“Designing Mobility for Livable and Social Cities” is part of the regional Climate and Energy program of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), expanding earlier research on Shanghai, Paris, Seoul, and Hamburg to additional Asian cities, including Hanoi. The initiative responds to shared urban challenges such as rapid population growth, declining mixed-use development, long commuting distances particularly affecting lower-income groups and mobility systems heavily dominated by private vehicles.

The project aims to explore how cities can redesign mobility systems to promote social participation, climate justice, and long-term quality of life. Grounded in FES’s focus on social-ecological transformation, sustainable development, and gender and climate justice, the study seeks to identify pathways toward equitable, inclusive, and environmentally sustainable urban mobility.

Spatial Decisions developed a comprehensive City Profile for Hanoi, guided by mobility Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to assess how transport systems can enhance social and economic participation while reducing environmental and societal impacts. The work included extensive secondary research and desk review to understand the historical and socio-cultural dimensions shaping Hanoi’s mobility patterns. We analyzed key urban visions, strategies, and policy frameworks influencing the current mobility system and evaluated their effectiveness.

The study provides a structured and justice-oriented framework for evaluating and redesigning urban mobility systems in Hanoi. The outputs also contribute to regional knowledge exchange and policy discourse, positioning Hanoi within a broader comparative framework of cities advancing social-ecological transformation in Asia.