Ho Chi Minh City's new pedestrian promenade

On 29 April, a day before Saigon was to mark the 40th anniversary of the triumphal arrival of communist forces on April 30, 1975, a small step was taken at the city’s heart that will hopefully become a much bigger part of future city planning. A new pedestrian promenade was unveiled along central Nguyen Hue St that runs perhaps 500 metres from the historic People’s Committee Building to the Saigon River. Big crowds came out to experience first hand this first serious development of public space in the downtown area since 1975 - or perhaps since the French. Saigon (officially known as Ho Chi Minh City) has witnessed big changes to its skyline during the past decade with rapid construction of skyscrapers, hotels, apartments and new shopping malls, coinciding with a tragic haemorrhaging of heritage. Public space, walkability and liveability have been low order issues for the city’s leaders to date. The new pedestrian strip may be a modest development in most global cities - but in this public space starved city, it’s of great significance. Critics of the promenade say there’s too much tiling and not enough green cover and shade for a city where temperatures regularly hover above 35 degrees. In its current incarnation, it’s hard to imagine the space being used for anything in daylight hours except in the early mornings or late afternoons. Curiously, nearby French era parks and gardens, much loved by the locals, are mostly grass covered with magnificent old trees providing shade and cool throughout long, hot, summer days. Shade will increase as new trees grow but there probably should be many more - and grass too (the photo only tells part of the story). Anyway, this is an important step forward for the city - may there be many more. Oh and if you're wondering about the big blue box, a new, larger statue of Ho Chi Minh is presently hidden away from view in there and will be unveiled on May 19th - his 125th birthday.