Background information

All global comparative country studies list Vietnam as a country which will be extremely vulnerable to climate change in the future because of its topography. The metropolis and economic center Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) north of the Mekong Delta is particularly affected. Even today, HCMC has to struggle with climate-related problems whose impacts are brought about or intensified by shortcomings in managing rapid urban growth, in spatial urban planning and in urban infrastructure management. Against the background of climate change, it is necessary to carry out a well-founded examination of the consequences for urban development as well as substantial countermeasures on all levels of urban development planning.

As a densely built-up urban area in a low-lying region, HCMC has been historically sensitive to climatic effects. However, the vulnerabilities of lives and livelihoods to climate-related environmental processes are primarily the result of inadequate and unsustainable urban development practices associated with complex natural settings and societal structures. This combination of factors results in a high degree of physical and social vulnerability in most parts of HCMC. Vulnerability analysis of these climate-related natural processes and the enhancement of adaptive capacities are major challenges, as the areas prone to potential climate-related impacts vary and overlap with respect to their spatial scope, time and social environment. Since the adverse impacts of climate change will affect the land-use structures, the population and the natural resources of HCMC, efficient planned adaptation responses must be based on sitespecific designations within the decision-making processes of urban planning and development in HCMC.

The current research will build upon the findings of the preliminary phase. These include, among others, the extensive knowledge of all aspects of urban development in HCMC and of the institutions and stakeholders involved. In addition, analytical tools such as the environmental information system developed in the work to date will be further developed for application in the main phase. The requirements for sustainable neighborhood models and building typologies from the first phase of the research project will be further developed with emphasis on energy-efficiency and climate-appropriateness.