Hà Nội Sidewalks

Abstract

Hà Nội sidewalks are one of the public spaces that various social groups appropriate and utilize for their own social, political, and economic purposes. Concentrating on the insiders’ point of view, this study offers a close look at how people’s practices create a unique sidewalk culture that affirms the importance of sidewalks in creating a more dynamic city. The article focuses on discussing the pavement as a particular cultural space, a space maintained by the arrangements and negotiations of cultural agency. The pavement is not messy, sleazy, or out-of-date but orderly, flexible, humane, and rich in identity.