JAUE2017-029: Sociable Sidewalk – From Actual Issues to A New Approach for Solution

Abstract

In Asia, sidewalks in big cities always raise controversial issues in the society. Increasingly, sidewalks are 
rethought on its features and functions as scholars gradually focus on the interrelationships between physical 
characteristics of streets and behavioral practice of users. Meanwhile, in Vietnam, the sidewalk is often occupied 
by the encroachment of personalized street fronts and street vendors; but the authorities can only resort to dividing 
sidewalk width with no vital regards for pedestrians. There are, though, periodic sidewalk clean-up campaigns
carried out by local authorities, the efficiency is not desired since the sidewalks are repeatedly in state of disorder. 
This paper examines the mixed-use of sidewalk in context of Vietnam to reinforce the sociable meaning in the 
usage of sidewalk. A segment of Nguyen Tri Phuong Street, a large and bustling street in Ho Chi Minh City, is 
investigated as an empirical evidence. Research finding suggests that the mixed-use sidewalk is unavoidable in
Vietnam big cities; hence, city planners and authorities should take this model into consideration. In line with this 
perspective, this paper suggests a sociable sidewalk as a new approach for contemporary sidewalk in Vietnam big 
cities.