Resettlement is not just about housing
Hanoi City People's Committee has approved the Master Plan of Hanoi Capital with a 100-year vision according to Resolution No. 258/2025/QH15 of the National Assembly. The plan is built according to the "multi-layer, multi-layer, multi-polar, multi-center" development model, taking the Red River as the main ecological and cultural landscape axis and expanding urban space to both banks of the river.
According to the planning orientation, Hanoi will implement a series of strategic infrastructure projects such as ring roads, metro, new urban areas, the Red River scenic axis, international sports urban areas, airport urban areas... Along with that is the problem of large-scale resettlement for people subject to relocation and site clearance. The city's consistent viewpoint is to prioritize investing in resettlement areas before synchronously implementing project items. Resettlement areas are oriented to develop as complete urban areas with schools, parks, commercial centers, connecting transportation and synchronous public spaces.
Along with that, in the Draft Land Law (amended), the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment also proposed to legalize the principle that people whose land is recovered must have a place to live, living conditions equal to or better than the old place of residence through verifiable criteria such as housing, infrastructure, livelihoods, jobs, income, schools, health, transportation, public services and people's satisfaction.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Dr. Architect Dao Ngoc Nghiem - Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association - said that the big lesson learned from the past time is that resettlement must not only stop at arranging housing but must be synchronously invested in technical infrastructure, social infrastructure and ensure stable living conditions for people.
This orientation has been stipulated in the Capital Law. At the same time, in the process of developing the 100-year vision Capital Plan, Hanoi has also set out the requirement that resettlement areas must be synchronously planned in terms of social infrastructure. According to him, this is an innovation in thinking and implementation organization.
In fact, there have been many resettlement areas abandoned for many years because they only meet housing needs but lack essential living conditions. He cited that the Hanoi Old Quarter Population Reduction Project was approved in 1998 but has not been implemented until now.
Recently, for resettlement areas serving the Red River Landscape Avenue project, functional agencies have clearly explained to people that these areas not only have housing but are also synchronously invested in technical infrastructure and social infrastructure. According to Architect Dao Ngoc Nghiem, only when those conditions are ensured can people create consensus and facilitate site clearance for the implementation of key projects.
For households losing livelihoods due to land acquisition, it is necessary to prioritize creating jobs, vocational training and improving capacity for people to adapt and take advantage of opportunities from Hanoi's multi-polar development orientation. According to architect Dao Ngoc Nghiem, new housing must be better in terms of housing, technical and social infrastructure, thereby improving the quality of life and happiness index of people.
Towards ensuring housing, jobs and social security for resettled people
To realize this orientation, Hanoi has approved the Multi-Goal Urban Area Development Project, expected to put the first 2-3 projects into operation from now until 2030. According to the Project, the city will allocate about 40-50% of the housing fund in these urban areas to arrange resettlement. This is the first model to be implemented in Vietnam, expected to contribute to solving the shortage of high-quality resettlement housing funds.
The project also prioritizes allocating land funds for social housing, resettlement housing, public housing and rental housing to serve inner-city population expansion and key projects. Urban areas are developed according to the "living - working - enjoying local amenities" model, integrating synchronously housing, schools, healthcare, commerce, services, urban logistics, public space and jobs for people.
According to Lawyer Nguyen Van Dinh (Hanoi Bar Association), Hanoi is implementing many large-scale infrastructure and public investment projects, so the demand for land acquisition and resettlement is increasing, while the housing fund is still limited. The development of multi-purpose urban areas will contribute to supplementing housing sources, serving people subject to relocation.
According to the city's orientation, these urban areas are built according to a compact urban, smart urban model, ensuring that people can "live - work - enjoy local amenities". Through this, resettled people have conditions to stabilize their lives, ensure social security, and at the same time create favorable conditions for land acquisition, site clearance and the implementation of key projects of the Capital.
