Truong Trung Kien Department of Urban Planning and Architecture Municipality of Ho Chi Minh City/ Vietnam

Transcription

1 DEVELOPING GUIDELINES FOR ENERGY AND CLIMATE EFFICIENT URBAN STRUCTURES A NEW PLANNING INSTRUMENT FOR ADAPTING HO CHI MINH CITY TO THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE Ronald Eckert Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Design Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus/ Germany ronald.eckert@tu-cottbus.de Christian Voigt Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Design Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus/ Germany voigtc@tu-cottbus.de Truong Trung Kien Department of Urban Planning and Architecture Municipality of Ho Chi Minh City/ Vietnam kientruong05@yahoo.com Summary: The Vietnamese metropolis Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is undergoing a rapid urbanization accompanied with a high economic and population growth. As an emerging coastal region the city will be extremely vulnerable to climate change impacts in the future because of its topography. Even today, HCMC has to struggle with already perceptible climate-related problems like flooding, heavy rain events and increased temperatures. The city s high vulnerability necessitates a profound evaluation of all consequences for the built environment of HCMC. One of the most outstanding challenges will be the implementation of an effective and successful adaptation policy and the mainstreaming of adaptation into the current urban planning. Thus, the paper presents a multi-level strategy for the implementation of planning guidelines and building codes as adaptation strategies into the Vietnamese planning system. Key Words: Climate Change, Adaptation, Urban Development, Urban Structures, Guidelines, Energy Efficiency, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

2 DEVELOPING GUIDELINES FOR ENERGY AND CLIMATE EFFICIENT URBAN STRUCTURES A NEW PLANNING INSTRUMENT FOR ADAPTING HO CHI MINH CITY TO THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE I. HO CHI MINH CITY AN EMERGING COASTAL REGION The opening of Vietnam in the course of Doi Moi policy since the mid-eighties and the country s transition from a centrally planned economy to a free market economy initiated a transformation process, which the metropolis Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) benefits most of. The region in the south of Vietnam is the most important target area of foreign direct investments and possesses double-digit growth rates far in excess of the country s average. Today, the city of HCMC generates 20% and the HCMC mega-urban region almost one third of the national GDP (GSO HCMC, 2008). Therefore the city and the surrounding provinces are the most important driving forces for the economic growth and the renovation of Vietnam. However, better living and working conditions as well as the country s highest living standard result in an enormous rural-urban migration into the region of HCMC. The economic upswing was therefore attended with a population growth of more than 60% within 15 years, an increase from 3.9 million inhabitants in 1989 (NIURP, 1994) to more than 6.3 million inhabitants in 2007 (see figure 1; GSO HCMC, 2008). However, these data do not include unregistered migrants and temporary workers. The actual population will exceed far from the 6 million permanent residents to almost 8 million inhabitants. Figure 1: Population development and population projections of HCMC Source: GSO HCMC, 2008; Do Thi Loan, 2008 The population growth led to a significant transition of the existing urban structure of HCMC and a rapid urbanization at the outskirts. The majority of the formal housing construction activi- 2

3 ties in HCMC are concentrated in large-scale urban expansion projects at the city s periphery in the south (Saigon South) and the east (Thu Thiem). Here, completely new urban districts were or will be created on low elevated, predominantly marshy land, which previously served as buffer area in times of flooding (Eckert, 2009). These new neighbourhoods are basically influenced by imported international urban design concepts and neglect traditional life styles and behavioural patterns of the Vietnamese population. The lack of working facilities, social and commercial infrastructure nearby induces enormous traffic flows, even today, when only a part of the projected population lives there. Regarding the location it is even more significant that these largescale projects have paid little attention to the forecasted and already existing consequences of climate change. Parallel to the formally planned urban expansion, large parts, particularly in the northern and western territories of the city, had become built-up areas (PC HCMC et al., 2007). This uncontrolled urban expansion and land use change brought about by urbanization go along with an excessive change of natural land cover to sealed surfaces, the removal of natural retention and infiltration areas for precipitation, increased traffic volumes, and increased emissions related to transportation and industrial production. The settlement area of HCMC has almost doubled in the past 20 years (see figure 2; Tran Thi Van and Ha Duong Xuan Bao, 2007). As a result of the mostly spontaneous land occupation, the adequate provision of technical and social services often lag behind in the marginal settlements on the outskirts as well as in inner city slums, causing considerable negative effects on the environment and urban society of HCMC (Wüst et al., 2002). Figure 2: Urban land cover change in the central and northern part of HCMC Source: Tran Thi Van and Ha Duong Xuan Bao, 2007 II. CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS AND VULNERABILITIES ON THE HCMC REGION As an emerging coastal economy (Carew-Reid, 2008) Vietnam will be extremely vulnerable to climate change impacts in the future because of its topography. Most of the Vietnamese population and economic activities are concentrated in the low elevation coastal zone (LECZ) along the coastline. This area, defined as continuous coastal area being situated below 10 m above sea level, covers the large part of Vietnam s agricultural and urbanized land and is home to more than 74% of the Vietnamese population (Carew-Reid, 2008). With a predicted sea level rise (SLR) of 1 m around 5% of the overall land surface and around 11% of urbanized areas will be inundated, affecting almost 6 million inhabitants (Carew-Reid, 2008; Worldbank, 2007). 3

4 1. Impacts by flooding Located on the north-eastern edge of the Mekong delta and approximately 50 km inbound from the South China Sea, HCMC is built mostly on low-lying and marshy land. Over 60% of the administrative urban land and large parts of the surrounding provinces in the west and south-west are situated below 1.5 m above sea level (Ho Long Phi, 2007). The estuary of Dong Nai River, Sai Gon River and Nha Be River forms a wide-spread network of rivers and canals with almost 8,000 km length, covering 16% of the city s area (Nguyen Minh Hoa and Son Thanh Tung, 2007). The infiltration of tides up the Nha Be and Sai Gon River into the urban water system results in a periodic raised water level. Taking the predicted SLR of approximately 1 m until the end of this century into account, this would lead to an inundation of almost the half of HCMC s administrative area, endangering more than 660,000 inhabitants or close to 12% of the city s population (see table 1; Carew-Reid, 2008). However, these figures are likely to be significantly higher, because not only the low elevated areas suffer from flooding. The urban hydrogeology regime is also affected by increasing heavy rain events and flooding from upstream areas (Do Thi Chinh, 2008). A high groundwater level and an insufficient and mostly polluted sewer system cause backwater and retard the water run-off. This results in a frequently flooding of wide quarters of HCMC, even in the high elevated areas. Urban flooding in HCMC has very serious impacts on the built environment. The housing production and the ground sealing by infrastructure on former retention and infiltration areas lead to a reduced drainage and storage capacity for flood and rain water. Flooding disperses the wastewater from sewerage all over the city, which causes water pollution, epidemic diseases, damage to houses and infrastructures. Flooding due to tide also causes salinity intrusion, which damages the crops and plants (PC HCMC et al., 2007). Table 1: Impacts on the built environment and the population of HCMC by a 1 m SLR Sector Total Predicted impact % affected Impact on land 2,095 sq.km administrative area 862 sq.km inundated area 43.0% Impact on urban area 380 sq.km urban area 40 sq.km inundated urban area 10.5% Impact on population 6,240,000 inhabitants 664,000 affected inhabitants 10.6% These figures are likely to be significantly higher if the forecasted inundation zones are adjusted with the phenomena of backwater from the sewer system and reduced run off capacities. Impact on infrastructure 1,456 km transport infrastructure 226 km affected infrastructure 15.6% Impact on industry 5,496 enterprises 491 affected enterprises 8.9% Source: Carew-Reid, 2008; GSO HCMC, Impacts by increasing temperatures The urban areas of HCMC will also experience other consequences caused by climate change. In general, the climate in the south of Vietnam is steadily warm to hot and humid all year round. Within the densely built urban districts the lack of vegetation, standing surface water and evaporation areas, reduced air convection, changes in thermal properties of surface materials and human heat generation by air conditioning, transportation or industry lead to an overheating of the urban areas (PC HCMC et al., 2007), the so called Urban Heat Island Effect (UHI). The uncontrolled expansion of urban land and the increase of building density intensified this effect. Even today, the UHI effect is clearly noticeable in the inner city districts with up to 10 degrees higher than the average temperature of the surrounding areas. This trend will increase by further raising temperatures. According to the most likely projections the average temperature in the 4

5 south of Vietnam will further rise by 1-2 C until 2050 due to global warming (Booth et al., 1999). Urban heat waves will be intensified within the dense built areas of HCMC and will influence the health and comfort of urban residents in a negative way. In particular the elderly, invalids, and the urban poor are most vulnerable to high temperatures. III. CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE URBAN DEVELOPMENT Against the background of climate change, it is necessary to carry out a profound evaluation of all consequences for the built environment of HCMC and to develop substantial countermeasures on all levels of urban development planning. In particular, the predicted SLR can lead to a new dynamic in the medium up to long term urban development, which the current urban planning system is not prepared for. One of the most outstanding challenges will be the adjustment of the current land use management within the HCMC region to cope with the limited land availability. The population projections by HCMC s Real Estate Association (HoREA) forecast around 12 million official inhabitants in 2025 based on a scenario with an annual growth rate of 3.4% (see figure 1; Do Thi Loan, 2008). Additionally the endangering of the Mekong Delta by SLR implies the loss of livelihoods for more than four million people (Carew-Reid, 2008) and will lead to a new dynamic of migration influx into the HCMC region. The inundation of wide parts of the Mekong estuary will result in Vietnam s first climate change refugees. These population and migration growth forecasts and last but not least the further rising living standard will lead to an increasing demand for housing space, particularly for the lower income groups, which could easily reach some 200 million sqm floor area in the next 15 years (see table 2). Table 2: Future demand for housing units and construction land Rising living standard: Increase of housing space from 17 sqm to 20 sqm (min)/ 25 sqm (max) per capita Population growth: Annual growth of 2% (min)/ 3.4% (max) to 8.7 mill. (min)/ 12.0 mill. (max) inhabitants Est. total demand Influx of migrants from Mekong Delta (displacement or forced migration) Source: own calculation Demand for housing units (in sqm) Demand for housing units (in sqm) Minimum scenario Maximum scenario 6,347,000 inhabitants x 3 sqm 6,347,000 inhabitants x 8 sqm = ca. 19 mill. sqm = ca. 50 mill. sqm ca. 2 mill. migrants x 3 sqm ca. 2 mill. migrants x 8 sqm = ca. 6 mill. sqm = ca. 16 mill. sqm 2,350,000 add. inhabitants x 20 sqm 5,650,000 add. inhabitants x 25 sqm = ca. 47 mill. sqm = ca. 141 mill. sqm 66 mill. sqm = ca ha construction land 191 mill. sqm = ca ha construction land a 1m SLR will affect 4-5 mill. inhabitants in the Mekong Delta Region Taken the projected SLR into account, potential areas for future housing developments will be reduced dramatically. While a majority of the already built-up inner-city districts are located on areas with good land conditions (defined as areas 2 m above sea level and good soil conditions), nearly 50% of the suburban districts are indicated as flood-prone areas or at least as areas unsuitable for long-lasting constructions (PC HCMC et al., 2007). However, these areas in the rapid growing suburban periphery pose the main potential for future building sites. A complete avoidance of a further urban expansion on low-elevated and flood-prone areas will not be possible and therefore the need for adequate response measures with a focus on adaptation of the built envi- 5

6 ronment to flood events will become apparent. To ensure a successful implementation of policies and strategies to counteract the consequences of climate change and to specifically address the issue of adaptation of urban development to the impacts of climate change it is of vital importance to integrate all relevant measures into the Vietnamese planning system. IV. THE RELEVANCE OF PLANNING REGULATIONS AND ZONING GUIDELINES IN THE VIETNAMESE PLANNING SYSTEM 3. Brief introduction to the Vietnamese planning system The Vietnamese planning system is divided into different levels with specific administrative responsibilities. Each planning level is managed by a local authority like the city people s committee or the district people s committee. Each authority uses a set of statutory planning documents to regulate the urban development in their administrative territory (see table 3). For example the city authority will use the City Master Plan to regulate the development of the overall city. The district authority in turn will use District Master Plans for the urban management of the district. However, the District Master Plan must comply with the regulations from the City Master Plan (PC HCMC et al., 2007; Nguyen Dang Son, 2007). Table 3: Statutory planning documents on the different spatial planning levels Spatial Planning Level The City Master Plan The District Master Plan The Ward Master Plan The drawing scale depends on the size of the city. Normally, the scale is 1: In smaller cities, the scale could be 1: The set of plans includes the location drawing, land use drawings and the infrastructural system. At this level, information provided by the plan is mostly at a general level, for example: the main road systems, location of industrial zones, agricultural land, urbanized areas, green areas, and the total population for each district, etc. The drawing scale is 1: The set includes the location drawing, land use drawings and the infrastructural system. On this level, information provided by the plan is more detailed, for example: the arterial road system, new development areas, upgrading areas, different functional areas, and the total population for each ward, etc. The drawing scale of these local plans is 1: This set of plans is being used regularly to manage the urban development. It includes the location drawings, land use drawings, and the infrastructural system. At this level, information is provided for every block, for example: the road system, maximum building height, projected population, building density for the block or an area, boundaries of public land like parks, open spaces, schools, health care facilities, cultural centres, shopping areas, administrative areas and other functional areas. The drawing scale is most commonly 1:500. This is the set of plans mostly being used by the developers for complex developments like housing complexes, shopping malls, factories, and school developments. At this level, information is provided for every building, for The Project Plan example: the setback, distance between buildings, the floor area ratio, and the building coverage ratio, etc. Source: PC HCMC et al., 2007; Nguyen Dang Son,

7 Each set of planning documents must be approved by the relevant upper administrative level before the implementation. The restricted time before the planning documents can be revised is three years minimum. 4. Lack of adequate planning instruments to steer urban development The dynamic urban growth of the HCMC coastal region as a consequence of Vietnam s adaptation to a free market system has severe consequences on the steering capacity of the planning system. Development control does not function properly and effectively. Furthermore, in the planning documents on all spatial and administrative levels, the integrative approach for a sustainable city development with a balanced socio-economic and urban development regarding natural resources as well as environmental protection has not been paid attention to. As an example, the planning documents on a scale of 1:2.000, used by all district authorities in HCMC, are inadequate to provide necessary regulations for the development of each plot, in particular in the existing urban area which needs to be upgraded. In these plans, all the relevant information is provided as average value for the whole block or the whole area. However, in the existing area of the city, each block or each area combines many different plot sizes, different types of buildings and other characteristics. To determine the planning criteria for each plot from a general perspective is a very difficult and subjective process. The regulations in the planning documents also describe a final result of a development process of almost years with no accompanying management framework for intermediate stages. Presently, the implementation of design and planning guidelines is regarded as an effective tool for the local authority to manage the urban development activities during the process and to provide specific criteria for each development project. By analysis of the existing site conditions and based on the specific development objectives, the design and planning guidelines should be established to achieve good urban design at least for specific areas under development pressure. 5. First example: Design guidelines for the inner-city For the first time in Vietnam, design guidelines for a prestigious area in the inner city of HCMC were implemented since the end of These design guidelines refer to an area of four blocks in front of the Union Palace in District 1, where the development pressure on certain sites is extremely high. However, this area is very sensitive to stereotypical inner city commercial developments, because it has its own traditional characteristics of the French colonial period with prominent historical buildings and a public park immediately adjacent. The criteria for development, derived from the current master plan for this area were very simple. They just provided some general criteria for the whole area, like amongst others a building coverage ratio (BCR) of 60%, a floor area ratio (FAR) of 2.0 or maximum building heights. In a time consuming process the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture (DPA) of HCMC worked out a set of detailed regulations for each site and at the same time had to simultaneously manage the ongoing development process. By creating the design guidelines for the area with specific criteria to limit building volumes, to specify setbacks for each street and to ensure architectural requirements for different building types in the area the management process has become much more transparent and less time consuming (see figure 3). This model project for a relatively small area, implements a contextual approach with much needed respect to the urban heritage of HCMC. Based on a political decision of the HCMC people s committee, an appraisal of urban design and architectural quality took place (DPA, 2009). 7

8 Developing Guidelines for Energy and Climate Efficient Urban Structures for Ho Chi Minh City/ Vietnam Fifth Urban Research Symposium 2009 Figure 3: Design guidelines for an area in the inner city of HCMC Source: DPA, 2009 For the future, it is intended to broaden the scope of the development guidelines. Upcoming guidelines should be used to manage many different aspects in the urban development process such as making it more responsive to the creation of a more sustainable urban environment. Based on the experiences in current planning practise, the flexibility of the instrument, coupled with a profound legal status, makes the implementation of guidelines a successful planning tool. V. GREEN AGENDA HCMC A MULTI-LEVEL STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN HCMC The development of a comprehensive concept for the successful adaptation of urban land and urban structures to the impacts of climate change requires the integration of planning strategies, guidelines and measures into the existing legal planning system in HCMC. Therefore the transfer of scientific research results especially with regard to urban environmental criteria into the relevant plan making and political decision making processes is of utmost importance. At present, the research project, in a joint working approach with the HCMC Institute for Development Studies (HIDS), has adopted the idea of developing appropriate guidelines on different spatial levels for steering urban development in HCMC. Based on existing and acquired ground knowledge, the analysis of international best practises and the intensive discussions with Vietnamese counterparts, the development of a three-level strategy seems most suitable for the implementa- 8

9 tion of guidelines for a Green Agenda for the sustainable urban development of HCMC and the region. The following concept presents a work-in-progress status and do not claim to be complete. Due to the thematic focus of the research work, the first draft of the guidelines focuses mainly on environmental issues. Aspects like planning management, cooperation of relevant stakeholders and participation will be included at next stage. 6. Level 1 (region and city level) - Strategic development guidelines Within the Vietnamese planning system, the Level 1 guidelines have to correlate with the zoning categories of the Urban Development Plans. Their development is a legally required task by the HIDS in close cooperation with the relevant administrative institutions on the municipal level. To integrate environmental criteria regarding climate protection and adaptation to climate change the HIDS have requested the megacity research team to assist and cooperate in this process of guideline development. On the overall level of the city, these guidelines will mainly be related to environmental vulnerabilities and general concept ideas also on the regional level. Therefore the integration of existing research knowledge will work as a basis to create a comprehensive set of regulations to be discussed with the relevant Vietnamese counterparts. To simplify and to specify the development of guidelines, the research project has established a broad classification of the whole urban and sub-urban structure of the city in four typological categories: urbanization promotion area, urbanization control area, high risk area and redevelopment area (see figure 4). These urban land use typologies are related to a set of general criteria for further development in these designated areas ( Level 1 guidelines ). The detailing of these guidelines has to be discussed. Here, the transition into Level 2 guidelines has to be specified. A spatial focus for Level 2 guidelines will be on already designated areas for urban expansion measures in South Saigon in District Nha Be and for urban upgrading measures in District 6 and District 8. Figure 4: Typological categories as classification of HCMC s urban area Built-up areas Not built-up areas Elevated areas with low risk of flooding Redevelopment area Urbanization promotion area Low elevated areas with high risk of flooding High risk area Urbanization control area Source: own figure At present, strategic guidelines for future development on the regional level should derive from the specific knowledge and concept plan material from the Regional Development Plan. On level 1, the long term objective will be the development of a city wide Municipal Adaptation Plan (MAP), based on the analytical and conceptual work of the research partners in the field of Urban Environment. The plan itself will have limited or none legally binding powers, but will act as a blueprint for the new Land Use Plan, which is an established legal document in the planning framework of Vietnam. 9

10 7. Level 2 (neighbourhood level) - Development and redevelopment guidelines On level 2, the criteria and guidelines for future development of both, new and existing neighbourhoods, have to firstly respond to the impacts of climate change, especially the effects of SLR, the shortcomings of the existing sewerage system and the preservation of the natural environment and urban climate on the micro level (Eckert and Schinkel, 2009). Furthermore, these mainly environmental issues do not end in immediate numerical solutions, but have to be solved from a comprehensive viewpoint. Level 2 guidelines should be implemented on the district level and in detailed plans in relation to urban renewal projects and projects for new urban areas. Up to now, specific experience within the HCMC administration has only been made in conjunction with the mentioned design guidelines for a small area in the inner city. It is intended that these guidelines will be extended over the whole historical centre of HCMC in the near future. The DPA and the HIDS have requested the megacity research team to support their efforts to integrate environmental considerations into the guidelines on level 2 and to come up with specific criteria for this most valuable part of the city centre of HCMC (see table 4). In addition, the development of guidelines for new urban areas in the southern part of HCMC is required by the Vietnamese partners. Table 4: Examples for Level 2 guidelines in the fields of flooding, climate, energy and transport Sectoral responses in the field of Urban flooding Urban climate Urban energy Urban transport designation of taboo zones for settlements designation of protected areas (nature reserves etc.) flood attenuation or provision of temporary water storage capacity separate drainage systems for surface water and foul water upland and lowland reservoirs SUDS (management of quantity and quality of runoff, provision of amenity/ biodiversity benefit) increase proportion of water bodies, open water, water features one way valves permanently fitted in drains and sewage pipes to prevent backflow green roofs (run-off reduction) creative use of waste water, water efficient fixtures and fittings, rainwater harvesting and storage increase proportion of green space infrastructure, reduction of sealed surfaces increase proportion of water bodies, open water, water features shading and orientation to reduce excessive solar gain cool pavement materials to increase of surface reflectivity orientation of buildings and streets according to wind direction and solar irradiation compact construction method: mutual shadowing of adjoining structures, shaded public spaces (arcades) cooling through increase of rainfall permeability to benefit from the cooling effect of evaporation network of cool roofs Source: based on Eckert and Schinkel, 2009 reduced land consumption through compact and qualified urban design efficient resource management with: use of recycled materials for constructing infrastructure and public spaces, the establishment of a water/ waste water management, establishment of a waste management infrastructure reduced energy consumption with reduced traffic flows minimized need for cooling, minimized energy consumption by building services and minimized energy consumption by household appliances/ deployment of energy efficient technologies active and passive energy generation with neighbourhood-integrated photovoltaics and combined heat cooling and Power Production Systems reduced traffic flows with: safeguarding a diversity of uses and providing a mixed-use neighbourhood integration of appropriate social, commercial and cultural facilities within the neighbourhood integration and/ or proximity to working facilities offering differentiated housing typologies for different target groups reduced automobile dependence by providing local public transport system providing adequate bicycle network and storage and connecting with public transport nodes reduce traffic flow by providing space for home work and trade in the ground floor of private houses use of efficient vehicles (hybrid, electric, bio-fuel, fuel cell etc.) 10

11 8. Level 3 (Building level) - Guidelines for energy and climate efficient housing The demand for climate conscious housing typologies in HCMC is already extremely high and will drastically increase in the near future. Against this background and the manifold international activities regarding the certification of energy and climate efficient buildings the development of green guidelines for affordable housing also in Vietnam seems inevitable. Here, the Vietnamese Green Building Council (VGBC) has already provided a first draft of "LOTUS Sustainable Building Assessment System" (VGBC, 2008). Based on a number of prototypical houses for several target groups, different elements and measures for energy efficiency and adaptation to climate change have to be developed and integrated into the Vietnamese building code. Specific considerations have to be given to aspects like durability, ventilation and openness, thermal insulation, disaster prevention and energy saving. It is envisaged, that specific green guidelines will be discussed with relevant ministries and departments in Hanoi and HCMC. Main objective is the integration of green guidelines into the new National Housing Programme. VI. CONCLUSION The paper identifies only partially the broad spectrum of possible adaptation strategies to cope with climate related impacts of flooding and increasing temperatures on the one hand and of possible strategies to provide a sustainable and energy efficient future urban growth on the other hand. The multi-level strategy presents an approach to implement these strategies into the Vietnamese planning system via planning guidelines and building codes on different spatial scales. This concept was basically developed in cooperation with the Vietnamese research counterparts and relevant institutions on the local level of HCMC. This approach has to be extended with considerable measures like community-based adaptation to integrate the severely affected local population into the adaptation process and with concepts to achieve a further awareness rising of the administration and in particular of the property market s driving forces. VII. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The Megacity Research Project TP. Ho Chi Minh Integrative Urban and Environmental Planning Framework Adaptation to Global Climate Change is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the research programme Energy and climate efficient structures in urban growth centers over a period of five years ( ). Under the leadership of the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus (BTU) a trans-disciplinary team of European and Vietnamese researchers aims at the adaptation of the built environment of HCMC to minimize or avoid severe impacts of climate change in the future. VIII. BIBLIOGRAPHY Booth, T. H., Nguyen Hoang Nghia, Kirschbaum, M. U. F., Hackett, C. and Jovanovic, T. (1999) Assessing Possible Impacts of Climate Change on Species Important for Forestry in Vietnam. Climatic Change, 41, Carew-Reid, J., editor (2008) Rapid Assessment of the Extent and Impact of Sea Level Rise in Viet Nam, International Centre for Environment Management (ICEM), Brisbane. Do Thi Loan (2008) Vietnam Property Market, Presentation during the Starter Forum on October 22, 2008, Ho Chi Minh City. 11

12 Do Thi Chinh (2008) Urban Flooding in Ho Chi Minh City: The Causes and Effects, Proc., International GIS Summer School Geographical Information Science for Urban and Regional Development in Asia and Africa, Vientiane, Laos. DPA, Department of Urban Planning and Architecture (2009) Design Guidelines for the Area of Four Blocks in front of the Union Palace, District 1, HCMC, Presentation during the Second Forum on March 31, 2009, Ho Chi Minh City. Eckert, R. (2009) Klimagerechte und energieeffiziente Siedlungsstrukturen in urbanen Wachstumszentren Vietnams. Strategien für Stadtentwicklung und Wohnraumversorgung zur Anpassung an die Folgen des Klimawandels in Ho Chi Minh City, Proc., Anderes Klima. Andere Räume! Zum Umgang mit Erscheinungsformen des veränderten Klimas im Raum, ISB Leipzig, in press. Eckert, R. and Schinkel, U. (2009) Liveable City TP. Ho Chi Minh Adaptation as Response to Impacts of Climate Change, Proc., CORP 2009, 14th International Conference on Urban Planning, Regional Development and Information Society, CORP, Sitges, GSO HCMC, General Statistical Office of Ho Chi Minh City, editor (2008) Statistical Yearbook of Ho Chi Minh City 2007, GSO, Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Long Phi (2007) Climate Change and Urban Flooding in Ho Chi Minh City, Proc., Third International Conference on Climate and Water, Finish Environment Institute (SYKE), Helsinki, Nguyen Dang Son (2007) Study on Decentralized Administration System and Urban Development in Ho Chi Minh City. Nguyen Minh Hoa and Son Thanh Tung (2007) Governance Screening for Urban Climate Change Resilience-building and Adaptation Strategies in Asia: Assessment of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Brighton. NIURP, National Institute for Urban and Rural Planning, editor (1994) Data Book Ho Chi Minh City, NIURP, Hanoi. PC HCMC, Ho Chi Minh City People s Committee, UPI, Urban Planning Institute of HCMC and Nikken Sekkei, editors (2007) The Study on the Adjustment of HCMC Master Plan up to 2025, Final Report, Ho Chi Minh City. Tran Thi Van and Ha Duong Xuan Bao (2007) Urban Land Cover Change through Development of Imperviousness in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Proc., 28th Asian Conference on Remote Sensing, Asian Association on Remote Sensing (AARS), Kuala Lumpur. VGBC, Vietnamese Green Building Council (2008) LOTUS Sustainable Building Assessment System, Draft Worldbank, editor (2007) Adapting to Climate Change. East Asia Environment Monitor 2007, Washington. Wüst, S., Bolay, J.-C. and Du, T. T. N. (2002) Metropolization and the Ecological Crisis: Precarious Settlements in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Environment & Urbanization, 14,