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This chapter outlines an urban structure type approach used to portray, classify and understand the settlement patterns and urban structures of the current and emerging landscapes of Ho Chi Minh City. An important prerequisite for establishing much needed efficient and proactive, as well as rapid, adaptation planning strategies is the spatial and rational characterisation of the current urban fabric according to vulnerability relevant features. In our work an understanding of urban settlement patterns and urban structures allowed for the capturing of the highly dynamic spatiotemporal social and structural changes associated with rapid urbanisation processes. The aim was an integrated assessment of the underlying the inherent urban resilience based on coherent and credible indicator sets. The approach provides a common spatial framework at the resolution of the urban block for data integration various thematic and scientific disciplines at the same spatial scale. The scale provides a clear instrument to generate portfolios of block-specific core indicators, move across scales, run scenarios and aggregate to larger planning horizons, ultimately useful to determine hotspots for administrative interventions and to assist prioritising in spatial planning decision-making.

The adaptation of mega-urban regions and their landscapes to climate change is predominantly a spatial planning matter. Rapidly developing Asian megacities, like Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) in Vietnam, need to become more resilient and less vulnerable to climate change. Our contribution takes spatial planning as the starting point. It highlights opportunities and challenges for spatially-explicit adaptation strategies in HCMC and shows how adaptation to climate change can be used to influence land-use planning and future urban development. Special attention is given to urban water management issues. Here the focus lies on risk management and non-structural protection measures to lessen climate-related urban risks. For rapidly developing mega-urban regions the need for focused support and guidance in formulating and embedding suitable adaptation policies and spatially explicit zoning regulations is apparent. Within its multi-stakeholder environment borne out of conflicting interests, land use planning requires more than ever science-based information to formulate spatially explicit and integrated urban climate adaptation policies.