heat stress and allow densification with new forms of productivity and flexible urbanization.

Phong Dien, with a rich biodiversity and soil quality, is located on relatively higher land making it suitable for the extensive cultivation and orchards. Due to this, the area has attracted numerous investments to develop into an ecotourism centre. However, there is a need to urbanize without compromising the ecology of its rich landscape and restructure it to function as a system of integrated farms that combine multiple productivity components.

354


O Mon/ Co Do, north of the centre of Can Tho, is also witnessing substantial urban expansion. The area is embedded in an intricate water system that supports extensive rice production. The primary challenge is to expand urbanization and draw a balance between sustenance in seasonal floods as well as in conditions of severe droughts.

355


Design concepts

9 Ambitions / themes These challenges are tackled through a set of strategic tools that consolidate water, landscape and urban development: 1. Urban forest 2. Urban agriculture 3. Green productive landscape 4. Blue productive landscape 5. Purification wetland 6. Recreational wetland 7. Amphibious settlements 8. Ecological levee 9. Hybrid mobility system

Urban forests harmonize the existing and proposed urban fabric, improve the ecology, and provide street trees for shade and cooling the surrounding built environment by 5 degrees. They become setting for new recreational and public spaces for various neighbourhoods.

356


Urban agriculture ensures food security and keeps food costs lower for city dwellers. It is an additional source of income for residents and can reduce the carbon footprint of local restaurants that purchase produce. By merging food production, nature and community, urban agriculture transforms provides new public spaces and recreational activities for local residents.

Green productive landscapes include agriculture, agroforestry, vertical farming, aquaponics, tree nurseries, solar farming and orchards. Agroforestry combines canopy trees, palms, and bamboo, with a variety of agricultural crops and/or animals. This system of land management increases biodiversity and assists in the negative impact of high rainfall and erosion. Vertical farming optimises space and growth and utilises the technologies of aquaponics, hydroponics and aeroponics.

357


Blue productive landscapes take advantage of the fresh, saline and brackish water of the existing rivers, canals and waterways. This system is structured into aquaponics and reed farms integrated with amphibious settlements and Closed Cycle Aquaculture & Farming villages that incorporate new water settlements with mixed crops, aquaculture and commercial activities.

Purification wetlands include marshes, floodplains and mangrove forests. These wetlands aid biodiversity conservation, habitat creation for aquatic and terrestrial animals, and control damaging effects of high rainfall, erosion, by creating containment areas, which filter and assimilate pollutants and chemicals from fertilizers and pesticides used in local farms.

358


Recreational wetlands provide an alternate approach to public space, combining multiple goals into one. These wetlands can be places for research and education about the local and natural environment, whilst also providing habitats for animals and increasing biodiversity. They also take on the role of improving water quality, flood water storage and control as well as limiting erosion.

Amphibious settlements, an integral component of the larger vision are able to adapt to sea level rise and flood inundation. They are appropriate for both wet and dry seasons, and are an effective means to support urban expansion without hindering productivity. Using the existing topography as a primary guide, lowlying areas prone to floods are used for these new forms of urban coexistence with water, turning a conventional challenge into an opportunity for sustenance.

359


Ecological levees help tackle problems of seasonal flooding and storm water inundation by strengthening waterfronts through distinct landscape interventions. Poor drainage and sewage systems along with oversize asphalt roads and dense urban fabric prevent groundwater recharge. This had led to widespread riverbank erosion and land subsidence. The levees provide a buffer area for water and natural vegetation to restore an environmental balance in urban areas.

A hybrid mobility system is implemented across the region to provide a transition between the existing water system and new forms of urbanism. It provides an opportunity to rethink bus stops, street planting and a redefinition of space appropriate to each community. Shop fronts with wide pedestrian paths will allow for commercial activities and public life to spill onto the streets as is commonly witnessed in Vietnam. This new mobility along with ecological levees and constructed wetlands provides a green and water-based ecological infrastructure that enhances resilience and quality of life in urban areas.

360


361


Cai Rang

SITES 5x5 Vision maps A combination of these tools is used to create new forms of landscape and urbanism in the regions of Cai Rang, Phong Dien and O Mon/ Co Do.

< 1m 1m - 2m 2m - 3m > 3m

Existing settlements Transformed settlements (from land-base to stilts or amphbious)

New amphibious settlements New land-base settlements Existing public space Proposed public space Proposed park Purification wetland Retention pond Recreational wetland

Aquaculture pond Rivers and canals Riparian Vegetation Intergrated farming Orchards Urban forest Rice fields Woodlands Forest arteries

362


Phong Dien

O Mon/ Co Do

363


Existing

Proposal

Proposal

364


Existing

Proposal

365


Productive wetland

366


Amphibious settlements

367


368


369


CAI RANG I RODRIGO MIGUEL CARPIO REY & BETTY PETROV

B

CÁI RĂNG ANALYSIS

A

3m & above 2m to 3m 1m to 2m

0 0.1

1m to below

3m & above

CAI RANG ANALYSIS

2m to 3m

0.5

1km

Estimations of extreme climate changes and recent weather disasters have focused attention on water safety. Sea levels are rising and the fluctuations of rivers levels are increasing considerably. Cái Răng needs to turn these challenges into opportunities by pursuing resilient development.

CAI RANG - ANALYSIS

3m the & above Estimations of extreme climate changes and recent weather disasters have green landscape, water features and density patterns on and around site 1m to 2m N focused attention on water safety. Sea levels are rising and the uctuations of have greatly inuenced the design decisions. As well as providing solutions The topography, natural green landscape, water features and density patterns on and around the site have greatly influenced the 2 to 3m for 1m to below design decisions. welltoasturn providing solutions forsustainable sustainablepopulation population growth, economic growth, sufficient public amenity, rivers levels are increasing considerably. Cái Rang As needs these challenges growth, economic growth, sucient public amenity, oering 1 to 2m suitable solutions and a safe and resilient future. into opportunities by pursuingoffering resilientenvironmentally development. The topography, natural environmentally suitable solutions and a safe and resilient future.

370

95

1000

500

0

1000 meters

1m to below


CAI RANG VISION

B A

0 0.1

0.5

1km

Existing Existingsettlements settlements

Existing public space Existing public space

Purification wetland Purification wetland

Orchards Orchards

Transformed settlements Transformed settlements

Proposed public space Proposed public space

Retention pond pond Retention

Urban forest Urban forest

Proposed parks Proposed parks

Recreational wetland Recreational wetland

Rice fields Rice fields

Aquaculture pondpond Aquaculture

Riparian vegetation Riparian vegetation

Woodland Woodland

Rivers and and canals Rivers canals

Integrated farming Integrated farming

Forest arteries Forest arteries

(from to to stilts or amphibious) (fromland-based land-based stilts or amphibious)

New settlements Newamphibious amphibious settlements New settlements Newland-based land-based settlements

96

371


RODRIGO CARPIO I SITE A The visionMIGUEL for the 5x5 site isREY to integra-

The vision the 5x5Cái siteRăng is to integrate within the for existing and te within the existing Cái Răng CAI RANG make use VISION of existing urban develop-and make use ofalso existing urban development, whilst providing new ment, whilst also providing new public spaces for5x5 thesite community. The vision for the is to integrate within the existing Cái Rang public spaces for the community. and make use of existing urban development, whilst also providing new

With new public green (forest ribbon of parklands, riparian planting, agroof parklands, riparianriparian planting,planting, agroforestry and purication wetlands) of parklands, agroforestry and purification wetlands) forestry and purification wetlands) and blue spaces (wetlands and parklands). To improve its sustainable and blue spaces (wetlands and and blue spaces (wetlands and and economic development through new opportunities in slow parklands). parklands). public spaces forpublic the community. With new public green (forest ribbon With new green (forest ribbon

tourism, sheries, integrated and vertical farming and connecting these

new opportunities to existing and communities. New amphibious To improve its sustainable andnew econo-

To improve its sustainable and econo-

CÁI RĂNG RĂNG SITE SITE CÁI

mic development through settlements will be designed to tacklenew issues mic development through newsuch as ooding, salinity,

opportunities in slow tourism, fishewhilst also providing for fisheeconomic growth. Existing opportunities inopportunities slow tourism, ries, integrated and vertical farming and and connecting these newnew opportuniconnecting opportunidensity and new urbanthese forests to tackle urban overheating. ties ties to existing and new communities. to existing and new communities.

A E A T E SI IT S

urbanries, developments have interventions through increased integrated will andalso vertical farming

NewNew amphibious settlements willwill be be amphibious settlements designed to tackle issues suchsuch as floodesigned to tackle issues as flooding,ding, salinity, whilst alsoalso providing salinity, whilst providing opportunities for for economic growth. opportunities economic growth. Existing urban developments will alsoalso Existing urban developments will havehave interventions through increased interventions through increased density and new urban forests to to density and new urban forests tackle urban overheating. tackle urban overheating.

SITE Existing SITE A: A: Existing

SITE A: Existing

372 97 97

0 0.1 0 0.1

0.50.5

1km 1km

0 0.5

0.25

0.5km

0 00.50.5

0.25 0.25

0.5km 0.5km


-10.01 - -1-10.01 -10.01 -0.99 - 0-0.99 -0.99 0.010.01- 10.01 1.011.01- 21.01 2.012.01- 32.01 3.013.01- 43.01 -

-1 -1 0 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 4.014.01 4.01- 5-- 55 5.015.01 5.01- 6-- 66 6.016.01 6.01- 7-- 77 7.017.01 7.01- 8-- 88

ANALYSIS ANALYSIS

ANALYSIS

SITE Objects a field SITE A: A: Objects onon a field

SITE A: Objects on a field

8.018.01 8.01- 9-- 99 0 0.1 0 0.1

9.019.01 9.01- 0-- 00

0.50.5

1km 1km

0 0.5

0.25

0.5km

0.5 0 00.5

0.25 0.25

0.5km 0.5km

373 98 98


S2

S3

0

0.5

0.25

0.5km

SITE A: Proposal SITE A: PROPOSAL Greening the city of Cái Răng

Greening the city Cái Răng The project intends to of recover and give more room to the water. It allows us to mitigate the eects of the event of a ood by restoring the water landscape along the in that sense, acts as aand natural creating new ecologies Therivers, project intends toitrecover givewater moresponge, room to the water. It allows us to mitigate the effects of the event of a flood by restoring the water in a symbiotic relationship between water and forest, blue and green. landscape along the rivers, in that sense, it acts as a natural water sponge, creating new ecologies in a symbiotic relationship between water and forest, bluedesign and green. The of residential water areas anticipates further advantages to living on the water, providing a notorious benet against possible climate-change scenarios which includes, of course, the risk of ooding. The project also advantages attempts to return The design of residential water areas anticipates further to living on the water, providing a notorious benefit against possible greenery to Can Tho by creating natural of landscapes andrisk extending greenThe project also attempts to return greenery to Can Tho by creating new natuclimate-change scenarios whichnew includes, course, the of flooding. areas and forests.and extending green areas and forests. ral landscapes

374

99


R1

S1

R3

R2

R4

Existing settlements

Existing facilities

Aquaculture pond

Urban agriculture

Transformed settlements

Proposed facilities

Rivers and canals

Urban forest

0 Homestay 0.5 Farmers’

0.25 wetland Purification

0.5km Forest arteries

New land-based settlements

Retention pond

(from land-based to stilts or amphibious)

New amphibious settlements

Existing settlements

Existing facilities

Aquaculture pond

Urban agriculture

Transformed settlements

Proposed facilities

Rivers and canals

Urban forest

Farmers’ Homestay

Purification wetland

Forest arteries

New land-based settlements

Retention pond

(from land-based to stilts or amphibious)

New amphibious settlements

375

100


S1_Exiting landscape

LOCAL ROAD

ABANDONED PLOT

ABANDONED PLOT

PARK / TRAIL

URBAN FOREST

URBAN AGRICULTURE

S1_Proposed landscape

S2_Exiting landscape

Flood stage

PRODUC S2_Proposed landscape

Flood stage

AMPHIBIOUS SETTLEMENT

376 101

PRODUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

TRAIL


HOUSING

ABANDONED PLOT

OVER-DIMENSIONED ROAD

0

10m

HOUSING

NEW URBAN TYPOLOGY

TRANSFORMED ROAD

0

10m

CTIVE LANDSCAPE

RIPARIAN WETLAND

0

TRAIL

0

10m

10m

102 377


S3_Exiting landscape

Flood stage

RIVER S3_Proposed landscape

Flood stage

PRODUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

RIPARIAN VEGETATION

R1_Exiting road

R2_Exiting road

R1_Proposed road

R2_Proposed road

378 103

AMPHIBIOUS S


SETTLEMENT

R3_Exiting road

PRODUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

0

10m

PRODUCTIVE LANDSCAPE

0

10m

R4_Exiting road Walkway Green zone Urban forest Retail Environment Single lane roadway Double lane roadway

R3_Proposed road

R4_Proposed road

0

10m

104

379


Captions xxxxxx

Captions xxxxxx

Existing conditions

Existing conditions

380 105

Captions xxxxxx

Captions xxxxxx


Captions xxxxxx Possible reconguration

Possible reconfiguration PRODUCTIVE LANDSCAPE The project provides an economical solution that addresses the concerns of food supply. Agricultural plots can take advantage of robust farm practices by embracing food farming of rice, grains, and hardy plant growing in salty soil for Productive urban greenspaces instance

The project provides an economical solution that addresses the concerns of food supply. Agricultural plots can take advantage of robust farm practices by embracing food farming of rice, grains, and hardy plant growing in salty soil for instance

381 106


Captions xxxxxx

Captions xxxxxx

Existing conditions

Existing conditions

382

107

Captions xxxxxx

Captions xxxxxx


Captions xxxxxx

Possible reconguration

Possible reconfiguration Reclaimed land By re-proling roads, creating green areas and reducing the percentage of pavement; it is possible to create new roads that allows the inltration of stormwater runoff.

Reclaimed land

By re-profiling roads, creating green areas and reducing the percentage of pavement; it is possible to create new roads that allows the infiltration of stormwater runoff.

383

108


Captions xxxxxx

Captions xxxxxx

Existing conditions

Existing conditions

384

109

Captions xxxxxx

Captions xxxxxx


Captions xxxxxx

Possible reconguration

Possible reconfiguration

Restoring natural ecologies The project aims to protect the existing riverfront and reconnect the city with its natural heritage. Marshlands will support the re-establishment of the indigenous ecology.

Restoring natural ecologies

The project aims to protect the existing riverfront and reconnect the city with its natural heritage. Marshlands will support the re-establishment of the indigenous ecology.

385

110


BETTY PETROV I SITE B Recharging Cai Rang: A Future Resilient Urban Community

Existing settlements

The topography, natural green landscape, water features and density patterns on and around the site have greatly influenced the design decisions. As well as providing solutions for sustainable population growth, economic growth, sufficient public amenity, offering environmentally suitable solutions and a safe and resilient future. The existing site offered a variety of developments (public and private) natural green and blue features as well as a wide multi lane road that divides Cái Răng in half. On a whole Cái Răng is either sparsely developed (agriculture, residential and industrial) or densely developed (residential, public and private amenities). A lack of a ‘sense of identity’ is also evident in Cai Rang. Whilst other places can be identified for tourism, food production or business centers, Cai Rang is none of these. The vision for the 5x5 site is to integrate within the existing Cái Răng and make use of existing urban development, whilst also providing new public spaces for the community. With new public green (forest ribbon of parklands, riparian planting, agroforestry and purification wetlands) and blue spaces (wetlands and parklands). To improve its sustainable and economic development through new opportunities in slow tourism, fisheries, integrated and vertical farming and connecting these new opportunities to existing and new communities. New amphibious settlements will be designed to tackle issues such as flooding, salinity, whilst also providing opportunities for economic growth. Existing urban developments will also have interventions through increased density and new urban forests to tackle urban overheating. SITE ANALYSIS

Topography

386

BLUE AND GREEN Analysis and interpretation


Urban Village: Expansion through Compression Sparsely populated with little or no urban development in the last 20 years. The site lies mostly within a floodplain, with most high ground, along the river’s edge or along the main road. Developing further from the territorial vision and then the 5x5. Site B runs from Song Hau River to Nam Song Hau Road. The site measures approximately 1.8 km long and 1km in width. The high ground nearest to the main road is proposed as low rise medium density development, in order to make use of the existing and proposed surrounding public amenities. An existing high density development exists on the opposite side of the main road, therefore a medium density development is proposed to avoid typical patterns of high density development on either side of major roads. A medium to high density development will exist alongside the river to take advantage of the proposed riparian and forest artery that runs alongside the river,

purification wetlands and public parklands. Creating a recreational area for the community, as well as increasing biodiversity and purification of the existing water ways. The majority of the site is a proposed amphibious area, due to its low lying topography and it’s issues with flooding. Currently this area is primarily an agricultural area with urban development along the existing river edges. Much of the existing settlement will need to be transformed to amphibious or stilt structures. These new amphibious communities will be linked to existing high land which will be transformed to integrated and vertical farming. These new communities will also be self-sufficient (power and food generation), including co housing and rural businesses such as market shops, slow tourism, creative workspaces, cultural space/venues, a sustainable cafÊ and spaces to rent.

387


DRY SEASON CAI RANG_SITE B

388


WET SEASON CAI RANG_SITE B

389


390


A-A

B-B

C-C

391


Amphibious Settlement-Water Terain-Detail

392


393


PHONG DIEN I JUAN ACOSTA & SHARMADA NAGARAJAN

A

B

394


PHONG DIEN VISION MAP

395


JUAN ACOSTA I SITE A

A

B

Topography Analysis. Understanding the relation Between Topography, Water and Settlements to face the flooding and subsidence issues.

396


A

B

Flooding Analysis: For 2100, with the rate of subsidence (4 cm/year approx.) and sea-level rise Cantho will need to adapt to an entirely new way of living. This map shows how some settlements will be affected and how it will also make an impact on the reduction of the productive land due that it will be flooded.

397


Wet Season

Dry Season Section A. Floods will not only make a negative impact on the infrastructure as it is today, but it will also affect those crops that are not suitable to floodings like the fruit trees.

Wet Season

Dry Season Section B. Roads, housing and agricultural land must be re thinking in with the aim of being more flexible and at the same time more resilient to new condition that in 2100 Phong Diem will have.

398


A

B

Vision. The settlements will be located in the flooded area that with new typology will bring them the flexibility enough to coexist with the floods. The productive land situated in the highland will be provided with mixed crops arranged considering moisture levels of the lands.

399


Wet Season

Dry Season Section A. Amphibious settlements, makes the infrastructure more flexible to he new environment. A purification wetland is introduce to provide the population of fresh water and a dike is rised with the aim of keep water for the dry season.

Wet Season

Dry Season Section B. A pedestrian path and cycle road encircle the site, the water is a resource and not a threaten. The flood not only bring water but also fish spices that are essential to developing local aquaculture and also better navigability. Big ships use the main channels for transportation of goods and people including tourists.

400


401


402


403


404


405


SHARMADA NAGARAJAN I SITE B

Reconfiguration of settlements

Site plan- Existing settlements (Source: Google Earth)

Altered productive living in Phong Dien The site is located at the junction of the Can Tho River and a channel that runs along the Nhon Nghiacommune in Phong Dien. The existing settlement is located in a flood prone area along the riverfront. The proposed design attempts to transform the settlement to function without hindrance when the water level rises.

406

Reconfiguration of productive landscape


B

B

A

A

N

Site plan- Proposed vision

407


Envisioned development of amphibious settlements in flood prone areas Amphibious corridors are introduced along the riverbank to allow sedimentation and soil strengthening using riparian vegetation. These corridors also function as points of transportation and trade of market goods to support the local farmers. The existing social infrastructure (school, community centre, cafes) that are adjacent to the corridor are integrated to function as an extended public space. The housing along the riverbanks are amphibious modules with pockets

408

for collective farming. The existing farmers’ houses are adapted to function as homestays. Roads are transformed into hybrid systems with water channels to direct water and boats, raised vehicle carriageways and pedestrian pathways.


409


A

B

410


A

B

411


INGRID I SITE A

RECHARGING O OM URBAN CORE

Rapid change of urbanization has transformed O Mon city center into a road-base urban area. The dense urban fabric and oversize asphalt road prevent groundwater from recharging. O Mon is subjected to seasonal flooding and stormwater inundation during the monsoon season and severe drought in the dry season. Groundwater extraction, poor drainage, and sewage system are worsening the situation. In addition to land subsidence, long flood inundation also eroded the riverbank. “Recharging O Mon” is an idea to recharge the groundwater and balance the existing urban core fabric with a green and water-based ecological infrastructure that will retain and remediate the stormwater. By introducing the ecological levee, hybrid road, green spillways, constructed wetlands, and green passageway networks, “Recharging O Mon” reimagines how O Mon lives with water.

412


© Aikaterini Ntavou

© Bui Nguyen Min Tu

Existing condition

Green patches in the city center

Over crowded urbanization with poor drainage system

© Kelly Shanon

Poor urban shade

© Kelly Shanon

Riverbank erosion

413


Design process

02

Š Google Earth 2020

01

Existing condition

04

Š http://bando.sotnmt.cantho.gov.vn/diahinh/index.jsp

03

Existing topography

Unconnected waterways

414

Dry/hidden waterways


05

Ecological levee

07

Green connection-pocket park

06

Hybrid road

08

New vertical settlements

415


Intermodal station

Ecological levee

New vertical settlements

Wetland park

Hybrid road

Hybrid road

0

Proposal-dry season Ecological levee Hybrid road Green connector Wetland park New vertical settlements

416

100

200

300

400

500 Meters


0

100

200

300

400

500 Meters

Proposal-wet season Ecological levee Hybrid road Green connector Wetland park New vertical settlements

417


01_Ecological levee

Exsisting condition

418

Proposal

Future development


02_Hybrid road

Exsisting condition

Proposal-dry season

Proposal-wet season

419


03_Recreational wetland

Exsisting condition

420

Proposal-dry season

Proposal-wet season


04_Purification wetland

Exsisting condition

Proposal-dry season

Proposal-wet season

421


6 7 5

7

4 3

7

3 1

2 3

0

Wetland park 1. Bio-swales terrace 2. Elevated pedestrian way 3. Canopy walk 4. Birdwatching tower

422

5. Community farming 6. Community market and dock 7. New vertical settlements

50

100

150

200

250 Meters


Orchards

Community farming-agrivoltaic

Orchards

New vertical settlements

Road

Community market

Waterbody

Bioretention basin

423


O Mon river front

Hybrid road

424


Wetland park-canopy walk

Wetland park-bioswale terrace

425


426


427


AIKATERINI NTAVOU I SITE B

RETHINKING THE AMPHIBIOUS - MEDIUM LAND

428

ANALYSIS MAP The analysis of the micro-topography is very crousial for the proposal.Taking into consideration that the maximum flood height is 2.6cm,the above topography is seperated into 3 categories:up to 3m which is the most dry and protected by flooding land,the medium height land (0.9m-3.m) that is both wet and dry depented the season and it will be provided for new amphibious settlements and the low and more wet land (<0.9m) that is appropriate for water treatment wetlands.The design will be focused only on the medium -low land (<0.9cm-3cm) considering that this area is characterized by differences as regard the wetness and drought and it is affected in a differerent level by flooding.The transition areas from medium to medium -low land and from medium to high land are very important elements of the design.


VISION MAP Seasonal flooding and drought is important challenges in the design of O Mon. Considering that the flooding is rising more and more every year beacuse of the climate change,flexible strategies, that could adapt to new conditions, should be proposed.The basic idea of the masterplan is that throught the reading of the microtopography the medium land is designed.The lowest areas are designed as residential areas and economical centers,in contrast to high land (2.6cm-3cm) that is used for production.In some years according to statistics, the whole part is going to be flooded.For this reason, new ways for living with the water should be proposed.The whole system is a sustainable system that consists of purification wetlands in the low land ,amphibious housing that is organized in clusters around the wetland and productive land with intergrated farming in the high land.

The wetland except for purification ,are hosting community’s centers with local shops where people can sell their products and eco-tourism areas.In this way ,wetlands become the cells that enhance the local economy and that are served as water treatment systems. Collectivity is very importnant in order to create interaction between people through productive activities.As a result, collective rice fields,integrated farms and aquafarming are proposed. The transport between wetland cells and designed neigborhoods is achieved through the existing water ways by boat as part of the Vietnamese Tradition.

429


a

a

Wet season the whole system is flexible to work both to dry and the wet season and follow a strategy of adaptation to the existing conditions.Flooding is active part of the design.The existing settlements that are located in the low land are turned into stillt houses.

Purification Wetland: The purification wetland collects both stormwater and the polluted riverwater which is filtered through a system of different ponds. Finally,the clean water is storaged in the retention pond and it is used for agriculture and aquaculture making the system sustainable.

430


Strategies-Woodland: Taking into account that the maximun flood height is 2.6m and that is increasing through time due to climate change,there is a need to protect the high land.For this reason, the transition areas between medium and high land are appropriate for put woodlands in order to protect them from flooding.

Strategies-Marshes: The transition areas between low land and medium land are

SECTION A-A

TOPOGRAPHY: CUT AND FILL operations are necessary. The formation of the proposal is based on the existing microtopography.The soil resulting from the escavation of the wetlands is used to small intervations such as for the enhancement of the high land.In this way ,the crops are more protected by flooding.

appropriated for proposing marshes that purify the water especially during the wet season that wetland is flooding.

431


AMPHIBIOUS SETTLEMENTS

Between the amphibious settlements there are collective seasonal gardens and marshes. The amphibious settlements that are located closed to wetlands are accessible by boats.

Housing typologies: Different amphibious and floating houses are proposed depending on the wetness of the areas.

432

Wet season


Dry season

Amphibious settlements details

433


Floating local shops in the low land are accesible by waterways and they communicate with floating markets .

Captions xxxxxx

New forms of eco-tourism and collective aquafarming in low land.

434

Captions xxxxxx


High land as a productive orchards landscape

In the higher medium land (2.6cm-3cm) that is moslty used for cultivate orchards,sustainable technologies such as agrovoltaics are used in order to take advantage of the solar energy. In the low land, except of the water treatment wetlands, there are programs and activities that enhance the local economy. There are various shops where people can sell the products produced in high land.The floating shops are inspired by the floating markets and the Vietnamese tradition. The design aims also to propose new ways of eco-tourism in the area that will replace the pseuo-ecotourism existing villages.Collective aquafarming next to new proposed tourist settlements aims to teach tourist about the vietnamese culture through traditional activities and intergrating them with local people and their everyday life. .

435



5_ Water Born(e): Saba Fazel, Shubhra Kansal, Maria Elizabeth Maldonado Marchan, Valeria Torres, Mohan Zhang, Justin Ndacyayishima


Water is the Spirit of life in Can Tho Habitants of the Mekong delta have lived traditionally with water, they have worked on water, and they have been moving through water. However, this coexistence with water is being neglected by the accelerating processes of urbanization in recent decades. New urban development is taking over one of the richest productive landscapes in the world, formed by the Mekong River.

438


439


440


441


The increasing city expansion across the delta decreases the size and the capacity of the floodplains. This threatens the natural wet ecology by the expansion of impermeable surfaces that cause surface flooding, while also preventing aquifer recharge leading to land subsidence.

442


The neglect of the local hydrology logic has also led to polluted unhealthy water bodies, and freshwater scarcity, the issues that are aggravated by industrial wastes, home wastes, and sewages.

443


The highest land, naturally formed along the Hau River, is gradually reclaimed as the major ecological structure.

444


Productive forests emerge around industrial structures that are themselves pushed back from the river edge. Orchard farming is strengthened combined with the provision of recreational woodlands along with forested urban settlements.

Having the approach of naturebased design, we try to address the challenge of “How can the natural flows of water design cities and landscapes of tomorrow?�

445


Riparian vegetation protects floodplains and river islands while also enhancing biodiversity.

Transportation is shifted towards this newly defined system of ponds, wetlands, marshes, rivers, and re-routed canals. These waterways connect the rural to the urban and blur their boundaries.

446


The urban tissue is disseminated over these different ecologies yet connected as an urban system.

447


Lower lands have the natural capacity to accumulate water from surface runoff and streams to act as water retention basins.

A system of wetlands, ponds, and marshlands starts puncturing the territory connected by re-routed water transportation canals.

448


In higher lands, the existing newly invested urban settlements are intertwined with forested landscapes.

In middle and low lands, located in periurban sites, the agricultural tissue and retention ponds guide the placement of dense settlements, while the city core of Cantho gets gradually subdivided to make space for water and vegetation.

449


The vision is implemented according to the different inherent natures of the 3 peri-urban sites of Cai Rang, Phong Dien and O Mon/ Co Do, where a substantial part of the future development has to be accommodated.

Branching off from the Hau River, the reforested areas along the rivers and within the urban tissue act as ecological, recreational, and productive spaces in Cai Rang. The pockets of rurality inside the city, supported by an aquatic network has generated a diverse socioeconomic living model there. As one approaches Phong Dien, a waterbased orchard city is experienced. Moving further in rural areas through thick orchards, a pond-based diversified economic model is discovered, with community farming systems for new tourism farm activities while bringing additional income to farmers and creating new opportunities by the floating market. O Mon and Co Do are growing urban and agricultural areas. A shift in spatial development perspective that relies more on inherent water logics turned it into an excellent example of urban-rural integration. Thus, the urbanization of Can Tho is now water born(e)!

450


451


CAI RANG I SABA FAZEL & MOHAN ZHANG

452


Water, the natural identity of Can Tho, is introduced as the weave of the urban fabric, interconnecting the fragmented productive landscape in Cai Rang.

Maximizing the watercourse capacity and reinforcing the water transportation network are the main strategies to be followed.

453


Following

the

contour

lines,

the

existing canal structure is reinforced to introduce a water mobility network, as well as new wetlands, purification ponds, fish farming, storm water parks, and the retention basins that enter the rural area.

To reduce the flood impacts and balance water level along rivers during the dry and rainy seasons, the Sponge concept is proposed.

454


Having productive and ecological green spaces ranging from the bamboo forest and mangroves to orchards, grasslands, and riparian vegetation would shape a green structure laying on the water network.

On this figure of blue & green mesh, the new settlements will be located.

455


B

A

456


B

A

457


SABA FAZEL I SITE A

Topography Analysis Almost flattened land by the road network

458

Tracing highelands and lowlands Realizing the natural possible flow of Water


Existing Condition: Road network, some small patches of orchards and no waterways anymore inside the urban blocks

Proposal: Interweaving of blue & green Higherlands for forests, waterways following cut&fill principles and orchards as a weave for this network

459


Flood Resilience through afforestation

460

Orchards, urban farm lands and urban parks creating a green mesh


Letting the water to penetrate in the urban area

Existing settlements within the designed landscape

461


New buildings within the Blue & Green landscape

B

Water retention ponds

Urban Farm A

A

Social Facilities

B

Urban Forest

Med-high Rise Settlements

Orchard

0

462

40

80

120

160

200 m


Bamboo Forest stabilizing the land while bringing more productivity

Farms as a public space Combination of farms with study platform

463


464


Section A-A: Filling to create highlands and cutting to let the water flow Urban development and orchards in highland Hybridization of urban farming, solar energy panels and orchards: New Productive Landscape Bringing productivity to the consumptive landscape

Section B-B: Microtopographies are being manipulated to introduce different public spaces Articulation of thresholds: Floodable sportfield and playground Community hub combined with floriculture: A cultural and digital center within a natural space

465


MOHAN ZHANG I SITE B

433- 6521-

The stilt houses are running fish farming on the retention basin. (1)

466


1- Clusters of stilt and semi stilt houses are proposed in the vicinity of water bodies where local fish farming could be run. 2- Denser settlements in the urban area are proposed, embedded in productive forests, orchards, and parks. 3- In order to enhance the living conditions, a series of social infrastructure are introduced to serve both urban and rural residents.

4- Dealing with different types of pollution, a purification system is proposed. 5- The purification measure locates in between paddy field and canal. 6- The purification measure locates in the urbanised area.

The semi-stilt houses are connected by the water canal allowing boats travelling for freight and commuting. (1)

Unlike traditional urban development, more rural features are injected into urban life. (2)

467


The eco-swimming pool and sports facilities allow more interactions to happen in public spaces. (3)

The trading centre located on the riverside can provide public spaces and convenient transportation while boosting the local economy. (3)

468


The large-scale industrial lands in Cai Rang require the measures to deal with industrial wastewater.

The extensive use of pesticides and fertilizers has caused irrigation water discharged from rice fields to pollute local water resources.

469


If the municipal sewage containing chemical

components

detergents

is

such

discharged

as

without

treatment, it will threaten the local ecosystem. (6)

The PEDWS (Paddy eco-ditch and wetland

system)

is

proposed

for

addressing the fertilizer pollution in rice farms. (5)

470


The cascading constructed wetland system will work together with the wastewater management plant to clean the industrial Blackwater. (4)

The constructed wetland park will function as daily household greywater purification as well as public recreational space. (6) It also has the ability to retain the stormwater and providing lower risk for the neighbourhood from flooding.

471


PHONG DIEN I MARIA ELIZABETH MALDONADO MARCHAN & JUSTIN NDACYAYISHIMA

472


Phong

Dien’s

micro

topography consists of higher lands with orchards.

Its patches of lower lands are

potential

accumulation.

for

water

The

higher

lands near Cantho river and its tributaries are forested with woodland.

And designated for mobility, with water stop facilities at the ponds, settlements are along mobility rivers and ponds.

473


A

B

Existing rural - Topographhical wetness

474

3.0 + above

1.0 + below

2.0 - 3.0

Main mobility rivers

1.0 - 2.0

Secondary mobility rivers


A

B

Vision map Water management and community -based tourism

Agriculture Lands

New rural green

Main rivers

Existing settlements

Homestays

Existing roads

Orchards

Aquaculture

Secondary rivers

Communal facilities

Water settlements

Existing rural tissue

Vegetable field

Woodland

Wetlands

New settlements

Water stops

475


476


477


MARIA ELIZABETH MALDONADO MARCHAN I SITE A loss of livelihoods decreased soil quality

reduction of rice fields

flood-prone areas

soil erosion

water polution

road based infrastructure decrease of water holding capacity urban development conflicts

Threat Map

478

low ecologycal value


processing nodes

green corridors linear wetlands integrated farming system

wetlands system

woodland edge

new orchards + water square

spillways system

Feature Vision Map Enhanced ecotourism Integrated fish farming system Productive aquaculture and agriculture New economies Local livelihoods and landscape

479


480


r¹ch S¬n §µi

GSPublisherVersion 0.0.100.100

481


r¹ch S¬n §µi

r¹ch S¬n §µi

00 Analysis map Existing rural + wetness

482

0,1 0,1

0,5

1 km

0,5

1 km

Existing rivers

Existing rural fabric

Existing agriculture plot lines

Existing canals

Existing geometric

Water ponds proposed 1 - 2.0

Existing roads

Existing settlements


r¹ch S¬n §µi

00 Vision map

0,1 0,1

0,5

11km km

0,5

New residential

Amphibious housing Floating lodges Floating villas Fishing villages

Livestock Local exchange food/fruit processing market

Homestays

Facilities

Existing settlements

Agriculture lands

New rural green

Main rivers

Aquaculture ponds

Woodland edge

Kitchen garden

Secondary rivers

Integrated farm

Paddy field

Linear Wetlands

Green corridors Existing road Existing rural tissue

483


Existing farmer cooperatives fish farming system

Existing xxxxxx

agro-tourism learning centre

integrated farming system

residents/families

kitchen garden community hub

homestays livestock

local exchange centre

Scenario In the rural, the ponds become water villages whose settlements are mixed with homestays and divers processing facilities for locally produced fruit, vegetables, and fish. Within the woodland edges the processing facilities are integrated with farming and fishponds in the flood basin.

484


productive terraces recreational platform

event spaces kitchen garden homestays

farmer cooperatives

Stable aqua-agriculture mosaic Inside the settled orchards, by cutting, a pond is formed, the fill is used as a platform for fruit processing facilities, settlements with homestays are built in the flood basin. A local economy is created whose products are also sold in floating markets in these ponds, enhancing ecotourism of living with locals, participating in fruit harvesting and attending live floating markets.

Image credits House of Chickens/ SO? Architecture&Ideas Koh Andet Eco Resort - Cambodia Micro Cluster Cabins / Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter Nam Dam Homestay and Community House / 1+1>2 Architects

485


>3.0 +2.0 +1.0 0.0 -1.0 -2.0

Existing

existing settlement floating lodges mangrove forests floating aquaculture

>3.0 +2.0 +1.0 0.0 -1.0

FILL dry season high dry season low

-2.0

CUT Water Villages Scenario Dry season

>3.0

FILL +2.0 wet season high +1.0 0.0

wet season low

-1.0 -2.0

CUT Water Villages Scenario Wet season

486


integrated farming system

livestock + crop production

productive terraces + accesible fishing platforms

FILL

FILL

FILL

temporary floodable crops

raised orchards

FILL

487


>3.0 +2.0 +1.0 0.0 -1.0 -2.0

Existing

fruit processing centre

homestay woodland edges

existing settlement

recharge parks (kitchen gardens+open space)

b o

>3.0 +2.0 +1.0 0.0 -1.0

dry season high FILL

FILL light mobility river

dry season low

-2.0

Local Economy Scenario Dry season

>3.0 +2.0 wet season high +1.0 wet season low 0.0

FILL

-1.0 -2.0

Local Economy Scenario Wet season

488

FILL

a


homestay

biodiversity observation

mangrove forests

floating markets FILL

agriculture terraces CUT

FILL

CUT

489


JUSTIN NDACYAYISHIMA I SITE B

Water systems Water ponds connected by road spillways

mango

Orchard city Settlements integrated with orchards

490


Existing settlements New high rise settlements Water ponds Orchards New low-rise settlements Social infrastructure

Phong Dien Orchard city. The orchards are punctured with water villages that are eco-touristic, the urban become an orchard city. Urban voids are filled with orchards around water ponds which are for both recreation and production and can host floating markets.

491


Section dry season The orchard settlements have communal gardens with ponds, the central square is transformed into water square

Section wet season The water square can host water level rise, as well as other ponds

492


493


OMON_CO DO I SHUBHRA KANSAL & VALERIA TORRES

In O Mon and Co/Do, most higher lands, generated by sedimentation, are situated next to the O Mon River . They are being increasingly consumed by road based urbanisation.

494


In the areas more to the south, low lands dominate the scene. Intensive mono crop rice farming along with untreated city waste is causing water pollution.

495


The design strategy is inspired by the local cut and fill technique.

496


The higher land accommodates different kinds of forests to stabilize the soil and exploit its productive capacity.

The lowlands are required for water storage and connected by water based transportation.

497


A connected system of orchards, and forest form the identity of the highest land.

The disintegration of canals.

498


Local cut and fill further articulate a low-lying system of wetlands, ponds, and marshlands.

This generates 3 different ecosystems of settlements and agriculture that become cyclic nutrient VAC systems.

499


A

B

500


A

B

501


SHUBHRA KANSAL I SITE A

Existing situation: Growing urban tissue developed on higher lands along roads, slowly claiming inner agricultural patches

502


Analysing the territory by studying future ecological risks due to climate change and land subsidence

Studying the topography and agricultural tissue

503


Reclaiming fragmented trees to form a larger productive forestscape

504

Embedding the new urban tissue in the logics of the existing agricultural farm units


A productive forest emerges along the road to instigate a re-imagination of road infrastructure

505


Strategic placement of urban growth by integration with water channels

506


Project aims to re-qualify fragmented trees, divert urban growth towards water and preserve higher land levees for soft ecology.

507


VALERIA TORRES I SITE B

Microtopography

A

A

Located near the middle the lands of Co Do and Omon, where monoculture of rice reigns a system of wetlands, retention ponds, aquaculture, and flood rice farming diversify the agricultural production and creates a cyclic nutrient system of water and wastes. 500m Dense settlements

508

Retention Ponds

Flood Rice

Wetlands

Orchards


Existing situation

Modification of the topography by cut and fill technique

Scenario, new settlements typology on constructed land

Section A-A

509


Cyclic nutrient system of water and wastes Water for settlements is sourced from inland canals and stormwater retention in freshwater ponds. The human wastes move through a series of wetlands, to provide water to aquaculture and rice farming which then feeds back to the canals.

Existing situation

A system of different gradients of wentess structure the land for new settlements to come

510


Cyclic nutrient system of water and wastes

Diversification of the agriculture production by a VAC System Extensive fruit culture, medium imput aquaculture, animals + poultry

511



6_ Acknowledgements


Water and Forest Urbanisms to Address Climate Change Cantho (Vietnam)

Vietnamese collaborators Assoc. Prof. Duong Van Ni, Can Tho University Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Hieu Trung, Director of DRAGON Mekong Institute, CTU Assoc. Prof. Le Anh Tuan, Vice director, DRAGON Mekong Institute, CTU Mai Nhu Toan, Director, Department of Construction, Can Tho City Hoang Chi Thanh, Phong Dien People Committee, Can Tho City

Fieldwork groups Juan Acosta Barragan Tran Hoai Chau Tran Khanh Van Justin Ndacyayishima

Duong The Thanh, Division of Architecture and Planning, DoC, Can Tho City Dr. Dinh Diep Anh Tuan, CRO, Can Tho City La So Sen, CRO, Can Tho City Hoang Hoai Thanh, CRO, Can Tho City Quach Thanh Truc, Chief of Department of Foreign Affair, Can Tho City

Nguyen Minh Cong Thuc Luong Thuc Anh Maraki Getachew Gebresilassie

Huynh Hoang Long, Vice Director, Can Tho Museum

Vietnamese students in fieldwork

University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City

Nguyen Minh Tri, Nguyen Duc Anh Tuan, Vu Thi Lan Huong, Tran Hoai Chau, Vu Nguyen Dan Vy, Bui Nguyen Minh Tu, Luong Thuc Anh, Nguyen Hoang Huy, Nguyen Minh Thuy Trang, Nguyen Thi Thuy Trang, Nguyen Hoang Yen

Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology

Vo Thanh Vy, Nguyen Hoang Huy, Tran Khanh Van, Nguyen Thi Vi Anh, Luu Tan Phat, Pham Thi Ngoc Linh, Bui Kim Ngan

National University of Civil Engineering Bui Cong Minh

Ton Duc Thang University

Nguyen Minh Tri Ingrid Nguyen Quoc Thinh Meri Zhang Vu Nguyen Dan Vy Nguyen Thi Vi Anh Francesco Lombardi

Nguyen Hoang Huy Pham Thi Ngoc Linh Nathan Fredrick

Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, Nguyen Quoc Thinh, Nguyen Doan Bao Tran

Yersin University of Dalat Nguyen Cong Minh Thuc

Nguyen Duc Anh Tuan Elisa Valeria Torres Guzman Vo Thanh Vy Shubhra Kansal

514


Fieldwork guidance Shriya Mahamuni Bui Nguyen Minh Tu MarĂ­a Elizabeth Maldonado MarchĂĄn Rodrigo Carpio Fatiha Hamid Nguyen Minh Thuy Trang Bui Kim Ngan

(left to right) Doan Anh Khoa, University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City Khong Minh Trang, University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City Le Quoc Viet, Ton Duc Thang University Pham Duc Thang, Ho Chi Minh University of Technology

Vu Thi Lan Huong Sharmada Nagarajan Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc

Dr. Tran Mai Anh, University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City Prof. Kelly Shannon, KU Leuven Nguyen Minh Quang, KU Leuven Vu Thi Phuong Linh, KU Leuven Nguyen Thi Ngoc Giang, Ton Duc Thang University

Alejandra Peralta

Dr. Pham Anh Tuan, National University of Civil Engineering

Nguyen Thi Thuy Trang Luu Tan Phat

Nguyen Hoang Yen Aikaterini Ntavou Nguyen Doan Bao Tran

Nguyen Hoang Huy Bui Cong Minh Mohan Zhang

Booklet layout & editing Kelly Shannon, Minh Quang Nguyen

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