Resolution No. 1210/2016/UBTVQH13 On Classification of Urban Areas

RESOLUTION ON URBAN CLASSIFICATION

THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM

WHEREAS, the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

Pursuant to the Law on the Organization of the National Assembly No. 57/2014/QH13;

WHEREAS, the Law on Local Administration No. 77/2015/QH13;

WHEREAS, the Law on Urban Planning No. 30/2009/QH12;

CONSIDERING the proposal of the Government at the Report No. 04/TTr-CP dated January 11, 2016,

RESOLUTION:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Group ||| Object and scope ||| of urban classification not exceeding directly responsible persons for performing their duties |||

1. Central cities directly under the central government shall be classified as special-class cities or Class I cities based on urban criteria.
2. Cities under provinces and cities under centrally-administered cities shall be classified as Class I, Class II, or Class III cities based on urban criteria.
3. District cities shall be classified as Class III or Class IV cities based on urban criteria.
4. Towns shall be classified as Class IV or Class V cities based on urban criteria.
5. Areas expected to form urban areas in the future shall be classified according to corresponding urban types.

Article 2. Principles of urban classification

1. Urban classification shall be carried out based on the National Urban Development Program, the Provincial Urban Development Program, and the Urban Development Program for each city to manage urban development and ensure compatibility with each stage of economic and social development.
2. An urban area that has been planned and invested in to meet the criteria of a certain type of city shall be evaluated according to the corresponding urban type.
3. The evaluation of urban classification for areas expected to form urban areas in the future is one of the bases for establishing and adjusting administrative boundaries of urban units.
4. Urban classification shall be conducted using a point system. The points for urban classification are the total points achieved from the criteria.

PART II

CRITERIA FOR CLASSIFYING URBAN AREAS

Article 3. Special-class cities

1. Location, function, role, structure, and level of socio-economic development:
   1. The location, function, and role are the capital or national/international center for economy, finance, culture, education, training, tourism, healthcare, science and technology, transportation, domestic and international exchanges, playing a role in promoting the socio-economic development of the entire country;
   2. The structure and level of socio-economic development must meet the standards specified in Appendix 1 attached to this Resolution.
2. The total population of the city must reach 5,000,000 people or more; the inner city area must reach 3,000,000 people or more.
3. The population density of the entire city must reach 3,000 people/km² or more; the population density of the inner city area calculated based on the land area for urban construction must reach 12,000 people/km² or more.
4. The proportion of non-agricultural labor force in the entire city must reach 70% or more; the inner city area must reach 90% or more.
5. The level of development of urban infrastructure and architecture, landscape must meet the standards specified in Appendix 1 attached to this Resolution.

Article 4. Class I cities

1. Location, function, role, structure, and level of socio-economic development:

a) The location, function, and role are the national/regional/provincial center for economy, finance, culture, education, training, tourism, healthcare, science and technology, transportation, domestic and international exchanges, playing a role in promoting the socio-economic development of a multi-provincial region or the entire country;

b) The structure and level of socio-economic development must meet the standards specified in Appendix 1 attached to this Resolution.

2. Population size:
   1. For cities directly under the central government: the total population of the city must reach 1,000,000 people or more; the inner city area must reach 500,000 people or more;
   2. For cities under provinces or cities under centrally-administered cities: the total population of the city must reach 500,000 people or more; the inner city area must reach 200,000 people or more.
3. The population density of the entire city must reach 2,000 people/km² or more; the population density of the inner city area calculated based on the land area for urban construction must reach 10,000 people/km² or more.
4. The proportion of non-agricultural labor force in the entire city must reach 65% or more; the inner city area must reach 85% or more.
5. The level of development of urban infrastructure and architecture, landscape must meet the standards specified in Appendix 1 attached to this Resolution.

Article 5. Type II City

1. Location, function, role, structure, and level of socio-economic development:
   1. Location, function, role as a comprehensive center or specialized center at the provincial or regional level for economy, finance, culture, education, training, tourism, healthcare, science and technology, provincial administrative center, transportation hub, promoting economic and social development of a province or inter-provincial region;
   2. Economic and social structure and development level meet the standards set out in Appendix 1 attached to this Resolution.
2. Total city population reaches 200,000 people or more; inner city area population reaches 100,000 people or more.
3. Population density of the entire city reaches 1,800 people/km²² or more; inner city area population density calculated based on urban construction land area reaches 8,000 people/km²² or more.
4. Proportion of non-agricultural labor force in the entire city reaches 65% or more; inner city area proportion reaches 80% or more.

The level of development of urban infrastructure and architecture, landscape must meet the standards specified in Appendix 1 attached to this Resolution.

Article 6. Type III City

1. Location, function, role, structure, and level of socio-economic development:
   1. Location, function, role as a comprehensive center or specialized center at the provincial level for economy, finance, culture, education, training, tourism, healthcare, science and technology, transportation hub, promoting economic and social development of the province or inter-provincial region;
   2. Economic and social structure and development level meet the standards set out in Appendix 1 attached to this Resolution.
2. Total city population reaches 100,000 people or more; inner city and town area population reaches 50,000 people or more.
3. Population density of the entire city reaches 1,400 people/km²² or more; inner city and town area population density calculated based on urban construction land area reaches 7,000 people/km²² or more.
4. Proportion of non-agricultural labor force in the entire city reaches 60% or more; inner city and town area proportion reaches 75% or more.
5. Development level, infrastructure, architectural and urban landscape standards meet the criteria set out in Appendix 1 attached to this Resolution.

Article 7. Type IV City

1. Location, function, role, structure, and level of socio-economic development:
   1. Location, function, role as a comprehensive center or specialized center at the provincial or district level for economy, finance, culture, education, training, tourism, healthcare, science and technology, district administrative center, transportation hub, promoting economic and social development of the province, district or inter-district region;
   2. Economic and social structure and development level meet the criteria set out in Appendix 1 attached to this Resolution.
2. Total city population reaches 50,000 people or more; town area (if any) population reaches 20,000 people or more.
3. Population density of the entire city reaches 1,200 people/km²² or more; town area (if any) population density calculated based on urban construction land area reaches 6,000 people/km²² or more.
4. Proportion of non-agricultural labor force in the entire city reaches 55% or more; town area (if any) proportion reaches 70% or more.
5. The level of development of urban infrastructure and architecture, landscape must meet the standards specified in Appendix 1 attached to this Resolution.

Article 8. Type V City

1. Location, function, role, structure and development level of the economy and society:

a) Location, function, role as a district administrative center or comprehensive center at the district level or specialized center at the district level for economy, culture, education, training, transportation hub, promoting economic and social development of the district or cluster of communes;

b) The structure and level of socio-economic development must meet the standards specified in Appendix 1 attached to this Resolution.

2. Total city population reaches 4,000 people or more.
3. Population density of the entire city reaches 1,000 people/km²² or more; population density calculated based on urban construction land area reaches 5,000 people/km²² or more.
4. Proportion of non-agricultural labor force in the entire city reaches 55% or more.
5. The level of development of urban infrastructure and architecture, landscape must meet the standards specified in Appendix 1 attached to this Resolution.

Article 9. Classification of cities applicable to certain cities with special characteristics

1. For cities that are tourist centers, science and technology centers, education and training centers, the population size criteria and population density criteria may be lower but must reach at least 70% of the prescribed level; other criteria must meet the prescribed levels for the corresponding city type.
2. For cities of Type III, Type IV, and Type V located in mountainous areas, highland regions, or border areas, the population size criteria may be lower but must reach at least 50% of the prescribed level; other criteria must reach at least 70% of the prescribed levels for the corresponding city type.
3. For coastal cities, the infrastructure development level and urban landscape architecture criteria must reach at least 50% of the prescribed level; population size, population density, non-agricultural labor force ratio, and socio-economic standard criteria must reach at least 30% of the prescribed levels for the corresponding city type.

Chapter III

POINTS CALCULATION, AUTHORITY, AND PROCEDURES FOR CITY CLASSIFICATION

Article 10. Points Calculation for City Classification

1. The classification of cities is determined by a points calculation method, with the maximum total points for all criteria being 100 points.
2. The point framework for city classification criteria is as follows:
   1. Criteria related to location, function, role, structure, and socio-economic development level of the city have a maximum of 20 points;
   2. Criteria related to population size, population density, and the ratio of non-agricultural labor force have a maximum of 20 points. Among these, the population size criterion has a maximum of 8 points; population density has a maximum of 6 points; the ratio of non-agricultural labor force has a maximum of 6 points;
   3. Criteria related to the level of development of infrastructure and urban architectural landscape, including social infrastructure, technical infrastructure, environmental sanitation, and urban architectural landscape, have a maximum of 60 points.

Standards, allocation, and methods of calculating points, as well as data collection and computation methods for each criterion under this clause, are specified in Appendices 1, 2, and 3 issued together with this Resolution.

A city is recognized as a city type when it meets the minimum criteria and the total points of all criteria reach 75 points or more.

Article 11. Authority to Decide on City Classification

1. The Prime Minister decides on recognizing special-class, Class I, and Class II cities.
2. The Minister of Construction decides on recognizing Class III and Class IV cities.
3. The Chairman of the People's Committee of the province decides on recognizing Class V cities.

Article 12. Preparation of City Classification Proposals

1. Responsibilities for preparing city classification proposals:

a) The People's Committee of the province organizes the preparation of city classification proposals for special-class and Class I cities that are centrally-administered cities;

b) The People's Committee of the district organizes the preparation of city classification proposals for Class I cities that are provincial cities, cities within centrally-administered cities, Class II, Class III, Class IV, and Class V cities.

2. A city classification proposal includes a project description, appendices to the project, and a video illustrating the current urban development situation:
   1. The project description section outlines the reasons and necessity, summarizes the historical formation and development process of the city, evaluates the current urban development status and quality of urban infrastructure, compiles the city classification criteria, assesses the city classification, summarizes the urban development program and plans to improve urban quality in subsequent stages, concludes and makes recommendations;
   2. The appendices accompanying the proposal include legal documents, tables and figures related to the proposal, and scaled-down drawings (A3 size) showing the location map and regional connections (one copy), administrative boundary map of the city (one copy), current urban construction map and locations of ongoing projects (one copy), spatial development orientation diagram (one copy), initial phase short-term planning map (two copies showing land use planning and technical infrastructure planning), city classification evaluation data taken from the year immediately preceding the proposal submission year, and data provided or published by authorized state agencies;

c) The video illustrating the current urban development situation for classification purposes should be between 20 to 25 minutes long.

3. For towns expected to expand their urban area to form new urban administrative units, where the expanded area still falls within the district administrative boundaries, the People's Committee of the district is responsible for organizing the preparation of a city classification proposal for the area expected to form the new urban administrative unit, to be submitted to the authority with decision-making power to recognize the achievement of city classification criteria.

For cities and provincial-level cities expected to expand their urban area to form new urban administrative units, where the expanded area still falls within the provincial administrative boundaries, the People's Committee of the province is responsible for organizing the preparation of a city classification proposal for the area expected to form the new urban administrative unit, to be submitted to the authority with decision-making power to recognize the achievement of city classification criteria.

4. The cost of city classification is guaranteed by the state budget.

Article 13. Procedures and formalities for classifying cities

1. Responsibilities for reviewing city classification proposals:
   1. The Ministry of Construction shall organize the review of city classification proposals for special-class cities, Class I, Class II, Class III, and Class IV cities;
   2. The Department of Construction shall organize the review of city classification proposals for Class V cities.
2. Content of the review:
   1. The proposal and procedures for preparing the proposal;
   2. Legal basis and consistency with national urban system development orientations, inter-provincial regions, provinces, and urban development orientations;
   3. Examination and comparison of the proposal's content with the current urban development situation;
   4. Evaluation of city classification criteria.
3. The proposal for review includes the submission report from the People's Committee and the resolution of the People's Council with authority; the city classification proposal; related legal documents.
4. The reviewing agency is responsible for organizing the review of the city classification proposal within fifteen days from the date of receiving the complete proposal as stipulated in this Resolution.
5. The authority responsible for classifying cities as specified in Article 11 of this Resolution is responsible for considering and deciding to recognize the city type within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the submission report, the city classification proposal, and the review report.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 14. Transitional provisions

1. For cities that have received a decision recognizing their city type before the effective date of this Resolution, they do not need to be reclassified, except in cases provided for in Clause 3 of this Article.
2. For cities that have submitted a city classification proposal to the competent authority for review before the effective date of this Resolution, the competent authority shall organize the review and submit the proposal to the authority with the power to issue a decision recognizing the city classification according to this Resolution.
3. For cities recognized as a city type before the effective date of this Resolution where the scope of the city classification does not match the administrative unit boundary planned for establishment, when establishing such units, a review must be conducted to recognize a city type consistent with this Resolution.
4. For cities recognized as a city type before the effective date of this Resolution that plan to expand the inner city or town area to establish districts or wards, and where the proposal for establishing districts or wards has been submitted for review, the expanded area does not need to be reclassified; however, the proposed expansion area must be evaluated by the Ministry of Construction to meet the standards set out in Appendix 2 attached to this Resolution.

Article 15. Effective Date

This Resolution takes effect from the date of signing.