As the term "smart city" has become familiar in the world, cities in Vietnam aim to become a smart city to better serve people, so each city should start from planning design for smart urban development, according to experts.
Perspective of Nhat Tan - Noi Bai smart urban area
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According to Associate Prof. Dr. Do Tu Lan, former deputy director of the Urban Infrastructure Development Department under th Ministry of Construction, cities in Vietnam, including big cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, urban utilities are just providing basic services and utilities such as electricity, water, transport and information technology (internet, cable, television) at a simple level. Meanwhile, smart utilities have not been widely applied.
A smart city needs to ensure its infrastructure including housing, offices, cars, public transport, hospitals, schools, energy and equipment are connected via wireless and wired internet, also known as internet of things. Activities through the network will enhance efficiency in all areas of community life, improve labor productivity, Lan said.
However, according to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tuyen, deputy director of the Information Technology Department under the Ministry of Information and Communications, in Vietnamese cities, there is no synchronous planning between urban infrastructure and telecommunications infrastructure, resulting in headwinds to a city's plan to become smarter.
In addition, telecommunications infrastructure is not properly connected at new constructions. This lack of connectivity has caused difficulties to the process of smart urban construction. Besides, new social infrastructure is not connected to each other through the telecommunications infrastructure, Tuyen said.
Vital role of planning design
According to architect Nguyen Anh Tuan from the Vietnam Association of Urban Development and Planning, planning design should be considered an indispensable step for Vietnamese cities when it comes to smart urban development.
The vision of smart city will help Vietnam's cities move in the right direction. Each city needs to concretize each stage, thereby pointing out issues that need to be addressed, in line with their available resources, Tuan said.
For smart urban development, Vietnam's cities need to address basic issues such as building a smart government, educating people, smart transportation and technical infrastructure, urban planning and development in a sustainable way, environmental and energy control, digital economy growth in a sustainable way, Tuan added.
Addressing the issues that need for smart urban development, Tuan stressed that the two elements of designing and planning management must be at the forefront, to build the foundation for applications that a smart city should have.
