Sự sống động của vỉa hè thành phố hồ chí minh và tác động của vỉa hè đến giá nhà trong những khu phố hỗn hợp

The results of the first essay show the estimated value of the liveliness index of 270 sidewalk-segment as a quality standard to consider sidewalk as public space in HCMC.. Some authors

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY

-

NGUYEN THI HONG THU

THE LIVELINESS OF SIDEWALKS IN HO CHI MINH CITY AND ITS IMPACT ON PROPERTY VALUES IN MIXED-USE NEIGHBORHOODS

DOCTORAL THESIS IN ECONOMICS

Ho Chi Minh – 2021

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY

-

NGUYEN THI HONG THU

THE LIVELINESS OF SIDEWALKS IN HO CHI MINH CITY AND ITS IMPACT ON PROPERTY VALUES IN MIXED-USE NEIGHBORHOODS

Major: Development Economic

Major ID: 93.10.105

DOCTORAL THESIS IN ECONOMICS

Supervisors: Dr Nguyen Luu Bao Doan

Dr Truong Dang Thuy

Ho Chi Minh – 2021

ACKNOWLEDGES

My name is Nguyen Thi Hong Thu, PhD student in the major of Development Economics at University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City I would like to confirm that the research results in this thesis is from my own works and has not been published

The thesis does not contain documents extracted in whole or in part from a thesis presented to another qualification at University of Economics HCMC or in any other educational institution

Nguyen Thi Hong Thu

TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGE

ABBREVITATIONS

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Problem statement 1

1.2 Research objectives 6

1.3 Research questions 6

1.4 Research methodology and scope 7

1.5 Research contributions 8

1.6 Thesis structure 9

CHAPTER 2 THE RESEARCH DESIGN 12

2.1 Research process 12

2.2 Definition of key terms 13

2.3 Construction of theoretical framework 19

2.4 Overview of sidewalk in HCMC 22

2.5 The housing market in HCMC 29

2.6 Data samples and data collections 32

2.7 Methodology 36

2.8 Conceptual framework 38

2.9 Summary 40

CHAPTER 3. 41

ESSAY 1 – THE LIVELINESS OF SIDEWALKS IN HO CHI MINH CITY 41

3.1 Introduction 41

3.2 Literature review 44

3.2.1 The theoritical reviews 44

3.2.2 The role of sidewalk as public space 46

3.2.3 Dimensions of public space 49

3.2.4 Empirical reviews of public space and sidewalk in HCMC 53

3.3 Methodology 60

3.3.1 Mixed-method research design 60

3.3.2 The study areas and data collection 63

3.3.3 Data analysis methods 65

3.3.4 Calculating liveliness index 67

3.4 Findings and discussions 73

3.4.1 Descriptive statistics of physical characteristics of sidewalk 74

3.4.2 Behavioral mapping of people and activities 76

3.4.3 Calculating of liveliness index 82

3.4.4 Relationship between the physical characteristics of the sidewalk and liveliness index 85 3.5 Conclusions 89

CHAPTER 4. 90

ESSAY 2 - THE IMPACT OF SIDEWALKS ON PROPERTY VALUES IN MIXED-USE NEIGHBORHOOD IN HO CHI MINH CITY 90

4.1 Introduction 90

4.2 Literature reviews 92

4.2.1 Theoretical reviews 92

4.2.2 Empirical reviews 98

4.3 Methodology 104

4.3.1 Data 104

4.3.2 Variables and definitions 105

4.3.3 Model construction 107

4.4 Results 111

4.4.1 Data descriptive analysis 112

4.4.2 Regression results 116

4.4.3 The discussion of results 119

4.5 Conclusions 125

CHAPTER 5. 128

CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND LIMITATIONS 128

5.1 Conclusions 128

5.2 Implication 131

5.3 Limitations 134

LIST OF AUTHOR’S PUBLISHED PAPERS 136

REFERENCES 137

APPENDIX 150

1Q19: The first quarter 2019

CBD: Central Business District

HCMC: Ho Chi Minh City

HLM: Hierarchical Linear Modeling

HN: Hanoi

No.: Number

TOD: Transit Oriented Development

VIF: Variance Inflation Factors

VN: Vietnam

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 Data requirement and methods 61

Table 3.2 Calculating of temporal diversity of use 71

Table 3.3 Calculating of diversity of activities 71

Table 3.4 Selected physical characteristics of the sidewalk environment 73

Table 3.5 Sidewalk width 74

Table 3.6 Sidewalk surface quality 75

Table 3.7 Sidewalk material 75

Table 3.8 Sidewalk furniture 76

Table 3.9 Number of people daytime and night-time 79

Table 3.10 Liveliness index for each of 270 sidewalk-segment 84

Table 3.11 Liveliness index for district level 85

Table 3.12 Correlation matrix of variables 85

Table 3.13 Descriptive statistics of variables in regression model 86

Table 3.14 Regression result of the relationship between physical characteristics of the sidewalk and Liveliness index 88

Table 4.1 The twenty characteristics appearing most often in previous hedonic pricing model studies 103

Table 4.2 Variables and their definitions 105

Table 4.3 Functional forms for the hedonic price function 108

Table 4.4 Correlation between dependent variable and independent variables 113

Table 4.5 Descriptive statistics 113

Table 4.6 Percent of observations for each district in HCMC 115

Table 4.7 Regression results 116

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1 Research process diagram 13

Figure 2.2 Study area and data used 34

Figure 2.3 The exploratory research design 37

Figure 2.4 Conceptual framework 38

Figure 3.1 Sense of place model (Canter, 1977) 45

Figure 3.2 The coding process in inductive analysis 67

Figure 3.3 Categories of activities on sidewalk in HCMC 77

Figure 3.4 Day-time activities with sidewalk width 78

Figure 3.5 Night-time activities with sidewalk width 79

Figure 3.6 Number of people engaged in some type of activities on day-time and night-time on 270 sidewalk-segments in 13 districts in HCMC 79

Figure 3.7 Day-time activities 81

Figure 3.8 Night-time activities 81

Figure 3.9 Number of activity on day-time and night-time on 270 sidewalk-segments in 13 districts in HCMC 82

Figure 3.10 Visual analysis 83

Figure 3.11 Scatter plot between liveliness index and sidewalk width 86

Figure 4.1 Scatter plot between price and lot size, CBD, sidewalk width, liveliness index 112

Figure 4.2 The eight-house group in mixed-use neighborhood 121

ABSTRACT

In most countries around the world, sidewalks are usually for pedestrians for a long time However, it was said that HCMC’s sidewalks were not mingled with any urban cities in the world The HCMC’s sidewalks are possible to generate more liveliness,

by commercial activities and social activities to occur in the sidewalks frontage of the house during day-time and night-time The first essay based on social perspectives This research applied the mixed-method research that is a combination

to qualitative and quantitative methods to calculate the liveliness index The author uses the observation participant method blended with the visual method to collect data to the five activity categories including sidewalk vending, domestic use, communal, store spillover, transportation The results of the first essay show the estimated value of the liveliness index of 270 sidewalk-segment as a quality standard

to consider sidewalk as public space in HCMC Most of the sidewalk-segments in District 5 have a higher level of liveliness than others The second essay based on the home-owners to investigate the impact of sidewalks on property values in mixed-use neighborhoods The sidewalk width could premium property approximately 5 percent based on the primary data of 283 sidewalk segments and house prices in HCMC Besides, the rental property and the spill-over of neighboring houses also have a positive impact on property value Therefore, the government can perform sidewalk expansion or at least maintain a stable sidewalk width, creating a good space for those participating in activities on the sidewalk

Keywords: Hedonic pricing model, Liveliness index, mixed-use neighborhoods,

sidewalks, property value

TÓM TẮT

Ở hầu hết các nước trên thế giới, vỉa hè thường là nơi dành cho đi bộ Tuy nhiên, một

số học giả cho rằng vỉa hè của TP HCM không trộn lẫn với vỉa hè của bất kỳ thành phố nào trên thế giới Các vỉa hè của TP HCM có thể tạo ra sự sống động hơn thông qua các chương trình sự kiện, các hoạt động thương mại và hoạt động xã hội diễn ra

ở vỉa hè trước các nhà mặt tiền vào ban ngày và ban đêm Bài luận thứ nhất tiếp cận

dựa trên quan điểm xã hội Nghiên cứu này áp dụng phương pháp nghiên cứu hỗn hợp, kết hợp giữa phương pháp định tính và định lượng trong việc thu thập dữ liệu

và tính toán chỉ số sống động Tác giả sử dụng phương pháp người tham gia quan sát (observation participant method) kết hợp với phương pháp trực quan (visual method)

để thu thập dữ liệu của 270 phân đoạn vỉa hè, dữ liệu thu thập được về năm danh mục các hoạt động diễn ra trên vỉa hè bao gồm bán hàng rong, sử dụng trong hoạt động gia đình, sinh hoạt cộng đồng, hoạt động kinh doanh, giao thông chính diễn ra trên vỉa hè Kết quả nghiên cứu trình bày giá trị ước tính của chỉ số liveliness index của

270 phân đoạn vỉa hè được xem như là một tiêu chuẩn chất lượng để xem xét vỉa hè

là một không gian công cộng tại TP HCM Hầu hết các phân đoạn vỉa hè tại Quận 5 đều có mức sống động cao hơn các phân đoạn vỉa hè tại các Quận còn lại Bài luận thứ hai tiếp cận dựa trên quan điểm của chủ sở hữu nhà để xem xét tác động của vỉa

hè đến giá nhà trong các khu phố hỗn hợp Độ rộng của vỉa hè có tác động làm gia tăng giá trị nhà khoảng 5 phần trăm Đối với nhà mặt tiền, nhà có thể cho thuê hay nhà nằm trong khu có thể tác động lan toả kinh doanh cũng có tác động dương đến giá nhà Đây là điểm khám phá mới trong nghiên cứu này đối với nhà ở riêng lẻ tại

TP HCM Do đó, chính quyền có thể thực hiện mở rộng vỉa hè hay ít nhất duy trì được độ rộng vỉa hè ổn định, tạo không gian tốt cho những người tham gia vào các hoạt động trên vỉa hè, đặc biệt nhấn mạnh đến các hoạt động của hộ gia đình Thêm nữa, chính quyền thành phố có thể thu thuế đối với những người mua nhà mặt tiền khi họ tham gia các hoạt động kinh doanh trên vỉa hè trước nhà

Từ khoá: Chỉ số sống động, Giá nhà, Khu phố hỗn hợp, Mô hình định giá Hedonic,

Vỉa hè

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, the author introduces the thesis overview, derived from research problems and research gaps to give research objectives and research questions Next, the author presents the methodology and scope of the study At the same time, this chapter also summarizes the main theoretical and practical contributions of the thesis Finally, the author presents the structure of the thesis that described in the following chapters

1.1 Problem statement

The sidewalk management effectively is a matter of concern for the authorities and the researchers on over the world and in Vietnam The point of view around the world shows that sidewalks are usually for transportation for a long time (Gehl, 1987; Amin, 2008; Dempsey, 2009) Governments in North America and Europe consider the planning and design of sidewalks to serve pedestrians as essential and effective (Loukaitou-Sederis and Ehrenfeucht, 2009) Municipal governments in Vietnam, like

in HCMC, also pursues the planning and cleaning of the sidewalks so that it becomes

a space serve pedestrians However, in recent years, some cities in the United States have tended to motivate people who using the sidewalk in mixed-use such as commercial, decoration, and public space This trend is called Do-it-yourself urbanism (Douglas, 2019; Talen, 2015) The reality of managing sidewalks in some cities in Vietnam shows that sidewalks are being used for mixed purposes from traffic, commercial, shophouse, social interaction, to the household activities Therefore, the conflicts of planning of using sidewalks need to be addressed so that cities can manage sidewalks effectively

Sidewalk can be considered as a public space in some economic contexts However,

in most urban studies, the sidewalk is occupied by the means of transportation such

as pedestrians, motorbike, or parking lot (Gehl, 1987; Mitchell, 1995; Tiesdell and

Oc, 1998; Amin, 2008; David et al., 2002; Dempsey, 2009) In the last few decades,

the public space in urban area in developed countries include parks, recreation, sports facilities, squares, streets, and sidewalk is rarely the authors considered sidewalk as public space (Whyte, 1980; Gehl, 1989; Carr et al., 1992; Cooper-Marcus & Francis, 1998; Banerjee, 2001) However, sidewalk as public space plays a significant role in people’s everyday life in neighborhoods level (Chitraka, 2016; Mehta, 2006; Loukaitou-Sideris & Ehrenfeucht, 2009; Andersson, 2016; Holland et al., 2007; Sennett, 1992; Thomas 1991; Lofland, 2017) Some authors pointed out have many roles of sidewalk as public spaces such as social and culture value, economic value and environment settings value, making the urban area an attractive place to live and work (Andersson, 2016; Loukaitou-Sideris & Ehrenfeucht, 2009; Chitraka, 2016; Holland et al., 2007; Williams & Green, 2001)

Some scholars have noted that a unique aspect of Asian urbanism is public spaces as streets and sidewalks rather than in open space and squares that often seen used in the Western studies (Heng, 1999; Sassen, 2011; Eidse & Turner, 2014; Nguyen & Han, 2017) The current research on sidewalks only focuses on the socio-cultural aspect related to use and how the activities take place on the sidewalk The household activities on the sidewalk in Asian countries, when some activities that are supposed

to take place inside the home or domestic space, but the reversal is that of eating, drinking, cooking, bathing, and washing activities take place outside the house and

in public space (Edensor, 1998; Yasmeen, 1996) Concerning commercial activities, some studies added to the property value along the sidewalk (Deacon, 2013; Loukaitou-Sideris & Ehrenfeucht, 2009; Rupa, 2015) Meanwhile, in Vietnam, public spaces are often used for domestic use activities while home spaces are often used for commerce (Drummond, 2000) Furthermore, it is essential to note that street frontage

is a valued commodity in Vietnamese property considerations, as people could have more spaces for domestic activities or for small business operations (Garnett, 2008; Loukaitou-Sideris & Ehren-feucht, 2007) Therefore, it is said that HCMC’s sidewalk was not mingled with any urban cities in the world (Kim, 2012) and people in HCMC use sidewalk for daily life The HCMC’s sidewalk exhibits clearly the diverse urban

features with vibrant rhythm from early morning to late night (Kim 2012; Drummond, 2000; Harms, 2009) Public spaces for leisure activities including parks, museums, sports facilities (managed by different levels of the government), and squares such as the area in front of Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, and sidewalks also used for recreational activities, especially sports (Drummond, 2000)

Moreover, some authors mention whether the liveliness of sidewalks in cities Vietnam and other countries like South America and parts of Southeast Asia has a positive effect on social and economic (Drummond 2000; Harms 2009; Kim 2012; Eidse 2011) However, a large of studies have organized research on public spaces and sidewalks in Vietnam under socioculture aspects without considering the economic aspects of the sidewalks These studies have shown that when sidewalks as

a public space, where people have access and use in social and interaction activities, that people take the benefits There is still a research gap to be addressed the economic impact of the sidewalk and its mechanism Can sidewalks get the same quality as a public space like a park or community playground? How to measure this quality aspect of the sidewalk, and whether the quality of the sidewalk as public space will affect the property value in the neighborhood? This study investigates the impact of the sidewalk economy

Liveliness is a special concept, it usually found in public space studies and plays a key role in analyzing the use of the sidewalk and its impact on economic activity (Drummond, 2000) The term liveliness may have different meanings, depending on the perspective of the authors and research objective to define and measure the quality

of liveliness Mehta (2014) and Kim (2012) have stated that liveliness as a concept that is difficult to define and measure Liveliness is classified into different levels of activity, including the level of participation in activity through use; the level of interaction, communication, trading, and mutual exchange; the level of representation that is determined through the activities taking place outside of their home Therefore, analyzing and defining liveliness of public space, it is always relevant to the people and activities that take place

When public space is highly liveliness, activities are diverse and interactive Jane Jacob (1961) discusses the liveliness and necessity of this dimension said that the sidewalks can encompass both vitality and diversity The best sidewalks are including diversity of physical characteristics, economic and social activities, and the duration

of activities on them is longer, thus contributing to making them more important and more safety When the sidewalk acquires the dimensions of the public space, it is associated with the existence of the liveliness sidewalk In studies of urban planning and design, the vitality of the street brings urban vitality and prosperity

If the liveliness of the sidewalks creates positive social and economic values, cities must certainly consider the use and management of the sidewalk in cities According

to a social perspective, this study focused only on the activities taking place on the sidewalk in HCMC with the participation of anyone regardless of age, gender, income, and occupation Specifically, participants can come from other places to use the sidewalk and can also be the home-owners that have the sidewalk in front of houses It should be noted that this study does not mention the aspect of ownership and control of the HCMC sidewalk, which means that it does not identify whose sidewalk is owned, who controls it, uses the sidewalk have to pay or not?

According to a social perspective, the first research objective determines the quality

of each sidewalk segment in various districts by estimating its liveliness index Based

on the survey and observation participant of the main activities taking place on the sidewalk, the variety of activities, and assess the level of people involved in the above activities measure liveliness index The HCMC sidewalks are possible to generate more liveliness, by programming events, commercial activities, and social activities

to occur in the sidewalks frontage of the house during day-time and night-time In order to attract more users to the sidewalk frontage of the house, there is a direct relationship between the property use, the activities, and the products provided need

to be emphasized (Shuhana et al., 2004)

According to the home-owners, the sidewalk in HCMC brings to the economic value when sidewalk can become public space, however, economic literature overlooks this value Although there are studies on the use of sidewalks in Vietnam by Vietnamese and foreigner scholars, no studies have evaluated directly estimates the relationship between sidewalk and property value in a mixed-use neighborhood This gap in current research allows the author to propose a survey and evaluation of this link Some studies examine the impacts of street infrastructure and design on property value (Gonzalez-Navarro, 2010; Seo et al., 2018; Fullerton & Villalobos, 2011) The street infrastructure and traffic noise are also considered in some studies about house prices Larsen (2014) compared two groups of houses located in arterial or high traffic streets and collector streets and compared their prices Furthermore, street width is also one of the issues that need to be considered to influence the price of houses (Fullerton & Villalobos, 2011) Xiao (2014) also mentions the dynamic relationship between street layout, street width, and congestion problem and housing prices from

2005 to 2010 in Nanjing, China Some studies proxy sidewalks with variables related

to the location or geographic variation (Cho et al., 2008; Shin et al., 2011; Li et al., 2015)

In addition, there are a number of studies related to this topic conducted in Asian countries Recently, Xu et al (2016) considers the relationship between building railway transit systems and commercial value properties in Wuhan, China as a basis for planning Transit Oriented Development (TOD) The same results was found when Deng et al (2016) implemented for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Beijing Therefore, empirical studies do not investigate the direct impact of sidewalk quality on property value This is the research gap that this study need to conduct and this is the main second research objective A large business such as a retail business and a restaurant may also use the sidewalk as a parking space, or store spillover activities, or display area to introduce private enterprises It is important to note that the house adjacent to the sidewalk frontage is a valuable element in Vietnam’s assessments of real estate values, as it provides an opportunity for expanding the scope of a business, increase

awareness of business activities taking place inside the shophouse In daily life in the major cities, the large common use of sidewalks in urban areas is probably the most commercially available (Kim 2012; Nguyen & Han 2017)

1.2 Research objectives

This study has two main research objectives, with specific research objectives as the following:

Objective 1 To measure the quality of sidewalk in HCMC by capturing sidewalk

liveliness as a quality dimension

• Objective 1.1 To specify and construct a commonly used measure of quality

for sidewalks, the liveliness index

• Objective 1.2 To investigate the relationships between the conditions of

sidewalks and the liveliness index of sidewalks

Objective 2 To examine the impact sidewalk quality on property values in

mixed-use neighborhoods in HCMC

• Objective 2.1 To examine the impact of the liveliness index in each

sidewalk-segment on property values

• Objective 2.2 To investigate the impact of sidewalk characteristics on

property values

• Objective 2.3 To investigate the impact of use condition of houses adjacent to

sidewalks on property value

1.3 Research questions

Belong to the two main research objectives, the specific research questions as the following:

Research question 1 (RQ1) How to measure the quality of the sidewalk in HCMC

by capturing sidewalk liveliness as a quality dimension?

• RQ1.1 How to specify and construct a commonly used measure of quality for

sidewalks, the liveliness index?

• RQ1.2 What are the relationships between the conditions of sidewalks and the

liveliness index of sidewalks?

Research question 2 (RQ2) What is the impact sidewalk quality on property values

in mixed-use neighborhoods in HCMC?

• RQ2.1 What is the impact of the liveliness index in each sidewalk-segment

on property values?

• RQ2.2 What is the impact of sidewalk characteristics on property values?

• RQ2.3 What is the impact of the use condition of houses adjacent to sidewalks

on property value?

1.4 Research methodology and scope

This section summarizes the data and methodology used to investigate the two research objectives and the empirical findings of this thesis

The primary data for the two research objectives were collected by walk-by observations and direct observations of people engaged in activities on the sidewalk-segments and surveying single-family house buyers to provide some characteristics

of a house and housing price Before conducting official data collection, the author collected pretest data by observing users’ behavior and activities taking place on 20 sidewalk-segments in districts 1, Binh Thanh district, District 10, and District 5, and

Go Vap District (random sampling); and the author surveyed 10 single-family house buyers to get the main house characteristics when deciding to buy a house Data for the official survey was collected from 283 sidewalk-segments and single-family houses in 13 districts is the data used for analysis and reporting in this thesis

The two objectives of the thesis use different analysis methods and models The first research objective uses the method of behavior mapping included walk-by observations and direct observations to explain why sidewalk can become public

space by capturing liveliness as a quality dimension in HCMC The second research applies the Hedonic pricing model to examine value premiums that sidewalk has on residential property values in mixed-use neighborhood in HCMC

The scope of works in this research consider only the quality of the sidewalk through the access and use aspects of the sidewalk In this study, the author does not mention the ownership and control aspects of sidewalks because of the complicated problem that exists in reality on HCMC sidewalk The entire study is based on two perspectives including social perspective related to the research objective 1 and home-owner perspective related to the research objective 2

The second contribution is to build a formula to calculate the liveliness index on the sidewalk, adding a way to identify and measure the quality of sidewalks anywhere in the world As a result, the author estimated the Liveliness index of each sidewalk-segment as a standard measure of quality of sidewalk when considering sidewalk as public space in HCMC

The third contribution confirms that the important role of physical characteristics of the sidewalk to determine the quality of the sidewalk through its liveliness The characteristics of the surrounding environment or physical characteristics of sidewalk are places where users can come, use and interact with them

The fourth contribution of the thesis is to analyze the direct impact of sidewalk on property value based on Hedonic pricing model There are many different studies to measure the impact of public space on property value, however, there are very few studies that directly analyze the effect of sidewalk on property value Therefore, the author uses some literature reviews of public space impact on property value

The firth contribution of the thesis is to analyze the direct impact of property use conditions on property value This is also a new finding of the thesis when analyzing the characteristics of using houses in HCMC, in particular, houses can be used for rental properties, which can be used for both shelter and business (mixed-use property) The characteristics of frontal houses located the central districts in HCMC are often used for both business and shelter purposes At the same time, these houses will establish mixed-use neighborhood, and they will spillover business activities each other

The sixth contribution of the thesis is that the spill-over impact of business activities

of neighboring houses will also have a positive impact on house prices The shophouse has some features that make it special in HCMC The structure has a height

of two to three or more stories, with a narrow faces and a long length The bottom floor is designed to accommodate a commercial enterprise such as a shop, restaurant, while the upper or upper floor is for residential purposes and some areas are completely commercial

Finally, this pioneering study is expected to provide deep and broad knowledge of the role of consideration of future consequences in the sidewalk effects on economic value as the comprising dependent variable

1.6 Thesis structure

This thesis is article-based, consisting of two separate publications submitted to scientific journals that address different aspects of urban planning and property value The thesis text serves the purpose of integrating the two essays into a collective work,

addressing the research objectives The two research objectives are used to structure the essays and are answered collectively in the conclusions chapter

This thesis is divided into five main chapters:

Chapter 1 Introduction

The first chapter presents the research problem and research gap, and then gives the research objectives and research questions Next, the author outlines the research methodology and gives new contributions of the thesis

Chapter 2 The thesis research design

Chapter 2 details the research design applied throughout the two essays that comprise the thesis Before presenting the research process, the author will present some key terms used in this study Next, the author shows the research data including the survey area, methods and process to data collection Next, this chapter presents the research methodology in the two research objectives The conceptual framework is presented

at the end of the chapter

Chapter 3 Essay 1- The liveliness of sidewalks in HCMC

Chapter 3 addresses research objective 1 regarding to measure the quality of sidewalk

in HCMC by capturing sidewalk liveliness as a quality dimension A summary of Essay 1 on the calculating of liveliness index of sidewalks and the examining the impacts of the physical characteristics of sidewalks on the liveliness index is provided

in this chapter

Chapter 4 Essay 2 – The impacts of sidewalks on property value in mixed-use neighborhood in HCMC

Chapter 4 attempts to present research objective 2 concerning property value Essay

2 are summarized in Chapter 4 Applying hedonic pricing model, essay 2 investigates the impacts of sidewalks on property value in mixed-use neighborhood in HCMC

Chapter 5 Conclusions, implications and limitations

The final chapter provides the conclusions to address all research objectives with a summary of the results and conclusions from each Also, this chapter postulates some significant theoretical and practical implications for both scholars, urban planners and managers, and home-owners who have motivations to promote the liveliness of sidewalks and usings of sidewalks Finally, in this chapter, some limitations for future studies are presented.

CHAPTER 2 THE RESEARCH DESIGN

The thesis is an interdisciplinary study, and it applies mixed-method techniques This chapter explains why the author attempts to depict the overall process and methodology of the relationship between sidewalk and property values The research design is necessary because it can implement different research processes This is a brief presentation of the previous plan of the collection data methods and the data analysis methods by research objectives Therefore, an appropriate research design must be prepared before the start of the research process The research design helps

to organize the author’s ideas, which will help the author find errors and gaps

In this chapter, the author presents the research design Before presenting some key terms used in this study, the author mentions the research process Next, the author shows the research data include the survey area, methods, and process of data collection Next, this chapter presents the research methodology in the two research objectives The conceptual framework is presented at the end of the chapter

2.1 Research process

The research process consists of three steps as shown in Figure 2.1 The research overview presented in step 1 includes identification of research gaps and research problems Based on the stated research problem, the thesis outlines the research objectives and research questions, and the research methodology Finally, in this step, data collection and research methodology, variables, and these measures, the model were developed to use in the pilot study

In the second step, which is the pilot study, the author chooses some main streets in districts according to groups such as groups 1 – district 1, 3, 10; group 2 – district 5, 11; group 3 – Phu Nhuan, Go Vap and Tan Binh district The selection of streets based on a convenient sample and does not mention any specific house The author observes the sidewalk of each street, recording the activities, the different happening, the characteristics of those sidewalk users The author observes by walk-by

observation method and records by photos and videos During this survey period, the author also cultivated photography experience Based on the testing results help the author better identify the sidewalk physical characteristics, sidewalk activities, current sidewalk management The author takes field notes and was slightly modified data collection methods and used in the main study

The third step or main study aims data analysis, conclusions, and implications The theoretical contributions of this thesis aim to emphasize the quality of the sidewalk and its impact on property value Also, this study has some practical contributions to provide urban planners and house buyers base on the quality of the sidewalk Figure 2.1 presents the overview of the research process at the below

Figure 2.1 Research process diagram

(Source: author’s proposal)

2.2 Definition of key terms

2.2.1 Public space

Public spaces have significant importance in the people’s everyday life (Chitraka, 2016; Mehta, 2006; Loukaitou-Sideris & Ehrenfeucht, 2009; Andersson, 2016;

Holland et al., 2007; Sennett, 1992; Thomas 1991; Lofland, 2017) There exist different definitions of public space that could be caused by the authors’ approaches, academic disciplines (Gehl & Matan, 2009) Therefore, it is challenging have a concise the meaning of a public space in one definition Those different definitions

of public space can be grouped in terms of issues of ownership, control, access, and use (Mehta, 2014; Mitchell, 1995; Carr et al., 1992; Mandanipour, 1996) There are two group of definition, firstly, a definition of public space in terms of issues of ownership and control that defines the absolute limits of the subject area, and secondly, the definition is based on issues of access and use

The definition of public space can be bases on access and use such as defined by Carr

et al (1992) as “publicly accessible places where people go for group or individual activities” In addition, the authors also state that public space is “the stage upon which the drama of communal life unfolds” Specifically, a public space acts as a stage where people occupying that space at that moment have a dual role to play including the actor and the spectator Public space can be characterized as space for common use, with no restriction to access at least during daylight hours (Brandão, 2017) Furthermore, Hajer and Reijndorp (2001) explain that citizens create meaningful public space by expressing their attitudes, asserting their claims and using

it for their own purposes In recent study by Mehta (2014), the author defined public space is an open space for the general public, all people use for active and passive social and community activities, and where everyone must follow the general regulations for use of space Public space can also be the place where one likes to spend more time not doing anything special and enjoy surroundings (Loukaitou & Banerjee, 1998)

The definition brings about everyday public space Public space is the space that is open to the general public where activities in people’ daily life take place in it, and different groups of people, regardless of their gender, age, social class The definition concentrates primarily on the every use of the public space and how the perception

of the space might impact its use Specifically, activities in people's daily lives

includes social and economic activities occurring on public space and these activities also contribute to development economic and especially property value near public space

2.2.2 Sidewalk

According to the Degree No 171/2013/ND-CP, November 13 2013 on penalties for road administrative traffic offences and rial transport offences, streets are streets within the inner city, which are delimited by red line boundaries under plannings already approved by competent authorities; and sidewalks are part of the urban streets, mainly serving pedestrians and combined with the arrangement of urban street infrastructure along the route

According to theoretical reviews, the definition of sidewalk depends on the purpose

of conceptualization For various purposes, it can be defined by socio-political characteristics However, the term of sidewalk can be judged from two basic perspectives One is to focus on the physical perspectives and design considerations related to this important pedestrian space, to create a safe, comfortable and functional sidewalk; and the other is a social perspective that interprets urban space as a social product and seeks the formation behind the first perspective

2.2.3 Liveliness of sidewalk

The term liveliness may have different meanings, depending on persperctive of the authors and research objective to define and measure quality of liveliness Mehta (2014) and Kim (2012) have stated that liveliness as a concept that is difficult to define and measure Liveliness is classified into different levels of activity, including the level of participation in activity through use; level of interaction, communication, trading and mutual exchange; level of representation that is determined through the activities taking place outside of their home Therefore, analyzing and definiting liveliness of public space, it is always relevant to the people and activities that take place At the same time, the liveliness is measured through the flow and movement

of pedestrians, and the number of people engaged in various activities, and the

existence of all activities or things to do as well (Montgomery, 2006) In this case, a lively street is defined as a place where people engage in many stable and sustainable activities, especially social activities (Mehta, 2006) In Montgomery’s definition (1998), liveliness of the cities refers to the number of people in and around the street (pedestrian flows) that choice to use in different days and hours, various user groups and the number of cultural events and celebrations over the year, the presence of an active street life Those components contribute to formation of a lively and successful street

Public space, if properly organized, provides the potential for social interaction in everyday life, and as a result, increase our disposition for together (Carr et al., 1992) Jacob (1961) has introduced the importance of certain degree of contact measuring the quality of sidewalk in the neighborhood Sidewalks are social venue where people can encounter When sidewalks are full of people with whom, a certain degree of contact is useful and enjoyable On the other hand, an attractive public space can add

to its public acceptability and improve social relationships of communities that related to facilitate individual relationships in them, and finally leading to liveliness

in urban life

2.2.4 Property value

Property value refers to the value of a property based on the price agreed by the buyer and seller According to economic theory, the value of an real estate converges at the point where supply factors meet demand factors (Varian, 1992) What buyers are willing to pay for property depends on a number of characteristics, including how motivated they are to make a purchase, their negotiation skills and the status of other properties in the area The some of characteristics that buyers can rely on includes the structural characteristics of house, amenities, neighborhood characteristics, and natural environment (Rosen, 1974)

The property value in this study is focused on the transaction price of real estate in the survey period in 2018-2019 The transaction price reflects the agreed price

between buyer and seller Moreover, this value explains the price that the buyer is willing to pay for the property associated with its characteristics This study does not take into the changes in real estate prices over time and does not make comparative price analyzes when having fluctuation to different house characteristics

2.2.5 Mixed-use neighborhood

The terminology of neighborhood is widely used by researchers and practitioners and they have different points of view for this term Based on each empirical study, this term is precisely defined Dover and King (2012) refer to neighborhood measures as vary in density, population size, use of integration and type of housing units and these parameters are strongly influenced by climate conditions, economic conditions and location conditions A neighborhood will meet people with different needs such as housing, shopping, work, recreation areas and in a compact, complete and connected form, will development into more sustainable and satisfying built environment Therefore, the neighborhood terminology does not refer to single-use developments, disconnected, and isolated

A neighborhood is a collection of service-sharing people and some levels of engagement in a geographically limited place There are three important words for neighborhood expression as people, place and cohesion Specifically, the place and community are terms that need to be clarified to distinguish it from the neighborhood The community also mentions a group of people who agree on values, beliefs, circumstances, interests and culture regardless of geographical boundaries (Chaskin 1997; Keller 1968)

The previous urban planning literatures provide insight into the conceptual nature of

a neighborhood Schwanke et al (2003) considers the neighborhood as a centralized area for housing, employment, retail and other civilian locations and establishes an environment for people to identify social and economics attitudes, lifestyles, and institutions Congress for the New Urbanism (2001) argues that a neighborhood should be compact, pedestrian-friendly as a basic module for transit corridors and

mixed-use In the study of Farr (2012) based on the original study of Perry (1929), all of these functions of a neighborhood must be within a five-minute walking distance, approximately 400 meters, and covered area equivalent to 50.6 to 64.8 ha The term mix in common points for a unified that consists of diversity and many different elements combined Song & Knaap (2003, 2004) and Koster & Rouwendal (2012) distinguish the term mix in different land sectors in urban areas They classify land use into government and public institutions, entertainment, commerce, industry, and of course residential areas The combination and distribution of different facilities

in an area determines the nature of the mix as residential land use combined with retail and public areas in urban area

In summary, the mixed-use neighborhood in this study is a place with a geographic surrounding that meets the various daily needs of people, responds to work, and to live as single residential house Therefore, mixed-use neighborhood relative balance between jobs and single family residential, commercial, public institutional, industrial, public parks and leisure Residents living in these neighborhoods could access, use and participant in daily activities includes restaurants, pubs, parks, libraries, department stores, government buildings, post offices, butchers, banks, pharmacies, local schools, theatres, and places of worship

Homes and houses are used interchangeably in popular media, especially in selling and buying in real estate market and promoting property ownership (Rapoport, 1969,

1985, 1995) Gifford (2002) argues that a house is a physical structure, whereas a home is a rich collection of cultural, demographic and psychological meanings that associated with that physical structure Therefore, the distinction between the definition of house and home based on the structural characteristics, house is clearly

a definition that focuses more on this concept, while home is not Moreover, house

or housing is a commonly term used when it comes to economic values, use values, aesthetic values, market values such as housing supply and demand

Home-based enterprise is defined as a home that is used as a small-scale business and also used for common household activities (Strassmann, 1986, 1987) The strength

of this business model is the ease of gathering inputs for the production of products and services such as labor, capital, technology and space At the same time, it is easy

to move raw materials from one industry to another, from the market to the home and vice versa There are three main components in this model such as enterprise, household and housing (Lipton, 1980) First, the household controls or manages the input material Second, the majority of household assets are used for family businesses Third, the main source of labor for this type is mostly family members

In addition, home-based businesses are rarely seen in a department store (Tipple, 2005) For example, home-based enterprise could conduct business in front of or near-house public spaces such as sidewalks, roads or parks and are sometimes carried out in alleys on a temporary basis

2.3 Construction of theoretical framework

As the main objective of this research is to determines the impact of sidewalk liveliness, an intangible feature, on property values, the author must conduct two separate interdisciplinary studies into the creation of sidewalk liveliness and into its effects on the housing prices The first study is to be built upon the vast planning and urban design literature dated in the 60s with canonical works by Barkers (1968),

Canter (1977), and Gibson (1979) This body of literature focuses on public places, placemaking, human behaviors, and their interaction The second study is to be guided by the hedonic pricing theory, which sheds light on the mechanism underlying housing prices When buying a house, buyers rely on a bundle of amenities to make their decision and those amenities affect the property value Therefore, the author presents the two main theories in this section and the according conceptual model.

2.3.1 Theory of the place and human behavior

This sub-section attempts to briefly discuss three important urban design and planning theories as a theoretical basis for the first investigation The three theories are indicative of the human capability to adapt to the environment where people choose to perform specific actions or activities These theories are integrated to derive the factors that influence the behavior and activity choices of the public life participants on the sidewalk These theories include one of Barker’s behavior settings

in 1968, Canter’s (1977) theory of place, and the theory of environmental affordability of Gibson (1979) All three theories have overlapping concepts Barker (1968) contends that the effective interaction between human behavior and physical settings is the attributes including a specific layout of the environment, a regular activity on it, and a uniform relationship between two attributes Furthermore, the physical environment has a great influence on human behavior and at the same time, human behavior will affect and change the environment

Canter (1977) and Gibson (1979) separately advance the behavior setting theory to construct ecological psychology, a set of theories and ideas that explain the human behaviors in different settings Canter argues that the location is defined and understood as the physical characteristics of the place, the activities in it and the meaning that they hold for people He also suggests that our understanding of a setting depends on what we do in places and how we feel about them Gibson suggests that the physical environmental attributes (settings) that people use them for some activities He adds the characteristics and configurations of objects that are not only

capable of behavior but also aesthetic experience By physically changing a setting, the authors can change its affordability

Those theories allow for a reasonable assumption of the importance of the human behaviors in public space which may include the sidewalk in the Vietnamese context Therefore, the author postulates the possible relationship between the sidewalk characteristics in mixed-use neighborhoods in Ho Chi Minh City and the behaviors and activities of sidewalk life participants

2.3.2 Hedonic pricing theory

This sub-section addresses the common economic theory of pricing mechanism to explain why both tangible and intangible features of sidewalks may influence property prices Rosen (1974) develops the theoretical support for the application of the hedonic pricing model to property value appraisal He proposes an explanation of the implicit market that describes the working of markets for differentiated goods and provided the hedonic valuation into standard economic theory Inspired by the work

of Houthakker (1952), Becker (1965), Muth (1966), and Lancaster (1966), Rosen showed equilibrium the hedonic price function from the demand and supply side, that derived the bid function starts to analyze based on maximizing the utility of consumer and produce a maximizing profit of manufacturers A combination of attributes of goods in the market is represented as a differentiated commodity Obviously, a vector

on the market represents a distinct commodity, the author will rely on the derive prices and a number of attributes related to each commodity to estimate implicit prices

Rosen’s theoretical foundation leads to a two-step approach: (1) estimating a hedonic equation by regressing the price of a commodity or good on its attributes, (2) deriving the implicit price of a characteristic (the inverse demand curve or the marginal willingness to pay function) as the partial derivative of each property mentioned in the hedonic function In the second stage, the estimated marginal bid and marginal

offer functions should apply the estimated marginal hedonic price as an endogenous variable while considering using individual seller’s attributes that affect offer as instrument variable However, determining this inverse demand function poses some problems because it depends on the assumptions made on the supply side of the implicit market for the characteristics If the supply curve is completely elastic or fixed, the marginal price of the characteristics becomes exogenous in the estimate of the inverse demand function

2.4 Overview of sidewalk in HCMC

2.4.1 The history of sidewalk development in HCMC

Sidewalk in HCMC was formed 300 years ago, and since then the activities on sidewalk have remained the same The city has gone through a remarkable succession

of political and economic regime changes: colonial, postcolonial nationalist, socialist, and market transition In the history, there are distinction this area as French colonial Saigon in the East and Chinese Cholon in the West This distinction was maintained and increased through urban design and planning that assigned different roles for the two towns and limited construction in the five-kilometer zone between them The two areas did officially merge into Saigon-Cholon in 1931 Saigon was designated to be the administrative capital while Cholon was the industrial or commercial area (Wright, 1991)

Prior to the merge, their functions are seperate By the late nineteenth century, Saigon represented the efforts of French colonizers on communicating to the world the grandeur of its Haussman-esque urban planning, the strength of its empire (Kim, 2014) Defined by its grid plan, roundabouts, and grand boulevards, Saigon was later designated the French colonial administrative center in 1931 Both the Haussmann-esque boulevards in Saigon and the narrow sidewalks of Cholon host vibrant sidewalk life that has evolved over regime changes The history shows how sidewalk practices have had a vibrant life of their own deviating from official city plans and regulations

For much of its history, HCMC ’s place as a trading center made it a site for migrants and refugees

Prior to 1975, urbanization in Saigon was fast but brought about a number of economic reversals, especially the increasing flood of immigrants (Anh et al., 1996; Boothroyd & Nam, 2000) The poor people in the city lived in cramped apartments and backward infrastructure In suburban, sidewalks are not considered at this stage, and sidewalk economics has become a major source of income for poor workers Since 1975, the city has faced the old sidewalk planning from colonial Frence which

socio-no longer meets the needs of the growing population and personal vehicles, as a result the sidewalk use has become more flexible (Pham, 2016) The nature of this space in society creates commerce and culture value, attracts slow pedestrians, as well as operates more activities on it These characteristics of sidewalks look more lively and messy (Kim, 2016)

2.4.2 The function of sidewalk

Sidewalks in HCMC have been encroached to use for many different purposes, affecting traffic safety when pedestrians have to walk along the road with motor vehicles, this is the causes of congestion on many roads Environmental sanitation problem along roads is also affected by the littering of citizen The messy conditions and urban landscape are threaten when sidewalks used with different purposes There are many legal documents issued to manage the use of sidewalks for more than 30 years, but the sidewalk disorder is still widespread in HCMC

Sidewalks can be as public spaces in some countries, so it relates to this city’s social and economic issues Furthermore, sidewalk activities took place throughout the history of a city Therefore, it is impossible to separate or ignore economic and social issues related to sidewalks

The sidewalk of HCMC has many different functions, which creates a lively sidewalk

of the city Specifical fuctions include the following:

• Function of ensuring pedestrian safety

• Layout space for green trees and urban technical infrastructure

• Space for community activities

• Connect with other spaces

• Space for economic activities

In terms of urban design and planning, a sidewalk considered to be liveliness includes all the functions listed above If only understanding sidewalks is simply a space for people to walk and install technical infrastructure, if other functions are overlooked

or even excluded from the sidewalk space, it will create a the conflict because even

if excluded, those functions still exist

2.4.3 The characteristics impacts on using sidewalk in HCMC

Some characteristics affecting sidewalk use could include natural, historical, social, economic, transport characteristics, and urban management and policies problem (Nguyen et al., 2017)

cultural-• Natural characteristic

Natural characteristics that have a major impact on the use of sidewalks by people, especially the temperature factor affect the comfort of users them (Hui & Jiang, 2014) In addition, wind and rain are also one of the natural factors affecting the comfort of people when moving in urban transition spaces, including sidewalks (Kray

et al., 2013)

• Historical characteristic

In 1976, Saigon merged with the surrounding Gia Dinh Province and was officially renamed HCMC In the 19th century, big boulevards such as Cartinat (Dong Khoi), Charner (Le Loi), and Bonard (Le Loi) were built in Saigon and along two-sides of boulevards formed the commercial store of the French, Chinese and Indians and the Vietnamese, which created commercial activities lively (Nguyen, 2018) People from Europeans to rich Vietnamese chose the ideal pubs and food shop along the sidewalk

of Cartina Street (Dong Khoi) to drinking and crowding with others A large of the French activities took place the street and sidewalk from the early morning to night, they considered street as their home, and they just returned their home at midnight

and to sleep (Nam, 2018) Conversely, the Chinese in Cholon focused on business, they were willing to live in the cramped, inconvenient conditions, their house can both live and business – home-based business The cultural features still exist in HCMC today

HCMC ’s informal economy has a thick history from the feudal times, but until now the official definition of informality did not occur in any Vietnamese regulation text, there are also no current policies targeting the informal sector (Razafindrakoto & Roubaud, 2010) There are two activities of informal sectors on HCMC’s sidewalks including: vending and household activities Kim (2012) said that it was interesting

to find that so many activities of life can be nurtured in such a public space The income people and immigrants use of sidewalks to do business Moreover, vending activities are still compliant with consumer habits, utility, affordability of the majority of people in the city, and it is also considered the effective livelihoods of many poor households However, a number of vendors think that the sidewalks belong to the landlord of the street facing houses, therefore, they have to pay monthly rent to the landlord

low-• Economic characteristic

Sidewalk is a place to create advantage conditions for economic activities of urban people According to Kim (2014), there are more than 3,800 sidewalk activities in 6 wards in HCMC, and conducted interviews with 250 street vendors, resulting in over

150 sidewalk activities in the city center of HCMC (District 1 and District 5) The author also said that many studies have proved that the sidewalk economy is an important part of social security when providing 20 jobs for the city Besides, the sidewalk economy has contributed to creating urban souls, reflecting the characteristics of the economy - culture - society of that city This has great implications for the tourism economy, because tourists, especially foreigners, tend to want to explore the cultural characteristics of the cities when they visit From the sidewalk economy as service and cuisine have contributed to attracting tourism economy

• Transport characteristics

Vietnam, especially in HCMC, has a large number of personal motorcycles Urban people could stop, park, or climb on sidewalks because they easy access to the services of the sidewalk economy In addition, the sidewalk of HCMC in particular

is used to park motorbikes for customers front of their shophouse

2.4.4 The current situation of using sidewalk in HCMC

HCMC currently has a total of 4,869 roads with a width of 5.0m or more, with a total length of 4,044km administered by the Department of Transport and People’s Committees of districts With a total of 4,869 roads with 2,598 roads without sidewalks with a length of 2,074.64km (accounting for 51.3%) and 2,271 roads with sidewalks with a length of 1,969.36 km (accounting for 48.7%) The 2,271 routes with sidewalks with 772 roads with sidewalks of 3m or more with a length of 451,04km (accounting for 27.47%) and 1,499 roads with sidewalks smaller than 3m with a length of 1,428, 32km (accounting for 72.53%) Therefore, there are more than half of the roads in the city without sidewalks leading to the situation of stopping parking on the road on these roads

Population density and road density vary between districts in the city Districts with high population density but low road density include Districts 3, 4, 8, 10, 11, Phu Nhuan, Binh Thanh and Go Vap These are the districts with high levels of using sidewalk complexity, the assumption that the degree of complexity is proportional to population density and inversely proportional to the road density in the district However, many districts have high current visitors like District 1, District 5, the level

of complexity will also increase Localities with high road density and low population density include District 2 and five suburban towns The complexity of using sidewalk

in these districts is lower or concentrated only in certain areas

According to Nguyen et al (2017), HCMC currently has 90-94 percent of personal motorbikes parked on the sidewalk, and shophouses use sidewalks to park motorcycles for their customer About 21-26 percent of shops display goods on sidewalks Most shophouses use the 1 meter width of sidewalk, about 63 percent, 1-

1.5 meter width of sidewalk accounts for 24 percent The number of restaurants change during the day, and increase in the evenings On average, the 28 percent of restaurants use cooking stoves on sidewalks The highest rate in the evening

In an average sidewalk section of about 38m there is usually a hawker, especially 69% of street vendors sell food or beverage close to the constructions in the weekdays Similarly, street vendors use stoves and tables and chairs on the sidewalk, especially increasing in the evenings (43 percent of sidewalk vendors in the evening and weekdays and 48 hawkers eating and drinking at the weekends to display tables and chairs on the sidewalk

2.4.5 The legal documents on managing and using sidewalk

Decree No 36-CP of 1995 promulgates the ensuring traffic order and safety on roads and in urban centers The Decree has determined that sidewalk is a part of the road traffic project and sets the task for the provincial People’s Committee to ensure sidewalks for pedestrians The provincial People’s Committees have the right to ban specifying regulation of the use of a part of the sidewalk on some special roads to sell goods, but this must not affect traffic order and safety Implementing Decree No 36-

CP of the Government, People’s Committee HCMC issued Directive No NCVX dated July 20, 1995, Directive No 50-CT-UB-NCVX dated September 29,

37/CT-UB-1995, and Directive No 31/CT-UB-NC dated September 14, 1996, according to the 2.5 meter or more width of sidewalks, assign to the People’s Committee of the district

to organize check and paint the bar to distinguish the outer part reserved for pedestrians, inside the space for small traders, parking space for motorbike, repair space for motorbike, and parking space of passengers into shops, but must not occupy all pedestrian sidewalks

The Law on Land Road Traffic, 2001: Roadways and sidewalks are only used for traffic purposes; in special cases, the temporary use for other purposes shall be prescribed by the provincial People’s Committee presidents but must not affect traffic order and safety (Clause 1, Article 34) Decree No 14/2003 / ND-CP dated February

19, 2003 allowed the provincial People’s Committee to specify the provisional use of

part of the street without limitation In the first time of implementing the Law of Land Road Traffic, 2001, the level of sanctioning administrative violations in the field of road traffic according to the provisions of Decree No 15/2003/ND-CP is quite low compared to the living standard in HCMC, therefore, have no effect on deterring violators, the City People’s Council has organized an extraordinary meeting, adopting Resolution No 40/2003/NQ-HD dated March 28/2003, as a basis for the City People’s Committee issued Decision No 106/2003/QD-UB dated June 27, 2003 on the application of a number of measures to sanction administrative violations in land road traffic in HCMC

The Law on Land Road Traffic, 2008 continues to inherit the provisions of Clause 1, Article 34 of the Law on Land Road Traffic, 2001 The guidance on the implementation of the regulations on temporary use of part of roadways and sidewalks in the section other purposes are governed by the Circular of the Ministry

of Construction, 2013, the Decree No 100/2013/ND-CP details the cases of temporary use of part of roads and sidewalks In HCMC, there are regulations on management and use of roadways and sidewalks issued together with Decision No 74/2008/QD-UBND dated October 23, 2008 of People’s Committee HCMC, but there is no official document regulating road use fees, temporary use of roads and sidewalks The city is directing relevant agencies to draft documents to replace Decision No 74/2008/QD-UBND dated October 23, 2008 Basically, the State’s policies related to the use of a part of roadways and sidewalks are stable, but the list

of roads allowed to use sidewalks and roads outside the purpose of traffic of HCMC Minh quickly changes according to contradictory trends that adversely affect traffic order and safety and socio-economic development of the City

Decision No 74/2008/QD-UBND dated 23 October 2008 about Promulgating the Regulation on management and use of roads and sidewalks in HCMC Sidewalks are parts of an urban pedestrian zone and a place for arranging urban technical infrastructure along the route Activities on sidewalks in HCMC are required as the following:

• Activities in service of construction and repair works

• Public parking lot service that have fee

• Social activities are cultural activities, sports, parades, festivals on the road to serve the community, celebrate the big event

• Activities in service of goods trading and services

• Parking lot for motorbike in front the door of house

• Underground works include electricity, telecommunications, lighting, water supply, drainage, gas supply, tunnel engineering under the road and sidewalks

• Works on the sidewalk include floating posts, light towers, transformer stations, fire brigades, kiosks, telephone boxes, traffic signs, bus stops,

signage, billboard, waste bin

2.5 The housing market in HCMC

2.5.1 The characteristics of housing market in HCMC

An understanding of the salient features of the residential.market in HCMC will provide a context for the regression analysis models Currently, HCMC is attracting

a great deal of foreign investment in real estate, so the real.estate market is often dominated by a few developers and major speculators The commercial banking system along with the government housing finance system plays an important role in meeting the housing needs of the people (Ng, 2006) Culturally, people’s psychology seems to be willing to pay for housing ownership The house is an asset that even requires them to desire to own it, especially individual houses

In addition, it is estimated that, HCMC has grown on average by more than 300,000 annually The large number of people immigrates to HCMC for many purposes as study, work, business investment, use of high quality social infrastructure services have created a great pressure on housing demand Therefore, the demand of new housing are needed each year at least 80,000-100,000 houses That leads to the constant increase in land prices, so low incomes and real housing needs people will not be able to afford house Controlled supply lead to strong absorption of Central

Residential Market CBD area is restricted to develop new residential projects until

2020, according to recent masterplan amendment of the city Similarly, for CBD fringe, new residential.projects would also be carefully approved subject to improvement of the infrastructure system It is resulted in optimistic.absorption in Central Residential Market Until 1Q19, the inventory of luxury and high-end products is around 1,300 units in CBD while that of high-end and mid-end apartments inventory of 11 districts in CBD fringe are about 5,900 units (Vietvalues, 2019)

In Vietnam, the government is actually the sole owner of the land, all the land on the market is a citizen’s only right to use, not ownership, so the use of land on the market

is essentially a land leases In the total real estate transactions in HCMC, the majority real estate transactions are single-family housing, large in both transaction volume and market price Increasing demand for luxury real estate has led to an increase in housing prices in recent years This is detrimental to the medium market by raising the overall price level causing oversupply and therefore, the government will regulate making prices more affordable In housing finance, banking institutions (commercial banks, financial companies) are by far the largest primary market lenders in the financing of the purchase of residential real estate

In order to establish rights to individual.houses, Department of Natural Resources and Environment HCMC will issue Certificates of land use.rights, ownership of house and other properties associated with land The duration of ownership term of the land use rights forresidential housing is permanent.Transactions related to land and housing in HCMC are based on the Land Law, 2013 The time to complete a single house transaction is about 3 weeks and the transaction process is quite simple from setting up a purchase contract, fulfill tax obligations, and transfer land use rights

to new owner

2.5.2 The house price in HCMC

There are several ways to determine the house price as below:

• Based-regulations house price