Living labs – An approach to study and implement river management projects in Ho Chi Minh city
Quy hoạch và phát triển kè bờ sông Sài Gòn và sông, kênh nội thành và các giải pháp
để hoàn thành cơ bản kè sông Sài Gòn, sông và kênh nội thành vào năm 2025
LIVING LABS – AN APPROACH TO STUDY
AND IMPLEMENT RIVER MANAGEMENT
PROJECTS IN HO CHI MINH CITY
(LIVING LABS – MỘT CÁCH TIẾP CẬN
PHỤC VỤ NGHIÊN CỨU VÀ TRIỂN KHAI
CÁC DỰ ÁN QUẢN LÝ SÔNG, KÊNH RẠCH
TRÊN ĐỊA BÀN TP.HCM)
Mariana da Cunha Oliveira Santos3, Vu Thi Hong Hanh4
1Center of Water Management and Climate Change (WACC), Institute for Environment
and Resources (IER), Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh city (VNU - HCM)
2Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam
3Institute of City Planning and Urban Design, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen,
Germany
4Faculty of Architecture, University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City
Abstract
Ho Chi Minh city has a beautiful water landscape with populated rivers and
canals networks. Over the last few decades, however, the water system has been
compromisedas a result of water pollution, informal settlements, and unregulated
development. Consequently, the city has been working in order to improve the current
situation through various urban upgrading projects. While some promising international
projects through the World Bank, Japan and Belgiumhave undertaken efforts to
rehabilitate the river networks in HCMC, the city is still faced with multiple issues to
develop and implement multi-purpose and multi-functional river restoration projects.
Typical reasons for failurehave been attributed to limited time preparation, lack of
holistic perspectives, lack of stakeholder involvement, and limited implementation
capacity. In this paper, we introduce the concept of “Living Labs,” which includes five
main components: (1) Multi-Method Approach; (2) User Engagement; (3) Multi-
Stakeholder Participation; (4) Real-life Setting; (5) Innovation and co-Creation.Living
Labs offer to support the development and implementation of river management
projects in Ho Chi Minh city. We use the case of Xuyen Tam canal as an illustration of
how the concept can be implemented in practice.
*
Corresponding: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Hong Quan, Center of Water Management and Climate Change
(WACC), Institute for Environment and Resources (IER), Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh city
(VNU - HCM), Mobile: +84-908275996 [email protected]
62
Quy hoạch và phát triển kè bờ sông Sài Gòn và sông, kênh nội thành và các giải pháp
để hoàn thành cơ bản kè sông Sài Gòn, sông và kênh nội thành vào năm 2025
Introduction
The corollaries of encroachment are narrowing
and changing water flow, affecting sedimentation
Issues of Rivers and Canals in Ho Chi Minh
City
and agriculture, changing flood patterns, water
pollution and even drought; the corollary of
levelling and construction result in landslides
surrounding and within the riverbeds, limiting
water storage capacity and changing the natural
water patterns. Many canals are violated and
turned into sewers, inhibiting water flow
andresulting in stagnation, trash collection, and
promotion of water-born illnesses. Conversely,
people also build houses, roads and other public
and social infrastructure. Mr. Nguyen Van Hiep,
former Deputy Director of HCMC Department of
Construction, emphasized “the death ofrivers and
canals is definitely due to human factors;
however, the responsibility of Agency
management is very big and important,” thereby
suggesting deficiencies in capacity.
While the encroachment of riverbanks and
canals havegradually decreased in 2017 from the
previous year in HCMC, informal settlements
still remain a significant problem for the quality
of the water systems. Often, informal settlers and
development projects will intrudeand construct
on protected corridors of rivers and canals in the
city. In 2014, there were 360 infringement cases
on navigable canals, channels, and rivers that
have traffic function; 75 cases in 2017 and down
to 64 in 2018. According to Decision 22/2017 of
The People’s Committee, itstrictly prohibits all
acts of illegal encroachment ofland and using
land in wrong purposes or acts of causing harm.
This decision was a result of landslides which
affected the safety and stability of construction
works, thereby protectingriverbanks, streams,
canals ditches and public lakes. Department
branches and districts managers were
decentralized to further enable proper
management, delegating clear responsibilities
and regulations of water systems within their
jurisdiction. Even though they regularly inspect,
supervise and handle violations– achievinginitial
results - there remains a significant delay of
project implementationto renovate and embellish
the rivers and canals. This delay causes re-
encroachment and creates an unbreakable cycle
of river and canal degradation. According to Vu
Ngoc Long, the former Director of The Southern
Institute of Ecology, if “we are tardy for
restoration of the original function of canal
systems in HCMC, the city is forecasted to suffer
the terrible impact of climate change, the quality
of life of people will be severely affected within
10 to 20 years.”
Water pollution in Ho Chi Minh City
(HCMC) canals endures as major problem - with
no organized waste removal services and an
outdated sewage system that allows much of the
city’s used household water and toilet sewage to
be discharged directly into the canals. Public
media, governmental sources, and independent
research indicate that all canals in the city are
polluted with high levels of bacterial and
inorganic toxic agents and littered with solid
waste. So the channels and canals in HCMC have
been transformed from means of transportation
and flood control into an environmental hazard
and a slum area (Elena Givental 2014).
According to a report by the Ho Chi Minh City
Environmental Protection Agency, (HEPA,
meters of industrial wastewater, 17,000 cubic
meters of hospital wastewater, 500,000cubic
meters of domestic wastewater, 400–500 tons of
solid waste, and 300 tons of human waste are
disposed directly to the Ho Chi Minh City canals
daily (Nguyen Thi Van Ha et. al., 2008).
Noticeably, there are several backlog cases
that have yet to be handled. For instance, Tan
Hung Co, LTD. built illegal and embankment in
district 8, comprising of and electrical pole with
400 meters in length on the river route to Cho
Efforts from Ho Chi Minh City Government
Ho Chi Minh city has spent considerable time
Dem. In addition, households of Bui Thi Thanh and effort in the improvement of this situation.
Van in District 9 levelled and filled a canal Urban upgrading is one of seven key programs
branch of Ba Cua. Unmistakably, a series of approved by Ho Chi Minh City government. The
other long-standing violations have existed and objective of this program is to reorganize the
caused sizable damage to riverbeds and the communities who live along the rivers and canals
individuals dependent on these waterways. Not as well as degraded apartments. The upgrading
only are ecological issues a concern, but the program has not only improved the life quality of
challenges of social livelihoods deeply imbedded the upgraded communities but also improved the
in the river and canal networks.
water quality, reduced floods and created a
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Quy hoạch và phát triển kè bờ sông Sài Gòn và sông, kênh nội thành và các giải pháp
để hoàn thành cơ bản kè sông Sài Gòn, sông và kênh nội thành vào năm 2025
livable space for trees within new land Characteristics of a Living Lab (Evans et al.,
developments. Since 2000, the city has 2017)
implemented a number of projectssuch as: Nhieu
-Multi-Method Approach: The multi-method
Loc-Thi Nghe, Tan Hoa-Lo Gom, and Doi-Te.
approach includes numerous devices, systems
So far, there are about 36,000 households that
and techniques in order to achieve a similar
have been resettled within this program. There
vision.
are thousands of alleys, roads, and drainages that
-User Engagement: Encouraging all users to
engage and interact with the process.
have been upgraded. The face of Ho Chi Minh
City has been changing positively. The urban
space has been extended, and more urban
facilities have been provided together with new
land development areas. However, according to
the report from HCMC, there are still 20,000
household who are living near canals in degraded
and decaying apartments. These households
should be relocated and/or reconstructed.
However, this progress remains slow to
implement given limited capital resources as well
as legal arrangements. The main concernfor the
river upgrading program is resettlement. The
resettlementsmust ensure the livelihoods of
thousands peopleafter relocation.
-Multi-Stakeholder Participation: Allowing
stakeholders from all areas to participate,
-Including: Academia, Private Sector, Local
Authority, NGO’s, Locals, etc.
-Real-life Setting: Living Labs are intended to
deal with real situation, to implement trials and
to account for the present and future situation.
-Co-Creation: Through user engagement and
multi-stakeholder participation, new projects,
policies, ideas and technologies will be created
and tested.
Living Labs
Co-Creation
As mentioned, a considerable challenge
Vietnam faces in the wake of upcoming policy
and project proposals is that of implementability.
Many institutional solutions have already been
presented to local and national officials in
HCMC, but few have been successfully
executed, leaving uncertainties in the feasibility
of plan implementation and policy adoptability in
HCMC (Leeuwen et al., 2015), especially
concerning river rehabilitation. Due to this issue,
HCMC sees an integral need for a mechanism
that can provide an explanation for
unimplemented projects.Using Living Labs as a
solution to the implementation gap could be the
key to identify obstacles and challenges within
project proposals.
Multi-Method
Real-Life Setting
Approach
Multi-Stakeholder
User Enagement
Participation
Purpose
Through the use of living labs, complex
problems can be approached through the
perspectives of all stakeholders, especially
though the perspectives of business stakeholders
to ease the implementation of Public-Private
Partnerships. The Worldbank is also using Living
Labs as an innovative strategy mechanism for
developing countries (Ballon & Shuurman,
2015). Living Labs focus on the initial vision of
the project, which will then carry into the plan,
and ultimately leading towards implementation
of a multi-purpose solution. They are conducted
in real-life contexts that add value to user-
oriented innovation.
What is a Living Lab?
Although many definitions have been
attributed to Living Labs, it can mainly be
described as “an orchestrator of open innovation
processes focusing on co-creation of innovations
in real-world contexts by involving multiple
stakeholders with the objective to generate
sustainable value for all stakeholders focusing in
particular on the end-users” (Evans et al., 2017;
pg. 11). Accordingly, the term is associated with
five main characteristics.
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để hoàn thành cơ bản kè sông Sài Gòn, sông và kênh nội thành vào năm 2025
Vision
Plan
Implementation
Benefits of Living Labs
Living Labs as
Rehabilitation
a
Gateway to River
-
-
-
-
-
-
Innovation
PHUSICOS
Bottom-up Design Approach
Addresses Implementation Gap
Networking and Information Exchange
Technology Transfer
A prominent example of Living Labs within
the European context is the PHUSICOS project
within water-sensitive European mountainous
regions. The Intent of PHUSICOS was to
implement nature-based solutions involving the
quadruple helix model – government, industry,
academia and civil servants. In order for
PHUSICOS to succeed, the European Union
identified the need for multi-stakeholder
participation and expertise in implementation of
research, development and innovation projects
(RDI’s). The Living Lab model is employed to
effectively acknowledge the implementability
gap and has been distinguished as a successful
approach to high-creative solution design
(European Commission, 2018).
By using the living labs approach and involving
an interface environment between stakeholders,
the project was able to “to solve important
research questions and generate new insights to
key impact factors supporting a functioning
Living Lab approach in the context of sustainable
land use planning, NBS implementation and
Increased Understanding
Within
the methodology
perspective,
processes such as data transfer and methods for
user involvement are highlighted. There are
basically three phases:
a) Organizational level: Where the living lab
is a set of actors and stakeholders organized to
enable
and
foster
innovation.
These
organizations tend to be public-private
partneships (Leminen, 2013);
b) Project level: Where Living lab activities
take place following a mostly organization
specific methodology in order to foster
innovation;
c) User activity level: Where the various
assets and capabilities of the living lab
organization manifest themselves as separate
activities where users and stakeholders are
involved.
d) This resonates with design thinking, which
proposes an iterative approach, based on
‘analysis’ and ‘synthesis’, that facilitates
experimental learning, and alternates between
divergent thinking and convergent thinking
(Brown, 2008; u4loT; 2019). Action research is
climate
change
mitigation”
(European
Commission, 2018; pg. 12). The benefits
provided by involving a Living Labs approach
has positively affected the outcome of the
PHUSICOS
project
through
problem
identification and innovation technology, as well
as the creation of new projects. These included
the Green Surge Project and the Isar River
restoration project.
then used as
methodologies out of concrete cases and projects,
carried out within the Living Lab
(Dell’Era&Landoni, 2014).
a
method to build these
Green Surge
Ultimately, Living Labs have the ability to
produce better projects and to realize
opportunities and barriers within unimplemented
projects. Living Labs have been used in
sustainability concepts, smart mobility, river and
basin restoration, and cultural preservation.
Through the use of co-collaboration, problem
areas are identified, visions are formed, and plans
are implemented. The success of many of these
projects reiterates the need for a steady channel
of communication through various stakeholders -
an environment which Living Labs can provide.
The Green Surge project was established
through the European Commission’s Seventh
Framework Programme as an initiative that
involved the Living Labs methodology. The
project’s aim was to test different ways to
connect green spaces and people in the “context
of land use conflicts, climate change adaptation,
demographic changes, and human health and
wellbeing” (European Commission, 2018; pg.
18).
Amidst these challenges, the innovative and
bottom-up approach of the Living Lab’s
environment allowed for interesting lessons and
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Quy hoạch và phát triển kè bờ sông Sài Gòn và sông, kênh nội thành và các giải pháp
để hoàn thành cơ bản kè sông Sài Gòn, sông và kênh nội thành vào năm 2025
results of the project. The Living Labs were Living Labs as Cultural Preservation
established in five urban cities throughout
Throughout many countries in Asia, Living Labs
Europe, providing a continuous co-production of
have been explored for the purpose of cultural
knowledge demand and knowledge supply,
preservation. For example, the capital of the
which allowed for tailor-made recommendations
West Java Province, Banding, is utilizing a
for each city as well as in a broader European
collaborative approach with local officials,
context. As a result of the living lab, the project
specialist architects, academics and local citizens
was able to form Learning Alliances, therein
to develop open areas as ‘smart green spaces.’
forming an intensive knowledge exchange. They
Problem areas were identified in safety and
identified areas of green that could be connected
transportation concerns with underutilized plots.
for better performance, and they implemented
As a result, they have newly organized festivals
new policies and regulations for green space
from an emerging civil society called the BCCF,
maintenance and gave policy-makers new-
innovative designs for new parks, and new bike
founded
confidence
on
urban
green-
sharing and pedestrian schemes. This also
prompted major financial investment through the
city’s initiative (Mangano et al., 2016).
infrastructure technology and implementation
(Mattiissen et al., 2017).
Isar River, Germany
Living Labs can also be seen in the Southeast
Asian Creative Cities Network comprised of
Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines and
Thailand. This initiative formed as a result of a
lack of permanent spaces to share knowledge and
a lack of participant cities. The Living Lab is
composed of representatives from ten different
cities, the British Counsel, CMU STeP and
Creative Chiangmai, while involving local
experts and citizens. There is an abundant
exchange of ideas, resources and expertise to
expand the countries involved. Joint bids for
public agency or private funding were formed,
which allowed for the creation of competitions,
joint activities, events and symposiums
(Mangano et al., 2016). Overall, this initiative
has fostered a more creative environment and
focused on the value of innovative thinking.
Isar River, Germany, used Living Labs as a
mechanism for river rehabilitation. Through
living labs, the project was able to identify gaps
within the flood protection strategy, identifying
water capacity deficiencies of German damns in
the instances of flood. Also, local authority and
citizens were involved to address the water
quality of the river, in addition to involving
scientists to address the water flow speed to
support ecological and social functions. It had
been discovered that channeling the river
weakened the flow strength of the river, with
caused problems for citizens and sedimentation
flow. Furthermore, the poor aesthetic of the river
due to grey infrastructure initiatives was
addressed and corrected. As a result, the Living
Lab environment addressed specific problems
with the Isar River, summoned stakeholders,
created a vision, gathered appropriate funding
and implemented a plan. The outcome proved to
be highly successful (Mattiissen et al., 2017).
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Xuyen Tam Canal
Introduction
result, local residents have been living in
City is well known for dense canal/waterway
networks which played critical roles in its spatial,
social cultural and economic characteristics;
differently defined through history; of which
those with more layers of usages overtime should
generate more values than those of vacancy and
ignorance. Among those, Xuyen Tam seem
belongs to the second category which, for along
time, gradually occupied by informal settlements
and usages.
Committee in 2002, includedimprovement in
sanitation practices, infrastructure construction,
and urban landscape planning. Yet, it has not
been implemented because of difficulties to
secure investment, even though investment
capital has been steadily increasing in works of
compensatory and construction. There is also the
issue of re-encroachment, which further delays
construction efforts. Therefore, the city has
recognized a need for contributions of relevant
stakeholders, such as HCMC departments,
university researchers, construction agencies, and
other applicable agents to evaluate advantages
and disadvantages of implementing the Xuyen
Tam channel rehabilitation project in the near
future.
Compared to other historically significant
canals such as Tau Hu Ben Nghe, Kenh Te, Kenh
Doi, ad Nhieu Loc Thi Nghe, Xuyen Tam is
rather small and less important to the foundation
and development of the city. However, the fact
that it runs across only Binh Thanh District, its
curvy shape, its shallow and narrow are
somehow distinctive and potential for locally
community-based upgrading activities.
Since 1990s, some major canal upgrading
projects have been carried out, helped transform
some waterfront sections to better conditions,
evidenced along canals such as Nhieu loc Thi
Nghe, Tau Hu Ben Nghe, Tan Hoa Lo Gom, etc.
However, it is argued that apart from the water
and spatial qualities’ improvements, valuable
community – based social cultural characteristics
have been missed; the spatial patterns along sides
waterways have also controversial due to the
removals
of
many
significant
buildings/architecture, the chaotic building
scales, heights, shapes, sizes, densities, setbacks
and landuses. These are challenges for Xuyen
Tam channel rehabilitation that need more
innovative approaches.
Current Issues
Xuyen Tam channel flows through Binh
Thanh District with a subcatchment of 600
hectares and a length of 8.2 km, including 6.2 km
of the main route connecting Nhieu Loc-Thi
Nghe canal to Vam Thuat river and 2 km
consisting of 3 total branches (Son Bridge,
BinhTrieu and BinhLoi). This channel is one of
the most polluted HCMC waterways due to the
domestic waste of over 2,000 households living
along it. Additionally, the channel cross section
is narrowing due to encroachment on the
riverbanksfrom illegal settlements, and excess
sedimentation from a lack of dredging. As a
†https://web.archive.org/web/20171120164452/https://
tuoitre.vn/song-o-noi-o-nhiem-nhat-tp-hcm-
20171118170223132.htm
‡http://www.sggp.org.vn/tap-trung-suc-va-luc-cai-tao-
rach-xuyen-tam-609442.html
67
Quy hoạch và phát triển kè bờ sông Sài Gòn và sông, kênh nội thành và các giải pháp
để hoàn thành cơ bản kè sông Sài Gòn, sông và kênh nội thành vào năm 2025
The layout of Xuyen Tam channel. (Source: Internet, Googel Map)
-
NGOs
Application of “Living Lab” in the Context of
3. Multi-StakeholderParticipation
Xuyen Tam Canal
-
-
-
-
Vision development and sharing
Action plan development
Call for investment
The five characteristics of Living Labs have been
applied to the case of Xuyen Tam Canal. Below
are the displayed mechanisms to improve the
project’s outcome:
Implementation and Monitoring
4. Real-life Setting
1. Multi-Method Approach
-
-
-
-
-
Public works
-
MOTA analysis of implementation possibility
(Ho et al. 2015, Nguyen et al, 2019)
Waste management
Plastic waste management
Local livelihoods
-
-
Multi-purpose landscape planning
Circular economy business model
Environmental monitoring
2. User Engagement
5. Innovation and co-Creation
-
-
-
-
-
Land developers
International donors
Local authorities
Business partners
Local communities
-
-
-
-
Smart city
Flood resilience
Public and green space
Business models
Conclusion
Encroachment of the river and canal systems
in Ho Chi Minh City persists as a leading cause
of water pollution, flooding and ecological
degradation. This can have serious consequences
on the livelihoods of citizens and overall
resiliency of HCMC, especially concerning water
68
Quy hoạch và phát triển kè bờ sông Sài Gòn và sông, kênh nội thành và các giải pháp
để hoàn thành cơ bản kè sông Sài Gòn, sông và kênh nội thành vào năm 2025
management. It is still difficult, however, for the improvement in project outcomes. We also
city to solve water-related issues givenlack of introduced the case study of canal rehabilitation
holistic perspectives - lack of stakeholder for Xuyen Tam Canal, proposing Living Labs as
involvement, limited implementation capacities, a viable solution to acquire funding, implement
and inadequate solution proposals.
new technology and involve all stakeholders in
order to co-Create and identify implementation
gaps. Accordingly, we would like to stress the
importance ofLiving Labsas a new, integrated
approach with numerous advantages which can
offer a solution for HCMC’s water crisis.
In this paper, we introduced the concept of
“Living Labs” with several examples in the
world, primarily Europe and Southeast Asia.
Living Labs can be used in both environmental
and social contexts and provides demonstrated
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