Housing policy and slum upgrading in Ho-Chi-Minh City

The new liberal economic policy in Vietnam has had a negative effect on housing the poor. This paper reviews that housing policy and shows how it has been influenced by national economic development policy. A case study of a non-governmental organization-assisted slum up-grading project in a poor neighborhood of Ho-Chi-Minh City is used to illustrate the arguments. Although efforts were made to involve the community in the project, the centralized nature of the governmental and Communist Party structure made this nearly impossible. Although gender equality is guaranteed by the Vietnamese Constitution, evidence from the project shows the difficulty that exists in achieving it.