Jakarta offers residents less as it gets older<\/p>\n
By Ida Indawati Khouw<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Housewife Suryati is very much concerned that
\nher daughter will not have the opportunity to experience the same
\nchildhood pleasure as she did when visiting the National Monument
\n(Monas) Square in the heart of the capital as a child.<\/p>\n
Every weekend some 25 years ago, Suryati's parents took their
\nchildren to the 80-hectare park, located just across from the
\npresidential office complex, to enjoy the huge grassy area. It
\nwas Suryati's favorite destination.<\/p>\n
During such happy hours, her parents usually relaxed on a mat
\nwhile Suryati and her sisters and brothers ran here and there
\ncheerfully.<\/p>\n
Such beautiful scenery is now just an unforgettable memory for
\nSuryati, since she does not have the good fortune to give her
\ntwo-and-a-half-year-old daughter Dea the joy of experiencing such
\nsplendid nature-filled moments for Jakarta-born kids.<\/p>\n
"Poor Dea," she said.<\/p>\n
"My energetic daughter doesn't have a proper public square to
\nrun in or play her with ball," Suryati, a former bank employee,
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
A lack of open spaces is evident in her neighborhood in the
\ncrowded residential area of Kemayoran subdistrict in Central
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
The only open space regularly used by local kids in Suryati's
\nneighborhood to play in is a volleyball court.<\/p>\n
"I really want to take her to Monas Square to play, like my
\nparents did for me, but it's now impossible as the place has
\nbecome notorious for its prostitutes and criminals," Suryati
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Worst, Jakarta, which is celebrating its 472nd anniversary
\ntoday, has no decent, proper public square for its citizens, who
\nare starved for free but well designed and hygienic public
\nsquares where their children can play safely and adults can
\nentertainment themselves and freely express their opinions.<\/p>\n
According to Suryati, taking Dea to popular recreation sites
\nin the city such as Ancol Dreamland in North Jakarta, Taman Mini
\nIndonesia Indah in East Jakarta and Ragunan Zoo in South Jakarta,
\nonly drains her family's income.<\/p>\n
Suryati is not alone in complaining about the lack of decent
\npublic squares in the city.<\/p>\n
Popular circle<\/p>\n
Take for example the daily massive crowds at the Hotel
\nIndonesia traffic circle during the recent general election
\ncampaign period.<\/p>\n
The crowds caused heavy traffic congestion in the area every
\nday for weeks. This could have been avoided if there were ample
\npublic squares in the capital.<\/p>\n
Monas Square was closed off by security personnel at the time.
\nThe area was even turned into a spot for military trucks, armored
\nvehicles and personnel.<\/p>\n
The Hotel Indonesia traffic circle made headlines during that
\ntime since almost all of the 48 political parties and their sea
\nof supporters struggled to "conquer" the area.<\/p>\n
Many of them felt their campaign would not be perfect unless
\nthey reached the area.<\/p>\n
"Monas Square should, in fact, have become one public space
\nfor campaigners. I don't understand why the authorities decided
\nto close it to the public," city administration consultant Danang
\nPriatmodjo said.<\/p>\n
Unlike a universal idiom that says the older a person gets,
\nthe wiser he or she will become, Jakarta has become worse in its
\nolder days in that it is even more unfriendly toward its
\nresidents, or so it appears.<\/p>\n
Besides other chronic social problems, the capital still fails
\nto provide adequate public squares to its citizens.<\/p>\n
Over time, open spaces in the city have been reduced by the
\nadministration for various reasons, mostly for pembangunan
\n(development).<\/p>\n
Based on research by Danang, the number of open spaces in the
\ncapital has dropped each consecutive year.<\/p>\n
According to the lecturer at the School of Architecture at
\nprivate Tarumanegara University in West Jakarta, open spaces here
\nin 1996 reached some 11 percent of the city's total area of
\n661.62 square kilometers.<\/p>\n
Declining space<\/p>\n
City planning agency data reveals available spaces here have
\ndropped to only 9.27 percent of the total size, Danang added.<\/p>\n
Based on international standards, the ideal open space for
\npublic use is 30 percent of a city's width, Danang said, adding
\nthat Jakarta's open spaces reached 40 percent in the colonial
\nera.<\/p>\n
"Besides the private sector, it's also the city administration
\nwhich has contributed to the significant decrease of open spaces
\nhere as it has constructed buildings such as hospitals, police
\nposts and gasoline stations on the city's greenbelts," he said.<\/p>\n
Therefore, it is now not uncommon worldwide for public
\ninterest to be sacrificed for building construction.<\/p>\n
He cited examples of the construction of Pondok Indah Mall in
\nSouth Jakarta and Pluit mall in North Jakarta, both of which were
\nbuilt on huge fields.<\/p>\n
"Ironically, nowadays people who want to go the beach in the
\ncapital are also required to pay to see it even though the beach
\nis actually theirs," he said, referring to the beach at Ancol
\nDreamland.<\/p>\n
Rudy P. Tambunan, head of program division of the city
\nplanning agency, acknowledges there is a shortage of public
\nsquares in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
He admitted the plans for the city, effective until 2010, do
\nnot specify places allocated for public squares but instead list
\nthem in the open green spaces category.<\/p>\n
"We targeted that green spaces should gradually be increased
\nto 14 percent of the city's total width until 2010," he said.<\/p>\n
When asked about the topic, Governor Sutiyoso simply said:
\n"I'm aware that there is a lack of public squares, but you
\nknow... we have limited space available."<\/p>\n
"Moreover, I think I will not be the city governor for the
\nnext five years," the governor added with a smile.<\/p>",
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