State Management of the Urban Environment in the Pursuit of Sustainable Economic Development: A Case Study of Phu Dien Ward, Hanoi, Vietnam

Rapid urbanisation has made environmental quality a condition for, rather than a by-product of, sustainable economic development in Vietnam's large cities. Since 1 July 2025, wards in Hanoi have become the lowest level of a two-tier local government system and carry direct responsibility for many tasks of urban environmental management. This paper analyses state management of the urban environment in Phu Dien ward, a fast-urbanising ward in the west of Hanoi formed by merging Phu Dien with most of Phuc Dien and parts of Mai Dich and Co Nhue 1. Using a qualitative case design with document analysis and descriptive statistics, and a pressure-state-response framework, the study examines the city context and the ward's management practices for waste, air, water and green space. Hanoi's annual mean PM2.5 concentration rose for the third consecutive year to 45.4 µg/m³ in 2024, nearly double the national limit of 25 µg/m³; domestic solid waste increased from about 6,400 tonnes per day in 2014 to about 7,500 tonnes per day in 2025 and is forecast to approach 10,000 tonnes per day by 2030; and the Nhue river, which flows through the ward, remains seriously polluted. At ward level, management relies on contracted waste collection, inspection with ward police and community campaigns, but incidents such as unauthorised waste and broken-glass storage sites show gaps in monitoring and enforcement. The paper proposes six groups of solutions that link environmental management with the ward's economic development, including clearer ward mandates, performance-based waste contracts, construction dust control, protection of the Nhue corridor and Mai Dich retention lake, digital monitoring and co-management with residents and businesses.