Unpacking the figure of the backpacking neighbourhood Phạm Ngũ Lão in the making of Hồ Chí Minh city

Abstract

Our article aims to understand the participation of the "backpacking neighbourhood" Phạm Ngũ Lão in the current metropolization process of Hồ Chí Minh City. This neighbourhood is representative of the Vietnamese "glocalization". By this term, we mean the abilities of local stakeholders to benefit from the opportunities created by an increasingly global economy. These skills are reflected not only in innovations and landscape transformations to attract tourists, but also in "reactivations" based on older urban practices. We question not only the production of specific urban territories through backpacking activities, but also the spatial and social inequalities they generate. By doing so, our intention is to combine tourism studies and urban studies to "unpack" the figure of the backpacking neighbourhood and to go beyond the idea of urban enclaves.