Two years after the walking street around the iconic Gươm (Sword) Lake was first introduced to the Hanoians, the place has become a top destination for families and friends to hang out on weekends. But not everyone is happy with how the walking street has become a commercial centre and, some say, a big mess.

HCM City Police have started criminal proceedings in the case of the Carina Plaza apartment building fire in HCM City’s District 8 which killed 13 people and injured 27 on March 23.

HCM City authorities have announced plans to re-organise 159 streets, aiming to set up spaces for street vendors on these roads, following the success of the three-month piloting operation of the street vendors’ “markets” on Nguyễn Văn Chiêm and Bách Tùng Diệp Park in the city’s District 1.

Work to relocate HCM City’s Eastern Bus Terminal (Bến Xe Miền Đông) in Bình Thạnh District will begin in early 2018, allowing tens of thousands of passengers to use daily services, the general director of the Eastern Bus Terminal has said.

 In a move to sustain its sweeping "sidewalk clean-up" campaign, the capital city’s leader said the head of each local division will be held accountable if public space violations reoccur.

To make HCM City more attractive to local and foreign travellers, city authorities have decided to build the Sài Gòn Cultural and Tourism Village.

 Municipal authorities are considering following in Bình Dương Province’s footsteps to build ‘super-affordable houses,’ but the jury is out on the project’s feasibility. These houses come with shockingly low price tags, starting at just VNĐ100 million (nearly US$4,500).

The municipal Department of Culture and Sports is officially inviting public feedback on a draft Code of Conduct in public places for Hanoians.

Some two weeks ago, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc himself weighed in on a high-profile apartment building complex planned in the capital by the leading Vinhomes real estate developer.