Developing flood resilient transport systems in coastal cities: a case study of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Flooding has emerged as an increasing problem in many cities across the world. Investigations of recent flood incidents have proved that climate volatility is likely to exceed present day conditions, meaning that existing protection systems are not likely to be suitable for dealing with extreme events. The problem is particularly acute in Southeast Asia. Here, flood vulnerability is often exacerbated by inappropriate planning for urban expansion, associated with transportation development. This has so far proved to be a significant challenge for governments seeking long-term strategies related to urban resilience. Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), an emerging-coastal in Vietnam, is facing frequent flood events as a result of rapid development. This research uses HCMC as a case study to show how resilience theory, along with key experiences from other coastal cities such as New Orleans, Manila and Bangkok, can be used to explore: i) The evidence of increasing flood vulnerability in HCMC as the consequence of rapid urbanisation in new development districts situated on flood plains. ii) The challenges and opportunities for emerging coastal cities to integrate flood resilience into urban planning in order to reduce flood vulnerability. iii) The application of resilience theory to transportation to conceptualise a model of a Flood Resilient Transport System (FRTS) applicable to HCMC. iv) A number of potential adjustments to the current plans for transportation development, also referred to as the transport component in the general plan for HCMC. Overall, the implications of this research, including the combined method approach to flood simulation and GIS analysis, have the potential for application not only in HCMC, but also referenced in other emerging coastal cities, especially in Southeast Asia, to mitigate flood impacts