I have to say this question is very thought-provoking, even though I know what exactly our community needs, I really need to sit down and do a little research into our problems.
But first of all, let me give you a background of where I am living — Ho Chi Minh City or some people prefer the old name, Saigon.
Ho chi minh city is located in the South of Vietnam, young people will be drawn to the metropolitan glamour and excitement of the city. It is lying if I say I do not enjoy the benefits of living in the city. It offers access to a wide range of facilities, so convenient to travel around and not to mention plenty of job opportunities. However, the city is also facing challenges similar to many big cities around the world — overpopulation, people keep coming and staying, putting pressure on the urban infrastructure. To make the matter worse, constant flooding during the rainy season and high levels of air pollutions pose a threat to living standards, health problems, economic growth, and so on.
Although there are many solutions to mitigate these problems, I think that planting more trees and increasing the green space in the city will greatly benefit local people as a whole.
Planting more trees and increasing green areas.
You may have known about the benefits of trees and green areas, but let me explain why I believe it solves the crisis in our local areas.
According to the Department of construction, most cities in Vietnam offered only 0.55 square meters of public park per citizen. source
And this is very low compared to a healthy urban life standard as 10 square meters per person.
Trees take in water and improve the flooding situation.
Now, let have a closer look at the flooding season I mentioned earlier in the inner city.
Unlike the central and the Northern regions, the Southern region, and particularly Ho chi minh city has two distinct seasons, the dry and rainy seasons.
The rainy season often lasts from May until October, but it tends to last longer and more complicated in recent years as the result of climate change.
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During the rainy season, the city and especially low-lying areas, namely the East of the city are easily submerged in the water. Many causes contributed to this issue such as the geographical location of the city, the seasonal tides, but most importantly the drainage system cannot keep up with the rapid development of residential areas. Rapid urbanization has come at a price, the effect of lacking green coverage has worsened during the wet season as we do not have enough trees to absorb the amount of rain.
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A natural air filter
In 2016, the data from WHO showed that there were more than 60,000 deaths linked to air pollution in Vietnam. source
The level of fine dust in the city has raised a lot of concerns over public health.
This is a stronger reason why we need more green areas in urban areas.
The trees will act as a natural air filter during the process of absorbing pollutant gases and producing oxygen.
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Again, there could be many ways to solve these problems, however, as a local person, I hope that the local government would pay more attention to this issue as the city is in urgent need of green areas in order to improve the local physical and mental health.