At present, the areas home to ethnic minority groups are under pressures from the process of urban development, with their lives getting more and more unstable due to changes to the traditional livelihoods, the widening gap in living standards, and the impacts on the cultural and spiritual life from the urban lifestyle and changing natural environment. If the issues are not handled effectively, they can pose major barriers against the attainment of Vietnam's objectives for sustainable urban development management in the years to come.