A small upland city gets a big make-over: Local responses to state ‘modernity’ plans for Là o Cai, Vietnam

Youssef Henein, Thi-Thanh-Hien Pham and Sarah Turner
Additional contact information
Youssef Henein: Student Alumni, Canada
Thi-Thanh-Hien Pham: Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada
Sarah Turner: McGill University, Canada

Urban Studies, 2019, vol. 56, issue 16, 3432-3449

Abstract: Since 1986, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has undergone tremendous upheavals in urban growth, city planning and market integration. Yet the complex transformations underway in small cities and towns, especially those in uplands regions, and their impacts on residents’ livelihoods, have been relatively ignored to date in the academic literature. Drawing on small cities and everyday politics concepts, we examine the contested relationships between a socialist state bent on completing a major urban make-over for an upland small city, and the reactions and strategies of local residents. From its historical roots as a small border trading post and colonial garrison town in the late 1800s, Là o Cai has now grown to be a key node on the Greater Mekong Sub Regions’ Eastern Corridor. Urban planning has taken a distinctively ‘modern’ turn since the early 1990s, and the contemporary city reflects a curious blend of socialist urban planning ideals, state visions of modernity and the everyday realities of the local population. Great efforts are being made by city officials and developers to copy the urban forms of Vietnam’s large low-land cities, while concurrently ignoring many of the basic needs of the local population, revealing sharp inequalities. Nonetheless, residents are subtly pushing back against the state’s plans via a range of strategies that also highlight the nuances of inhabiting a small upland city.

Keywords: border city; everyday politics; Là o Cai; small city; socialist urban planning; Vietnam; 边境城市; 日常政治; è€ è¡—å¸‚ï¼ˆLà oCai）; å° åŸŽå¸‚; 社会主义城市规划; è¶Šå — (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:56:y:2019:i:16:p:3432-3449

DOI: 10.1177/0042098018814725

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