Revitalizing identity for coastal public space in Nha Trang City

The paper studies the formation and development of coastal public space in Nha Trang city and how its current form has not enhanced the local identity. This was a phenomenon commonly seen in many coast cities in Vietnam. This paper aims to provide a referent design guideline for future design of coastal public space in Nha Trang city. As a part of this effort to return identity to the city, we focused on physical and non-physical elements and their relationship in this specific case, treating them as the framework for this research. Drawing on ethnographic interview and geographic data, we looked closely to the shapes of place’s identity, including all related elements.


Introduction
Vietnam (with 3.260 km of coastal line) has a great number of coast provinces (28 provinces) along the Pacific Ocean with over 160 culturally rich and distinctive coastal towns and cities.Coastal public space is one of elements marking the difference of those cities and towns.In addition, each coastal public space embraces within it traces of the formation and development of its local cultural life and spirit and livelihood which are closely bound with the sea.However, together with the urbanization during the last two decades in Vietnam, the value of place identity or uniqueness has been overlooked that has led to many resembling urban designs.Indeed, coastal public space witnesses community-based communication which is considered to be a feature space of urban coastal communities and one of recognition elements of coastal cities.Moreover, coastal public space is a factor that engages communities and enriches the social life.In order to fully understand this space, it is crucial to investigate seriously both physical and non-physical values from which appropriate designs for the space are derive.
Looking closely to the current condition of coast cities, the loss of identity relates to several factors that has been disregarded for such a long time: (1) similarity in design for cities in general and coastal public space in particular despite of natural distinctiveness and local lifestyle; (2) lack of appreciation and awareness for place identity in the system of Vietnam Regulations for Construction and Design [5]; (3) failure in design and management for a rich public space in terms of activities, space forms and time efficiency.To response to those, we examined both physical and non-physical values of the site, NhaTrang city; as a basis for developing a set of design criteria for place identity maintenance.The following study includes: (1) using user observation to review existing community activities and public spaces; (2) conducting face-to-face interview with users, including preliminary surveys and mass surveys to find "impression" and "expectations" from users; (3) developing a set of design criteria by analyzing those collected data; (4) examining and discussing the applicability of the criteria.

Background
Despite of the number of research and studies of NhaTrang city, the role of local community in contributing to the local identity has been neglected.For example, in the master study of Nguyen T My Trang, "Urban design of NhaTrang city's main estuary" [6] proposed solutions for spatial connectivity at the estuary area of Cai river in NhaTrang city.The study found that traffic system and spatial connectivity should sever as a principle to exploit the typical values of Cai estuary area.As a result, the study pointed out that longitudinal connectivity has defined the spatial distinctiveness of NhaTrang coastal space, in terms of main functions and landscape.The local community was briefly mentioned as well as coastal public space was not included.
Besides, another study, a Ph.D thesis entitled "Exploiting factors of place to create urban identity -Da Nang city as a research site" by Nguyen Van Chuong [Ошибка!Источник ссылки не найден.]developed a scientific basis for the organization of urban space, including identifying elements from the perspective of physical space and social space.Since then, based on the application of place theory and place mentality to practical conditions in Da Nang, the study provided an orientation in preserving, renovating and developing urban space in the direction of identity.The paper synthesized and developed principles for exploring the value of place on an entire urban scale without resorting to a specific functional area in the characteristic city while each functional region in urban areas would has their own characteristic values.
In addition, there are also a number of article such as, "Planning the Urban Public Space Tourism System," which aims to organize space through the shape of public spaces, therefore to effectively exploit axes, routes and arrays, stripes to express the character of the public square.According to Kevin Lynch [2], the city's image is a part of the city's identity which consists of five elements (path, edge, district, node and landmark.Those elements do not dependently exist but integrate with a rule which derives from the identity of a place.In another attempt, Norberg Schulz [8] outlined main types of vocabulary which are morphology, topology and geometry in order to read and interpret locale through place structure, making this place different, helping define the physical elements that make up the regional identity.Incorporated with this, Yi-Fu Tuan's time element is generalized that the https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201819301026ESCI 2018 place gives us a feeling of time not only in the present but also in the past, where the place is understood and identified for the future.
Another element is the relationship between place and people.People through experiencing a place will recognize the value of place [4].Therefore, it is necessary to know the location and relationship of users and space.Through comments of many authors, the place associates with the value of the urban environment in terms of natural environment, built environment and human factor [9,10].In 1653, Lord Nguyen Phuc Tan placed Tai Khang palace in NhaTrang city, which is considered as the starting point for the formation of the first residential areas, including Khmer and Kinh people.People lived in the lower parts of the Dinh and Cai river.Since then, the villages were proceeded, but coastal space was still untouched.In the late 19th century, NhaTrang beaches were still mainly occupied by fishing villages.From 1945 to 1999, NhaTrang city officially became the capital of KhanhHoa province.Coastal areas began to serve public activities informally.Since 1999, there have been changes in traffic and landuse along the beach.The coastal park has been developed to the present.Functional areas along the beach have been gradually filled.
In short, coastal public space has been formed in parallel with urban development.Over many years, coastal public space has brought strong value to the city.However, recently, traditional values of those spaces has lost their original identity.

Nature Features
(1) Natural conditions and climate, NhaTrang city is located in the coastal area of South Central Vietnam hence it is influenced by oceanic climate, almost without storms, maintaining a warm temperature all year round.In the summer, the heat is mild and does not MATEC Web of Conferences 193, 01026 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201819301026ESCI 2018 last as long as other central provinces, which is convenient for outdoor activities.For the wind, the area is often windy which is a significant feature of NhaTrang city.
(2) Topography and soil,thanks to the alluvial plain accreted every year, it is almost unaffected by sea water.The city benefits from tidal flat, white sand and coral reefs in NhaTrang bay.The south is a quite deep -stretching -the sunken seaside.The area is full of rivers, mountains, sea, and rivers.Those topographic values are formed from the tectonic processes of the river deltas and the erosion process.
(3) Hydrology,water levels are directly affected by uneven diurnal tide.The tide lasts from 18-20 days every month.Water level fluctuations are relatively cyclical with a maximum amplitude of 2.4m.The average amplitude of the tide is 1.2 -2m, the low tide is 0.5m.The tide regime is typical of the South Central provinces, with relatively clear cycles.
(4) Main ecosystem,marine ecosystem is diverse, including, lagoons, intertidal and estuarine areas, especially coral reefs that create biodiversity with over 350 species.

Characteristics of habits, customs and practices
At present, there are 32 ethnic groups living in NhaTrang city, such as, Kinh, Cham, Raglai, Hoa, GieTrieng, Ede, Tay, Nung, Muong ... Each ethnic group has their own way of life, providing the area much potential for community life.Of which, Kinh people is account for 95.3%.Previously, when commercial activities was not so popular, the major livelihood of the citizens was associated with fishing.The customs of fishermen such as Ruoc Ca Ong parade, Cau Ngu festival, hay ThápBà festival.... are cultural activities become highlights in the spiritual life of the citizens and taken place in coastal public space.In addition, there are other daily activities such as sight seeing, swimming, water-skiing, etc.However, most of the activities are unplanned and managed.

Physical elements
In order to examine identical physical elements for this study site, analyzing five following layers of the current settlement is necessary.Underlying topography: The terrain is rich in forms due to different geographical structure which was formed by the deposition of sediment and runoff, creating landscape features, including mountains, bays, sandy beaches, mudflats, etc. Natural system (Water surface and vegetation): In order to suit to brackish environment and sea breeze, coniferous trees are commonly found.
Public linkage system (Type of transportation and street form, public space linkage): there are two main axes, one lies parallel to the coast line and other head toward the sea.There are also several main streets connecting to central square.The strip of land next to the beach gives space for public spaces of the city.Block -Lot form: most of buildings are public with beach front and high density.Components constructing pubic space: contains public services for beach activities such as toilet, fresh water shower, café, etc. connecting directly with the beach.

Data collection
Historical method was used to learn and understand the process of formation and development of the site, in order to find out the nature of movement, the trend of development of the area [7].This method is done by collecting layers of information and historical maps, then looking for population fluctuation by the time.Besides, studying history documents of Observation method was also used for the next step -to identify areas with more concentrated activities and related physical elements.As a result, the initial data could serve as a source for the following steps.At the site, a team of investigators monitored alternately and constantly the number of people present in the study area (Table 1).Equipment for observation record such as cameras was also used.The grid for mapping was the grid of 1m x 1m to pinpoint the exact location of the largest gathering group, zoning activity, marking activity by time and day of the day from time to time in the study area.The number of days monitored included week days and weekends.Here, identified physical elements that made up area of activities were identified.Next, based on the characteristics of the areas, and the concentration of people here, we selected seven areas to operate questionnaires and face-toface interviews.
Fig. 3.The results drawn from observation method -07 selected areas for conducting the in-depth survey (Source: author).
Survey methods was applied on the selected areas to collect data and documents related to the research.This research included interviewing and collecting comments (in both pilot and field surveys) from users in those public areas.The research was conducted at coastal public space in NhaTrang city on sunny days.

Data analysis
Statistics method -SPSS 20.0 software was applied to outline the usage of coastal public space to find out specific rules of user needs and activities.In addition, another information was also involved to measure, compare, and evaluate the extent of the response of space based on community activities in the area.Then, it was possible to classify groups of activities by applying integrated analytical method.

Identify the value of place in coastal public space
First of all, identification of the identity must be based on visual elements and characteristics of the area.This identification should be based on a system of relationships between elements in in comparison with the present context.
Coastal public space is considered a highlight feature shown in site location, natural values (formed by terrain, water, and sky) and built environment.Those are visible elements that directly affect human perception.In addition, through activities of local people, from daily activities to periodic festivals, though intangible values are not clearly defined in terms of boundaries and constantly changing images, they have brought to the community and the place an outstanding atmosphere and have reflected the indispensable needs of outdoor public spaces in the city.Moreover, the identification of the social factors should pay more attention to cultural-historical factors that are strongly connected to today.These factors include both local people and their activities.Roles of communities, susch as, identify intangible value through communication and neighborhood relationships, greetings to relatives, through social relationships created by age, occupation, lifestyle.
Social activities of citizens are identified through history, architectural heritages or and living habits (such as avoiding fish tail cutting, not turning fish when eating, drawing eyes on the boat bow, ...), beliefs (worship of Ca Ong), festivals (Nghinh Ong parade for good weather), ... these activities have lasted till today as a link between the history and society and a pride of the local people.
Identify factors that forming the identity of coastal public space in NhaTrang city were drawn from analyzing the natural elements, physical and non-material elements through documentary sources, observation and investigation methods.

Discussions
Identifying values and proposing solutions for coastal public space have added to the field of research an assessment of the ability to reconcile protection and exploitation of natural resources.However, besides the development of the city, there are many issues that need to be discussed in the framework of the study.
NhaTrang city is a fast-growing urban area.According to the policy of developing tourism into a green industry, the expansion of tourism trade and urban development towards internationalization agree with the international integration tendency.Besides, an area with strong identity will always attract many people.As a result, the development of tourism has led to foreign disturbance to the local.Therefore, maintaining identity seems to be more difficult and this is a conflict between conservation and development.
Maintaining and enhancing local identity will bring great values to the city.However, there will be other contradictions in the use, exploitation and preservation of this space.These conflicts can be seen as: (1) inconsistencies arising from unclear ambition between levels of government, such as the exploitation of tourism and the protection of the natural landscape of the coast.(2) Conflicts between preserving identity and achieving profit goals.Allowing investment projects to over-exploit existing conditions as well as infrastructure leads to conflicting interests between identity and economic gain at the pace of fast urban development.(3) Conflicts between individual group interests and community interests since in order to make a living and prosperity, personal benefits may conflict with the public interest, causing aesthetics for urban space.
Thus, the followings are our key considerations: (1) in this work, people understand well the characteristics of their city for appropriate behaviors; governmental departments and agencies need to participate actively in organizing festivals such as Nghinh Ong parade or festival at Ponaga tower ( those are typical local architecture through time).... (2) All efforts mentioned above must be implemented with co-operation in planning, design, marketing and organizing in order to educate local communities for saving local culture (3) the preservation and maintenance of regional identity must be made quickly but also should not interfere harshly with the existing spaces.

Conclusions
For over 300 years of development, coastal public spaces have formed and created distinct values for coast cities.The identity here is a harmonious synthesis of natural values, human beings and built environment.Establishing regulations that cover both physical and nonmaterial matters will contribute to the recovery of inherent values, which have been vanished gradually.
In addition, the application of those criteria should be more flexible.The importance of each element may vary due to specific context, this effort will help to add more values and maintain the tradition for future generations.

Revitalizing identity of coastal public space in NhaTrang city
Defining and revitalizing the identity of coastal public space in NhaTrang city are approached through three factors: physical factors, non-physical factors and natural landscape.Among three, physical factors and landscape are seen as a whole in looking for design and management solutions.After all, we can conserve and develop non-physical values.The followings are suggestions both in terms of physical factors: (1) location, (2) natural landscape and (3) built environment; and non-physical factors.Those suggesstions intend to enhance local characteristicsand user's experience.

Table 4 .
From physical perspective.

Table 5 .
From non-physical perspective.