Middle class landscapes in a transforming City: Hanoi in the 21st century

Abstract

During the 20-plus years of Đôi Mói (economic renovation) policy, the spatial fabric of Vietnam’s cities has undergone significant transformation. In a now-familiar pattern from cities the world over, Hanoi has predictably though with alarming rapidity developed outward into seemingly ever-expanding suburbs, and upward into high-rise hotels and apartment complexes. More importantly, the landscape of urban everyday life has been resculpted through middle-class practices of consumption, actual and aspirational, with effects on modes of shopping, leisure, transportation, and, critically, attitudes towards the use and users of public space. In this chapter I consider the impact of socio-economic reform on the capital city of Hanoi, focusing specifically on the ways in which the middle class, made possible by Đôi Mói, has and continues to alter the urban landscape. I also consider some of the ways in which the middle class and its material manifestation in the city may be influenced by its specific historical context.