Hanoi has many rural areas associated with traditional craft villages, thus, the process of development planning should preserve these traditional villages which constitute the city's cultural identity.According to Chairman of the Vietnam Urban Development Planning Board Tran Ngoc Chinh, the urbanization process is considered indispensable for development. In this process, Hanoi has witnessed the loss of traditional craft villages. The typical example is the Ngoc Ha village, which is located in the city center.
Vac craft village in Thanh Oai district, Hanoi. Photo: Van Phuc - Ngoc Van
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In fact, the urbanization process has had a positive impact on the socio-economic development of the capital. For instance, economic growth has been sustained through years, which results in rising per capita income. The urban architecture has changed a lot, but these changes should be considered as a whole, Chinh added.
Hanoi has a unique character compared to many capital cities in the world. When Hanoi had its administrative boundaries expanded in 2008, it had many traditional craft villages specialized in weaving, copper casting, carpentry, and forging.
"These traditional craft-villages need to be preserved. It is necessary to have specific plans to avoid the encroachment of urbanization into these villages," Chinh stressed.
Chairman of the Vietnam Urban Development Planning Board acknowledged that the craft villages outside ring road No.3, especially from ring road No. 3.5, the development is already planned. Therefore, the traditional villages in this area should not be urbanized, or they will disappear.
At present, Hanoi and the whole country are implementing the national program on building new-style rural areas, including planning socio-economic construction, building a new culture, preserving literary characters to create sustainable comprehensive urban development, bringing harmony between development and conservation, Chinh added.
To preserve the craft villages, it is necessary to invest in better technical and social infrastructure. Traditional villages in the countryside should be built in clusters to focus on production and address the infrastructure issues.
In the process of development, rural and urban areas are an integral part, but it is important to create the harmony between craft villages and urbanization, Chinh affirmed.
