Editor’s note: Facing new challenges, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) needs a major shift in thinking — to restructure its ground space for more efficient use while expanding its vision into five new development dimensions: the sea, the sky, the underground, the digital, and the cultural. When these spaces are planned and connected in a coordinated way, they will not only ease the burden on the ground but also open up new horizons for a more dynamic, sustainable, and creative HCMC in the new era. After merging with Binh Duong and Ba Ria – Vung Tau, HCMC is now poised to take a historic step toward the open sea. For the first time, the city has a vast maritime space stretching from Can Gio to Vung Tau, including the Con Dao special zone, opening a direct gateway to the resource-rich East Sea. Among the six development spaces of HCMC, the maritime space holds a particularly strategic position, representing both a natural physical expansion and a global economic extension for the city. Thanks to this maritime space, HCMC has the opportunity to form the triangle of “port-city, industry, and maritime services,” similar to the port-city integration models of Singapore, Rotterdam, or […]