Living labs – an approach to study and implement river management projects in Ho Chi Minh city

Quy hoạch và phát triển kè bờ sông Sài Gòn và sông, kênh nội thành và các giải pháp để hoàn thành cơ bản kè sông Sài Gòn, sông và kênh nội thành vào năm 2025 LIVING LABS – AN APPROACH TO STUDY AND IMPLEMENT RIVER MANAGEMENT PROJECTS IN HO CHI MINH CITY (LIVING LABS – MỘT CÁCH TIẾP CẬN PHỤC VỤ NGHIÊN CỨU VÀ TRIỂN KHAI CÁC DỰ ÁN QUẢN LÝ SÔNG, KÊNH RẠCH TRÊN ĐỊA BÀN TP.HCM) Nguyen Hong Quan1*, Kayla Tift2, Tran Thi Van Thu1, Nguyen Thuy Vien Minh1, Mariana da Cunha Oliveira Santos3, Vu Thi Hong Hanh4 1Center of Water Management and Climate Change (WACC), Institute for Environment and Resources (IER), Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh city (VNU - HCM) 2Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam 3Institute of City Planning and Urban Design, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany 4Faculty of Architecture, University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City Abstract Ho Chi Minh city has a beautiful water landscape with populated rivers and canals networks. Over the last few decades, however, the water system has been compromisedas a result of water pollution, informal settlements, and unregulated development. Consequently, the city has been working in order to improve the current situation through various urban upgrading projects. While some promising international projects through the World Bank, Japan and Belgiumhave undertaken efforts to rehabilitate the river networks in HCMC, the city is still faced with multiple issues to develop and implement multi-purpose and multi-functional river restoration projects. Typical reasons for failurehave been attributed to limited time preparation, lack of holistic perspectives, lack of stakeholder involvement, and limited implementation capacity. In this paper, we introduce the concept of “Living Labs,” which includes five main components: (1) Multi-Method Approach; (2) User Engagement; (3) Multi- Stakeholder Participation; (4) Real-life Setting; (5) Innovation and co-Creation.Living Labs offer to support the development and implementation of river management projects in Ho Chi Minh city. We use the case of Xuyen Tam canal as an illustration of how the concept can be implemented in practice. * Corresponding: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Hong Quan, Center of Water Management and Climate Change (WACC), Institute for Environment and Resources (IER), Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh city (VNU - HCM), Mobile: +84-908275996 nhquan@wacc.edu.vn 62 Quy hoạch và phát triển kè bờ sông Sài Gòn và sông, kênh nội thành và các giải pháp để hoàn thành cơ bản kè sông Sài Gòn, sông và kênh nội thành vào năm 2025 Introduction Issues of Rivers and Canals in Ho Chi Minh City While the encroachment of riverbanks and canals havegradually decreased in 2017 from the previous year in HCMC, informal settlements still remain a significant problem for the quality of the water systems. Often, informal settlers and development projects will intrudeand construct on protected corridors of rivers and canals in the city. In 2014, there were 360 infringement cases on navigable canals, channels, and rivers that have traffic function; 75 cases in 2017 and down to 64 in 2018. According to Decision 22/2017 of The People’s Committee, itstrictly prohibits all acts of illegal encroachment ofland and using land in wrong purposes or acts of causing harm. This decision was a result of landslides which affected the safety and stability of construction works, thereby protectingriverbanks, streams, canals ditches and public lakes. Department branches and districts managers were decentralized to further enable proper management, delegating clear responsibilities and regulations of water systems within their jurisdiction. Even though they regularly inspect, supervise and handle violations– achievinginitial results - there remains a significant delay of project implementationto renovate and embellish the rivers and canals. This delay causes re- encroachment and creates an unbreakable cycle of river and canal degradation. According to Vu Ngoc Long, the former Director of The Southern Institute of Ecology, if “we are tardy for restoration of the original function of canal systems in HCMC, the city is forecasted to suffer the terrible impact of climate change, the quality of life of people will be severely affected within 10 to 20 years.” Noticeably, there are several backlog cases that have yet to be handled. For instance, Tan Hung Co, LTD. built illegal and embankment in district 8, comprising of and electrical pole with 400 meters in length on the river route to Cho Dem. In addition, households of Bui Thi Thanh Van in District 9 levelled and filled a canal branch of Ba Cua. Unmistakably, a series of other long-standing violations have existed and caused sizable damage to riverbeds and the individuals dependent on these waterways. Not only are ecological issues a concern, but the challenges of social livelihoods deeply imbedded in the river and canal networks. The corollaries of encroachment are narrowing and changing water flow, affecting sedimentation and agriculture, changing flood patterns, water pollution and even drought; the corollary of levelling and construction result in landslides surrounding and within the riverbeds, limiting water storage capacity and changing the natural water patterns. Many canals are violated and turned into sewers, inhibiting water flow andresulting in stagnation, trash collection, and promotion of water-born illnesses. Conversely, people also build houses, roads and other public and social infrastructure. Mr. Nguyen Van Hiep, former Deputy Director of HCMC Department of Construction, emphasized “the death ofrivers and canals is definitely due to human factors; however, the responsibility of Agency management is very big and important,” thereby suggesting deficiencies in capacity. Water pollution in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) canals endures as major problem - with no organized waste removal services and an outdated sewage system that allows much of the city’s used household water and toilet sewage to be discharged directly into the canals. Public media, governmental sources, and independent research indicate that all canals in the city are polluted with high levels of bacterial and inorganic toxic agents and littered with solid waste. So the channels and canals in HCMC have been transformed from means of transportation and flood control into an environmental hazard and a slum area (Elena Givental 2014). According to a report by the Ho Chi Minh City Environmental Protection Agency, (HEPA, about 150,000 cubic meters of industrial wastewater, 17,000 cubic meters of hospital wastewater, 500,000cubic meters of domestic wastewater, 400–500 tons of solid waste, and 300 tons of human waste are disposed directly to the Ho Chi Minh City canals daily (Nguyen Thi Van Ha et. al., 2008). Efforts from Ho Chi Minh City Government Ho Chi Minh city has spent considerable time and effort in the improvement of this situation. Urban upgrading is one of seven key programs approved by Ho Chi Minh City government. The objective of this program is to reorganize the communities who live along the rivers and canals as well as degraded apartments. The upgrading program has not only improved the life quality of the upgraded communities but also improved the water quality, reduced floods and created a 63 Quy hoạch và phát triển kè bờ sông Sài Gòn và sông, kênh nội thành và các giải pháp để hoàn thành cơ bản kè sông Sài Gòn, sông và kênh nội thành vào năm 2025 livable space for trees within new land developments. Since 2000, the city has implemented a number of projectssuch as: Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe, Tan Hoa-Lo Gom, and Doi-Te. So far, there are about 36,000 households that have been resettled within this program. There are thousands of alleys, roads, and drainages that have been upgraded. The face of Ho Chi Minh City has been changing positively. The urban space has been extended, and more urban facilities have been provided together with new land development areas. However, according to the report from HCMC, there are still 20,000 household who are living near canals in degraded and decaying apartments. These households should be relocated and/or reconstructed. However, this progress remains slow to implement given limited capital resources as well as legal arrangements. The main concernfor the river upgrading program is resettlement. The resettlementsmust ensure the livelihoods of thousands peopleafter relocation. Living Labs As mentioned, a considerable challenge Vietnam faces in the wake of upcoming policy and project proposals is that of implementability. Many institutional solutions have already been presented to local and national officials in HCMC, but few have been successfully executed, leaving uncertainties in the feasibility of plan implementation and policy adoptability in HCMC (Leeuwen et al., 2015), especially concerning river rehabilitation. Due to this issue, HCMC sees an integral need for a mechanism that can provide an explanation for unimplemented projects.Using Living Labs as a solution to the implementation gap could be the key to identify obstacles and challenges within project proposals. What is a Living Lab? Although many definitions have been attributed to Living Labs, it can mainly be described as “an orchestrator of open innovation processes focusing on co-creation of innovations in real-world contexts by involving multiple stakeholders with the objective to generate sustainable value for all stakeholders focusing in particular on the end-users” (Evans et al., 2017; pg. 11). Accordingly, the term is associated with five main characteristics. Characteristics of a Living Lab (Evans et al., 2017) -Multi-Method Approach: The multi-method approach includes numerous devices, systems and techniques in order to achieve a similar vision. -User Engagement: Encouraging all users to engage and interact with the process. -Multi-Stakeholder Participation: Allowing stakeholders from all areas to participate, -Including: Academia, Private Sector, Local Authority, NGO’s, Locals, etc. -Real-life Setting: Living Labs are intended to deal with real situation, to implement trials and to account for the present and future situation. -Co-Creation: Through user engagement and multi-stakeholder participation, new projects, policies, ideas and technologies will be created and tested. Purpose Through the use of living labs, complex problems can be approached through the perspectives of all stakeholders, especially though the perspectives of business stakeholders to ease the implementation of Public-Private Partnerships. The Worldbank is also using Living Labs as an innovative strategy mechanism for developing countries (Ballon & Shuurman, 2015). Living Labs focus on the initial vision of the project, which will then carry into the plan, and ultimately leading towards implementation of a multi-purpose solution. They are conducted in real-life contexts that add value to user- oriented innovation. Co-Creation Multi-Method Approach User EnagementMulti-Stakeholder Participation Real-Life Setting 64 Quy hoạch và phát triển kè bờ sông Sài Gòn và sông, kênh nội thành và các giải pháp để hoàn thành cơ bản kè sông Sài Gòn, sông và kênh nội thành vào năm 2025 Benefits of Living Labs - Innovation - Bottom-up Design Approach - Addresses Implementation Gap - Networking and Information Exchange - Technology Transfer - Increased Understanding Within the methodology perspective, processes such as data transfer and methods for user involvement are highlighted. There are basically three phases: a) Organizational level: Where the living lab is a set of actors and stakeholders organized to enable and foster innovation. These organizations tend to be public-private partneships (Leminen, 2013); b) Project level: Where Living lab activities take place following a mostly organization specific methodology in order to foster innovation; c) User activity level: Where the various assets and capabilities of the living lab organization manifest themselves as separate activities where users and stakeholders are involved. d) This resonates with design thinking, which proposes an iterative approach, based on ‘analysis’ and ‘synthesis’, that facilitates experimental learning, and alternates between divergent thinking and convergent thinking (Brown, 2008; u4loT; 2019). Action research is then used as a method to build these methodologies out of concrete cases and projects, carried out within the Living Lab (Dell’Era&Landoni, 2014). Ultimately, Living Labs have the ability to produce better projects and to realize opportunities and barriers within unimplemented projects. Living Labs have been used in sustainability concepts, smart mobility, river and basin restoration, and cultural preservation. Through the use of co-collaboration, problem areas are identified, visions are formed, and plans are implemented. The success of many of these projects reiterates the need for a steady channel of communication through various stakeholders - an environment which Living Labs can provide. Living Labs as a Gateway to River Rehabilitation PHUSICOS A prominent example of Living Labs within the European context is the PHUSICOS project within water-sensitive European mountainous regions. The Intent of PHUSICOS was to implement nature-based solutions involving the quadruple helix model – government, industry, academia and civil servants. In order for PHUSICOS to succeed, the European Union identified the need for multi-stakeholder participation and expertise in implementation of research, development and innovation projects (RDI’s). The Living Lab model is employed to effectively acknowledge the implementability gap and has been distinguished as a successful approach to high-creative solution design (European Commission, 2018). By using the living labs approach and involving an interface environment between stakeholders, the project was able to “to solve important research questions and generate new insights to key impact factors supporting a functioning Living Lab approach in the context of sustainable land use planning, NBS implementation and climate change mitigation” (European Commission, 2018; pg. 12). The benefits provided by involving a Living Labs approach has positively affected the outcome of the PHUSICOS project through problem identification and innovation technology, as well as the creation of new projects. These included the Green Surge Project and the Isar River restoration project. Green Surge The Green Surge project was established through the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme as an initiative that involved the Living Labs methodology. The project’s aim was to test different ways to connect green spaces and people in the “context of land use conflicts, climate change adaptation, demographic changes, and human health and wellbeing” (European Commission, 2018; pg. 18). Amidst these challenges, the innovative and bottom-up approach of the Living Lab’s environment allowed for interesting lessons and Vision Plan Implementation 65 Quy hoạch và phát triển kè bờ sông Sài Gòn và sông, kênh nội thành và các giải pháp để hoàn thành cơ bản kè sông Sài Gòn, sông và kênh nội thành vào năm 2025 results of the project. The Living Labs were established in five urban cities throughout Europe, providing a continuous co-production of knowledge demand and knowledge supply, which allowed for tailor-made recommendations for each city as well as in a broader European context. As a result of the living lab, the project was able to form Learning Alliances, therein forming an intensive knowledge exchange. They identified areas of green that could be connected for better performance, and they implemented new policies and regulations for green space maintenance and gave policy-makers new- founded confidence on urban green- infrastructure technology and implementation (Mattiissen et al., 2017). Isar River, Germany Isar River, Germany, used Living Labs as a mechanism for river rehabilitation. Through living labs, the project was able to identify gaps within the flood protection strategy, identifying water capacity deficiencies of German damns in the instances of flood. Also, local authority and citizens were involved to address the water quality of the river, in addition to involving scientists to address the water flow speed to support ecological and social functions. It had been discovered that channeling the river weakened the flow strength of the river, with caused problems for citizens and sedimentation flow. Furthermore, the poor aesthetic of the river due to grey infrastructure initiatives was addressed and corrected. As a result, the Living Lab environment addressed specific problems with the Isar River, summoned stakeholders, created a vision, gathered appropriate funding and implemented a plan. The outcome proved to be highly successful (Mattiissen et al., 2017). Living Labs as Cultural Preservation Throughout many countries in Asia, Living Labs have been explored for the purpose of cultural preservation. For example, the capital of the West Java Province, Banding, is utilizing a collaborative approach with local officials, specialist architects, academics and local citizens to develop open areas as ‘smart green spaces.’ Problem areas were identified in safety and transportation concerns with underutilized plots. As a result, they have newly organized festivals from an emerging civil society called the BCCF, innovative designs for new parks, and new bike sharing and pedestrian schemes. This also prompted major financial investment through the city’s initiative (Mangano et al., 2016). Living Labs can also be seen in the Southeast Asian Creative Cities Network comprised of Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand. This initiative formed as a result of a lack of permanent spaces to share knowledge and a lack of participant cities. The Living Lab is composed of representatives from ten different cities, the British Counsel, CMU STeP and Creative Chiangmai, while involving local experts and citizens. There is an abundant exchange of ideas, resources and expertise to expand the countries involved. Joint bids for public agency or private funding were formed, which allowed for the creation of competitions, joint activities, events and symposiums (Mangano et al., 2016). Overall, this initiative has fostered a more creative environment and focused on the value of innovative thinking. 66 Quy hoạch và phát triển kè bờ sông Sài Gòn và sông, kênh nội thành và các giải pháp để hoàn thành cơ bản kè sông Sài Gòn, sông và kênh nội thành vào năm 2025 Xuyen Tam Canal Introduction City is well known for dense canal/waterway networks which played critical roles in its spatial, social cultural and economic characteristics; differently defined through history; of which those with more layers of usages overtime should generate more values than those of vacancy and ignorance. Among those, Xuyen Tam seem belongs to the second category which, for along time, gradually occupied by informal settlements and usages. Compared to other h