In Hanoi, Vietnam, safer school streets are becoming a reality, helping protect children, easing congestion, and promoting more inclusive sustainable urban mobility. Safe walking and cycling offer children and other residents vital benefits: improved physical and mental health, greater independence, and stronger community connections. Yet for years, unsafe traffic conditions, narrow or obstructed sidewalks, and a lack of safety infrastructure made it difficult for pedestrians, especially children to travel safely on foot or by bike. These road safety issues put children and caregivers at risk and contributed to broader concerns about equity, access, and the livability of city spaces.

In 2022, the Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI) began working with local authorities to make Hanoi’s school streets safer and more people-friendly. HealthBridge Vietnam supported GDCI’s work by strengthening the city’s capacity to design safe streets and implement road safety improvements.

Working closely with the Hanoi Department of Construction, former Department of Transport, and the city’s Traffic Safety Committee, three school zones, Sai Son, Nguyen Du, and Xuan Dinh, were redesigned. Each location received a tailored set of improvements, including raised crossings, extended sidewalks, clearly marked pedestrian areas, and Hanoi’s first-ever school zone with a 30 km/h speed limit. Dedicated bicycle infrastructure, curb extensions, and new signage improved road safety, reduced speeding, and made streets more accessible for children, caregivers, and teachers.

In total, over 3,400 square meters of public space were reclaimed for walking and cycling. In the Nguyen Du area, bicycle commuting increased by 21%, and caregivers reported a 71% rise in comfort with allowing children to walk or bike alone. Speeding was dramatically reduced by up to 98% on some streets. As a result, more pedestrians stayed within marked crossings, which improved safety.

These street transformations have not only improved safety and mobility around schools — they have also reshaped public perceptions of what urban streets can be. More than half of the surveyed residents described the redesigned streets as welcoming and child-friendly. With the Hanoi Department of Construction leading the implementation of these interventions, there are promising signs of growing institutional interest in people-centred street design.

The collaboration between GDCI, HealthBridge Vietnam, and local authorities demonstrates how targeted infrastructure improvements, supported by community engagement and strong multi-stakeholder collaboration, can lead to measurable improvements in road safety, behaviour, and public perception. By reclaiming space for walking and cycling, reducing vehicle speeds, and prioritizing the mobility needs of children and families, Hanoi is taking critical steps toward building a city that values safety, equity, people-first urban planning, and livability.