Solution for development of five satellite cities in Hanoi
SOLUTION FOR DEVELOPMENT OF FIVE SATELLITE
CITIES IN HANOI
Dr. Nguyen Kim Hoang
Dr. Nguyen Huu Doan
Faculty of Urban & Environmental Economics and Management,
National Economics University, Hanoi, Vietnam
Abstract
The population residing in urban areas has been rapidly increasing, especially in
the developing world, giving rise to the need for cities and urban establishments to adapt
and grow with the change. Satellite cities were developed to shift the population from
congested urban areas to new developments established nearby. The paper assesses five
satellite cities in Hanoi to explore the potential of this form of development as a
sustainable tool for planners in the 21st century.
Keywords: Hanoi, satellite cities, sustainability, urbanization.
1. Introduction
According to estimates by the United Nations, 66% of the world‘s population will
be living in urban areas by 2050, upward from 54% today (United Nations, 2014). The
rural to urban migration is not only adding a large number of new residents to cities but
also putting pressure on the resources and infrastructure of these metropolitan areas.
Additionally, the influx of people into Hanoi has environmental consequences that
can adversely impact economic activity and public health (Luan Duy, L. 2014). Increase in
population density, socio-economic disparities and infrastructure problems arise that stress
the need for sustainable city planning to result in the efficient running of Hanoi (Divya, L.,
and Helga-Jane, S. 2018). Hence, developing sustainable greenfield sites is one way of
absorbing some of the pressure. Satellite cities are one form of greenfield developments.
2. Method
The paper will seek to explore the five cases of Soc Son, Son Tay, Xuan Mai, Phu
Xuyen and Hoa Lac. If designed and built efficiently by conforming to sustainable land use
and environmental principles, the development of satellite cities can potentially alleviate
the issue of overcrowding in Hanoi without resulting in urban sprawl, as well as help
reconnect nature with urban life. However, the research was limited by the availability of
information. Data on certain indicators was not available for the towns, which is why they
had to be excluded from the analysis. Furthermore, the most current information on the
satellite cities in Hanoi was also not available for certain indicators.
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3. Results
3.1. Literature review
The Oxford dictionary of Architecture define satellite towns as:
―Towns that are self-contained and limited in size, built in the vicinity of a large
town or city to house and employ those who would otherwise create a demand for
expansion of the existing settlement, but dependent on the parent-city for population and
major services.‖
The definition continues to state that satellite towns were influenced by Garden
Cities and makes the distinctions between consumer-satellites that are essentially
dormitory suburbs, and production-satellites that include the capacity for commercial,
industrial and production facilities.
As Hall (2014) explains, Garden Cities were designed to move people away from the
slums and the smoke of industrial towns and into new, self-contained towns that were built in
open countryside. The idea as explained in Howard‘s famous ‗Three Magnets‘ diagram shown
in Figure 1, was to combine the best of town and country in a new settlement. This meant
merging the economic and social opportunities of the town with the fresh air and nature of the
countryside. The towns were to be locally managed and self-governed with services provided
by the municipality or by the private sector, whichever was more efficient.
Figure 1: Ebenezer Howard's 'The Three Magnets' (Howard, 1902)
In the context of town planning, the question arises about indicators of
sustainability. Astleithner et al (2004) write about sustainability indicators stating that they
should be measurable over space and time. In a report published by Sustainable Cities
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International in 2012, the authors note that while there is no ‗one size fits all‘ method for
developing a sustainability plan for municipalities, there are common aspects that can be
considered while designing a plan. A 2015 report titled ‗Indicators for sustainable cities‘
published by the European Commission discusses the available range of sustainability
indicators and frameworks and how to choose between them.
The report states that while selecting an appropriate framework, the purpose for its
use needs to first be defined. The framework can be used as an explanatory tool, pilot tool
or performance assessment tool. The report also states that it is important to identify
categories that are most relevant to measuring progress towards sustainable development.
The categories, as delineated above, include social, economic and environmental
sustainability. Social sustainability relates to subjects like community development, health
equity, social justice and livability. Economic sustainability covers indicators that measure
a nation‘s ability to support a certain level of economic production. Environmental
sustainability covers topics that relate to a city‘s harmony with nature.
Furthermore, the framework should be applicable across different urban areas to
allow for comparisons. Thus, the availability of data and its standardization should be
taken into account when considering elements of the framework. Finally, the report notes
that indicator sets should be locally relevant and be able to reflect the geographical and
social context of the urban area in question.
Many states and municipalities have used sustainability frameworks to guide and
monitor the sustainability objectives applied to their towns. While sustainability has
become a bigger agenda in town planning and management post the 1980s, some of the
objectives of 20th century satellite cities include self-containment of towns, providing a
wide range of housing and creating towns that are in harmony with nature and protected
from environmental pollution. These objectives are echoed in some of the social, economic
and environmental sustainability indicators included in the frameworks applied today.
In the 20th century, Satellite Towns were introduced to reduce congestion in large
urban centers by relocating people and jobs to the new developments (Philips and Yeh,
1987). In Britain, these new developments represented the ideas inherent in the original
Garden Cities of Letchworth and Welwyn. They were intended to be limited in size and
surrounded by open space. The towns were also intended to be self-contained through the
provision of housing, employment and recreation to form a complete urban environment.
Land uses in these towns, however, were separated and in some cases, social grouping in
neighborhoods, based on income classes, was encouraged.
Philips and Yeh (1987) also note that self-containment has been a major objective
of New Town developments, but they add that it has rarely been truly achieved. They posit
that this is because self-containment has a multitude of dimensions, including balancing
housing with employment, employment with skills of residents, housing with respect to
different social groups as well as provision of services for all. If a balance is not achieved
in any of these areas, the decision has to be made to connect the town with the central city
through adequate transportation systems. This provision, further reduces the self-
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containment of the satellite towns as residents commute to the central city for better
employment opportunities and social activities.
Cervero (1995), however, notes that this may not necessarily be a bad thing. He
writes about the New Towns of Stockholm that were developed in the mid 20th century in
an orbit around the center of the city and connected via a regional rail system. He explains
how planners intended to make these towns self-contained by distributing industry and
offices proportionately with respect to the residential population of the towns.
The importance of public transit in achieving a sustainable city is highlighted by
various authors. Newman and Kenworthy (1996) assess the land use-transport connection
and the problems associated with unconnected automobile cities. According to them, the
automobile dream turned into a nightmare when the easy access to individualized locations
led to an exponential increase in traffic. They went on to outline the problems associated
with such levels of automobile dependence stating severe environmental issues, economic
inefficiency and lack of a community as some of the larger issues. They recommend
transit-oriented development as one of the solutions to these issues.
3.2. Characteristics of satellite cities in Hanoi and shortcomings in management
According to the master plan for Hanoi‘s socio-economic development by 2030,
with a vision to 2050, the capital will develop based on a model of urban clusters, with one
central urban area and five satellite cities connected to it by a belt-transport system.
The central urban area will be expanded from the city center in four directions,
including the enlarged areas to Belt Road No 4 in the west and south, to Me Linh and
Dong Anh districts in the north, and to Gia Lam and Long Bien districts in the east.
The central urban area and five satellite cities will be separated by green corridors, which
will account for 70 percent of the city‘s natural areas. The five satellite cities - Hoa Lac, Son Tay,
Xuan Mai, Phu Xuyen and Soc Son – will each have specific functions, with the purpose of
sharing the demand with the urban centre in terms of housing, training, industry and services.
Figure 2: Five satellite cities in Hanoi
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Accordingly, Hoa Lac satellite city will have the main function of serving science-
technology, and training. Son Tay satellite city has been selected as the urban area of
historic culture, resort tourism focusing on the Son Tay Citadel preservation zone, Duong
Lam ancient village and developing the center for tourism associated with Xuan Khanh
lake, training services, health and the new urban. Xuan Mai satellite city will be the urban
area of services - industries supporting the development of small industries and craft
village systems. Phu Xuyen satellite city is dedicated to industry, transportation hubs, and
transshipment of goods. Soc Son satellite city will focus on the development of industry
and air services, eco-resort tourism, forming the Mai Dinh industrial zone and clean
industrial zones, medical centers, universities zone.
Table 1: Population of satellite cities in Hanoi
Satellite cities
Hoa Lac
Planning area (ha)
Population in 2030 ( thousands)
18000
4000
4500
2500
5500
600
186
220
127
250
Son Tay
Xuan Mai
Phu Xuyen
Soc Son
Characteristics of satellite cities in Hanoi
The administrative boundary of some satellite cities is in two and three districts,
such as Hoa Lac, Phu Xuyen and Son Tay satellite city. There are two satellite cities
covering only one part of the district - Xuan Mai and Soc Son satellite city. The
administrative boundaries and decentralization have caused difficulties for the coordination
and operation among the levels of city government and central agencies in the plan
implementation and administrative management in satellite cities.
The satellite cities of Hanoi are planned on the basis of towns and communes with
different nature, size and development levels. Currently, Son Tay satellite city is class 3
city with a history of hundred years of development (World Bank, 2011). The other
satellite cities are parts or subdivisions of some suburban districts, including most of the
country side communes. This difference in levels of urban development requires
appropriate policies for each satellite city in development investment and management.
Authorities of satellite cities are different. Hoa Lac satellite city located on the
boundary of Quoc Oai, Thach That districts and Son Tay Town, but competent to approve the
planning and management of development investment under the Central Government. The
other satellite cities have boundaries in districts and towns under the management of districts
and towns, such as Xuan Mai satellite city in Chuong My district, Soc Son satellite city in Soc
Son district, Son Tay satellite city in Son Tay town, Phu Xuyen satellite city includes Phu
Xuyen district and a part of Thuong Tin district, thus be managed by both districts.
Hanoi's satellite cities are subjected to intense competition from cities, provinces
and cities in the Capital and the Northern Key Economic Zone. Hence, the satellite cities of
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Hanoi can be considered as a system of urban center in the region such as Nam Dinh, Bac
Ninh, Thai Nguyen and Vinh Phuc province.
Issues in satellite city management
Owners who manage the satellite cities are not clearly defined. In the legal
documents of Hanoi as well as the Government use the word "satellite city" without
defining it is city or town. In Vietnam, the organization system of administrative units does
not have a satellite city model, so finding a suitable management model for satellite cities
in Hanoi needs to be studied when most of them are located on the administrative border of
the town and suburban districts. This is a problem that managers do not pay attention to
which causing other problems.
The interlacing of administrative boundaries and decentralization make it difficult
for administrative management in satellite cities. Satellite cities and central city are
dependent on the nature and function, but satellite cities still need to be an independent
administrative unit with administrative authority to manage. Urban management following
to "Town" model as in the case of the Son Tay satellite city also needs to have decisions to
merge Cam Thuong commune of Ba Vi district into Son Tay town and transfer the
communes of Son Tay to Hoa Lac.
Overlap planning. The master plan for satellite cities has been approved by the
People's Committee of Hanoi in 2014-2015 but during that time the People's Committee
approved the master plan for the districts construction. District Committee must implement
both types of planning which highly overlapping, and otherwise when implementing the
plan, the district will not care about the territory has been planned into satellite cities,
because satellite cities are directly under the city. Expectation in investment capital from
the city is very probable.
Lack of co-operation mechanism. At present, satellite cities in Hanoi and central
city do not have any cooperation mechanism. The question is that Hanoi needs to develop
a suitable cooperation form between each satellite city and the central city in the direction
of building a satellite city to reduce the pressure on the central city in terms of population,
employment, transportation and environment. However, before making a cooperation
mechanism, it is necessary to identify the management owners.
3.3. Solutions for satellite city development in Hanoi
The development of satellite cities is a trend that many major cities in the world as
well as in Vietnam. The construction and development of satellite cities in Hanoi are seen
as a matter of urgency. They require a comprehensive plan and appropriate and attractive
mechanism and policies. To achieve this goal, there should be a legal framework for
effective management and cooperation between satellite cities and central city to ensure no
contradict about rights and responsibilities.
Building a satellite city management model
Building the management model appropriate to the nature and level of development
of each satellite city and meeting the immediate and long-term requirements is very
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necessary. The identification of urban authorities will determine the management and solve
administrative management issues in satellite cities. Law on Organization of Local
Government (No. 77/2015/QH13 passed by the National Assembly on June 19, 2015) has
defined city government under the Cities under the Central Government (like the cities under
the province). This would allow urban administration in large cities such as Hanoi to organize
and manage satellite cities following the model of the city directly under the province.
Strengthening the planning management of satellite city
To review the general planning of satellite cities and general planning of districts
and towns. Assessing the use of land in industrial parks and new urban areas in satellite
city. Satellite city planning should clarify and specify the function and criteria of satellite
cities. Build specific characteristics for satellite cities to increase the value of land and real
estate in the future. Specially, consider adding indicators for green urban planning,
ecological and smart city to contribute to specific values for satellite cities, improve
utilities and quality of life for people.
Develop regulations on planning and management for each satellite city, including
the regulations on development, urban development indicators, planning indicators, land
use regulations, etc.
Developing cooperation mechanism between central city and satellite cities
Developing a cooperative mechanism is very important for connecting the satellite
city economy to the central urban economy in order to improve the competitiveness in
order to increase the "attractiveness" of satellite city. Firstly, Hanoi authority develops an
investment mechanism to attract foreign investment and private investment in the
construction of projects in satellite cities. Furthermore, develop mechanisms for coordination
between administrative units (districts) related ministries and agencies (Ministry of
Construction, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Education and Training) in
the process of planning and investment in construction, management and operation of
satellite cities.
Strengthening the investment of infrastructure construction
In order to increase the "attractiveness" of satellite cities, the infrastructure should be
nicely built, synchronous and modern in the direction of Smart city meeting the traffic demand
from the central urban area to the satellite cities. In addition to the planned transportation
system, organizing additional bus routes, especially BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) should be
considered, which is connected the central urban bus stations to the satellite cities and satellite
cities to each other. Upgrading bus services to encourage people to use buses between
downtown and satellite cities. Construction of a parking system for the use of public transport.
Building a transport network linking the modes of transport in satellite cities.
In order to connect the central urban area to the satellite cities, it is necessary to carry
out the general planning of Hanoi capital to renovate the National highways and other
highways; Building some of new roads (Tay Thang Long road connected with Son Tay
satellite city, Ho Tay - Ba Vi road connected to Hoa Lac satellite city and Ba Vi area, Ha
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Dong - Xuan Mai road connected to Xuan Mai satellite city. Ngoc Hoi-Phu Xuyen road link
with Phu Xuyen satellite city); Construction of urban rail lines extends to satellite cities.
However, the completion of the above transportation system requires a lot of resources.
Improve satellite city development policy
To attract FDI in order to implement developing satellite cities, Hanoi‘s authorities
must accelerate administrative reform; improve the processes of planning, investment,
building and taxation to support businesses. Numerous trade promotion activities will also
be held to attract more domestic and foreign investment. The city has been tackling
obstacles overseas investors face in a bid to draw more foreign direct investment and boost
socio-economic development. Branches and ministerial departments are required to listen
to the complaints of foreign-invested enterprises and offer solutions in a timely manner. In
turn, foreign investors are asked to implement their licensed projects on schedule.
4. Discussion and Conclusion
Discussion: Hanoi's satellite city centered theory is not only five urban areas as
Hanoi has planned, but many urban systems in the region such as Nam Dinh, Bac Ninh,
Thai Nguyen and Vinh Phuc. The distance between the central city and the satellite city
can be 80-120 km by car. The urban areas in Nam Dinh, Bac Ninh, Thai Nguyen and Vinh
Phuc are capable reduce the pressure on Hanoi?
Conclusion: In order to develop the five planned satellite cities, Hanoi should
implement synchronous solutions. For each satellite city, it is possible to emphasize certain
solutions. All solutions are aimed at developing satellite cities, creating the "attractiveness"
of satellite cities. Hanoi's satellite cities are subject to fierce competition from cities in the
Capital Region and the Northern Key Economic Region. However, it should be noted that
this also contributed to reducing the pressure on the capital in the process of urbanization.
5. References
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and indicators - The discourse about indicators in the context of sustainability. Journal of
Housing and the Built Environment, 19(1), 7-24.
3. Cervero, R. (1995). Sustainable new towns: Stockholm's rail-served satellites.
Cities, 12(1), 41-51.
4. Decision of the Prime Minister No: 1259 / QĐ-TTg dated 26/7/2011 approving
the master plan for construction of Hanoi capital up to 2030 with a vision to 2050
5. Divya, L., & Helga-Jane, S. (2018). The new Hanoi: Opportunities and
challenges for future urban development. Cities 72, pp 70-81
6. Geertman, S. (2010). Urban development trends in Hanoi & impact on ways of
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8. Howard, E. (1902). Garden cities of tomorrow. London, England: Routledge
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communities in Hanoi. Vietnam Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, 181.
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