6/19/16
Long post here fyi
This summer, I've been considering more deeply a career in urban planning. From an early age, I've always been interested and influenced by how cities are designed and how public spaces shape local identities, expanding beyond the infrastructure/engineering aspects of development to the way planning impacts human realities in a social, political, and philosophical sense. To learn more about whether I really want to pursue this in the future, I’ve visited planning grad schools and shadowed with professional planners at architecture/engineering firms before this trip, trying to soak up as much information as possible. So coming to Saigon, I already had these thoughts on urbanism floating in my mind.
Just flying into the city, you could see the streetlights and urban activity sprawl for miles on end -- HCMC is gigantic. Yet it seemed like there were few obvious gridded patterns in the way streets or squares were laid out, preferring webbed and interwoven networks radiating in and out of urban centers. And with so much rural-to-urban migration and undocumented living, the slums stretch on and on. Only the hearts of the districts bear semblance to any kind of central development. In Vietnam Rising Dragon by Bill Hayton, he describes in detail the processes by which the central government raided and evacuated thousands of residents to make room for Communist officials in the most desirable parts of town. This became hyper-obvious viewing Saigon from the Sky Deck in the Bitexco Financial Tower (the tallest in the city, inspired by the shape of a budding lotus flower). On one side, you’d see fancy hotels with golden adornments, and on the other, you’d see vast jumbles of shacks stacked upon haphazardly upon each other. Walking up to the Bitexco tower, you could see big name designer stores like Louis Vuitton, Christian Louboutin, and Hermes, among others. Our professor, Dr. Christophe Robert, uses the term “uneven development” to describe postwar Vietnam. And there’s still SO much ongoing construction on new skyscraper office buildings and luxury apartments, undoubtedly displacing many of those voiceless in the planning process. And if we only did one thing during our time in Vietnam, it should be to listen to the stories of these subaltern voices (as my former professor Catherine Admay would encourage me to do!).
(Update: After our lecture, it's really been eye-opening learning about how huge of an issue infrastructure is in this country. And much of it is due to American warfare. For example, right after the war, there were massive transport issues because the American military destroyed all the bridges to hinder mobilizing armies. Vietnam's ongoing progress on these infrastructural issues is not solely driven by the government, but by the hard work of the everyday citizens who have developed devastated streetscapes into fully functioning neighborhoods.)
Saigon can also be described by an amalgamation of foreign influences. Walking down a major street to dinner, we would see Chinese, French, Korean, Japanese, even Brazilian restaurants and stores lining the sidewalks. There are also many references to New York City such as in the names of buildings like Time Square Saigon or Union Square. Of course, French and European influences are apparent from the design of beautiful villas and the baguettes that can be found in any bakery.
Yet at the same time, there is a strong underlying presence of the Communist party in every aspect of the Vietnamese life. Hayton says that Vietnam has largely opened its doors to capitalism and Western cultural exchange. But the presence is undeniable. We’d see Ho Chi Minh’s face plastered on posters encouraging people to exercise. We’d see policemen in intimidating green military uniforms every which way on the streets. We’d see the bombing of the presidential palace as a victorious feat rather than a terrorizing attack. We’d go to a café styled as a Viet Cong military bunker. Then there is the ubiquitous flag, with its single yellow star on a red background. Many Vietnamese Americans, like my mom, find that flag disgusting and offensive (and somewhat taboo). Seeing it everywhere is somewhat shocking to me, yet it’s a lived reality for millions of Vietnamese citizens, and it’s a constant reminder that Communism won.
(Update: while perhaps a constant reminder to an outsider like me, Dr. Robert assures us that modern Vietnam is a mostly young population unconcerned with the war or with communism. Rather, the real issues today are education, healthcare, environment, and urban-rural and income inequality.)
But it’s also easy for us, as foreigners, to see things that aren’t there. For example, when the DJ at the nightclub denied Grant and Jared’s request to play “Every time we touch”, we would automatically think Oh maybe it doesn’t align with Communist ideals when really they just didn’t have the song. I look forward to learning more about the history and context of Vietnamese Communism and its role in the nation’s rapid urbanization.
Otherwise, recap of the last few days:
Long post here fyi
This summer, I've been considering more deeply a career in urban planning. From an early age, I've always been interested and influenced by how cities are designed and how public spaces shape local identities, expanding beyond the infrastructure/engineering aspects of development to the way planning impacts human realities in a social, political, and philosophical sense. To learn more about whether I really want to pursue this in the future, I’ve visited planning grad schools and shadowed with professional planners at architecture/engineering firms before this trip, trying to soak up as much information as possible. So coming to Saigon, I already had these thoughts on urbanism floating in my mind.
Just flying into the city, you could see the streetlights and urban activity sprawl for miles on end -- HCMC is gigantic. Yet it seemed like there were few obvious gridded patterns in the way streets or squares were laid out, preferring webbed and interwoven networks radiating in and out of urban centers. And with so much rural-to-urban migration and undocumented living, the slums stretch on and on. Only the hearts of the districts bear semblance to any kind of central development. In Vietnam Rising Dragon by Bill Hayton, he describes in detail the processes by which the central government raided and evacuated thousands of residents to make room for Communist officials in the most desirable parts of town. This became hyper-obvious viewing Saigon from the Sky Deck in the Bitexco Financial Tower (the tallest in the city, inspired by the shape of a budding lotus flower). On one side, you’d see fancy hotels with golden adornments, and on the other, you’d see vast jumbles of shacks stacked upon haphazardly upon each other. Walking up to the Bitexco tower, you could see big name designer stores like Louis Vuitton, Christian Louboutin, and Hermes, among others. Our professor, Dr. Christophe Robert, uses the term “uneven development” to describe postwar Vietnam. And there’s still SO much ongoing construction on new skyscraper office buildings and luxury apartments, undoubtedly displacing many of those voiceless in the planning process. And if we only did one thing during our time in Vietnam, it should be to listen to the stories of these subaltern voices (as my former professor Catherine Admay would encourage me to do!).
(Update: After our lecture, it's really been eye-opening learning about how huge of an issue infrastructure is in this country. And much of it is due to American warfare. For example, right after the war, there were massive transport issues because the American military destroyed all the bridges to hinder mobilizing armies. Vietnam's ongoing progress on these infrastructural issues is not solely driven by the government, but by the hard work of the everyday citizens who have developed devastated streetscapes into fully functioning neighborhoods.)
Saigon can also be described by an amalgamation of foreign influences. Walking down a major street to dinner, we would see Chinese, French, Korean, Japanese, even Brazilian restaurants and stores lining the sidewalks. There are also many references to New York City such as in the names of buildings like Time Square Saigon or Union Square. Of course, French and European influences are apparent from the design of beautiful villas and the baguettes that can be found in any bakery.
Yet at the same time, there is a strong underlying presence of the Communist party in every aspect of the Vietnamese life. Hayton says that Vietnam has largely opened its doors to capitalism and Western cultural exchange. But the presence is undeniable. We’d see Ho Chi Minh’s face plastered on posters encouraging people to exercise. We’d see policemen in intimidating green military uniforms every which way on the streets. We’d see the bombing of the presidential palace as a victorious feat rather than a terrorizing attack. We’d go to a café styled as a Viet Cong military bunker. Then there is the ubiquitous flag, with its single yellow star on a red background. Many Vietnamese Americans, like my mom, find that flag disgusting and offensive (and somewhat taboo). Seeing it everywhere is somewhat shocking to me, yet it’s a lived reality for millions of Vietnamese citizens, and it’s a constant reminder that Communism won.
(Update: while perhaps a constant reminder to an outsider like me, Dr. Robert assures us that modern Vietnam is a mostly young population unconcerned with the war or with communism. Rather, the real issues today are education, healthcare, environment, and urban-rural and income inequality.)
But it’s also easy for us, as foreigners, to see things that aren’t there. For example, when the DJ at the nightclub denied Grant and Jared’s request to play “Every time we touch”, we would automatically think Oh maybe it doesn’t align with Communist ideals when really they just didn’t have the song. I look forward to learning more about the history and context of Vietnamese Communism and its role in the nation’s rapid urbanization.
Otherwise, recap of the last few days:
- Checked out the athletic park near where we were staying. It was a pretty great snapshot of recreational life in Vietnam, with the kids playing soccer and basketball, the elderly ladies keeping fit on the outdoor exercise equipment, and other adults practicing everything from tai chi to hip hop
- Embarked on an adventure-filled scavenger hunt of the city, learning that in many places, taking pictures is not allowed (thanks Tram for being our guide!)
- Teaching our Vietnamese buddies American slang, including everything from "It's LIT" to all the variants of bro/brah/bruh/etc.
- Watched Finding Dory in the Bitexco tower…the familiar sound of Ellen’s voice soothes the soul
- Bowling and Karaoke night with our Vietnamese buddies!
- Visiting the Independence Palace and learning about its centrality to the "Fall of Saigon" (from the Southern perspective, or the "Liberation of Saigon" from the Northern perspective)
- Browsing the stalls at the Bến Thành market, holding onto our valuables for dear life out of warnings that pick-pocketing is rampant there