For this edition Blake received an incredible response to his call for participants, with almost 50 walkers replying from 15 countries on 6 continents.
On the planned date (12 May 2018) I had relocated to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in Vietnam and so my participatory walk would be conducted here.
'City Centre' by Tom Hall is the 19th detailed walk in the book and entails walking away from a city centre, noticing changes in the environment, buildings, traffic, skyline and so on. At a certain point a decision will be made to turn around and head back in the opposite direction, looking for similar clues to the changes made as the centre of a city is approached.
I had arrived in the city the day before and decided to explore an area of the city to the south east, in District 7 of Saigon. I was interested in the changes to be seen in the urban landscape in this area as it is currently under redevelopment.
New developments are noticeable as islands separated by areas of wasteland. Some of these areas appear to have some beginnings of construction which have for some reason been abandoned. Areas around new developments are manicured while elsewhere there is evidence of fly-tipping.
The walk: From Vivo City to Happy Valley and back again.
Outward:
The start - Vivo City, air-conditioned shopping mall
Initial boulevard-type road system
National insignia greets the in-coming traffic
The Sky Garden development provides welcome shade
Wide road junction with alarming traffic behaviour
Motorbike vendor, modest load compared to many!
About to cross the road, pedestrians do NOT have sole right of way!
Area of wasteland, Happy Valley development in the distance
Vertical road marker
Road marker set into the pavement
Happy Valley development, no obvious facilities
Return:
Walking back along Happy Valley
Areas of wasteland on all sides
Panorama of a wide road junction
Raw materials headed into the city centre
National insignia more visible on the return walk
Colour palette collected during the walk
Capturing street details
Traffic behaviour study
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