1 THE BASKET WEAVERS AND THE COMPUTER PROGRAMMERS: Urban Conservation and Development in the Old City of Hanoi (A presentation at the Center for South East Asian Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, March 2000) Dr. Hoang Huu Phe, Development Planning Unit, University College London 9 Endsleigh Gardens, London WC1H 0ED. Email: phebinh@cix.co.uk ABSTRACT: Urban conservation in Southeast Asia emerges within the context of one of the fastest urbanisation processes in the world. Different theoretical themes of urban development are shown to have direct bearing on the viability and continuance of the central cities residential areas which define the viability of urban conservation efforts. The paper focuses on the interaction between the contextual elements of urban conservation, expressed in several scenarios, and the internal dynamics of conservation efforts. Results of this analysis offers the possibility to predict the likely outcomes of conservation projects and to identify appropriate policy measures. The case of Hanoi is presented. 1. Introduction: Hang Bo - The street of basket weavers. The Old City of Hanoi is famous for its streets whose names almost always begin with the word "Hang". In Vietnamese, "hang" mean a street-front shop, where the artisans used to sell their wares which were made in the same house, often by all members of the family. Hang Bo is the name of one of these streets, which says that its residents were specialised in making bamboo baskets. In the old days, bamboo baskets, in a great variety of forms and shapes, were the universal containers: they were used for books, rice grains, poultry, etc. Passing the street these day, one still can, though very rarely, see a man with his bicycle, mounted by an intricate collection of bamboo baskets in different sizes. The basket weaver is, most likely, coming from the western outskirts of Hanoi: nowadays nobody weaves bamboo baskets on the pavement of Hang Bo. Instead, the street, 272 metres in length, is dotted by shops selling everything, from foodstuff to computer equipment. A few computer schools have opened in the area and today, walking along Hang Bo street, you have a much higher chance of meeting a young, upwardly-mobile computer programmer than a basket weaver. The bamboo containers, which used to be so indispensable in everyday-life, are replaced by those made of plastic, or metal. The name of Hang Bo, however, may have a chance to stay as long as Hanoi exists, although the presence of the basket weaver on bicycle - a rather weak an superficial link between the history of the street and its present - is much less certain. The now widespread movement of urban conservation in developing countries is dealing exactly with this kind of inevitability. It tries to create a delicate balance between the consensus on the need of preserving the cultural heritage as an important component of national identity, and the strong development imperative that leads eventually to drastic changes. Those who argue for of urban conservation are trying their best to keep the character of Hang Bo street, but can they resist the forces of change? The experience of Hang Bo represents, to a large extent, the transformations which are happening in the urban centres elsewhere in the developing countries of Southeast Asia. To understand them and their impact on conservation efforts, it would be useful to have a quick look at the factors which influence the conservation efforts: i) urbanisation in Southeast Asia; ii) the possible conservation scenarios, and iii) the internal dynamics of the conservation process.