A number of seminars on how to ensure the sustainable development of urban areas will be held by the embassy in Hanoi.

The specialists from the Italian city of Genoa will give a presentation on how to involve the public in the restoration. 

The Chairman of the Genoa Association of Architects, Giorgio Parodi, said that Hanoi had better review its plans for the old quarter of Hanoi and map out the necessary steps and priorities for the restoration work to begin. 

The former chief architect of Hanoi and Vice Chairman of the Urban Planning Association, Dr. Dao Ngoc Nghiem, said that the 1995 Ancient Quarter Plan is now out of date. 

It is vital to re-identify Hanoi’s premium assets before taking the necessary steps to restore them. 

The old quarter covers an area of 100 hectares in the central district of Hoan Kiem and houses 85,000 people. The areas rising population is putting the ancient houses there at serious risk of falling into disrepair.