This may be seen as a positive factor, in encouraging urban administrators to be ambitious on behalf of their cities and the provinces they serve, but it also carries certain disadvantages. For example, as the scoring system emphasises infrastructure development and population growth, local infrastructure development is prioritised above adherence to the 2009 Adjustment of Orientation Master Plan to Develop Viet Nam’s Urban System until 2025 with a Vision to 2050 (AOMP) and other urban strategies w'hich place a stronger focus on sustainability. Emphasis on population growth has resulted in municipalities expanding their existing administrative boundaries in order to “catch” neighbouring rural areas and convert them to urban land, so as to add to their population figures.