Temporary upgrading : how permanent are the results? : a case study of strategies to improve tenure in Ho Chi Minh City

Abstract

An Khanh is an informal settlement in District 2 of Ho Chi Minh City, and the site of a Master Plan that may displace up to 7,000 households. A major part of the Master Plan proposes expanding the commercial core of Ho Chi Minh City across the Saigon River to the shores of An Khanh and other peri-urban communities in the District. In spite of this impending development, NGOs and community residents have been actively upgrading and installing infrastructure along the riverbank and throughout the settlement. What are the reasons for this apparent inconsistency between the Master Plan proposals and the community and NGO responses? Is their upgrading investment an irrational decision in the face of probable displacement? This thesis will examine the relationship between upgrading and the attainment of tenure security. Previous studies on upgrading and tenure have established a theoretical framework in which tenure is usually a necessary condition for slum upgrading. However, in some circumstances investments are used as a tool to strengthen claims to tenure. In the case of Vietnam, there is the added dimension of transitional property rights within a restrained civil society. How does this affect the negotiation and expectation of secure tenure? The evidence from An Khanh in this thesis sheds new light on the relationship between upgrading and community efforts to attain tenure security within this context.