Nguyen Vu Hoang
in Journal of Mekong Societies, 21(2), p. 15–26, August 2025
Abstract: The term “collective living quarters” (KTT) in Hanoi refers to the architectural structures built in the city with support from Soviet and North Korean experts after the end of the war against the French in 1954. These quarters provided living space for thousands of people working in the government sector. While historical and architectural approaches have been discussed in relation to the historical expansion of the city and technologies/materials, the literature shows a lack of understanding of the community from an insider’s perspective. The present article, using an anthropological approach, analyzes the sense of community among the members of KTTs in Hanoi. The research was based on ethnographic data and materials gathered from 2020 to 2022 in several KTTs in Hanoi. The article questions whether there is a sense of community and how it has changed through different periods of time. By analyzing the changes in socio-economic situations in Vietnam, this article argues that while the sense of community has been established by the daily interactions of local residents, it is very dynamic and has changed constantly with the alternation of the stakeholders.
About the author: Nguyen Vu Hoang was a HYI Doctoral Scholar from 2009-2012.