Urban Spaces and Livelihoods in Hanoi, Vietnam

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But many vendors are finding ways around the Cong An (public security) and are still managing to sell goods in certain areas. The term “desperate times=desperate measures” can be applied to these people as they are risking being caught to sell goods to feed their own. One vendor speaks about how he can do it;

“I move around but I never enter the Old Quarter and especially avoid Hang Dao Street since I have been caught by police whenever I enter that street”

Many vendors learn the times that the security and police are off-duty and open their stalls at these times. One vendor interviewed said that she only opens her stall on a one way street on a Sunday when she know the police are off.

This social group of vendors are also most similar to outlaws and are earning a living through a dangerous lifestyle all because of a Legislation. It has completely changed how they live and work. Whereas in contrast to this the middle class who are very wealthy in Hanoi are building lavish houses and currently in Hanoi there is a massive demand for them. This group of people are glad that the streets are being “cleaned” and made less busy. They have no problem shopping in the new malls because they can afford to. There is little thought given to where the food is coming from and less again given to the lives of the people selling them. Many aspects of the new modernisation suit the average middle class citizen and this is part of urbanization.

In conclusion I believe that every major city in the world must go through modernization to keep up with the standards of the modern day but in a city such as Hanoi where it is steeped in culture and in history I believe exceptions can be made. Hanoi is only one of a few cities to be 1000 years old and this is a reason in itself for the city not to become too modernized. Being so old history has to be at the heart as does the ways of life that have gone on for centuries. These include the vendors and stalls and all that goes with it. If the people want them so much and are willing to fight for them then be less lenient on them and given them more freedom. At the end of the day these people are doing this for their livelihoods and their families also, not just as a job.

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References

“wet markets or supermarkets” Vietnamesegod.blogspot.ie posted by Van Cong Tu

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Thao Thi Vu

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(Ed.) (2006) Contested Space: Street Trading, Public Space, and Livelihoods in Developing Cities. Rugby: ITDG Publishing

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