Rethinking City Classification System in Vietnam: Towards Urban Sustainability and People-Centered Development

VNU Journal of Science: Policy and Management Studies, Vol. 36, No. 2 (2020) 81-91 
 81 
Original Article
Rethinking City Classification System in Vietnam: Towards 
Urban Sustainability and People-Centered Development 
Le Minh Son* 
Vietnam Institute for Development Planning Strategies, Ministry of Planning and Investment, 
 65 Van Mieu, Hanoi, Vietnam 
Received 12 May 2020 
Revised 09 June 2020; Accepted 15 June 2020 
Abstract: This paper presents an original attempt to bring forward extended perspectives about the 
City Classification System (CCS) in Vietnam. For many years, the CCS has played a central role 
the development of Vietnam national urban system as well as a motivating guideline for individual 
cities. However, (1) aspects of sustainable urban development are underrepresented among the CCS 
indicators and (2) the CCS remains a top-down, rigid policy which takes away much of the local 
development context and their developmental challenges. It is argued that Vietnam CCS needs 
adjusting to better reflect the multi-dimensional nature of urban development process (especially 
sustainability) and to better comprehend people-oriented, local development. 
Keywords: City classification system; development; people-centered; urban policy; urban 
sustainability. 
1. Introduction 
Among the East and South East Asian 
countries, Vietnam is a relatively late comer but 
also one of the fastest transforming, in its urban 
transition. While in 1990, only 19.5% (12.8 
million) of the country's population were 
classified as urban, by 2018 urban population 
already accounted for 35.7% (33.8 million) of 
national population (GSO [1], see Appendix A). 
The system of cities (or urban system, 
________ 
 Corresponding author. 
 Email address: sonlm.vids@mpi.gov.vn 
 https://doi.org/10.25073/2588-1116/vnupam.4235 
interchangeably) has expanded rapidly. In 2009, 
there were 731 cities nationwide, by 2019, the 
number of cities has increased to 833, in which 
class I cities (top of the hierarchy) increased 
from 05 to 20 (Table 2). 
The active, conducting role in facilitating 
and promoting urban growth in Vietnam has 
been attributed to the Vietnamese party-state, 
particularly since 1986 economic reform when 
industrialization and trade liberalization were 
introduced [2, 3]. One of the cornerstone policies 
L.M. Son / VNU Journal of Science: Policy and Management Studies, Vol. 36, No. 2 (2020) 81-91 
82 
in Vietnam urban development picture has been 
the City Classification System (CCS) which, 
broadly speaking, aims to categorize Vietnamese 
cities into 'classes' respective to their socio-
economic performance using a set of indicators. 
The CCS has been a central policy in Vietnam 
urban development framework, in which it acts 
both as a monitoring instrument for the central 
government and as a development guidance 
for local governments. However, long-term 
urban issues such as environmental pollution, 
congestion, social inequity, etc. as well as the 
ways in which such policy has shaped socio-
economic development in Vietnamese cities 
intrigue questions about its effectiveness and 
practicality, an area that has cumulated rather 
scarce and limited research attention so far. 
This paper thus presents an original attempt 
to contribute to this literature gap by bringing 
forward extended views around the CCS. It is 
argued that firstly, aspects of urban sustainability 
have often been overlooked in the CCS and 
secondly, as top-down policy the CCS has often 
omitted local development context as well as the 
optimal development paths for cities. Because of 
the lack of reliable data and access to 
information, this paper the paper would not go 
in-depth in analyzing the CCS but instead 
presents perspectives not yet discussed in current 
literature. The analysis relies on data and 
documentations published by the Vietnamese 
government-state, secondary literature 
relevant to urban development in Vietnam and, 
to a lesser extent, information that are 
available in public domains. 
The rest of this paper proceeds as follows. 
Section 2 sketches an overview pictures of the 
CCS and current status of Vietnam urban 
system. Section 3 reviews some limitations of 
the CCS and shows the case to reconsider CCS 
to better account for sustainability and bottom-
up people centric development. The conclusion 
provides further discussion on urban 
development and some future policy adjustment. 
A summary of legal documents referred in this 
paper is provided in Appendix C. 
2. City Classification System and Urban 
System in Vietnam 
A review of the socio-economic 
development strategy (SEDS) documentations 
shows that the Vietnamese party-state has 
recognized and repeatedly emphasized the 
economic role of cities and the urban network as 
the engine of local and national growth. For 
instance, in as early as 2001, orientations 
emphasized: 
 ‘Planning the urban network with a few big 
cities, many medium cities and small urban 
systems with reasonable distribution in the 
regions’ (SEDS 2001 - 2010 [4]). 
Ten years later, a more specific orientations 
were given: 
‘Step by step forming a system of urban 
areas with synchronous, modern and 
environmental friendly infrastructure including 
some big cities and many small and medium-
sized cities linked and rationally distributed 
across regions’ (SEDS 2011-2020 [5]). 
To erect and monitor a system of cities as the 
backbone of national economy requires a 
comprehensive set of instruments, and thus the 
CCS was established. Its primary aim is to 
categorize Vietnamese cities into specific 
"classes" according to their socio-economic 
performance using a set of indicators criteria. It 
was first established in 2001 [6], underwent 
revision in 2009 [7] and officially put into Law 
in that same year [8]. Major inconsistent 
provisions e ... etnam fail to 
manage their budget independently and 
ultimately they are reliant on central budget 
allocation. The dilemma is that cities who are 
unable to be financially independent have to rely 
on contemporary mechanisms of city-ranking to 
obtain more funding, thus adopting the one-
dimensional, infrastructure-led approach 
inscribed by the CCS. 
4. Concluding Remarks 
Due to rather limited data and information, it 
is perhaps unrealistic to provide concrete policy 
recommendations. However, it is logical to 
indicate how the CCS can be improved 
forthwith. First of all, tightening CCS 
regulations/conditions, such as increasing the 
minimum number of points required or the 
amount of time leading to ranking submission, to 
make it harder to meet classification criteria. 
Eventually, cities aiming for higher 
classification thus must prepare socially, 
economically over longer period of time. 
Secondly, a more comprehensive and accessible 
database is needed. This is of benefits to both the 
research circles and to policy-makers at all levels 
to observe and monitor how cities thrive within 
Vietnamese urban hierarchy. Vietnam's 
Provincial Competitiveness Index, which was 
constructed through collecting and analyzing 
primary data questionnaire feedbacks, proves a 
solid example on how quality data can assist 
policy-making. Not only does it enable the 
competitiveness of a province to be objectively 
measured but it also provides valuable inputs 
from local business and firms. This author 
proposes the addition of a more qualitative-
L.M. Son / VNU Journal of Science: Policy and Management Studies, Vol. 36, No. 2 (2020) 81-91 
87 
based approach: bottom-up surveys and 
questionnaires to capture how quality of urban 
life is experienced by its residents. 
Thirdly, integrate and incorporate urban 
sustainability indicators as compulsory 
requirement for higher classification. Recently, 
urban development concepts such as "Green 
City", "Eco-City", "Livable City", "Resilient 
City", "Compact City", etc. have continued to 
gain popularity in Vietnamese discussion circles. 
These concepts individually aim to create an 
ideal sustainable-city design but the common 
element among these concepts is the emphasis 
on harmony between human activities and 
minimizing impacts on the environment. 
Although there exists no agreement about the 
most desirable form of urban sustainability (for 
example, see a review by Jabareen [28]), they 
showcase a variety of values and approaches 
available towards sustainable urban 
development. 
There is no ultimate standards that are 
perfectly suited to the development context of 
cities - One size does not fit all. In the very long-
term, when cities have reached an advanced 
level of development, city classifications may no 
longer be the most important aspiration pursued 
within Vietnamese urban hierarchy. But in the 
short-term, having a classification system in 
place still helps cities to maneuver their 
development paths. Having said that, the next 15 
years is pivotal to whether Vietnamese cities 
would become sustainable and livable to an 
increased urban population. This paper have 
attempted point out drawbacks of the CCS 
previously not discussed in the literature and 
calls for urgent amendment of the policy to better 
account for sustainable urban development 
aspects and local context. It is apparent that other 
regulations relevant to Vietnam urban 
framework need amending accordingly and 
definitely further researches are much needed. 
Hopefully arguments presented in this paper 
would welcome continued academic discussion 
in the coming future. 
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Appendix A. 
Urbanization in Vietnam 
Urban population in Vietnam during 1990 - 2019 
Source: data from Vietnam General Statistics Office website [1] 
Appendix B 
Vietnam Regional and Urban Administration Hierarchy 
Source: adapted from World Bank [14, p. 10] 
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1
9
9
0
1
9
9
1
1
9
9
2
1
9
9
3
1
9
9
4
1
9
9
5
1
9
9
6
1
9
9
7
1
9
9
8
1
9
9
9
2
0
0
0
2
0
0
1
2
0
0
2
2
0
0
3
2
0
0
4
2
0
0
5
2
0
0
6
2
0
0
7
2
0
0
8
2
0
0
9
2
0
1
0
2
0
1
1
2
0
1
2
2
0
1
3
2
0
1
4
2
0
1
5
2
0
1
6
2
0
1
7
2
0
1
8
Urban Rural
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Appendix C 
Summary of legal documents referred in this paper 
Name used in paper Full name 
SEDS 2001 - 2010 [4] 
Socio-Economic Development Strategy for the period 2001 - 2010 
Chiến lược phát triển Kinh tế - Xã hội 2001 - 2010 
SEDS 2010 - 2020 [5] 
Socio-Economic Development Strategy 2010 - 2020 
Chiến lược phát triển Kinh tế - Xã hội 2010 - 2020 
Decree on City and 
Town Classification 
2001 [6] 
Decree on Classification of Urban Center and Urban Management 
Levels (Decree No. 72/2001/ND-CP dated 05 October 2001) 
Nghị định của Chính phủ về việc phân loại đô thị và cấp quản lý đô 
thị (Nghị định số 72/2001/NĐ-CP ngày 05/10/2001) 
Decree on City 
Classification 2009 [7] 
Decree on Classification of Cities (Decree No. 42/2009/ND-CP dated 
07 May 2009) 
Nghị định về việc phân loại đô thị (Nghị định số 42/2009/NĐ-CP 
ngày 07/05/2009) 
Urban Planning Law [8] 
Urban Planning Law (Law No. 30/2009/QH12 dated 29 June 2009) 
Luật Quy hoạch đô thị (Luật số 30/2009/QH12 ngày 29/06/2009) 
Resolution on Urban 
Classification [10] 
Resolution on Urban Classification (Resolution No. 
1210/2016/UBTVQH13 dated 25 May 2016) 
Nghị định về Phân loại đô thị (Nghị định số 1210/2016/UBTVQH13 
ngày 25/05/2016) 
Circular on Detailed 
Regulations of City 
Classification [11] 
Circular on Detailed Regulations of Decree No. 42/2009/ND-CP on 
Classification of Cities (Circular No. 34/2009/TT-BXD dated 30 
September 2009) 
Thông tư quy định chi tiết một số nội dung của Nghị định 
42/2009/NĐ-CP ngày 07/05/2009 của Chính phủ về việc Phân loại 
đô thị 
Master Plan for 
Development of 
Vietnam Urban System 
by 2025, with vision set 
to 2050 [12] 
Decision on Approving Modification of the Master Plan for 
Development of Vietnam's Urban System by 2025, vision set to 2050 
(Decision No. 445 dated 17 April 2009) 
Quyết định về phê duyệt điều chỉnh định hướng Quy hoạch tổng thể 
phát triển hệ thống đô thị Việt Nam đến năm 2025 và tầm nhìn đến 
năm 2050 (Quyết định số 445 ngày 17/04/2009) 
Urban Upgrading 
Program 2009 - 2020 
[13] 
Decision on Approval of Urban Upgrading Program 2009 - 2020 
(Decision No. 758/QD-TTg dated 08 June 2009) 
Quyết định phê duyệt Chương trình nâng cấp đô thị quốc gia giai 
đoạn từ năm 2009 đến năm 2020 (Quyết định số 758/QĐ-TTg ngày 
08/06/2009) 
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National Action Plan on 
Implementing Agenda 
2030 for Sustainable 
Development [25] 
Decision on the Issue of National Action Plan to Implement Agenda 
2030 for Sustainable Development (Decision No. 622/QD-TTg dated 
10/05/2017) 
Quyết định về việc ban hành Kế hoạch hành động quốc gia thực hiện 
Chương trình Nghị sự 2030 vì sự phát triển bền vững (Quyết định số 
622/QĐ-TTg ngày 10/05/2017) 
Scheme for the 
Development of Smart 
Sustainable Cities in 
Vietnam in the period 
2018 - 2025 with vision 
to 2030 [26] 
Decision on Approval of the Scheme for the Development of Smart 
Sustainable Cities in Vietnam in the period 2018 - 2025 with vision 
to 2030 (Decision No. 950/QD-TTg dated 01 August 2018) 
Quyết định về phê duyệt đề án phát triển đô thị thông minh bền vững 
Việt Nam giai đoạn 2018 - 2025 và định hướng đến năm 2030 (Quyết 
định số 950/QĐ-TTg ngày 01/08/2018)