1) The tolerance of small plot sizes, thereby letting people trade-off location for floor space
(in many cases floor space as small as 25 m2).
2) A permissive attitude toward FAR increases, which has enabled an increase in the supply
of floor space without the need for more land.
3) The incorporation and densification of peri-urban villages into the urban fabric.
4) Investment in primary/trunk infrastructure near these urbanizing villages (with
communities then investing in incremental improvements within the village).
5) The dynamism of the efficient and entrepreneurial low-cost, self-help and small contractor
construction sector –
Additionally, the history of people-friendly socialist practices and widespread government
subsidies for housing in the past, as well as ongoing incremental upgrading practices (see Box
3.1), have helped bring about this situation. The very accepting attitude of Vietnamese people
to inter-generational co-habitation in rural and urban areas, has also contributed to relatively
better housing for lower income groups more than in comparator countries.