Pioneering Urban Law in Vietnam. Knowledge Sharing on Urban Legislation for Sustainable Urban Development in Oman, Saudi Arabia

Almost half of the world population will live in cities, which will undoubtedly heighten the challenges of urban liveability for cities where most dwellers struggle to secure basic amenities. In Vietnam, the level of urbanization is expected to rise from 33% in 2014 to 50% by 2030. Efforts have been made to address shortcomings in urban planning and management, such as the drafting of the National Urban Development Strategy, enacting the Law on Urban Development and Management. Additionally, projecting the Middle East into the future, especially the Sultanate of Oman and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, will require robust urban planning legislation because it defines urban forms, where land, infrastructure and basic services can be built as well as lays out rules for planning and decision-making. There can be no lasting change without effective legislation and multi-level governance.
Through UN-Habitat’s support, the Ministry of Construction, Vietnam (MOC), the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (MoMRAH) as well as the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning, Sultanate of Oman (MoHUP) have recently undertaken urban legislative reforms aimed at facilitating sustainable urban expansion and development. In both contexts, applied research, with a strong focus on action-oriented conclusions, was used to collect evidence to diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of the urban legal system and local planning practices. Several urban laws were analysed in each case and the approach relied on cutting-edge UN-Habitat diagnostic tools as avenues to apply and analyse the potential solutions before concluding on the policy recommendations. This included UN-Habitat’s three-pronged approach which considers spatial planning concerning legal and institutional frameworks and financial mechanisms.
Vietnam and Oman benefitted from international benchmarking comparative legal case studies that showcased how key issues such urban regeneration, land-value capture and urban classification are addressed in other developed and developing countries which provided inspiring practices and recommendations for respective urban legislations. Also, the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London, UK (IALS), will be involved in this session as it has vast expertise in training lawmakers and urban practitioners on the parameters to developing quality legislation.
Through their high-level representatives, MOC, MoMRAH and MoHUP are keen to organize this networking event on “Pioneering Urban Law in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Knowledge Sharing on Effective Urban Legislation for Sustainable Urban Development in the Sultanate of Oman and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ” to raise awareness on legislative best practices related to conducting comparative legal case studies as well as showcase legislative drafting skills to improve the quality of urban legislation since Vietnam, Oman and Saudi Arabia are transitioning towards convert