In District 1, the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, cramped and unsafe residential areas with houses measuring only a few square meters each are common – an issue which District 1 Party secretary Duong Anh Duc said requires that residents "take shifts to sleep."

The administration in District 1 met with enterprises interested in a residential area project in the Ga and Gao Market area, where many families are living in cramped houses, on Thursday.

The area is among the most cramped and unsafe residential areas in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, yet it has not been upgraded for years.

At a municipal Party Committee conference in mid-June, District 1 Party secretary Duc voiced concern over the living conditions of residents in the area, noting that they are at high risk of fire and explosion.

Le Thi Ngoc Hoa, a 68-year-old resident who lives in a deep alley, said her house is less than four square meters in area.

Hoa added that she has not had a visitor to her home for over 50 years because there is simply no space to accommodate anyone aside from herself and three other family members.

Before a fire hit the area in 2015, the residences surrounding Gao Market featured makeshift wooden houses and had no toilets.

Following the fire, local authorities and benefactors supported households to rebuild their homes, including Hoa’s.

Her house was made of concrete and had a mezzanine, Ho recalled.

The four-square-meter house is now home to four people. She sleeps on the floor and her son and grandchildren on the mezzanine. 

All of their daily activities, including cooking, having meals, and doing the washing, are carried out in front of the house. Their vehicles are also left outside.

On rainy days, they cannot cook.

The house is too small, so they cannot stretch their legs out while lying down, an issue that has led to Hoa developing scoliosis.

Though doctors have advised her to lie with her legs stretched, it is simply not possible in her tiny home.

The issue is common in the area. In fact, one of Hoa’s neighboring families has been forced to have the males sleep outside.

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