Vietnam Country Programme

The Vietnam Land,
Services and Citizenship for the Urban Poor (LSC) Programme

Partners | Challenges | Projects | Initial Results

The LSC programme is a partnership initiative undertaken by the Government of Vietnam and its support partners to align urban development efforts at the national, city and community levels. It aims to:

Support the Government of Vietnam’s efforts to scale up inclusive urban development policies
Build the capacity of cities to strategically manage urbanisation
Empower community organisations to actively engage in city development
Focus on enhanced community participation, replication and scale

Partners

The Government of Vietnam is implementing LSC through the Ministry of Construction’s Urban Development Agency.

The Association of Cities of Vietnam (ACVN) is implementing efforts at the community level.

These partners are supported by international organisations including the World Bank, UN-Habitat, and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the programme is facilitated and supported by the Cities Alliance.

Challenges

One of the fastest urbanising countries in East Asia, Vietnam has undergone a remarkable process of economic reform in recent decades that has spurred economic growth and driven an urbanisation rate of around 3 per cent per year.

At the same time, the country has made great strides in reducing urban poverty. Since the Cities Alliance began engaging with Vietnam in 2000, the country’s focus has moved from pilot upgrading projects to broad-based upgrading programmes.

The challenge now is to scale up urban upgrading to the national level. A national urban upgrading policy is in place but runs the risk of not reaching secondary cities, where the bulk of urbanisation is taking place.

Projects

A national urban strategy built on partnership. The Country Programme has achieved a high level of connectivity and interdependency across the national, city and community layers and among development partners – helping develop the national upgrading strategy that will directly inform a US$272 million World Bank capital and technical assistance investment loan.

Revitalised, inclusive Vietnam Urban Forum. With its broad membership base of 90 (up from 25 in 2008), the VUF is now the most inclusive forum in the country. Members include government agencies, donors, national and international NGOs, professional and academic organisations, cities, and private firms.

Expanded network for community-led upgrading. Guidelines have been completed to expand the Community Development Fund, a network of 30 cities engaged in community-led upgrading activities. The conditions are now in place to expand the CDF to an additional 20 cities.

An Urbanisation Review has been completed, providing the analytical foundation for a National Urban Policy.

LSC BY THE NUMBERS

• 27.4 million urban residents in Vietnam
• A 221% increase in Vietnam Urban Forum members

• Over 50 cities poised for scaled up upgrading

• Transforming Urban Policy Making in Vietnam

• Vietnam: Moving Forward and Scaling Up

• Vietnam Holds its Most Inclusive Urban Forum Yet

“Vietnam will only have one chance to get urbanisation right. If we fail at urbanisation, we will fail at industrialisation and modernisation.”

--Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung, 2009

How We Work

Vietnam Country Programme