French expert offers suggestions for creating a forest within Hanoi's urban areas.

TP - The competition for design ideas for a multi-functional cultural park in the sandbar and riverside areas of the Red River is currently accepting entries. Architect Emmanuel Cerise, Head Representative of the Ile-de-France Region in Hanoi , is participating in the judging panel. In an interview with Tien Phong newspaper, he proposed planning the sandbar in the middle of the Red River as a forest to create a unique feature for Hanoi.

It is not possible to refer to the Seine River.

Can you clarify the differences in the use and management of suburban forests compared to inner-city parks in Paris?

The inner city of Paris boasts 331 public green spaces – areas that residents can access free of charge. Here, people can stroll, exercise, and more . Some parks even allow for the creation of cafes in certain areas.

The sandbar in the middle of the Red River offers many relaxing spaces for locals. Photo: NMHÀ

The forests surrounding Paris, teeming with wildlife such as birds and deer, resemble nature reserves. They primarily feature well-planned trails for jogging and cycling. Any sporting activities are kept to a minimum, ensuring they do not disrupt the animals' habitat.

Although considered natural spaces, suburban forests are treated as social infrastructure for public use. People can easily access these forests by private or public transport. Our network of green spaces ensures that residents, no matter where they live in the Ile-de-France region (comprising Paris and seven neighboring provinces), can reach a park or forest within a 15-minute walk.

A space is only truly public when it is accessible to the public through various means. Currently, people cannot reach the sandbar in the middle of the Red River by public transport. This also poses a challenge for the consulting firms participating in the competition. They must conduct thorough research to propose suitable solutions.

Architect Emmanuel Cerise, who is also the Director of the Paris Region International Cooperation Support Agency in Vietnam, has lived in Hanoi for 13 years and has participated in many urban planning and renovation projects for the capital city. Photo: NMHÀ

"We need to identify which areas of the Red River sandbar require a planned transportation system that allows people to access them by both private and public transport. There should be certain areas that are only accessible on foot, like a nature reserve, in order to ensure the preservation of the area's wild natural value."

Architect Emmanuel Cerise

In France, is there a distinction between themed amusement parks and public parks? If they are combined, how is the fee structure handled?

We keep these two types distinct. Themed parks are usually privately run and, naturally, charge a fee. Besides parks that are open 24/7, some public parks have regulated opening and closing times and are fenced off, but these are only for public safety and do not charge fees. In Ile-de-France, there is no model of a park with both public and private sections within the same area, except in special cases like the Vincennes Forest which has a semi-wild zoo where visitors must purchase tickets.

Why did he suggest that the sandbar in the middle of the Red River should be developed as a forest within the city? Should more trees be planted in this area, or should the ecosystem be allowed to develop naturally?

First of all, due to the difference in scale (the Seine River is at most less than 500m wide, while the Red River is usually more than 1km wide), the way we treat the Red River cannot be based on the Seine River.

The scale of the sandbar in the Red River reminds me of the suburban forests of Paris. Hanoi doesn't have any forests on its outskirts. This presents an opportunity to plan for purely natural spaces within the city. Like the Vincennes forest, which is essentially a natural forest but still has designated areas for planting flowers. There's even a highway running through it, yet it still respects the natural forest space.

The area of ​​the sandbar in the middle of the Red River is much larger than any inner-city park. Within it, we can certainly consider a large proportion to be developed as a forest. But it must be emphasized that this is a planted forest, only space for wild plant species.

Within the mid-river area, there may still be some areas where people cultivate crops. The main purpose is not to provide agricultural products, but to allow people to come here for experiences and to create a community living space. However, efforts should be made to control and manage these areas so that they retain their pure natural character instead of becoming something artificial.

"A good land attracts good birds."

What do you think if Hanoi decides to increase budget revenue from a future cultural park that will spring up on the sandbar in the middle of the Red River?

I fully understand the city's desire to exploit certain cultural and service purposes there to generate revenue. However, no one has yet considered how large the area of ​​the sandbar is equivalent to. If the entire area were to be developed into a themed park dedicated to artificial cultural and recreational activities, I fear there wouldn't be enough resources to do it.

But I don't recommend that. The government could allow the exploitation of a very small portion of that area for service businesses, alongside the vast remaining area reserved for wildlife.

I was very impressed during the competition launch ceremony when a speaker (Dr. Nguyen Manh Ha - PV) presented a short research paper stating that the sandbar in the middle of the Red River is an important bird landing site on the migration map of bird species worldwide . This is a huge advantage. Not every city or capital in the world has space for birds to stop right in the heart of the city.

Areas suitable for commercial and cultural services should be clearly demarcated. The rest should be reserved for natural spaces and wildlife. Furthermore, there should be buffer zones between the two areas to ensure that commercial activities do not negatively impact the other space.

Within the wilderness area, we can still organize certain services. For example, we can build observation huts for birdwatching. Anyone registering for the service must comply with regulations to avoid causing noise or disturbing the birds' migratory stops.

What other issues need to be considered in planning the Red River mid-river area to minimize negative impacts on the natural ecosystem?

There is currently an access road from Long Bien Bridge down to the sandbar for non-motorized vehicles. In the future, if the city deems it necessary to organize any commercial services on the sandbar, it should focus on the area near the foot of Long Bien Bridge and keep it very small.

To truly preserve the area south of the Chương Dương Bridge for birdlife, Hanoi should implement solutions to reduce noise pollution from traffic, not only to retain migratory birds but also to attract more species. If activities involving large gatherings of people are deliberately confined to the area between the Long Biên and Chương Dương bridges, or extending to the northern end of the sandbar, the project will be rendered unsuccessful. The value of the sandbar will be lost.

Thank you, sir.

NMHÀ (performed)

Source: https://tienphong.vn/chuyen-gia-phap-hien-ke-de-ha-noi-co-rung-trong-pho-post1643701.tpo