This assessment provides insight into needs for capacity assessment on urbanization and climate change, based on original research using surveys and interviews with university faculty and lecturers, practicing urban planning professionals, and civil servants.

Overall, the results suggested a high degree of concern about climate change issues, and a strong conviction that they were important for urban planning, but limited comprehension of climate science or of appropriate urban planning interventions to address climate issues.

Almost all respondents (97%) felt that urban master (general) plans were a rationale but ineffective means to control urban development. They believed these would not be an effective tool for integrating climate adaptation into urban development. But the respondents were split in terms of how they expected climate issues to be resolved: slightly more than half saw climate issues as primarily technical in nature. This group tended to see solutions in terms of importing technology from developed countries and of further developing the Vietnamese economy or improving infrastructure. But a large minority disagreed that these kinds of solutions were likely to resolve the problem for Vietnamese cities.

The assessment was conducted by ISET and VUPDA in preparation for a short professional training course, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation.

Authors: Dr. Michael DiGregorio (Senior Consultant to ISET-Vietnam) and Dr. Professor Do Hau (General Secretary of VUPDA)

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