The impacts of E-commerce on the urban spatial structure of Ho Chi Minh city

Abstract

Circulation of goods from manufacturer to last user is always actual requirement of society. On that flow, activities of trade and culture exchanges have created fundamental elements for building up civilizations from Asian to Europe. Trading exchange activities had played the role to promote the formation of specific architecture and space for community connection in urban spatial structure. Market is an typical architecture born from trading exchange activities, where clearly shows cultural characteristics of locality. Piazza, the heart of European ancient cities, with multi-function structure to gather people for exchanging activites in trading or politic and civic as well, has been a testament of impact from the flow of goods to spatial structure. Along with advances of science and technology, this circulation has continuosly developed on all aspects, as speed, frequency, diversity of means of transportation and worldwide coverage. The discussion is how circulation of goods can affect to urban spatial structure in contemporary context. The paper is within scope of HoChiMinh City, the top economic city of Viet Nam. This city has an impressive rapid e-commerce development rate, and as result, the circulation of commodity has changed its infrastructure of logistic, affected to urban spatial structure.