The formation of a community garden in Tan Mai ward of Hanoi was established in partnership between HealthBridge, the People’s Committee of Tan Mai Ward and Think Playgrounds. On January 11th, 2020, the project won an ASHUI (Architecture, Sustainability, Housing, Urbanism, Interior) award for Joint Effort Project of the Year.

The community garden is part of the project: “Low-cost, Safe, Inclusive and Accessible Neighbourhood Public Spaces in Tan Mai Ward”, which is funded by Block by Block and UN Habitat. The partnership turned a dump site on the bank of a lake into a community garden with a small playground for children. More than 200 households, including ten poor migrant families living right beside the community garden, will directly benefit from the improvement. The joint project added seats, playing, and exercising equipment next to the garden so that local women in the surrounding area can gather to chat, garden, exercise and watch their children playing. These improvements will also help the migrant women to integrate into the community while improving the environment and promoting social interaction among residents.

HealthBridge’s Project “Low-cost, Safe, Inclusive and Accessible Neighbourhood Public Spaces in Tan Mai Ward” was selected by UN-Habitat and the Block by Block Foundation as one of seven projects which received funding for implementation in 2019. HealthBridge collaborated with local partners to improve five sites in the neighborhood and create public spaces where local residents can meet with their neighbours and engage in recreational and physical activities. The project used a participatory approach with Minecraft game to involve the community in designing the public spaces and collect ideas from vulnerable groups such as women and children.