This article is the second in a series on urban planning of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). The first article presented my image of the existing city.
The colonial French laid out the old city of Saigon, beyond the grid of downtown streets, with wide boulevards radiating at angles from monumental roundabouts.
As a result, most areas of TP. Hồ Chí Minh have very large blocks with long distances between cross-streets.
The street-front lots have much greater commercial value, so streets are lined with taller buildings featuring shops and restaurants at every ground floor opening. 
The vast interiors of the large blocks are accessed by very narrow 1-to-4 meter-wide lanes, called hẻm in Vietnamese.
Smaller houses are arrayed along the narrow lanes,
and these houses also often feature shops or food stands at their ground floor openings.
Therefore Ho Chi Minh City, with 6.12 million people in 2004, is one of the densest cities in the world, at 10,608 people per square kilometer in its 19 inner-city districts, with 45,001 people per square kilometer in its densest district, Chợ Lơn in District 5. By comparison, Hong Kong has a population density of 6,206 people per sq. km with 55,000 people/sq. km. in its densest district. Manila has 41,014/sq. km., Cairo 36,618/sq. km., Mumbai 29,434/sq. km., New York City 10,292/sq. km. (25,849/sq. km. in Manhattan), 24,775/sq. km. in Paris, and 16,391/sq. km. in Seoul [all statistics from Wikipedia]. Given the density of some of these cities, HCMC cannot be considered overpopulated. And there are many undeveloped areas within the city that can grow to increase the density of the city safely.
Although this density may seem high and unlivable to an American suburban dweller, the streets and lanes are actually very interesting and provide many varied experiences.
Many of Saigon's streets are tree-lined shady avenues.
In the heat of the day, people tend to stay indoors, so the density is not as apparent as it might be.
But the busy streets hold many relaxing venues and get-aways.
as well as parks spread around the city.
The high density of potential customers also allows for many varied restaurants and coffee shops along the streets.
These dense blocks are highly sustainable since they carry almost every activity and commodity necessary for urban life, including street-side markets.
Since automobiles cannot enter the narrow lanes of the block, these residents will not be tempted to buy automobiles and contribute to the air pollution and traffic congestion in the city. And since many of the residents are secure in the blocks and have everything that they need, they rarely venture outside the block and require transportation to other parts of the city. Those that have jobs outside the blocks commute via bus or motorbike.
The traffic congestion is becoming a critical problem since the city has delayed implementation of plans for subway or freeway systems. This is the view from a bus during the rush hour:
Parking for automobiles on the streets is nonexistent, although there is often overnight parking available in some neighborhoods.
Nevertheless, there are indications that the HCMC government will begin to address its infrastructure issues soon. How the government regulates future development, however, will greatly impact the existing urban fabric of the city. More about that later.
