Sự sống động của vỉa hè thành phố Hồ Chí Minh và tác động của vỉa hè đến giá nhà trong những khu phố hỗn hợp (Luận án tiến sĩ)

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY
--------------------

NGUYEN THI HONG THU

THE LIVELINESS OF SIDEWALKS IN HO CHI
MINH CITY AND ITS IMPACT ON PROPERTY
VALUES IN MIXED-USE NEIGHBORHOODS.

DOCTORAL THESIS IN ECONOMICS

Ho Chi Minh – 2021


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY
--------------------

NGUYEN THI HONG THU

THE LIVELINESS OF SIDEWALKS IN HO CHI
MINH CITY AND ITS IMPACT ON PROPERTY
VALUES IN MIXED-USE NEIGHBORHOODS.

Major: Development Economic
Major ID: 93.10.105

DOCTORAL THESIS IN ECONOMICS
Supervisors: Dr. Nguyen Luu Bao Doan
Dr. Truong Dang Thuy

Ho Chi Minh – 2021


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ACKNOWLEDGES
My name is Nguyen Thi Hong Thu, PhD student in the major of Development
Economics at University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City. I would like to confirm
that the research results in this thesis is from my own works and has not been
published.
The thesis does not contain documents extracted in whole or in part from a thesis
presented to another qualification at University of Economics HCMC or in any other
educational institution.

Nguyen Thi Hong Thu


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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGE
ABBREVITATIONS
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF FIGURES
ABSTRACT
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 1
1.1 Problem statement ................................................................................................ 1
1.2 Research objectives .............................................................................................. 6
1.3 Research questions ............................................................................................... 6

1.4 Research methodology and scope .......................................................................... 7
1.5 Research contributions .......................................................................................... 8
1.6 Thesis structure .................................................................................................... 9
CHAPTER 2. THE RESEARCH DESIGN ................................................................ 12
2.1 Research process ................................................................................................ 12
2.2 Definition of key terms ....................................................................................... 13
2.3 Construction of theoretical framework ................................................................. 19
2.4 Overview of sidewalk in HCMC ......................................................................... 22
2.5 The housing market in HCMC ............................................................................ 29
2.6 Data samples and data collections ....................................................................... 32
2.7 Methodology ...................................................................................................... 36
2.8 Conceptual framework ........................................................................................ 38
2.9 Summary............................................................................................................ 40
CHAPTER 3. .............................................................................................................. 41
ESSAY 1 – THE LIVELINESS OF SIDEWALKS IN HO CHI MINH CITY ........... 41
3.1

Introduction .............................................................................................................. 41

3.2

Literature review....................................................................................................... 44

3.2.1 The theoritical reviews .............................................................................................. 44
3.2.2 The role of sidewalk as public space .......................................................................... 46
3.2.3 Dimensions of public space ....................................................................................... 49
3.2.4 Empirical reviews of public space and sidewalk in HCMC ......................................... 53
3.3

Methodology ............................................................................................................ 60

3.3.1 Mixed-method research design .................................................................................. 60
3.3.2 The study areas and data collection ........................................................................... 63


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3.3.3 Data analysis methods .............................................................................................. 65
3.3.4 Calculating liveliness index ....................................................................................... 67
3.4

Findings and discussions ........................................................................................... 73

3.4.1 Descriptive statistics of physical characteristics of sidewalk ....................................... 74
3.4.2 Behavioral mapping of people and activities .............................................................. 76
3.4.3 Calculating of liveliness index ................................................................................... 82
3.4.4 Relationship between the physical characteristics of the sidewalk and liveliness index 85
3.5

Conclusions .............................................................................................................. 89

CHAPTER 4. .............................................................................................................. 90
ESSAY 2 - THE IMPACT OF SIDEWALKS ON PROPERTY VALUES IN MIXEDUSE NEIGHBORHOOD IN HO CHI MINH CITY .................................................. 90
4.1

Introduction .................................................................................................................... 90

4.2

Literature reviews ........................................................................................................... 92

4.2.1 Theoretical reviews......................................................................................................... 92
4.2.2 Empirical reviews ........................................................................................................... 98
4.3

Methodology................................................................................................................. 104

4.3.1 Data .............................................................................................................................. 104
4.3.2 Variables and definitions .............................................................................................. 105
4.3.3 Model construction ....................................................................................................... 107
4.4

Results .......................................................................................................................... 111

4.4.1 Data descriptive analysis .............................................................................................. 112
4.4.2 Regression results ......................................................................................................... 116
4.4.3 The discussion of results ............................................................................................... 119
4.5

Conclusions .................................................................................................................. 125

CHAPTER 5. ............................................................................................................ 128
CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND LIMITATIONS .................................... 128
5.1

Conclusions .................................................................................................................. 128

5.2

Implication .................................................................................................................... 131

5.3

Limitations .................................................................................................................... 134

LIST OF AUTHOR’S PUBLISHED PAPERS........................................................... 136
REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 137
APPENDIX ............................................................................................................... 150


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ABBREVITATIONS
1Q19: The first quarter 2019
CBD: Central Business District
HCMC: Ho Chi Minh City
HLM: Hierarchical Linear Modeling
HN: Hanoi
No.: Number
TOD: Transit Oriented Development
VIF: Variance Inflation Factors
VN: Vietnam


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LIST OF TABLES
Table 3.1 Data requirement and methods ...............................................................61
Table 3.2 Calculating of temporal diversity of use .................................................71
Table 3.3 Calculating of diversity of activities .......................................................71

Table 3.4 Selected physical characteristics of the sidewalk environment ..............73
Table 3.5 Sidewalk width .......................................................................................74
Table 3.6 Sidewalk surface quality .........................................................................75
Table 3.7 Sidewalk material ...................................................................................75
Table 3.8 Sidewalk furniture ..................................................................................76
Table 3.9 Number of people daytime and night-time .............................................79
Table 3.10 Liveliness index for each of 270 sidewalk-segment .............................84
Table 3.11 Liveliness index for district level .........................................................85
Table 3.12 Correlation matrix of variables .............................................................85
Table 3.13 Descriptive statistics of variables in regression model .........................86
Table 3.14 Regression result of the relationship between physical characteristics of
the sidewalk and Liveliness index ..........................................................................88
Table 4.1 The twenty characteristics appearing most often in previous hedonic pricing
model studies ........................................................................................................103
Table 4.2 Variables and their definitions ..............................................................105
Table 4.3 Functional forms for the hedonic price function ..................................108
Table 4.4 Correlation between dependent variable and independent variables ....113
Table 4.5 Descriptive statistics .............................................................................113
Table 4.6 Percent of observations for each district in HCMC ..............................115
Table 4.7 Regression results .................................................................................116


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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1 Research process diagram ........................................................................ 13
Figure 2.2 Study area and data used ........................................................................... 34
Figure 2.3 The exploratory research design................................................................ 37
Figure 2.4 Conceptual framework ............................................................................. 38
Figure 3.1 Sense of place model (Canter, 1977)......................................................... 45

Figure 3.2 The coding process in inductive analysis .................................................. 67
Figure 3.3 Categories of activities on sidewalk in HCMC ......................................... 77
Figure 3.4 Day-time activities with sidewalk width ................................................... 78
Figure 3.5 Night-time activities with sidewalk width................................................. 79
Figure 3.6 Number of people engaged in some type of activities on day-time and nighttime on 270 sidewalk-segments in 13 districts in HCMC .......................................... 79
Figure 3.7 Day-time activities .................................................................................... 81
Figure 3.8 Night-time activities .................................................................................. 81
Figure 3.9 Number of activity on day-time and night-time on 270 sidewalk-segments
in 13 districts in HCMC .............................................................................................. 82
Figure 3.10 Visual analysis ......................................................................................... 83
Figure 3.11 Scatter plot between liveliness index and sidewalk width ...................... 86
Figure 4.1 Scatter plot between price and lot size, CBD, sidewalk width, liveliness
index.......................................................................................................................... 112
Figure 4.2 The eight-house group in mixed-use neighborhood ................................ 121


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ABSTRACT
In most countries around the world, sidewalks are usually for pedestrians for a long
time. However, it was said that HCMC’s sidewalks were not mingled with any urban
cities in the world. The HCMC’s sidewalks are possible to generate more liveliness,
by commercial activities and social activities to occur in the sidewalks frontage of
the house during day-time and night-time. The first essay based on social
perspectives. This research applied the mixed-method research that is a combination
to qualitative and quantitative methods to calculate the liveliness index. The author
uses the observation participant method blended with the visual method to collect
data to the five activity categories including sidewalk vending, domestic use,
communal, store spillover, transportation. The results of the first essay show the
estimated value of the liveliness index of 270 sidewalk-segment as a quality standard

to consider sidewalk as public space in HCMC. Most of the sidewalk-segments in
District 5 have a higher level of liveliness than others. The second essay based on the
home-owners to investigate the impact of sidewalks on property values in mixed-use
neighborhoods. The sidewalk width could premium property approximately 5 percent
based on the primary data of 283 sidewalk segments and house prices in HCMC.
Besides, the rental property and the spill-over of neighboring houses also have a
positive impact on property value. Therefore, the government can perform sidewalk
expansion or at least maintain a stable sidewalk width, creating a good space for those
participating in activities on the sidewalk.
Keywords: Hedonic pricing model, Liveliness index, mixed-use neighborhoods,
sidewalks, property value.

TÓM TẮT
Ở hầu hết các nước trên thế giới, vỉa hè thường là nơi dành cho đi bộ. Tuy nhiên, một
số học giả cho rằng vỉa hè của TP. HCM không trộn lẫn với vỉa hè của bất kỳ thành
phố nào trên thế giới. Các vỉa hè của TP. HCM có thể tạo ra sự sống động hơn thơng
qua các chương trình sự kiện, các hoạt động thương mại và hoạt động xã hội diễn ra
ở vỉa hè trước các nhà mặt tiền vào ban ngày và ban đêm. Bài luận thứ nhất tiếp cận


viii

dựa trên quan điểm xã hội. Nghiên cứu này áp dụng phương pháp nghiên cứu hỗn
hợp, kết hợp giữa phương pháp định tính và định lượng trong việc thu thập dữ liệu
và tính tốn chỉ số sống động. Tác giả sử dụng phương pháp người tham gia quan sát
(observation participant method) kết hợp với phương pháp trực quan (visual method)
để thu thập dữ liệu của 270 phân đoạn vỉa hè, dữ liệu thu thập được về năm danh mục
các hoạt động diễn ra trên vỉa hè bao gồm bán hàng rong, sử dụng trong hoạt động
gia đình, sinh hoạt cộng đồng, hoạt động kinh doanh, giao thơng chính diễn ra trên
vỉa hè. Kết quả nghiên cứu trình bày giá trị ước tính của chỉ số liveliness index của

270 phân đoạn vỉa hè được xem như là một tiêu chuẩn chất lượng để xem xét vỉa hè
là một không gian công cộng tại TP. HCM. Hầu hết các phân đoạn vỉa hè tại Quận 5
đều có mức sống động cao hơn các phân đoạn vỉa hè tại các Quận còn lại. Bài luận
thứ hai tiếp cận dựa trên quan điểm của chủ sở hữu nhà để xem xét tác động của vỉa
hè đến giá nhà trong các khu phố hỗn hợp. Độ rộng của vỉa hè có tác động làm gia
tăng giá trị nhà khoảng 5 phần trăm. Đối với nhà mặt tiền, nhà có thể cho thuê hay
nhà nằm trong khu có thể tác động lan toả kinh doanh cũng có tác động dương đến
giá nhà. Đây là điểm khám phá mới trong nghiên cứu này đối với nhà ở riêng lẻ tại
TP. HCM. Do đó, chính quyền có thể thực hiện mở rộng vỉa hè hay ít nhất duy trì
được độ rộng vỉa hè ổn định, tạo khơng gian tốt cho những người tham gia vào các
hoạt động trên vỉa hè, đặc biệt nhấn mạnh đến các hoạt động của hộ gia đình. Thêm
nữa, chính quyền thành phố có thể thu thuế đối với những người mua nhà mặt tiền
khi họ tham gia các hoạt động kinh doanh trên vỉa hè trước nhà.
Từ khoá: Chỉ số sống động, Giá nhà, Khu phố hỗn hợp, Mơ hình định giá Hedonic,
Vỉa hè.


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CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, the author introduces the thesis overview, derived from research
problems and research gaps to give research objectives and research questions. Next,
the author presents the methodology and scope of the study. At the same time, this
chapter also summarizes the main theoretical and practical contributions of the thesis.
Finally, the author presents the structure of the thesis that described in the following
chapters.
1.1

Problem statement

The sidewalk management effectively is a matter of concern for the authorities and
the researchers on over the world and in Vietnam. The point of view around the world
shows that sidewalks are usually for transportation for a long time (Gehl, 1987; Amin,
2008; Dempsey, 2009). Governments in North America and Europe consider the
planning and design of sidewalks to serve pedestrians as essential and effective
(Loukaitou-Sederis and Ehrenfeucht, 2009). Municipal governments in Vietnam, like
in HCMC, also pursues the planning and cleaning of the sidewalks so that it becomes
a space serve pedestrians. However, in recent years, some cities in the United States
have tended to motivate people who using the sidewalk in mixed-use such as
commercial, decoration, and public space. This trend is called Do-it-yourself
urbanism (Douglas, 2019; Talen, 2015). The reality of managing sidewalks in some
cities in Vietnam shows that sidewalks are being used for mixed purposes from
traffic, commercial, shophouse, social interaction, to the household activities.
Therefore, the conflicts of planning of using sidewalks need to be addressed so that
cities can manage sidewalks effectively.
Sidewalk can be considered as a public space in some economic contexts. However,
in most urban studies, the sidewalk is occupied by the means of transportation such
as pedestrians, motorbike, or parking lot (Gehl, 1987; Mitchell, 1995; Tiesdell and
Oc, 1998; Amin, 2008; David et al., 2002; Dempsey, 2009). In the last few decades,


2

the public space in urban area in developed countries include parks, recreation, sports
facilities, squares, streets, and sidewalk is rarely the authors considered sidewalk as
public space (Whyte, 1980; Gehl, 1989; Carr et al., 1992; Cooper-Marcus & Francis,
1998; Banerjee, 2001). However, sidewalk as public space plays a significant role in
people’s everyday life in neighborhoods level (Chitraka, 2016; Mehta, 2006;
Loukaitou-Sideris & Ehrenfeucht, 2009; Andersson, 2016; Holland et al., 2007;
Sennett, 1992; Thomas 1991; Lofland, 2017). Some authors pointed out have many

roles of sidewalk as public spaces such as social and culture value, economic value
and environment settings value, making the urban area an attractive place to live and
work (Andersson, 2016; Loukaitou-Sideris & Ehrenfeucht, 2009; Chitraka, 2016;
Holland et al., 2007; Williams & Green, 2001).
Some scholars have noted that a unique aspect of Asian urbanism is public spaces as
streets and sidewalks rather than in open space and squares that often seen used in
the Western studies (Heng, 1999; Sassen, 2011; Eidse & Turner, 2014; Nguyen &
Han, 2017). The current research on sidewalks only focuses on the socio-cultural
aspect related to use and how the activities take place on the sidewalk. The household
activities on the sidewalk in Asian countries, when some activities that are supposed
to take place inside the home or domestic space, but the reversal is that of eating,
drinking, cooking, bathing, and washing activities take place outside the house and
in public space (Edensor, 1998; Yasmeen, 1996). Concerning commercial activities,
some studies added to the property value along the sidewalk (Deacon, 2013;
Loukaitou-Sideris & Ehrenfeucht, 2009; Rupa, 2015). Meanwhile, in Vietnam, public
spaces are often used for domestic use activities while home spaces are often used for
commerce (Drummond, 2000). Furthermore, it is essential to note that street frontage
is a valued commodity in Vietnamese property considerations, as people could have
more spaces for domestic activities or for small business operations (Garnett, 2008;
Loukaitou-Sideris & Ehren-feucht, 2007). Therefore, it is said that HCMC’s sidewalk
was not mingled with any urban cities in the world (Kim, 2012) and people in HCMC
use sidewalk for daily life. The HCMC’s sidewalk exhibits clearly the diverse urban


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features with vibrant rhythm from early morning to late night (Kim 2012; Drummond,
2000; Harms, 2009). Public spaces for leisure activities including parks, museums,
sports facilities (managed by different levels of the government), and squares such as
the area in front of Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, and sidewalks also used for recreational

activities, especially sports (Drummond, 2000).
Moreover, some authors mention whether the liveliness of sidewalks in cities
Vietnam and other countries like South America and parts of Southeast Asia has a
positive effect on social and economic (Drummond 2000; Harms 2009; Kim 2012;
Eidse 2011). However, a large of studies have organized research on public spaces
and sidewalks in Vietnam under socioculture aspects without considering the
economic aspects of the sidewalks. These studies have shown that when sidewalks as
a public space, where people have access and use in social and interaction activities,
that people take the benefits. There is still a research gap to be addressed the economic
impact of the sidewalk and its mechanism. Can sidewalks get the same quality as a
public space like a park or community playground? How to measure this quality
aspect of the sidewalk, and whether the quality of the sidewalk as public space will
affect the property value in the neighborhood? This study investigates the impact of
the sidewalk economy.
Liveliness is a special concept, it usually found in public space studies and plays a
key role in analyzing the use of the sidewalk and its impact on economic activity
(Drummond, 2000). The term liveliness may have different meanings, depending on
the perspective of the authors and research objective to define and measure the quality
of liveliness. Mehta (2014) and Kim (2012) have stated that liveliness as a concept
that is difficult to define and measure. Liveliness is classified into different levels of
activity, including the level of participation in activity through use; the level of
interaction, communication, trading, and mutual exchange; the level of representation
that is determined through the activities taking place outside of their home. Therefore,
analyzing and defining liveliness of public space, it is always relevant to the people
and activities that take place.


4

When public space is highly liveliness, activities are diverse and interactive. Jane

Jacob (1961) discusses the liveliness and necessity of this dimension said that the
sidewalks can encompass both vitality and diversity. The best sidewalks are including
diversity of physical characteristics, economic and social activities, and the duration
of activities on them is longer, thus contributing to making them more important and
more safety. When the sidewalk acquires the dimensions of the public space, it is
associated with the existence of the liveliness sidewalk. In studies of urban planning
and design, the vitality of the street brings urban vitality and prosperity.
If the liveliness of the sidewalks creates positive social and economic values, cities
must certainly consider the use and management of the sidewalk in cities. According
to a social perspective, this study focused only on the activities taking place on the
sidewalk in HCMC with the participation of anyone regardless of age, gender,
income, and occupation. Specifically, participants can come from other places to use
the sidewalk and can also be the home-owners that have the sidewalk in front of
houses. It should be noted that this study does not mention the aspect of ownership
and control of the HCMC sidewalk, which means that it does not identify whose
sidewalk is owned, who controls it, uses the sidewalk have to pay or not?
According to a social perspective, the first research objective determines the quality
of each sidewalk segment in various districts by estimating its liveliness index. Based
on the survey and observation participant of the main activities taking place on the
sidewalk, the variety of activities, and assess the level of people involved in the above
activities measure liveliness index. The HCMC sidewalks are possible to generate
more liveliness, by programming events, commercial activities, and social activities
to occur in the sidewalks frontage of the house during day-time and night-time. In
order to attract more users to the sidewalk frontage of the house, there is a direct
relationship between the property use, the activities, and the products provided need
to be emphasized (Shuhana et al., 2004).


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According to the home-owners, the sidewalk in HCMC brings to the economic value
when sidewalk can become public space, however, economic literature overlooks this
value. Although there are studies on the use of sidewalks in Vietnam by Vietnamese
and foreigner scholars, no studies have evaluated directly estimates the relationship
between sidewalk and property value in a mixed-use neighborhood. This gap in
current research allows the author to propose a survey and evaluation of this link.
Some studies examine the impacts of street infrastructure and design on property
value (Gonzalez-Navarro, 2010; Seo et al., 2018; Fullerton & Villalobos, 2011). The
street infrastructure and traffic noise are also considered in some studies about house
prices. Larsen (2014) compared two groups of houses located in arterial or high traffic
streets and collector streets and compared their prices. Furthermore, street width is
also one of the issues that need to be considered to influence the price of houses
(Fullerton & Villalobos, 2011). Xiao (2014) also mentions the dynamic relationship
between street layout, street width, and congestion problem and housing prices from
2005 to 2010 in Nanjing, China. Some studies proxy sidewalks with variables related
to the location or geographic variation (Cho et al., 2008; Shin et al., 2011; Li et al.,
2015).
In addition, there are a number of studies related to this topic conducted in Asian
countries. Recently, Xu et al. (2016) considers the relationship between building
railway transit systems and commercial value properties in Wuhan, China as a basis
for planning Transit Oriented Development (TOD). The same results was found when
Deng et al. (2016) implemented for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Beijing. Therefore,
empirical studies do not investigate the direct impact of sidewalk quality on property
value. This is the research gap that this study need to conduct and this is the main
second research objective. A large business such as a retail business and a restaurant
may also use the sidewalk as a parking space, or store spillover activities, or display
area to introduce private enterprises. It is important to note that the house adjacent to
the sidewalk frontage is a valuable element in Vietnam’s assessments of real estate
values, as it provides an opportunity for expanding the scope of a business, increase

6

awareness of business activities taking place inside the shophouse. In daily life in the
major cities, the large common use of sidewalks in urban areas is probably the most
commercially available (Kim 2012; Nguyen & Han 2017).
1.2

Research objectives

This study has two main research objectives, with specific research objectives as the
following:
Objective 1. To measure the quality of sidewalk in HCMC by capturing sidewalk
liveliness as a quality dimension.
• Objective 1.1. To specify and construct a commonly used measure of quality
for sidewalks, the liveliness index.
• Objective 1.2. To investigate the relationships between the conditions of
sidewalks and the liveliness index of sidewalks.
Objective 2. To examine the impact sidewalk quality on property values in mixeduse neighborhoods in HCMC.
• Objective 2.1. To examine the impact of the liveliness index in each sidewalksegment on property values.
• Objective 2.2. To investigate the impact of sidewalk characteristics on
property values.
• Objective 2.3. To investigate the impact of use condition of houses adjacent to
sidewalks on property value.
1.3

Research questions

Belong to the two main research objectives, the specific research questions as the
following:

Research question 1 (RQ1). How to measure the quality of the sidewalk in HCMC
by capturing sidewalk liveliness as a quality dimension?


7

• RQ1.1. How to specify and construct a commonly used measure of quality for
sidewalks, the liveliness index?
• RQ1.2. What are the relationships between the conditions of sidewalks and the
liveliness index of sidewalks?
Research question 2 (RQ2). What is the impact sidewalk quality on property values
in mixed-use neighborhoods in HCMC?
• RQ2.1. What is the impact of the liveliness index in each sidewalk-segment
on property values?
• RQ2.2. What is the impact of sidewalk characteristics on property values?
• RQ2.3. What is the impact of the use condition of houses adjacent to sidewalks
on property value?
1.4

Research methodology and scope

This section summarizes the data and methodology used to investigate the two
research objectives and the empirical findings of this thesis.
The primary data for the two research objectives were collected by walk-by
observations and direct observations of people engaged in activities on the sidewalksegments and surveying single-family house buyers to provide some characteristics
of a house and housing price. Before conducting official data collection, the author
collected pretest data by observing users’ behavior and activities taking place on 20
sidewalk-segments in districts 1, Binh Thanh district, District 10, and District 5, and
Go Vap District (random sampling); and the author surveyed 10 single-family house
buyers to get the main house characteristics when deciding to buy a house. Data for

the official survey was collected from 283 sidewalk-segments and single-family
houses in 13 districts is the data used for analysis and reporting in this thesis.
The two objectives of the thesis use different analysis methods and models. The first
research objective uses the method of behavior mapping included walk-by
observations and direct observations to explain why sidewalk can become public


8

space by capturing liveliness as a quality dimension in HCMC. The second research
applies the Hedonic pricing model to examine value premiums that sidewalk has on
residential property values in mixed-use neighborhood in HCMC.
The scope of works in this research consider only the quality of the sidewalk through
the access and use aspects of the sidewalk. In this study, the author does not mention
the ownership and control aspects of sidewalks because of the complicated problem
that exists in reality on HCMC sidewalk. The entire study is based on two
perspectives including social perspective related to the research objective 1 and
home-owner perspective related to the research objective 2.
1.5

Research contributions

This research is expected to have some significant contributions the economic
literatures in the following:
The first contribution of the thesis clarifies the role of sidewalk in public space in
terms of access and use in HCMC. In most literature reviews, sidewalk has not been
mentioned or evaluated as public space in the world, especially in HCMC (Kim,
2012; Drummond, 2000). Moreover, it can be said that there are many studies on
public space but these studies often ignore the role of sidewalk, or not treat sidewalk
like other public spaces such as open space, recreational area, public square,

commercial center.
The second contribution is to build a formula to calculate the liveliness index on the
sidewalk, adding a way to identify and measure the quality of sidewalks anywhere in
the world. As a result, the author estimated the Liveliness index of each sidewalksegment as a standard measure of quality of sidewalk when considering sidewalk as
public space in HCMC.
The third contribution confirms that the important role of physical characteristics of
the sidewalk to determine the quality of the sidewalk through its liveliness. The
characteristics of the surrounding environment or physical characteristics of sidewalk
are places where users can come, use and interact with them.


9

The fourth contribution of the thesis is to analyze the direct impact of sidewalk on
property value based on Hedonic pricing model. There are many different studies to
measure the impact of public space on property value, however, there are very few
studies that directly analyze the effect of sidewalk on property value. Therefore, the
author uses some literature reviews of public space impact on property value.
The firth contribution of the thesis is to analyze the direct impact of property use
conditions on property value. This is also a new finding of the thesis when analyzing
the characteristics of using houses in HCMC, in particular, houses can be used for
rental properties, which can be used for both shelter and business (mixed-use
property). The characteristics of frontal houses located the central districts in HCMC
are often used for both business and shelter purposes. At the same time, these houses
will establish mixed-use neighborhood, and they will spillover business activities
each other.
The sixth contribution of the thesis is that the spill-over impact of business activities
of neighboring houses will also have a positive impact on house prices. The
shophouse has some features that make it special in HCMC. The structure has a height
of two to three or more stories, with a narrow faces and a long length. The bottom

floor is designed to accommodate a commercial enterprise such as a shop, restaurant,
while the upper or upper floor is for residential purposes and some areas are
completely commercial.
Finally, this pioneering study is expected to provide deep and broad knowledge of
the role of consideration of future consequences in the sidewalk effects on economic
value as the comprising dependent variable.
1.6

Thesis structure

This thesis is article-based, consisting of two separate publications submitted to
scientific journals that address different aspects of urban planning and property value.
The thesis text serves the purpose of integrating the two essays into a collective work,


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addressing the research objectives. The two research objectives are used to structure
the essays and are answered collectively in the conclusions chapter.
This thesis is divided into five main chapters:
Chapter 1. Introduction
The first chapter presents the research problem and research gap, and then gives the
research objectives and research questions. Next, the author outlines the research
methodology and gives new contributions of the thesis.
Chapter 2. The thesis research design
Chapter 2 details the research design applied throughout the two essays that comprise
the thesis. Before presenting the research process, the author will present some key
terms used in this study. Next, the author shows the research data including the survey
area, methods and process to data collection. Next, this chapter presents the research
methodology in the two research objectives. The conceptual framework is presented

at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 3. Essay 1- The liveliness of sidewalks in HCMC
Chapter 3 addresses research objective 1 regarding to measure the quality of sidewalk
in HCMC by capturing sidewalk liveliness as a quality dimension. A summary of
Essay 1 on the calculating of liveliness index of sidewalks and the examining the
impacts of the physical characteristics of sidewalks on the liveliness index is provided
in this chapter.
Chapter 4. Essay 2 – The impacts of sidewalks on property value in mixed-use
neighborhood in HCMC
Chapter 4 attempts to present research objective 2 concerning property value. Essay
2 are summarized in Chapter 4. Applying hedonic pricing model, essay 2 investigates
the impacts of sidewalks on property value in mixed-use neighborhood in HCMC.
Chapter 5. Conclusions, implications and limitations


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The final chapter provides the conclusions to address all research objectives with a
summary of the results and conclusions from each. Also, this chapter postulates some
significant theoretical and practical implications for both scholars, urban planners and
managers, and home-owners who have motivations to promote the liveliness of
sidewalks and usings of sidewalks. Finally, in this chapter, some limitations for future
studies are presented.


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CHAPTER 2. THE RESEARCH DESIGN
The thesis is an interdisciplinary study, and it applies mixed-method techniques. This
chapter explains why the author attempts to depict the overall process and

methodology of the relationship between sidewalk and property values. The research
design is necessary because it can implement different research processes. This is a
brief presentation of the previous plan of the collection data methods and the data
analysis methods by research objectives. Therefore, an appropriate research design
must be prepared before the start of the research process. The research design helps
to organize the author’s ideas, which will help the author find errors and gaps.
In this chapter, the author presents the research design. Before presenting some key
terms used in this study, the author mentions the research process. Next, the author
shows the research data include the survey area, methods, and process of data
collection. Next, this chapter presents the research methodology in the two research
objectives. The conceptual framework is presented at the end of the chapter.
2.1

Research process

The research process consists of three steps as shown in Figure 2.1. The research
overview presented in step 1 includes identification of research gaps and research
problems. Based on the stated research problem, the thesis outlines the research
objectives and research questions, and the research methodology. Finally, in this step,
data collection and research methodology, variables, and these measures, the model
were developed to use in the pilot study.
In the second step, which is the pilot study, the author chooses some main streets in
districts according to groups such as groups 1 – district 1, 3, 10; group 2 – district 5,
11; group 3 – Phu Nhuan, Go Vap and Tan Binh district. The selection of streets
based on a convenient sample and does not mention any specific house. The author
observes the sidewalk of each street, recording the activities, the different happening,
the characteristics of those sidewalk users. The author observes by walk-by


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observation method and records by photos and videos. During this survey period, the
author also cultivated photography experience. Based on the testing results help the
author better identify the sidewalk physical characteristics, sidewalk activities,
current sidewalk management. The author takes field notes and was slightly modified
data collection methods and used in the main study.
The third step or main study aims data analysis, conclusions, and implications. The
theoretical contributions of this thesis aim to emphasize the quality of the sidewalk
and its impact on property value. Also, this study has some practical contributions to
provide urban planners and house buyers base on the quality of the sidewalk. Figure
2.1 presents the overview of the research process at the below.

Figure 2.1. Research process diagram
(Source: author’s proposal)

2.2

Definition of key terms

2.2.1 Public space
Public spaces have significant importance in the people’s everyday life (Chitraka,
2016; Mehta, 2006; Loukaitou-Sideris & Ehrenfeucht, 2009; Andersson, 2016;


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Holland et al., 2007; Sennett, 1992; Thomas 1991; Lofland, 2017). There exist
different definitions of public space that could be caused by the authors’ approaches,
academic disciplines (Gehl & Matan, 2009). Therefore, it is challenging have a
concise the meaning of a public space in one definition. Those different definitions

of public space can be grouped in terms of issues of ownership, control, access, and
use (Mehta, 2014; Mitchell, 1995; Carr et al., 1992; Mandanipour, 1996). There are
two group of definition, firstly, a definition of public space in terms of issues of
ownership and control that defines the absolute limits of the subject area, and
secondly, the definition is based on issues of access and use.
The definition of public space can be bases on access and use such as defined by Carr
et al. (1992) as “publicly accessible places where people go for group or individual
activities”. In addition, the authors also state that public space is “the stage upon
which the drama of communal life unfolds”. Specifically, a public space acts as a
stage where people occupying that space at that moment have a dual role to play
including the actor and the spectator. Public space can be characterized as space for
common use, with no restriction to access at least during daylight hours (Brandão,
2017). Furthermore, Hajer and Reijndorp (2001) explain that citizens create
meaningful public space by expressing their attitudes, asserting their claims and using
it for their own purposes. In recent study by Mehta (2014), the author defined public
space is an open space for the general public, all people use for active and passive
social and community activities, and where everyone must follow the general
regulations for use of space. Public space can also be the place where one likes to
spend more time not doing anything special and enjoy surroundings (Loukaitou &
Banerjee, 1998).
The definition brings about everyday public space. Public space is the space that is
open to the general public where activities in people’ daily life take place in it, and
different groups of people, regardless of their gender, age, social class. The definition
concentrates primarily on the every use of the public space and how the perception
of the space might impact its use. Specifically, activities in people's daily lives


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includes social and economic activities occurring on public space and these activities

also contribute to development economic and especially property value near public
space.
2.2.2 Sidewalk
According to the Degree No. 171/2013/ND-CP, November 13 2013 on penalties for
road administrative traffic offences and rial transport offences, streets are streets
within the inner city, which are delimited by red line boundaries under plannings
already approved by competent authorities; and sidewalks are part of the urban
streets, mainly serving pedestrians and combined with the arrangement of urban street
infrastructure along the route.
According to theoretical reviews, the definition of sidewalk depends on the purpose
of conceptualization. For various purposes, it can be defined by socio-political
characteristics. However, the term of sidewalk can be judged from two basic
perspectives. One is to focus on the physical perspectives and design considerations
related to this important pedestrian space, to create a safe, comfortable and functional
sidewalk; and the other is a social perspective that interprets urban space as a social
product and seeks the formation behind the first perspective.
2.2.3 Liveliness of sidewalk
The term liveliness may have different meanings, depending on persperctive of the
authors and research objective to define and measure quality of liveliness. Mehta
(2014) and Kim (2012) have stated that liveliness as a concept that is difficult to
define and measure. Liveliness is classified into different levels of activity, including
the level of participation in activity through use; level of interaction, communication,
trading and mutual exchange; level of representation that is determined through the
activities taking place outside of their home. Therefore, analyzing and definiting
liveliness of public space, it is always relevant to the people and activities that take
place. At the same time, the liveliness is measured through the flow and movement
of pedestrians, and the number of people engaged in various activities, and the