Modern urban area "street in village, village in street"

Flipping through the family photo album of the first months and years after Saigon and the South were liberated on April 30, 1975, Mr. Ba Hoa (residing in Thoi Tam Thon commune, Hoc Mon district) introduced each photo in his hometown Hoc Mon, the suburbs of Cu Chi, Binh Chanh, Thu Duc... taken by his family members. Memories of Saigon - Cho Lon, Gia Dinh came flooding back to me, recalling the half-century journey of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City...

Smart city, creative city

In the summer of 1976, from our hometown in Thoi Tam Thon commune (Hoc Mon district), my parents took my three sisters and I to Saigon to stay temporarily in the Saigon Hotel on Thai Lap Thanh street (later changed to Dong Du street, district 1). The hotel room was only over 20 square meters, quite clean and comfortable. The entire 3rd and 4th floors of the hotel were temporarily arranged by the Department of Commerce at that time for my mother's office, each officer and employee was given a room to both work and live.

Every day, the three sisters took turns crossing the ferry and going to the market in Thu Thiem. The Thu Thiem area before 1975 and the first year after liberation was District 9, later merged into Thu Duc district with 22 communes and 1 town. The Thu Thiem area, Thu Duc district at that time had only about a dozen 2nd and 3rd floor houses located on both sides of the small road (now Luong Dinh Cua street) leading from the ferry dock up, with coconut trees on both sides and small canals crisscrossing.

The people of Thu Thiem at that time were mainly poor laborers who made a living by doing all kinds of jobs, from port work, rowing boats on rivers and canals, trading at Ham Nghi flea market, shining shoes, pedaling cyclos, to providing services for hotels and restaurants on the busy streets of downtown Saigon. The remaining residents made a living on the land of crisscrossing canals, growing rice, vegetables, catching shrimp and fish to bring to Thu Thiem market right at the ferry terminal to sell to residents from downtown Saigon on the other side of the river.

In the districts of Saigon before and the first year after the liberation in 1975, such as: Hoc Mon, Cu Chi, Nha Be, Binh Chanh and Thu Duc, all were agricultural lands, sparsely populated, simple houses, difficult transportation, mainly by horse carts, ox carts on dusty dirt roads, no electricity, domestic water mainly from dug wells used for production...

Researcher Nguyen Dinh Tu in his books about Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City 300 years also talked a lot about Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City before and after 1975 with nearly 3 million people, mainly concentrated in inner-city districts; Hoc Mon, Cu Chi, Binh Chanh, Nha Be, Thu Duc districts before being changed to suburban districts were all agricultural land, with almost no factories or workshops operating.

In recent years, many districts have made remarkable progress in many areas, especially in transportation with radial roads, beltways and inner-city roads being expanded, connecting to new urban areas and future satellite cities.

The most prominent is Thu Duc City with metro line No. 1 Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien and the upgrade of Hanoi Highway with a 153m wide road surface, becoming the most beautiful and greenest road in Ho Chi Minh City today. This radial axis at the eastern gateway connects to the development pole of the Southern key economic region, passing through large industrial centers, high-tech zones, smart cities, creative and highly interactive cities of Ho Chi Minh City in the future.

Chairman of Thu Duc City People's Committee Hoang Tung informed that Thu Duc City is aiming to be a place with good quality of life and attractive working environment; creating a modern and ecological urban landscape; preserving and promoting cultural identity and characteristics of a river city, adapting to climate change. Nowadays, every time coming to Thu Duc City, people can easily recognize the daily and hourly changes in this creative and highly interactive urban area.

According to Mr. Nguyen Phu Tai, residing in Quarter 8, Hiep Phu Ward (Thu Duc City), this bustling and spacious Hiep Phu Quarter before and after 1975 was all vacant land with only a few thatched houses of scrap collectors. The 6 swampy communes of Thu Duc at that time such as: Phuoc Long, Long Truong, Truong Thanh, Tang Nhon Phu, Phu Huu and Long Binh, had crisscrossing rivers and canals, difficult to travel, sparsely populated, and mainly lived by farming...

Now it is very different, many traffic routes connect to modern urban areas, schools, High-Tech Parks... meeting the learning, working and living needs of tens of thousands of people from all over the country.

Phu My Bridge - a modern cable-stayed bridge spanning the Saigon River, connecting District 7 with Thu Duc City, contributing significantly to the development of Ho Chi Minh City's traffic infrastructure. Photo: HOANG HUNG

In the south of the city, from flooded swampy areas, mainly agricultural, Nha Be district, part of district 8 and district 7 (before 1975 until after liberation), Binh Chanh district has formed a modern, smart, creative, highly connected urban area, attracting citizens from all over, both at home and abroad to come here to study, work and live long-term.

Mr. Nguyen Hoang Khanh, a businessman in the automobile industry, has lived for many years in the My Van villa area, Phu My Hung, Tan Phu ward (District 7). His family has settled in Canada for many years, but he still chooses to stay because the amenities, space, and living environment are unmatched anywhere else.

“I hope that in the near future the city will develop more new residential areas and urban areas with civilized and modern living standards like Phu My Hung, so that everyone can enjoy the development values ​​of a leading economic and developing city in the country,” Mr. Khanh shared.

In the west of the city, Mr. To Van Hung, a resident of An Lac ward (Binh Tan district), has lived here for nearly 60 years, pointing to the direction of Mien Tay bus station, Mr. Hung said: Before, it was a vast open field, flooded all year round, difficult to travel, sparsely populated... In just a short time, new, spacious urban areas have sprung up. And in the not too distant future, there will be medical and health care centers, centers for biochemistry and pharmacy, education and training, trade and services, ecological agriculture...

Cu Chi overpass, a different level traffic intersection in the Northwest of Ho Chi Minh City, contributes to promoting the socio-economic development of the suburban area of ​​Cu Chi, Ho Chi Minh City.

Mr. Nguyen Van Lac, residing in An Nhon Tay commune (Cu Chi district), has lived in the Northwest gateway of the city since the 1950s. He excitedly said that compared to the early days of the country's reunification, the face of Cu Chi has changed a lot, with electricity, roads, schools, stations, etc. continuously springing up to serve people's lives. Not to mention that in the near future, every house and every person will have to adapt to life with high-tech industrial parks, ecological and organic agriculture, and ecological urban areas.

He excitedly said: “I was born and raised in this Cu Chi land for more than 70 years. The people of this land with a long history are very happy that in the near future it will continue to develop, becoming an urban area imbued with the values ​​of culture, history and people of old Saigon - Gia Dinh”.

Formation of satellite cities

Spreading out the latest map of the Ho Chi Minh City area on the desk, Chairman of the Thu Duc City People's Committee Hoang Tung introduced the satellite cities of Ho Chi Minh City in the future according to the Ho Chi Minh City Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050 approved by the Government. Accordingly, Ho Chi Minh City continues to be a special city, following the multi-center city model including the central city and the urban areas of Thu Duc, Cu Chi - Hoc Mon, Binh Chanh, District 7 - Nha Be and the Can Gio marine ecological urban area. By 2050, the construction of Ho Chi Minh City will be completed according to the multi-center city model.

Chairman of Thu Duc City People's Committee Hoang Tung said that satellite cities will develop in the direction of expanding urban construction space on the basis of encouraging the conversion, reconstruction, and completion of existing development areas, raising building heights, increasing land use coefficients, adding open spaces and public green spaces, and ensuring infrastructure requirements.

Ho Chi Minh City will develop urban and rural areas in the direction of “villages in cities, cities in villages”, combining the preservation of inherent values ​​and sustainable development. Forming a new development space for Ho Chi Minh City in the direction of multi-center, multi-function and forming creative knowledge urban areas, industrial - urban - service zones; developing in accordance with buffer zones, ecological zones between urban areas and urban areas with central urban areas.

In Hoc Mon, Chairman of the District People's Committee Duong Hong Thang shared that Hoc Mon district will develop into a satellite city, helping to reduce population and traffic pressure for the inner city area, at which time Hoc Mon and Cu Chi will form an urban area north of Ho Chi Minh City.

By 2030, Hoc Mon must complete its infrastructure, improve the quality of life of its people, and create a foundation to become a part of the northern urban area of ​​Ho Chi Minh City. The urban space will form new centers in the area where National Highway 22 intersects with Ring Road 3, the Vam Thuat River area, and the Saigon River. The remaining agricultural land in the district will be exploited to serve urban development, combined with cultural parks and service projects.

To improve the quality of life of the people, contributing to creating a new look in urban development, according to Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Bui Xuan Cuong, in the coming time, the city will focus on key projects such as: Construction of the Ho Chi Minh City - Moc Bai Expressway; urban belt roads: Ring Road 2, Ring Road 3, Ring Road 4; major bridges including Can Gio, Thu Thiem 4, Dong Nai 2, Phu My 2; railways: Thu Thiem - Long Thanh, Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho; urban railway routes; Can Gio international transit port, Nha Rong - Khanh Hoi international passenger port, Phu Thuan...

The city's investment resources at this stage are mainly determined by the mechanism of mobilizing and using resources, attracting investment from socialization, ensuring that in the shortest time a number of projects connecting regions can be completed to promote investment in satellite cities in the future.

Ho Chi Minh City is a global, civilized and modern city.

The general goal is to develop Ho Chi Minh City into a global, civilized, modern, humane, dynamic, creative urban area; a city with high-quality human resources, modern services and industry, a locomotive in green economy, digital economy, digital society, an economic, financial, trade-service, cultural, educational, scientific and technological center of the country, deeply integrated internationally, with a prominent position in the Southeast Asian region, economic growth rate and GRDP per capita among the top in the country and surpassing the high-income threshold; a city with a high quality of life, rich in identity, sustainable environment, adapting to climate change. In terms of economy, Ho Chi Minh City strives to have GRDP per capita at current prices reaching 385 - 405 million VND by 2030, equivalent to 14,800 - 15,400 USD.

Source: Ho Chi Minh City Planning for the period 2021-2030, vision to 2050

HOAI NAM

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/do-thi-hien-dai-pho-trong-lang-lang-trong-pho-post792971.html