Since the Fall of 2013 when I wrote my concentration, I have had the good fortune to travel to both the places I mention in my summary case studies, the Mekong Delta in Vietnam and the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. The ability to experience the conditions that I describe and studied for writing my concentration has greatly steered the direction of my concentration. One main critique of my concentration is how sterile it sounds. It doesn’t address the interactions between actors and stakeholders in river management and mainly focuses on the effects. While I am still extremely interested in the general topic of water management in monsoonal regions, the direction of my interest has shifted and narrowed.
I did a few research projects while I was in Ho Chi Minh City which were very much inspired by what I experienced on a daily basis, torrential downpours and the subsequent flooding. We visited a newly developed area and I was surprised to see substantial flooding even in the wealthier neighborhoods. I became much more interested in development and urban water management. I looked at interactions between strong rains, drainage, flooding, and developments/urban planning in Vietnam. I wasn’t able to do as in depth and hands-on research as I would have liked though, so this is something I would like to extend as a possible thesis topic. I also want to look at who manages planning and development and what kind of communication happens about water management. Before, I had a much more ecological inclination and now I am finding that I am also interested in the politics of water management. I don’t have much background in urban planning or policy yet, so I still feel like there is plenty more to learn.
Since making my concentration, I have gained many more technical skills for evaluating systems of equations and linear equations which I really want to use in an applicable way for my concentration. I also am building data analysis skills in statisitics. I haven’t looked for any available data for Vietnam and I have a feeling it might be hard to find. However, if i wish to pursue this for my thesis, I will need to find some kind of data. I have researched flooding and development and have a few great key resources which I have included at the end.
I also am compelled to integrate some spatial analysis tools that I am learning in GEO 340. I can’t imagine doing a research project or thesis without looking this data in map format. We have looked at storm surge and flooding and so I feel like I could apply that knowledge to drainage/canals and flooding. Of course, I would like to go deeper than just looking at maps and do some analysis as well.
Here are a few sources that I used for my research in Vietnam. I have already run into some difficulty finding good scholarly research around urban development and flooding. This will definitely be a challenge as I delve deeper into research.
Jean-Claude Bolay, Sophie Cartoux, Antonio Cunha, Thai Thi Ngoc Du, Michel Bassand. 1997. “Sustainable development and urban growth: Precarious habitat and water management in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.” Habitat International.
Phi, Ho Long. 2008. “Formulation of an Integrated Approach to Sustainable Water Management in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.” The University of Adelaide.
Eckert, Ronald, Michael Waibel. 2009. “Climate Change and Challenges for the Urban Development of Ho Chi Minh City / Vietnam.” Pacific News.
Featured image by Laurel Garrett of Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe in Ho Chi Minh City
Jessica Kleiss says
Thanks for a nice post, Laurel!
Yes, finding good scholarly articles and good (publicly available) data sets is a real challenge for under-developed countries like Vietnam. You may end up needing to tap into the excellent academic work that has been done on hydrology and flooding in more developed countries to get your footing, and then do your best to apply it to these developing nations. I think it holds a lot of promise for doing new work, in a new way, with the data you are able to find!