Infrastructure development won't solve Jakarta's problems<\/p>\n
By Vincent Lingga<\/p>\n
World renown architect and city planner Desmond Muirhead
\nshared his ideas about the greater Jakarta area development in a
\nrecent interview with The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The high rate of urbanization that is far
\noutpacing the development of infrastructure is not unique to
\nJakarta whose 255.2 square mile (650 square km) area is now
\npopulated by around 8.5 million people.<\/p>\n
Traffic congestion, housing shortages and environmental
\npollution are in fact endemic to almost all cities in developing
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
\"But the problems cannot be solved by large-scale development
\nof infrastructure alone,\" says Desmond Muirhead who has planned
\nand designed numerous real estate projects all over the world,
\nincluding the Lippo Village near Tangerang in West Java.<\/p>\n
Muirhead, who is also recognized worldwide as a leading golf-
\ncourse designer, says the city's problems should be attacked by
\nsimultaneously improving the public transport system, restricting
\nthe flow of private cars to congestion areas and by enhancing the
\ndevelopment of multiple urban centers.<\/p>\n
Highlights of the interview are as follows:<\/p>\n
Question: As an experienced city planner and architect, how do
\nyou see Jakarta?<\/p>\n
Answer: I am generally impressed with Jakarta. It has broad
\nstreets. But its great virtue as a city is its people who are
\nsurely some of the most friendly, charming, natural, most-relaxed
\npeople in the world. After all, cities are about meeting new
\npeople, choice of different jobs, social interaction.<\/p>\n
We should enhance this quality and not destroy it. But at the
\ncurrent rate of urbanization you are going to have problems.
\nTherefore, Jakarta should put increasing emphasis on planning and
\nurban design now. You should plan for 25 years and not for 25
\nmonths.<\/p>\n
Cities today are in competition with each other
\ninternationally for industry, trade, information, tourism and
\nunless there is very good planning and traffic control Jakarta
\nwill lose out to other cities who have better control of their
\ndestinies. Thus the poor in Jakarta could become much poorer and
\nthe rich will have less attractive lives.<\/p>\n
You may have noticed that traffic congestion in Jakarta has
\nbeen worsening, causing large wastes of productive time and fuel,
\nand air pollution. What measures of traffic engineering and
\nmanagement do you think the city administration should take?<\/p>\n
First of all, I think the growth in the traffic volume should
\nbe reduced in the short term through a mixture of measures.
\nMotorists will suffer a little but anything is better than
\ngridlock. Restricting lane traffic in congestion prone areas for
\nprivate cars with more than one passenger is one method. Imposing
\neconomic charges for parking could be tried. Exclusive bus lanes
\nare useful. Congestion charging is another method. Closing some
\ncentral area streets to vehicular traffic at peak periods merits
\nconsideration.<\/p>\n
All these measures will be able to alleviate but not cure
\ncongestion. You need a fully-coordinated traffic management
\nsystem, integrating public and private-sector transportation.<\/p>\n
Hence, the city government should plan a mass rapid transit
\nsystem and suburban rail service.<\/p>\n
Simply moving complexes of housings to the outskirts will only
\nmove congestion from one area to another.<\/p>\n
But the problem is that Jakarta, like most other cities in
\ndeveloping countries, is largely characterized by a central
\nbusiness district which has the highest accessibility of the city
\narea. And as the city grows, more workers tend to live farther
\nfrom their work, thereby lengthening and increasing daily trips.<\/p>\n
I think what is happening here is very much similar to those
\nin major cities in the developed countries. In the United States,
\nfor example, automobiles prompted a great exodus from the cities
\nto the suburbs in the 1950s. In the 1960s, the shops and
\ndepartment stores followed as the people got tired of congested
\ntraffic driving downtown to go shopping. Beginning in the 1970s,
\njobs followed the people into the suburbs.<\/p>\n
The question is why Jakarta should wait for such a natural
\nevolution and go through the same mistakes? Why not plan the
\nprocess right now to manage the evolution in an orderly manner.
\nModern telecommunications and information technology now
\navailable could help accelerate the process.<\/p>\n
I think Jakarta needs to enhance the development of satellite
\ncities or multiple urban centers to reduce overcrowding in the
\ncity proper. This concept covers the movement not only of housing
\nand shopping facilities but jobs as well. That is precisely what
\nwe are developing in the Lippo Village, integrating employment,
\nresidences and all public facilities and services in a self-
\ncontained urban center.<\/p>\n
The Lippo Village near Tangerang, West Java, is being
\ndeveloped into a 500-hectare richly landscaped town complete with
\nall public facilities and services for a fully integrated
\ncommunity life.<\/p>\n
Designed to be a town for more than 50,000 people, the Lippo
\nVillage already boasts the country's largest international school
\nand will, by its completion within the next few years, have
\nIndonesia's largest shopping mall, an international hospital, a
\ncountry club for 5,000 members, a 204-room international hotel
\nand several office blocks, condominiums and thousands of
\nindividual houses.<\/p>\n
How do you think the development of satellite cities could be
\naccelerated?<\/p>\n
Hopefully, more private investors will be interested in
\ndeveloping such satellite cities around Jakarta. What the
\ngovernment should do is develop public transport networks to
\nensure mutual accessibility to the various urban centers.<\/p>\n
Hence, the promotion of new satellite cities with adequate
\naccessibility to attract part of the activities crowding into the
\ncentral business district in Jakarta requires the building of
\ninfrastructure, including transport facilities, to radiate from
\nthe new nodal points.<\/p>\n
But a note of caution is in order here. Zoning regulations
\nwill not encourage the development of satellite cities. The
\nprocess should be left to the supply-demand forces.<\/p>\n
However, the development of satellite cities should also be
\nsupported by a more adequate siting of the airport. An airport,
\nfor example, should be planned together with the development of
\nnew multiple urban centers. Such a huge city as Jakarta actually
\nneeds more than one airport. But if the resources are not
\navailable for building a satellite airport within the medium term
\nperiod of time, you should at least have a rail transport system
\nto the existing airport.<\/p>\n
Window A: You need a fully-coordinated traffic management system,
\nintegrating public and private-sector transportation.<\/p>\n
Window B: The government should develop public transport networks to
\nensure mutual accessibility to the various urban centers.<\/p>",
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