DEVELOPING GUIDELINES FOR ENERGY AND CLIMATE EFFICIENT URBAN STRUCTURES A NEW PLANNING INSTRUMENT FOR ADAPTING HO CHI MINH CITY TO THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Summary: The Vietnamese metropolis Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is undergoing a rapid urbanization ac-companied with a high economic and population growth. As an emerging coastal region the city will be extremely vulnerable to climate change impacts in the future because of its topography. Even today, HCMC has to struggle with already perceptible climate-related problems like flood-ing, heavy rain events and increased temperatures. The city’s high vulnerability necessitates a profound evaluation of all consequences for the built environment of HCMC. One of the most outstanding challenges will be the implementation of an effective and successful adaptation pol-icy and the mainstreaming of adaptation into the current urban planning. Thus, the paper presents a multi-level strategy for the implementation of planning guidelines and building codes as adap-tation strategies into the Vietnamese planning system. Key Words