One of the major effects of industrialization in Southeast Asia is the emergence of the Utopian cities developed in order to cater the needs of the wealthy and the middle class citizens whose income allows them to purchase properties such as high-rise condominiums near the city centers near their workplaces. This paper explores some of the side-effects created by monopolizing the public spaces into a commodity marketed only to those people who belong to the rich and the middle class.
A Framework
Relevant Information Phu My Hung Area
Located in the District 7 of Ho Chi Minh.
Highly urbanized area created by the Taiwanese-Vietnamese Company, Phu My Hung.
Population and Density
Phu My Hung Development Company estimated a total of a million populations with further possibilities of increasing the population by inviting a hundred thousand up to two hundred thousand additional tenants (Douglass and Huang 1).
The population of the area roughly falls above 8 million residents. (Douglass and Huang 23).
Land Use
Phu My Hung has 33 km2 total land coverage.
The area is currently dotted with many shopping facilities and recreational parks.
Phu My Hung is one of the rising utopian cities in Vietnam. (Douglass and Huang 1-2).
Guards hired by the management keep the outsiders away; CCTV cameras monitor all the movements in and out the perimeters. (Douglass and Huang 23).
The residential areas of Phu My Hung are only catered to white collar individuals who can afford the huge prices of the housing units. (Douglass and Huang 24).
Benefits of Living
Residents can always have the assurance of security in their homes and outside their houses since most of Phu My Hung’s residential quarters have walls enclosing the utopian city.
Lots of amenities for people such as tennis and golf courts, clean swimming pools and environment.
Close proximity to international services such as hospitals, schools, universities, and other services provided by the management.
Within the internet coverage, located closely near the telecommunications offices, utilities company (e.g. water and electric).
Freedom of religious practice.
Modern architecture and landscape styles with lush green gardens, favorable air, clean and functional waterfront layout.
Fast communication between the residents and the management of the estate (Douglass and Huang 26).
Disadvantages of Living
Expensive housing units and amenities.
24/7 camera and security surveillance of all the transactions.
Forbidden camera use for photography and leisure (Douglass and Huang 23).
The environments as well as the housing units do not have a single Vietnamese design elements included on their architecture and layout.
Educational facilities are restrictive in numbers since they only cater a minimum number of residents’ children while the rest of the population has to drive away from their place just to attend their classes (Douglass and Huang 27).
No ‘Free’ Public Spaces inside the area.
Waterfronts tend to get polluted as more population moves inside the city perimeter (Douglass and Huang 27).
The community gets crowded and the distribution of internet signals might have disruptions due to heavy number of users.
Only residents with high income can send their children to the nearest schools within the proximity of Phu My Hung (Douglass and Huang 27).
Only residents with high income can also afford the bills of hospitals within the area.
High traffic congestion due to the lack of adequate roads since the majority of the public spaces is already covered by the Phu My Hung Residential Area.
Conclusions
The continuous privatization of public land spaces in Ho Chi Minh City leads to the emergence of these mega-urban and high-tech modern cities such as Phu My Hung.
Further privatization deprives the city of public spaces meant for recreation and businesses. International shopping districts kill the local industry of the area.
These residential communities situated in the capital has the tendency to get polluted, experience service interruptions due to heavy users, possible criminal targets due to the high-lifestyle status of the residents, and possible environmental degradation especially the aquatic habitat near the waterfronts where these quarters are currently located.
Residents must have large sum of money and savings to be able to live comfortably within the community.
Summary
1.1.7 A: How students benefit from this article?
The journal article written by Douglass and Huang presents the pros and cons of living within these so-called utopian cities.
The study made by Douglass and Huang will also benefit the government and the housing industry sector (both public and private) to study the current trends in urban planning to avoid possible repercussions on the environment and the citizens living inside their premises. This will be an important study to conduct good disaster emergency drills in cases of severe natural calamities such as tsunamis, earthquakes, and typhoon.
These avant-garde style buildings are often associated with the concept of bringing groups of people into the city hub because the place are vibrant, modern, and technologically advanced unlike the other cities in Vietnam or in any parts of Southeast Asia.
The research is not yet complete and the call for students’ critical thinking and submission of case studies will be beneficial to the improvement of the urban decongestion.
What makes these utopian cities popular to the mainstream public? Why do large corporations love to develop the rural spaces to build their houses? Students also learn that utopian cities provide the means of making the citizens dream come true; somehow, anyone dreams of living near the city in a beautiful comfortable home complete with amenities that is sure to be the envy of the majority. Fashionable high-rise condominiums, hotels, and resorts are typically built on tall buildings especially on the rooftop where one can enjoy the scenery of the city skyline. These homes allow the people to reduce the commuting hours to their work since majority of these buildings are located at the heart of the business capital where most people work. Land developers prefer the rich agricultural land of the rural areas to develop because it allows them to plan what kind of design they needed to make on the site. The improvement in building technology and architecture styles made it possible for land developers to mold the surroundings the way they liked it.
Vietnam is one of the many countries in Asia that has been undergoing drastic modifications on its geographical setting particularly in city building. It is undeniable that with the growth of the businesses, these entities will attract thousands of settlers either to work or become new additions to the population in the area. What the article tells its readers are the improper distribution of the population amongst the cities; lesser cities from the provinces will either be dissolved or absorbed by the large corporations as an extension for their land monopoly scheme. Yet because of this system, the majority of the population is no longer because the land that once belonged to them will no longer be under their name. Even so, residing in these utopian residences does not necessarily mean a happy and comfortable lifestyle for everybody. In fact, the research discussed the hidden cons of living in this type of residential communities. The security as stated previously is one of the most important aspects highly patronized by the residents of this area. Therefore, managements such as in Vietnam impose strict rules and code of etiquettes that seem to go way beyond their limitation since it deprives people of the right to the things they enjoy doing.
WORKS CITED
Douglass, Mike and Liling Huang. “Globalizing the City in Southeast Asia: Utopia on the Urban Edge The Case of Phu My Hung, Saigon. IJAPS 3.2 (2007): 1-42. PDF File.
