7 - The Housing Question in Southeast Asian Cities

Summary

The post-1997 period has seen a slowing down of economic development and in turn, some dampening of the burgeoning urban growth in Southeast Asia. Yet the population living in cities in Southeast Asia is projected to rise and grow above the growth rate of the national population. In many countries, the growth in urban population will be also higher in the mega-urban regions, that is, the regions that have grown around the largest cities and been incorporated into the expansion of these primate cities.

Continuing urban growth in the cities of Southeast Asia is of concern not only because urbanization is an inevitable trend as the region globalizes and continues to develop. The concern is with the living conditions in cities particularly for the large numbers of urban poor. There is also growing concern with the ability and capacity of city governments to address the needs of the growing numbers who are moving to cities to look for better living conditions and economic opportunities.

Housing provides a highly visible indicator of the citizens’ share and benefits from economic growth. In the cities of Southeast Asia, housing is also the most visible form of urban land use and hence, is an important aspect of the image of these cities.

Studies have highlighted the role which developmental and political ideologies have contributed to the measures undertaken to address urban housing needs. In Vietnam, the socialist state pursued housing policies that have changed since the transition to a more open economy. The changes have certainly been obvious in the country's major cities — Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Under the socialist state, the ideological point of view was that housing is an amenity to be provided free of charge or at least practically free of charge to all citizens. Under socialism, housing was regarded as a welfare provision to which everybody was entitled and was ideally also intended to be distributed according to a formal definition involving minimum requirements as well as the maximum entitlement to space per person. Yet for practical reasons and largely because Vietnam is a poor country, the right to housing appears to have been bestowed on generally the employees of the state only. Furthermore, such provision serves more as a form of indirect salary.