Towards a micro-geography of ordinary public spaces in Hồ Chí Minh City

Résumé En

As key places for social mixing and interactions in the city, public spaces occupy a paradoxical position in Vietnam today. While the country seeks a deeper integration within the global economy, Hồ Chí Minh City authorities support the creation of new metropolitan landmarks by launching iconic mega-projects. Thus, the planning of vast public spaces reflects the modernisation of the country and the sought-after status of the city as an emerging metropolis. But, at the same time, the ancient profusion of ordinary forms of public spaces, much more modest in size – and sometimes called “pocket public spaces” – is increasingly threatened. Two factors can be identified. First, as far as urban planning is concerned, massive real estate projects and the construction of heavy infrastructures – such as the metro – justify the progressive disappearance of small open spaces, such as parks, small squares and alleyways. Second, regarding urban regulations, vast state programmes are also launched to “clean” public spaces, directly targeting, and more and more openly, the multiple functions of these inherited spaces and the historic diversity of their daily usages.