Les envers de la métropolisation (The underside of metropolitan production) is a monograph on Ho Chi Minh City's urban development from the vantage point of its alleyways and the people who inhabit them (85 percent of Ho Chi Minh City's population; p. 13). Alleyways are not only the narrow access streets to the houses where people live; they also are the places where many work, play, and socialize. Meticulously researched, this book makes important contributions to scholarly debates on public spaces and urbanization by decentering the perspective. In the meantime, it establishes a unique knowledge base about Vietnam's largest urban center.

Marie Gibert-Flutre focuses on the narrow alleyways that organically composed the street network of most residential areas in Ho Chi Minh City, in the interstices of their unplanned expansion. Thus, the book rectifies an imbalance in the extant literature on Vietnamese cities, which is biased toward exceptional urban forms documented by rare archives: the gridded central districts where the French colonizers asserted their domination through architectural design, the occasional urban quarters reminiscent of Soviet and American influences, and the newest urban areas whose spectacular development is characteristic of the post–Đổi Mới period (economic renewal). “In contrast to the verticality of triumphant architecture, alleyways are the ordinary stage of everyday life in Ho Chi Minh City” (p. 7). By focusing on the latter, Gibert-Flutre participates in the Southern turn in urban studies and the ethnographic turn in Asian studies.

Colossal ethnographic work—a total of 210 interviews humbly mentioned in footnotes (e.g., p. 185)—coupled with minute surveys of the built environment yield a vivid picture of the vernacular city. At the core of the methodology is a longitudinal multicase study of six subdistricts (see the map on p. 20) over nearly a decade of repeated field visits. Within a theoretical framework infused throughout with the writings of philosopher Henri Lefebvre, conscientious ground-up analyses weave together multiple social, spatial, and temporal dimensions. Inductively, they give way to two main conceptual contributions.

First, the book adds the perspective of Ho Chi Minh City's alleyways to the growing literature on streets and sidewalks as the largest yet most overlooked continuous public space. It contributes to rethinking the notion from a Southern perspective. The introduction posits alleyways as a social object at the interface of their two functions: as transportation networks supporting residents’ private access and mobility needs, and as lived spaces appropriated through everyday uses and social relations (p. 15).

Chapter 1 argues that Vietnamese alleyways challenge the public/private dichotomy. A short but illuminating linguistic analysis demonstrates that, etymologically, “public space does not exist as a conceptual category” in Vietnam (p. 26), and alleyways belong to the category of living objects (as opposed to inanimate ones) (p. 40).Footnote ¹ Gibert-Flutre promotes the “regime of publicity” framework to examine how that of alleyways is continually renegotiated through everyday practices.Footnote ² Chapter 3 demonstrates that alleyways structure neighborhood social relations, ranging from mutual support between residents, a sense of community rooted in shared religious beliefs or economic activities, to political control and surveillance by hyperlocal authorities. Chapter 4 analyzes the interplay between the variegated uses of alleyways. Numerous color illustrations by Gibert-Flutre help convey an array of sounds, rhythms, colors, textures, and tensions. The breadth and depth of the ethnographic work are most evident in this chapter.

Second, Les envers de la métropolisation advances knowledge on the role of mundane politics in urban development. The book sheds light on the processes that unfold “underneath” the urban fabric, in the ordinary spaces supporting people's lives, as the city undergoes major transformations. More visible is the uncoordinated proliferation of massive urban projects (high-rise buildings, shopping malls, etc.); less visible but maybe more pervasive is the 2007 plan to widen Ho Chi Minh City's alleyways. Chapter 5 argues that this project encapsulates the “complexity and articulation of various urban challenges” (p. 153). It is indeed formally presented as a way to tackle traffic congestion, manage flood and fire risks, and upgrade living conditions (pp. 154–63). Unofficially, however, land and property valuation is the primary motivation for the many stakeholders involved (pp. 174–84). By tracing the project implementation in case study neighborhoods, chapter 6 shows how unique sets of individual and collective interests justify “differentiated trajectories” (p. 185). Gibert-Flutre thus “argues against the idea of a homogenizing metropolitan ‘convergence’” (p. 220) at the core of the dominant discourse on urbanization.

Underlying the key findings is an unprecedented body of knowledge on Ho Chi Minh City's history, public spaces, transportation infrastructure, land use and housing typologies, urban governance, and institutions. The downside is that, at times, the abundance of background information overshadows the main ideas and tends to quiet the voices of the many interviewees. Their perspectives could have driven the narrative more assertedly. Nevertheless, the book is beautifully written and exceptionally well structured, as per the French academic standards.Footnote ³ It is quite close to Gibert-Flutre's multi-award-winning dissertation, but it shall remain a reference book on Ho Chi Minh City for scholars and students in Asian studies; urban, human, and critical geography; planning and development; urban design; and other related disciplines. It should also interest a broader audience seeking an insider's view on contemporary Vietnam.

A keen observer and a true expert on Vietnam's urban context, Gibert-Flutre meets the challenge of portraying life in the alleyways with wit, grace, and honesty, without ever romanticizing it. Future research may want to build on her major accomplishment and grapple with the implications for practice. A comprehensive study of an “ordinary city,”Footnote ⁴ Les envers de la métropolisation reveals important mechanisms through which ordinary public spaces participate in broader trends of urban and social change.