From policy to practice: The influence of the legal framework on land use planning on sustainable development in Vietnam

In the context where Vietnam faces numerous challenges from urbanization, industrialization, climate change, and scarcity of land resources, land use planning is a powerful tool for achieving sustainable development goals. The study applies an integrated theoretical framework combining institutional structure analysis and Foucault's discourse-power theory to clarify the drivers and barriers in the implementation of the legal framework on land use planning. Through the analysis of legal documents, policies, and implementation, the study reveals that the gap between policy and practice remains significant due to lack of publicity, transparency, democracy, weak implementation capacity, and concentrated power at various levels of government. Although the current legal framework has improved compared to before, its implementation is still not substantive but largely formalistic. The study concludes that to realize the principles of sustainable development, synchronous amendments and additions to the legal framework are needed, along with increased participation and oversight from the community and social organizations.