Transport infrastructure is only a necessary foundation. What truly breathes life into a city is its “soft infrastructure”: education, healthcare, community spaces, meaningful jobs, and the networks that connect people. Over more than three decades of urbanization, HCMC’s development has largely been driven by infrastructure expansion and the opening of new land for urban growth. National highways, expressways, industrial parks, and beltways have gradually pushed the city’s urban boundaries farther away from its core. However, the 2026-2030 infrastructure cycle raises a bigger question: Is hard infrastructure alone enough to create truly livable cities? At the 2026 Real Estate Forum, with the theme “Layered Growth: Infrastructure Cycles and New Capital Flows” organized by the Saigon Times Group, urban planners, developers and experts all returned to the same point: transport infrastructure is only a necessary condition. What ultimately gives a city life is its “soft infrastructure”: education, healthcare, community spaces, jobs, and the ability to connect people. Urban expansion and the challenge of building “self-sustaining” cities The 2026-2030 period is expected to see an unprecedented wave of infrastructure investment, with around VND8.22 quadrillion in public spending and a series of major projects such as Long Thanh International Airport, Beltways No. 3 and […]
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