How do youths get to Hanoi’s public spaces? Do they walk, cycle, ride their motorbikes? How is the urban environment and distribution of public spaces across the city facilitating or constraining access to different types of formal public spaces?

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Accessibility Diagnostic

Distribution, distance, time of travel and obstacles on the way to Hanoi's Public Gardens, Parks and Bodies of Water.

PUBLIC GARDENS
Public gardens are predominantly located in the inner-city.
In that zone, many residents are at a reasonable walking distance to a public garden (500-900 metres).
But obvious gaps throughout the city point to unequal accessibility to these small – but no less important – public spaces.
The situation is more problematic at the city’s periphery. There, residents often have to travel over 3 kms from their residence to access a public garden.
This represents a round trip walk of over an hour.
PUBLIC PARKS
The city’s public parks are also concentrated in central districts.
Still, a large portion of inner-city residents live more than 900 metres away from a park.
For the youths who still choose to go to the park, this translates into significant travel times.
We found, for instance, that 60% of youth users travel over 20 minutes (by foot, bus, motorbike or bicycle) to get to Lenin Memorial park.
BODIES OF WATER
Lakes and ponds are well-distributed throughout Hanoi.
In comparison to public gardens and parks, residents benefit from better access these public spaces.
The preservation and enhancement of access to bodies of water is essential to Hanoian’s quality of life.

MAPS OF SPATIAL ACCESSIBILITY

to Hanoi's Public Gardens, Parks and Bodies of Water, in 2010, with service areas of 500m, 900m and 3000m

PUBLIC GARDENS
Distance to Public Gardens:
3000m 900m 500m
Public Gardens Bodies of Water
PUBLIC PARKS
Distance to Parks:
3000m 900m 500m
Parks Bodies of Water
BODIES OF WATER
Distance to Bodies of Water:
3000m 900m 500m
Bodies of Water

ACTIVE TRAVEL MODES

TRAVEL MODES OF RESPONDANTS (n=132)

Hanoi is a highly motorized city.
Yet youths rely predominantly on active travel modes to go to the park:
0%
Over half of respondents usually go to the park by foot

However…

    Nearly 30% come on a motorbike
    And only 6% come by public transit (bus)

OBSTACLES

Besides issues related to the uneven distribution of formal public spaces across Hanoi, potential and actual users must cope with various obstacles on their way to these places.

Two types of obstacle stand out:

HEAT
0%
Over one third of respondents cited HEAT as the major obstacle they faced during a typical trip to the park.

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Hanoi’s hot summers can make even the shortest of walks difficult. Hot days heavily influence the times of day that park-goers visit their neighbourhood park, often opting for the cooler mornings and evenings.

TRAFFIC
0%
Over one half of respondents indicated that CHAOTIC TRAFFIC ENVIRONMENTS, DIFFICULT ROAD CROSSINGS and CROWDED SIDEWALKS are significant obstacles for travelling to the park.

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This underlines the impact that a poor road network can have on park users. It also helps also to understand the importance of proximity and personal motives in the travel behaviour of youth to public parks.

CHART OF OBSTACLES ON THE WAY TO PARKS (one person could mention more than one obstacle) (n=402)

WHY THIS PARK?

Reasons to go to a particular park

The survey conducted with youth users at Thành Công Park, Nghĩa Đô Park, Linh Đàm Park, and Ngọc Lâm public garden revealed two interconnected trends:

Most youths come to the park from their home

And, the main factor leading youths to visit a given public space is its proximity to their place of residence

Respondents citing the close proximity of the park to their home were more likely to walk or to take their bicycle to the park, emphasizing that youth tend to use forms of active and low-cost transportation when proximity enables them to do so.

REASONS TO GO TO A PARTICULAR PARK

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