Agricultural land for urban development: The process of land conversion in Central Vietnam

Abstract

Since the 1990s, Vietnam’s progressive integration into the global market economy has triggered major economic and social transformations. In spatial terms, these are marked by a massive conversion of agricultural land for industrial and urban development. While this process has attracted considerable attention from media and researchers, much of the research on land conversion has focused on the largest cities. Little attention is devoted to similar processes occurring in medium-sized cities where urban expansion has been rapidly increasing in recent years. In order to identify the issues and consequences, this paper attempts to analyze how the conversion of farmland for urban uses takes place in the medium-sized city of Hue in Central Vietnam. The analysis shows that land conversion for urban development purposes has increased social tensions and complaints from affected people. Two key issues are identified: i) the state uses its extensive powers in the decision-making process while the participation of affected people is passive and weak; ii) land conversion from agricultural to urban uses results from profit-seeking by multiple stakeholders. Data was collected through fieldwork in Hue and secondary sources such as newspapers, legal documents on land policy and urban development.