Identifyingand assessing the role of informal public spaces on the physical and spiritual life of the university students – A case study at university cluster in Hanoi (Hanoi University of Science and Technology – HUST, National University of Civil Engineering – NUCE and National Economics University–NEU

The evolution of urbanization in major cities in Vietnam is very complicated. This leads to a lack of formal public spaces serving the community and specific groups such as students and young people. In areas with a high concentration of universities with a large number of students such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the ratio of formal public space per capita is very low and lack of impact on student’s physical and mental life. However, a very clear feature in these areas is the presence of informal public spaces and the obvious impact of various types of informal public spaces on students’ living and learning life. There is a dialectic relationship between students and the formation and development of informal public spaces around university clusters in urban areas in Vietnam.