Rethinking Urban Housing
Development
Rebuilding Kampong as Alternative
Gunawan Tjahjono
Universitas Indonesia
Civilization, City, Citizen
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City defines Civilization!
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Citizen defines city!
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Building citizen then civilizes city.
Urbanization and Development
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Urbanization, simply explain, is the proportion or rate of population
living in urban area (yet each country defines the term distinctively).
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It is hence regarding the shift of population from rural to urban areas,
and the ways in which each society adapt to the change.
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Urbanization has often closely linked to modernization,
industrialization, and thus, development.
•
Development aims to uplift the living hence its achievement cannot be
simply judged through numbers.
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Development needs to answer two basic question:
• for what? And
Indonesia’s Potential (Mckensey 2012 report)
•
16
th-largest economy in the world; 45 million members of consuming
class; 53% of the population in cities producing 74% of GDP; 55% of
skilled workers; and $0,5 trillion market opportunity in agriculture and
fisheries, consumer services, resources, and education.
•
The seventh-largest economy in the world by 2030 with 135 million
members of consuming class; 71% of urban population producing
86% of GDP; 113 million skill workers needed; and $1.8 trillion
market opportunity in agriculture and fisheries, consumer services,
resources, and education.
•
All of these can be achieved if….
UN Habitat 2010
•
“It is rare that the social, cultural, and environmental and economic
facet of housing are addressed in Asia in an integrated policy.”
•
“In many developing contexts, the so called pro
-poor housing
programmes often provide accommodation of poor standard, in remote
locations, with little consideration to the residents’ lifestyle and
livelihood strategies.”
Housing (UN Habitat)
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Is one of those basic social conditions that determine the quality of life
and welfare of people and places.
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Is also part of the relationship between society and the environment.
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Sustainable houses are those that are inclusive and affordable for all.
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Hence affordability becomes a necessary condition for transformation
toward sustainable housing.
•
Sustainable housing is not simply as unit of clusters of self-sufficient
“green buildings,” but as socially enhancing and environmentally
Housing Problems
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Since Abrahm, Turner, untill UN Habitat, housing problem remains.
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No happy solution for those who “really” need; yet
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It’s more the urban rather than the rural ones.
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Why housing is more inaccessible by the low-income urban
populations in Indonesia?
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Do this class of urban populations need or set priority to own housing?
Housing and Land
• Land play a major role for the provision of housing.
• Land in the rural, especially the adat ones has never been a problem for the members who want to build homes as long as they fulfill the requirements set by the community; but land in the urban areas needs legal status.
• Inaccessible to land in the urban area is increasingly the case?
• Why land becomes difficult to access by the have-not?
• Who are the major players of making land price skyrocketing in many major urban areas?
• Inequelity and the ever wider gap of income undermines the ability of the
“under class”?
• The ever increase exploitation of the working class by the upper class?
Kampong
• Kampong is not necessarily slum.
• Kampong as a remains of colonial and local dynastic legacy in the urban centers.
• Without kampong, there would hardly be a Betawi.
• Kampong, which used to be once gated has its own spirit of communal urban life, is distinct from the present gated community practices.
• A decaying kampong looks like slum but its not necessarily so.
• Kampong is not only a particular phenomenon of Indonesia, but also of Southeast Asia (Dieter-Evers, McGee).
• Kampong living serves as an example of inclusive living at the big urban centers; as in it all classes of people interact including those of underground organizations.
Rebuilding Kampong: an Alternative?
• During the administration of Ali Sadikin (Governor of Jakarta1966-77), Kampong Improvement Programme known as Mohammad Husni Thamrin Programme to improve the infrastructure, not the houses of the kampong dwellers proved to gain support from the grass root as well as world
renowned organization such as the World Bank and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.
• The project implemented in Jakarta and later, Surabaya have been winners of Aga Khan Award in Architecture and the World Bank served it as a model to be funded throughout the world; as the peoples of kampong were
empowered to improve their livelihood and finally upgrade their living condition by renovating houses. (Darundono)
Rebuilding Kampong: an Alternative?
(continued)
• It is unavoidable that Kampong has its own problem as it might, due to sanitation, epidemic centers of contagious diseases; its densely populated condition cause easy widespread of fire, if any; and it is easy to be blamed as hiding places of narcotic dealers.
• Yet similar condition can be also the cases for other high-rise residential complex and gated exclusive community as well while urban high density living becomes the trend.
• Minimizing the cause can be good alternative to retain the community sense of kampong while encouraging mutual inclusive medium rise high density living a future city might exercise.
• As such the approach is not of design for, but design with the community.
Rebuilding Kampong: an Alternative?
(continued)
• Land consolidation and readjustment can be implemented should the dwellers trust the catalyst who should have no interest.
• In this instance, space and intensity should be commonly agreed upon and the government may accompanying the process and the project funding approval can match the requirement.
• In such process the bond between community members can be retained and a fairer play can be set.
• In the process, the community need the knowledge on how to read plan so they will not be manipulated by the real estate developers who are interested in developing the area by clearing the land, moving out the previous
Aims of Development
• City development needs to be fairly implemented and reaching its inclusive, and thus sustainable goal of building civilized citizen.
• The financial support of any development should answer for what and for whom which in the beginning of this presentation had been addressed.
• For what?
• Isn’t it for the reaching a sustainable civilized society whose responsibility
is to maintain the value of humanity in this pancasilaistic nation?
• For whom?
• Isn’t it for building social equity and honorable person representing this
