Hanoi to Relocate 1,800 Families to Preserve Old Quarter

Published: 05/14/2010 by pat

The authorities of Hanoi plans to move about 1,800 families residing in the famous Old Quarter to 60-100 square meter apartments in Viet Hung, a new urban area located in Long Bien District. The proposal intends to preserve the 1,000 year-old historic site and the monuments housed in it. Apart from its historic value, the Old Quarter is also popular for its 36 guild streets.

The Old Quarter Management Board claimed of efforts done in the recent years to safeguard the site, but damage is still occurring. Relocating the households out from it not only gives way to the site’s preservation, but also secures the residents away from the polluted and unsafe conditions inside the Old Quarter. In the same aspect, it also contributes to solving the overpopulation problem in the area and help reduce its population density from the current 84,000 to about 60,000-70,000 per square kilometer.

With the worsening deterioration of the Old Quarter and deepening population problems, the urgency of the proposal to move forward is seen as given and residents are encouraged to move as early as possible before authorities will consider employing tough measure. A recent survey, however, shows that majority of the families, 1,618 out of 1,800, have agreed to relocate. The apartments they are to occupy will either be rented by the residents or sold out to them, of which, costs will be decided by the People’s Committee of Hanoi.

The proposal may have yielded negative reactions from the residents when first brought up. Most of these families have strong attachment to the place they have resided in for the past generations. But with all the positive outcomes its pursuance could arrive at along with the chance to enjoy better living conditions, the planned relocation by the authorities is getting more popular support and might be carried out sooner in the most appropriate and positive approach.