Directive 4/CT-TTg 2023 orientations for development of Vietnam’s rural architecture planning

DIRECTIVE

On orientations for development of Vietnam’s rural architecture planning, creating identity and preserving traditional architecture^[1]

The National Target Program on building of a new-style countryside constitutes the contents of Resolution No. 26-NQ/TW of August 05, 2008, of the 7^th plenum of the X^th Party Central Committee, on “Agriculture, peasants and countryside”, and Resolution No. 19-NQ/TW of June 16, 2022, of the 5^th plenum of the XIII^th Party Central Committee, on agriculture, peasants and countryside through 2030, with a vision toward 2045. The Party and the State have paid special attention to organizing the implementation of the National Target Program on building of a new-style countryside, boosting the change of rural areas in many aspects, including rural planning and architecture. On the basis of legal documents related to rural planning and architecture such as the Construction Law, the Housing Law, the Law on Architecture, orientations for development of Vietnam’s architecture through 2030, with a vision toward 2050, approved under the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 1246/QD-TTg of July 19, 2021, the National Target Program on building of a new-style countryside for the 2021-2025 period approved under Decision No. 263/QD-TTg of February 22, 2022; and the Prime Minister’s Decisions No.  318/QD-TTg, No.  319/QD-TTg and No.  320/QD-TTg of March 8, 2022, approving the set of national criteria on building of new-style rural areas at different levels according to the standard level, advanced level and model level, ministries, sectors, provincial-level People’s Committees and related agencies have strictly implemented such documents and applied various practical solutions, thus creating marked improvements and achieving important results in the formulation and management of master plans on new-style countryside architecture and building of a new-style countryside has been crowned with great achievements over the recent years, thus considerably changing the face of countryside.

However, in localities the implementation of master plans remains inefficient, particularly the protection and promotion of traditional architectural space and protection of cultural and historical relics. Moreover, the rapid urbanization process has exerted certain impacts on outlying and rural areas, thus leading to the fast change of social, cultural and life style aspects in rural areas and affecting the construction-related issues. Many areas in the vicinity of urban centers have developed in a spontaneous manner. In rural areas, architecture has constantly lost its traditional identity and been mixed with different architectural styles, not conformable with natural landscapes, village and commune structure and anti-disaster requirements while due attention has not been paid to the inheritance and development of traditional architectural values. Architecture of public works, route-based houses and scattered houses are not conformable to relevant master plans and natural terrains, lacking highlights and rational spatial distribution (between production areas, facilities serving people’s daily life, public facilities and greeneries). Spaces for traditional cultural activities involving belief activities such as village communal houses, temples and pagodas and supporting spaces such as communal house yards, village water wells and village ponds, etc., have been gradually encroached upon for residences and traditional craft production. In addition, the above-mentioned development has shown spontaneity. The investment in construction of houses, production workshops, product display zones in central areas, etc., has been incomplete for many years, thus leading to the fact that most traditional village culture spaces have been structurally changed in the course of development, disrupting the architectural space. The transfer and division of residential land plots together with the construction of concrete houses in traditional villages and communes have changed the architectural space in such villages and communes and disrupted the natural landscapes and structure of villages and communes. The implementation of the Law on Architecture and orientations for development of Vietnam’s architecture has been delayed, and legal documents still have provisions not suitable to reality in terms of contents and resources for implementation.

In order to improve the management and institutionalize orientations for the leadership and direction of the Party and the State regarding architecture with the aim of building a modern Vietnamese architecture that is deeply imbued with national cultural identities, inheriting and promoting values of traditional architectural heritages, suitable to national conditions, socio-economic conditions, and national defense and security and international integration requirements, and inheriting experiences in construction activities, disaster prevention and control, and climate change adaptation, the Prime Minister assigns the ministries, sectors and provincial-level People’s Committees to perform the following tasks:

1. The Ministry of Construction

- To continue scrutinizing legal documents in order to finalize them and create conditions for localities to properly implement the Resolution of the 7^th plenum of the X^th Party Central Committee regarding agriculture, peasants and countryside, such as making a draft Law on Urban and Rural Planning; the Housing Law (revised); the National Master Plan on the system of urban centers and rural areas for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2050; and a circular guiding the General Master Plan on construction of communes (revised) as suitable to reality.

- To continue studying and promulgating documents guiding localities in construction planning and management of rural architecture in the 2021-2025 period; to intensify examination; to regularly scrutinize and evaluate the formulation and implementation of master plans in order to address in time limitations and shortcomings in construction planning and management of new-style countryside architecture.

- To further concentrate on finalizing standards and technical regulations with updated information to make them suit the practical requirements for each rural area in the conservation and embellishment of heritages and relics; landscape architecture of rural residential spots; standards on new-style countryside houses and other relevant contents; to focus on standards on quality management of new-style rural constructions and infrastructure facilities.

- To continue organizing the implementation of the Law on Architecture under the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 1037/QD-TTg of August 16, 2019, promulgating the Plan on implementation of the Law on Architecture; and orientations for development of Vietnam’s architecture through 2030, with a vision toward 2050, approved under the Prime Minister’s Decision No.  1246/QD-TTg of July 19, 2021.

- To study and supplement model designs of community convenience service facilities, particularly for deep-lying and remote areas and ethnic minority areas with numerous difficulties and peculiarities; to study models of residence-cum-production houses, peculiarities concerning agricultural production, livestock and poultry production, aquaculture, and cottage industry, etc., on the basis of specific, thorough and inclusive field surveys, giving priority firstly to regions heavily affected by disasters under the direction of the Government.

- To study and propose rural housing architecture models, focusing on models of medium- and small-sized houses, tapping local material sources, applying new technologies and materials with lower construction costs suitable to the economic conditions of majority of rural population; to look toward modern housing models up to urban living standards, while inheriting traditional architectural features that are typical, sustainable, energy-efficient environmentally friendly.

- To directly assist difficulty-hit localities in the implementation of master plans on construction of rural areas (master plans on construction of district zones, general master plans on construction of communes, and detailed plans on rural residential spots); to study and guide the adjustment of planning norms (concerning distance from cemeteries and dumping sites to residential areas and village cultural houses, etc.).

- To guide house renovation and embellishment, creating a new-style countryside appearance in communes, villages and hamlets; and methods of calculating costs for formulating master plans on building of a new-style countryside for localities.

- To coordinate with the Ministry of Resources and Environment and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in proposing planning solutions to protect rural residential spots in localities affected by flashflood and landslide in mountainous regions with isolated terrains; to raise the efficiency of rural construction planning in climate change response activities; to incorporate rural landscape architectural factors in plans.

- To continue providing training to build capacity for local officials in the formulation, appraisal and management of master plans on building of a new-style countryside.

- To coordinate with related ministries and sectors in seeking funding sources to meet the requirements of planning on construction of new-style countryside communes.

- To coordinate with the Ministry of Home Affairs in reviewing the mechanisms and policies on organizational structures of district- and commune-level People’s Committees, aiming to build the contingent of district- and commune-level officials up to the requirements of new-style countryside building under relevant master plans.

2. The Ministry of Planning and Investment

To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries, sectors and localities in, examining and inspecting plans, programs, projects and state management tasks on public investment, ensuring the connection between medium-term and annual public investment plans with socio-economic development plans and rural development programs and projects approved by competent authorities.

3. The Ministry of Finance

To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with ministries, sectors and localities in, scrutinizing and finalizing regulations on tax policies related to property, policies on land finance, etc., within the ambit of their assigned functions and tasks for submission to competent authorities for promulgation or amendment and supplementation (if any) to ensure their feasibility, transparency and stability.

4. The Ministry of Resources and Environment

To guide localities to formulate plans, manage and use land in rural areas in conformity with the land use master plans and plans decided or approved by competent state agencies.

To guide localities in waste collection and sorting, renovating and upgrading the environment, and treating environmental pollution in unhygienic waste landfills, reducing plastic wastes in rural areas.

To review, adjust, supplement and amend regulations on rural and urban planning to ensure synchrony and consistency with the land use planning in the Land Law and planning law.

5. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

To guide localities in implementing the contents on preservation and construction of bright-green-clean-beautiful-safe rural landscapes in the National Target Program on building of a new-style countryside; to assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with ministries and sectors in, guiding, inspecting and evaluating the implementation of national criteria on building of district- and commune-level new-style rural areas according to their assigned functions and tasks.

To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with ministries, sectors, provinces and centrally run cities in, further implementing national criteria on new-style countryside communes.

6. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

To coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in raising the quality of cultural life in association with preserving and promoting the cultural values in the National Target Program on building of a new-style countryside in the 2021-2025 period.

To guide localities in removing difficulties and step up the building of cultural life, development of rural tourism in association with the preservation and promotion of cultural values in the National Target Program on building of a new-style countryside.

7. Provincial-level People’s Committees:

- To pay more attention to directing the formulation and implementation of master plans and management of architecture in their localities.

- To clearly identify size, boundaries, characteristics and functions of functional service zones in support of rural economic development in the general plan on commune construction under the Ministry of Construction’s Document No. 2307/BXD-QHKT of June 27, 2022, guiding national criteria on new-style countryside areas at different levels in the 2021-2025 period.

- In the 2021-2025 period, localities should step up the development of urban constituents in district-level geographical areas based on potential of each area as foundation for formation of small urban centers in district-level geographical areas; to develop concentrated residential spots with sizes and living conditions similar to those of urban inhabitants in areas with average or higher economic development level. It is necessary to clearly identify outlying zones and devise planning solutions in harmony with urban space, preserving identities and tapping potential in the immediate future, avoiding waste in construction investment.

- To plan, conserve and develop surface water ecosystems to serve the water drainage in combination with wastewater treatment, creating landscape for entertainment and recreation as well as other related activities.

- To guide localities in collection and treatment (centralized or non-centralized) of domestic wastewater in rural areas suitable to local peculiarities.

- To step up the formulation of commune construction master plans, investment in rural construction in association with urban development process; by 2030, the Regulation on architecture management will be promulgated for application for at least 80% of the concentrated residential spots in commune centers according to orientations for development of Vietnam’s architecture toward 2030.

- To upgrade urban services in rural areas toward approaching urban standards in support of urbanization process and economic development; to study planning on arrangement of rural residential areas in association with planning on formation of the service industry and urban development in different regions.

- To intensify the public communication about the programs on building of a new-style countryside and relevant policies in order to raise the awareness of the rural community about the construction planning contents and to actively participate in the construction planning as well as development investment under master plans.

- To intensify directing, guiding, urging, examining and supervising the implementation of rural housing programs in localities; to balance local budget funds for implementation of policies in support of poor households in house construction; to continue carrying out public communication, explanation and mobilization for the people to understand and active participate in implementation of policies, e.g., the people’s voluntary borrowing of loans to build houses; at the same time, to include housing-related assistance and support programs of organizations, enterprises and donors in general support programs in order to ensure fair and consistent assistance, contributing to improving the quality of the people’s houses.

- To invest in formulation of projects under national target programs and promptly report difficulties and problems in implementation of policies in localities for the Ministry of Construction to study, sum up and report them to competent authorities for adjustment in the coming period.

- To study, survey, evaluate, and provide for contents of requirements on national cultural identities in the Regulation on management of architecture rural residential spots suitable to areas under management, ensuring that the development of Vietnam’s countryside planning and architecture conforms to the Law on Architecture, orientations for development of Vietnam’s architecture and relevant legal documents.

8. Organization of implementation

a/ Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies and chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall organize the thorough study, and work out specific plans for implementation, of this Directive, which shall be completed in the second quarter of 2023; and biannually and annually report on the situation and results of implementation of this Directive to the Ministry of Construction for summarization and reporting to the Prime Minister.

b/ The Ministry of Construction shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with other ministries, sectors and provincial-level People’s Committees in, guiding, monitoring and inspecting the implementation of, and report on the results of implementation of this Directive to the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister requests ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached bodies, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees and administrations at all levels to strictly implement this Directive.-

For the Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
TRAN HONG HA