Rural-to-urban land conversion under uncertain institution: competition between informality and formality in the peri-urban Hanoi, Vietnam

Driven by industrialization and urbanization, rural land is converted to urban uses in the context of gradualist institutional change under the Doi Moi. It is observed that the competition between informality and formality of land use conversion occurs in the context of uncontrolled developments in the peri-urban area of Hanoi, Vietnam. This study aims to understand the characteristics of urbanization of rural land in transitional Vietnam and its impact on spatial changes. From the perspective of land rights, this study demonstrates how ambiguous rural land rights give rise to disorderly land rent competition due to ineffective governance. The research results show that while effective state governance is absent in long-term plans for new projects, private informal developments arise spontaneously, and thus urban sprawl. This study proposes that the objective of future institutional transformation should be towards clarity of land rights, and thus the state's ability in developmental control could be enhanced.