French expert offers advice for Hanoi to have forests in the city

TP - The Competition for Planning Ideas for a Multifunctional Cultural Park in the Red River's Sandbank and Sandbank is accepting entries. Architect Emmanuel Cerise, Chief Representative of the Ile-de-France Region in Hanoi, is on the jury. In an interview with Tien Phong, he proposed planning the Red River's sandbank into a forest to create a unique feature for Hanoi.

Cannot refer to the Seine

Can you clarify the differences in the use and management of peri-urban forests compared to inner-city parks in Paris?

Paris has 331 public green spaces that are free for people to access. Here, people can walk, play sports, etc. Some parks allow some corners to be used as cafes.

The sandbank in the middle of the Red River has many spaces for people to rest and relax. Photo: NMNhà

The forests on the outskirts of Paris, with their wildlife such as birds, deer, etc., are like a reserve. They mainly plan trails for jogging or cycling. Any sports activities, if any, are moderate, ensuring that they do not affect the habitat of the animals.

Although they are natural spaces, suburban forests are considered social infrastructure for people to freely use. People can easily access these forests by private or public means. Our green space network ensures that people, regardless of where they live in the Ile-de-France region (including Paris and 7 neighboring provinces - Editor's note), only need to walk 15 minutes to reach a park or forest.

A space is only truly public when it is accessible to people in many ways. Currently, people cannot go to the sandbank in the middle of the Red River by public transport. This is also a challenge for the consulting units participating in the competition. They must research carefully to come up with suitable proposals.

Architect Emmanuel Cerise, who is also the Director of the Paris Region International Cooperation Support Agency in Vietnam, has lived in Hanoi for 13 years and has participated in many urban planning and beautification projects for the capital. Photo: NMHAN

“We must determine which areas of the Red River delta need to have a transportation system planned so that people can access them by both personal and public vehicles. There are certain areas that are only accessible by foot, like a conservation area, so that the wild natural value of this place can be guaranteed.”

Architect Emmanuel Cerise

Is there a distinction in France between theme parks and green parks? If there is a combination, how are fees charged?

We separate these two types. Theme parks are usually run by private companies, and of course charge a fee. In addition to parks that are open 24 hours a day, some public parks have set opening and closing times and are fenced off, but only for the safety of the public and do not charge a fee. In Ile-de-France, there is no such thing as a park with both public and private areas on the same area, except in special cases such as the Vincennes forest, which has a semi-wild zoo, and visitors have to pay an entrance fee.

Why do you suggest that the sandbank in the middle of the Red River should be developed in the direction of an urban forest? Should we plant more trees in this area or should we let the ecosystem develop naturally?

First of all, due to the different scales (the Seine River is at most less than 500m wide, while the Red River is usually more than 1km wide), the way to deal with the Red River cannot refer to the Seine River.

The scale of the Red River sandbank reminds me of the forests on the outskirts of Paris. Hanoi does not have any urban forests. This is an opportunity to plan a purely natural space within the city. For example, Vincennes forest is essentially a natural forest but still has separate areas for growing flowers. There is a highway running through it but still respects the natural forest space.

The area of ​​the Red River sandbank is much larger than any inner-city park. Of which, we can completely calculate a large proportion to be exploited as a forest. But it must be emphasized that this is a planted forest, just a space for wild plants.

There may also be some areas in the middle of the sandbank that are still used for farming. The main purpose is not to provide agricultural products but to allow people to come here to experience and create a space for community activities. However, efforts should be made to control and manage these areas so that they remain purely natural instead of becoming something artificial.

"Where there is good land, there are birds of prey"

What do you think if Hanoi plans to increase budget revenue from a future cultural park rising from the sandbank in the middle of the Red River?

I completely understand the city’s desire to exploit some cultural and service purposes there to generate revenue. But no one has yet raised the issue of how large an area the central beach area is equivalent to. If the entire area is developed into a theme park for cultural and entertainment activities of an artificial nature, I’m afraid it won’t be enough to do it.

But I do not encourage that. The government can allow a very small part of that area to be exploited for business services, besides the remaining very large area for wild nature.

I was very impressed at the contest launch ceremony when a speaker (Dr. Nguyen Manh Ha - PV) presented a short research result stating that the Red River sandbank is an important bird station in the migration map of birds around the world. That is a huge strength. Not every city or capital in the world has space for birds to stop right in the heart of the city.

Areas that can be used for cultural and commercial services should be enclosed. The remaining areas should be reserved for natural spaces and wildlife. There should even be a buffer zone between the two areas so that business activities do not affect the other space.

Within the wild, we can still organize certain services. For example, building huts to observe birds. Anyone who registers for the service must comply with the regulations of not making noise or disturbing the migratory stops of birds.

What other issues need to be noted in planning the Red River delta area to minimize negative impacts on the natural ecosystem?

From Long Bien Bridge, there is a path down to the middle of the beach for non-motorized vehicles. In the future, if the city finds it necessary to organize any commercial service activities on the middle of the beach, it should focus on the area near the foot of Long Bien Bridge and keep it very small.

To keep the area from Chuong Duong Bridge to the South truly for birds, Hanoi should have a solution to limit the noise caused by traffic, not only to keep migratory birds but also to attract many other species. If we deliberately bring activities that gather large crowds just to the area between Long Bien and Chuong Duong Bridges or to the end of the northern beach, this project will be considered bankrupt. The value of the middle beach can no longer be maintained.

Thank you sir.

NMNhà (implementation)

Source: https://tienphong.vn/chuyen-gia-phap-hien-ke-de-ha-noi-co-rung-trong-pho-post1643701.tpo