Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and the country’s second largest city by population. The population in 2015 was estimated at 7.7 million people. Hanoi has the highest Human Development Index among the cities in Vietnam. The city is estimated as one of the fastest growing cities in the world in terms of GDP growth from 2008 to 2025.
During the 1990s, Hanoi went through a significant metamorphosis, changing from a city of walking and cycling to a city of personalized motorized transport. Simultaneously, the city changed from one in which people live and work in the same place to a city in which residences are separated from workplaces. These changes have resulted in an enormous increase in traffic movement in the city, consisting mainly of motorbikes and an increasing number of cars. While personalized motorized transport may be considered more convenient than walking, cycling or public transport, the change has led to an increase in traffic injuries and deaths, air pollution, noise pollution and unrelenting congestion.