Overseas Projects and Sites
Viengxay Town Master Plan, Lao PDR
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Landscape Architect: Hansen Partners Pty Ltd
Location: Viengxay, Lao PDR
Project date: 2008
Listed as A Case Study for the AILA's 2008 National Climate Change Project
Overview
The Viengxay Town Master Plan is a guiding document designed to assist the government of Lao PDR in the management of growth and development of the National Heritage Town of Viengxay and its natural surroundings for a period of 20 years. The Viengxay Master Plan establishes an agreed framework that ensures protection of the Town’s historic, natural and cultural features whilst allowing progressive growth in an orderly manner.
The Master Plan promotes development in and around the Town that maximises social, economic and environmental benefits in a sustainable manner for the local community and attract investment from local, national and international parties.
It encourages sustainable growth and investment that supports (and ultimately enhances) the Town’s status as the ‘birthplace of the Lao PDR’. The Town Master Plan and land management measures designed for its environmental context will form the basis for a future nomination of Viengxay for World Heritage listing.
Special Factors
The Viengxay Town Master Plan, 2006-2026 represents a significant step in sustainable planning and design for urban growth and conservation management in Lao PDR.
Guided by a team of Australian Landscape Architects in collaboration with Lao counterparts, this project sought for the first time to define, conserve and highlight the national (and international) significance of Viengxay and its remarkable setting.
Under threat from notable adhoc development, poor agricultural and land management practices and invasive tourism, this Plan successfully sets out a vision for evolution of the Town and protection and enhancement of its environmental context.
Importantly, the Plan and its process serve as a capacity building exercise of value to local people and administrators, demonstrating the advanced leadership and management skills of Australian Landscape Architects practicing abroad.
Budget:
$45,000 USD consultancy fee, established through United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
The Viengxay Town Master Plan is a project led by Landscape Architects which confront the critical issues of urban and land management practices in sensitive cultural heritage settings in third world countries.
In introducing notions of orderly land planning, sustainable land management practices and cultural heritage controls, the team was able to work with and engender local people and provincial and district government officials with a clear appreciation of contemporary urban design and landscape practice. The project was funded and managed by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and SNV Netherlands Development Organisation within the framework of UNWTO’s ST-EP programme (Sustainable Tourism – Eliminating Poverty).
The Viengxay Master Plan was prepared through a staged process. The early stages of the project examined the features and values of the Town and its landscape and considered its potential for growth as a notable national heritage and natural landscape tourism destination. The Master Plan sets out a vision for Viengxay to the year 2026. The Plan anticipates approximately 1,400 new households over a 20 year period, yielding an additional population of some 12,000 people and requiring the provision of considerable additional urban services and facilities. It is critical that all new development and growth is well planned in a manner that is sympathetic to and respectful of the important heritage and landscape values of the Town. In light of these empirical findings, the following ‘agreed’ objectives have been incorporated in the Viengxay Master Plan:
Viengxay as a National Heritage Town:
- Protect and conserve the caves and surrounding areas which are of National Heritage importance.
- Register Viengxay as a place of Natural National Heritage under the Law on Heritage in Lao PDR.
- Protect and conserve the Natural National Heritage of the Town which includes the lakes, mountains, wetlands and existing vegetation on and around the mountains.
- Promote the historical heritage and natural heritage significance of Viengxay to national and international tourists.
- Retain the local traditional cultures of Viengxay.
- Limit the extent of new development close to the limestone mountains maintaining a green buffer at the base of these natural features.
Viengxay as a Prosperous Town:
- Create new jobs for the local population in all sectors of the economy.
- Establish an employment estate for small to medium size ‘clean’ industries and service businesses.
- Promote tourist facilities and services in easily accessible locations.
- Establish a Tourist Information Centre.
- Retain agricultural activities within and around the Town.
- Improve educational facilities to a good standard.
- Upgrade and consolidate the Central Market as an attractive, vibrant commercial area.
- Improve telecommunication services.
- Undertake a feasibility study for any airport upgrade.
Viengxay as a Healthy Town:
- Consolidate and expand existing housing areas in an orderly and compact manner.
- Upgrade infrastructure providing a healthy, clean living and working environment for all.
- Extend and upgrade the hospital to meet the needs of the community.
- Establish a sewerage treatment plant and waste disposal facility to meet the Town’s needs as it grows.
- Ensure the environment is not polluted by inappropriate development.
Viengxay as a Walking Town:
- Upgrade roads and footpaths providing safe and convenient access to the cave sites and the main facilities and services of the Town.
- Establish attractive pedestrian and bicycle paths around the edges of the lakes and along the main roads.
- Upgrade the bus station functionally and in terms of its overall appearance.
- Establish good signage throughout the Town for the local community and tourists.
- Improve the design of key road intersections to meet safety standards.
- Upgrade parks and recreation areas as attractive, green spaces.
Viengxay as a Green Town:
- Establish a network of street trees along the roads and the banks of lakes, providing shade, greenery and additional natural beauty to the Town.
- Upgrade existing parks and recreational areas and provide new parks, where required.
- Encourage new development which is designed to be energy efficient and sustainable.
- Protect the surrounding natural landscape and key views to the scenic landscape.
- Retain the green ‘spine’ through the Town being the lakes and farming land.
- Maintain the garden setting of housing development and integrate greenery into new housing areas.
introduction / overview / images / location / Projects
2008
