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Urban landscape of today Ho Chi Minh is known as the significant increase of individual transportation. Extremely high-density living but inadequate levels of infrastructure provision create serious health problems and environmental impacts in HCM inner districts. In mid 1990s, many papers describe HCM is the city where traffic is transformed from bicycles to motorcycles. In mid 200s, it is labeled as "motor dependent city" and traffic congestion becomes more serious than ever. HCM as under the hyper urbanism are faced with the problem of traffic congestion on a large scale, like many other cities in Asia. Concerning this issue, a lot of solutions were applied but the traffic situation has not much improved. The study predicts that the next step of HCM traffic action will be the shift to cars. Moreover, the future reduction of car taxes in order to reach the globalization is threatening the city by shifting from motor-based to car-based system. In fact, a few years ago, the City Authorities started a series of initiatives and produced several political documents for future development. One of them is the Transport Master Plan for 2030 developed in 2004 and approved in 2013. To overcome HCMC's transport challenges, TMP is planned to modernize and extend the existing road and highway network, and especially an extensive public transport improvement program including metro line as Mass rapid transit (MRT) and bus corridor (BRT) encouraging friendly environment for cycling and pedestrian. This master plan based on the concept of sustainable urban transport towards the integrated approach between transit and spatial land-use. HCM city has potential of densities to support these mass transit systems, yet, the shifts in development are not yet in place and they need a long-term transformation to measure the impacts. Meanwhile, worsening congestion of motorized situation is adversely affecting the city's competitiveness and human life. By redefining the transportation and city interaction, can transit once again play a central role in HCM city after having been structured since colonial time? Would a future of HCM paired with integration concept be an alternative to the motorized city? Being considered as a means of public transport for those who cannot afford cars, what can be the prediction of advantages and disadvantages after Transport Master Plan towards 2030 are done? Transport differs from other problems developing societies face, because it gets worse rather than better with economic growth. While sanitation, education, and other challenges improve with economic growth, transport gets worse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ho Chi Minh City originally came from the confluence of the rivers where the Chinese merchant ships made their way to the East Sea. This became a crowded commercial hub and concentrated all urban activities from the infrastructure, transportation, purchase and sale activities and community activities taking place on these canals and urban space on either side. Then due to the massive urban development that led to settlement on the highlands, and gradually oriented to the road transport system. The growing demand for urban development has led to the trend of opening up new urban areas in urban lowlands – areas close to water infrastructure, low lying areas and adjacent canals. In that context, the role and structure of canals will change for urban development. Similarly, many cities in the world have formed and developed in association with water that tends to turn their back on water infrastructure and water space to develop massively street oriented infrastructure. That led to question about the role of the water surface in these cities and how they should behave in the future, in response to climate change issues, population development? The birth of waterway public transport system along the Saigon River in Ho Chi Minh City is one step forward in the development of a new transport system for the city, contributing to solving the problem of overloaded burden of the road transport system in the process of rapid urbanization in Ho Chi Minh City. To deploy the construction and development of the waterway public transport system in Ho Chi Minh City, the Department of Transport of Ho Chi Minh City started with the first waterway public transport route. And not only in the wharf space, but the spaces along the river also need to be invested to change their appearance and improve connectivity and access to the riverbank. This is an opportunity not only to increase the value of the landscape but also to create the need for access to the public waterway transport route and stimulate the demand for using this public transport route. The urban design lesson of Bangkok and Amsterdam can be referenced with its attractive waterfront spaces, which can be waterfront parks, cafes, meet-and-greet platforms, hangout areas, and water play areas, etc. These spaces promise to build Saigon into a city that is not only sustainable but also exuberant. It is to step by step build a network system of waterway public transportation in Ho Chi Minh City according to the general planning of the city in the coming time to reduce the load on the road transport system. Connecting urban functions through the waterway transport system exploits both the potential of the waterway system and the urban landscape facing the river, contributing to the construction of a green city in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]