Hanoi Adopts '15-Minute City' Urban Model
The city of Hanoi is advancing plans based on the “15-minute city” concept, aiming to develop accessible, mixed-use, and sustainable neighborhoods. The adoption of this model in Vietnam reflects a global trend in urban planning that shares ambitions with similar Dutch efforts to create livable, human-scaled urban environments.
- Hanoi's adoption of the 15-minute city model is part of a broader "Master Plan" with a vision extending to 2065, which aims to restructure the capital into a multi-polar urban cluster. This long-term strategy also includes developing nine distinct growth poles and creating smart city infrastructure based on digital platforms and AI. - The concept was developed by Professor Carlos Moreno of the Sorbonne University and is structured around four main principles: density, proximity, diversity, and digitization, aiming to ensure residents can access six essential functions (living, working, commerce, health, education, and entertainment) within a short walk or bike ride. - This focus on localized urban development comes as the re-established Dutch Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning, led by Minister Mona Keijzer since July 2024, is tackling a major housing shortage. The ministry recently designated 127 locations for building 1.65 million new homes by 2050. - The Netherlands has a national goal of achieving a fully circular economy by 2050, with the construction sector identified as a key priority. This national strategy requires the building sector to significantly reduce material consumption and reuse waste, a principle that aligns with the resource efficiency goals of compact city models. - European cities are increasingly using AI and digital twins to model and manage urban environments, a trend reflected in Hanoi's "AI First" approach to improving public sector productivity. The European Commission is actively developing a suite of AI-powered tools to help urban planners create digital replicas of cities to simulate traffic flow, infrastructure needs, and environmental policies. - Dutch urban planning has long incorporated people-centric design principles similar to the 15-minute city. For example, the town of Houten was designed with an innovative ring road that keeps cars on the periphery, creating a central spine for pedestrians and cyclists, and has twice been named "Cycling City of the Netherlands." - Digitalization is a key enabler of circular construction, with initiatives like the Madaster platform creating material passports for buildings. This allows materials to be tracked and reused, as seen in projects like the Circl pavilion in Amsterdam, where window frames were sourced from old offices and insulation was made from worn-out jeans. - The Hanoi master plan projects the city's population will reach 15-16 million by 2045 and stabilize under 20 million by 2100, with urban construction land planned to cover 55-60% of the total area by 2065.
