Yangon may not have a reputation as being one of Asia’s most liveable cities but, according to advocacy group Yangon Heritage Trust, it soon could be. In a new report, YHT outlines its vision for the future of the city over the next 15 years, and says the city can welcome investment and innovation while preserving its rich architectural and cultural history.





As a newcomer to the city, I was blown away by the rich architectural heritage of downtown Yangon. Never have I seen such a compact collection of architectural gems from the early 20th century, lined up side by side in an overwhelming display of tightly packed heritage. Here is a city whose history can be read on walls, ceilings and in the very ornaments of its floors.

Last Saturday, I joined one of YHT’s walking tours, which guide visitors through the history of the city and its colonial architecture. We passed the former Grindlay’s Bank in Pansodan Road, an art deco masterpiece built in the 1930s with massive whitewashed columns, a round and beautifully handcrafted canopy and doors shining in a golden tone. Aung Pyae Sone Oo, a tour guide for YHT in his 20s, bemoaned the building’s current state. “It’s crumbling, and most of it is now empty and unused, with some parts serving as offices for the Ministry of Agriculture.” YHT wants to change that. “In our vision, the building should become a city museum and memory hub, accessible to everybody.”

A new vision

The initiative is just one of the proposals put forward in the Trust’s Yangon Heritage Strategy, a new 152-page vision of how Yangon could be developed into a sustainable city over the coming decades. It puts forward a blueprint for the city which, by 2030, it says could become a top international tourist destination, a centre for arts and culture, for creative and knowledge-based economies, as well as for manufacturing and service industries. All this comes together with improved industrial areas, new air and sea ports and transport links across the country. The authors estimate tens of thousands of new jobs in the short term. “Yangon can be Asia’s most liveable city,” they write.

The report is not short of ideas how this could be done. It contains action plans ranging from the development of the Shwedagon area to the waterfront, the installation of artistic and cultural hubs, the conservation of public parks and gardens, changes in regulation and law, improvement of cleanliness, and enlargement of public space. It also offers a set of best-practice examples, citing Seoul – where more than 27 percent of the city is given over to green parks and gardens – and the Bus Rapid Transport routes set up in major Brazilian cities. The strategy even outlines possible routes for a subway system.

The authors aspire to a middle course between development and conservation: a city neither frozen in time nor a soulless jungle of concrete and steel. “The YHT is not against development, modernisation and change,” says Rupert Mann, program manager and expert in cultural heritage management for YHT. “Our strategy includes regions with high-rise buildings. The question, therefore, is not if but where this sort of higher-density development should happen.”





For Mann, there is far more at stake than just some old neglected buildings. “It is all about the way Yangon can differentiate itself from other Asian cities at a time when their competition for foreign investment, tourism and development is ever-increasing. It is about conserving the uniqueness of the city for its future growth,” Mann says.

Unlike other approaches, such as that of the 2014 Urban Development Plan of Greater Yangon, published by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) with YCDC, YHT’s strategy defines more or less the whole downtown area as a region of imminent concern (see map below). Of the 6000 downtown properties photographed and mapped by YHT staff, 55pc are considered worthy of protection. In stark contrast, the YCDC list includes just 189 buildings. According to Mann this is the only piece of legislation for the conservation of 19th- and 20th-century urban heritage buildings in Yangon that has been passed so far.

Learning from the mistakes of others

With the political and economic opening of the country since 2011, and projected GDP growth of 8.6pc for 2016, investors are eager to build exclusive hotels, shopping malls and business centres. Yangon could soon face the same fate as many other Asian cities that have gone through a period of unplanned growth and modernisation. The authors refer to Bangkok, Manila and Jakarta as prime examples of extreme traffic congestion, noise and air pollution, and the loss of established communities, as well as impaired social cohesion. Even Singapore, which famously functions like a Swiss watch, now regrets neglecting its heritage.

“Yangon is at a crucial point,” Daw Moe Moe Lwin, director of YHT, says. “After a phase of transition we finally have the government that we wanted for so long. This comes with a lot of new opportunities.”

But she says the city urgently needs a well-coordinated visionary master plan and a zoning plan to maintain its important characteristics while capturing opportunities for new development. “A lot of uncontrolled development is happening and the impact is foreseeable in the near future,” she says. She believes many donors, like Japan, the UK and France, are keen to invest in Yangon’s urban development. “The city should have arrangements to coordinate all this support and direct it toward a shared vision of long-term sustainable development. Therefore, reforms in urban management practice and stronger legal framework are necessary,” she says.

According to U Toe Aung, director of YCDC’s Urban Planning Division, the committee is working on a master plan for Yangon’s development to be completed by December, though he could not confirm that it would be made public. A long-awaited zoning plan, which is expected to legislate the proper use of urban land and limit high-rises, is not yet complete and, according to U Toe Aung, no completion deadline has been set. He said he considered the YHT strategy solely as a conservation plan, and part of a much broader set of urban planning tools.

Inclusive urban planning

Mann agrees that the YHT report is not a comprehensive urban plan. “It doesn’t cover topics like drainage, sewerage or electricity,” he says, adding that it is a vision and strategy document as well as an action plan and advocacy piece. “What makes our report unique is that it was made by citizens for citizens,” said Mann, the only non-Myanmar staff member at YHT. “For a very long time, urban planning in Myanmar was not inclusive,” he said. “But with the change of government last year, not only politics but also urban planning has to change.” He believes the new report can be a catalyst for this process. The report was published both in English and in the Myanmar language, which Mann believes is unique.

For the widest outreach possible YHT has planned a series of activities within the coming weeks. Besides meeting with officials from local and national government, Mann and his staff are sending hundreds of copies of the report to local NGOs, intellectuals and bloggers. What’s more, it will be displayed in public libraries and in cafes throughout the city and it will be presented in schools and universities. This way, he hopes to raise awareness for the importance of heritage conservation and sustainable development, not only with politicians and business leaders but also with civil society.

“The more proud people are of their city, the more they identify with it and the more they are going to invest in it,” he said. “And that comes with a set of fringe benefits: civic pride, social cohesion and economic health.”

On our walking tour, guide Aung Pyae Sone Oo manages to convince us of the urgency of setting up a comprehensive conservation plan for Yangon, as well as raising awareness of the city’s unique heritage. As we stand on Merchant Road in front of another amazing row of houses from the 1930s, Aung Pyae Sone Oo points out a towering eight-storey high-rise on the corner to Pansodan Road with a slick, grey façade. It clashes horribly with its surroundings.

“The problem is that many people in Yangon like these buildings,” says Pyae Sone Oo. “They consider the heritage buildings as old and dirty and cannot imagine what they could look like after being renovated.” He pauses and reflects on what he has just said. “Before I started working for YHT, I was exactly the same.”