Relocating houses and land of universities is an issue Hanoi has been discussing for many years. This is not just an issue of education planning, but an urgent requirement in restructuring urban space, reducing infrastructure pressure and returning people a civilized, safe, and more sustainable living environment.
Currently, pressure on Hanoi's inner city is increasing. Streets that are already overloaded have to bear a large volume of students, workers, vehicles, and auxiliary services. Many areas around universities fall into chronic congestion, lack of parking spaces, lack of public space, spontaneous boarding houses, encroached shops, technical infrastructure and social infrastructure are always tense.
Meanwhile, many facilities in the inner city today have small areas, are surrounded by dense residential areas, and no longer have enough conditions to develop into modern training facilities. Maintaining the status quo not only makes it difficult for the city, but also makes it difficult for schools and students themselves.
Relocating universities from the inner city must therefore be seen as a rearrangement of Hanoi's knowledge development space. Large-scale training institutions, practice areas, dormitories, and research centers need to be moved to areas with sufficient land funds, transport infrastructure, and long-term expansion conditions. There, Hanoi can form true university cities, linking training with research, innovation, high technology, and new growth poles.
However, many experts also point out that when relocating, the new location must have convenient connecting transport infrastructure, dormitories, dormitories for lecturers, medical services, culture, sports, study and living space. If students have to travel dozens of kilometers every day in inconvenient traffic conditions, good policies will turn into a new burden.
The biggest issue is what old land is used for after relocation. This is a point that must be publicized, transparent and closely monitored. If universities leave to make way for commercial high-rise buildings, high-rise apartments, and shopping centers, then the inner city will not only not be less crowded but will also be heavierly overloaded. At that time, the relocation policy will lose its meaning.
To make the policy go into practice, Hanoi needs a clear roadmap, a specific list, a specific deadline and a feasible financial mechanism. Which schools must be completely relocated, which schools partially relocated, which facilities are retained, how old land is used, how budget and socialized resources are mobilized, all need to be made public. It is impossible to let the situation of the policy being correct but prolonging for many terms, while the inner city continues to bear the consequences.
Relocating universities out of the inner city is a difficult task, related to assets, people, and the development history of each training institution. But difficult does not mean not doing it. The slower, the greater the cost, the heavier the urban pressure, the more opportunities for rebuilding the Capital's space are missed.
