Japan tries to help Jakarta solve its problems<\/p>\n
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Jakarta has since Independence been considered an overcrowded
\ncity with about 8.3 million registered residents and slum
\nneighborhoods found in every nook and cranny of the 650-square-
\nkilometer capital city, but finally one group from Japan is
\ntrying to alleviate the problem.<\/p>\n
The number of inhabitants increases during the day by several
\nmillion people from the surrounding cities flocking into the city
\nfor work.<\/p>\n
Anybody living in Greater Jakarta has to endure daily
\nheadaches when moving from one place to another and few, if any,
\nare spared from the problem.<\/p>\n
Those who have to take public transportation certainly suffer
\nthe most, as they have to rely on overcrowded trains and
\ndeteriorating buses.<\/p>\n
Residents with their own cars are no exceptions as they have
\nto spend hours each day in traffic jams.<\/p>\n
However, Jakarta can still grow in population if there is an
\nemphasis on high-rise buildings and orderly coordination of the
\ncity managers, like other Asian metropolises, such as Seoul,
\nTokyo or Singapore, according to a report by a Japanese
\ngovernment aid organization.<\/p>\n
With a smaller total area, 605 square kilometers, Seoul still
\nhas a larger population, over 10 million, despite its hilly
\ntopography against Jakarta's flat topography, due to an extensive
\nuse of high-rise residences.<\/p>\n
Despite its higher population density, Seoul still has a great
\nmany more open public spaces than Jakarta, such as gardens and
\nparks.<\/p>\n
Jakarta, however, has not focused on a vertical development.<\/p>\n
\"We only make recommendations to land owners to build
\nvertically, especially for housing. We, however, provide several
\nincentives to boost such vertical development,\" Gamal Sinurat,
\nhead of the City Planning Agency for Master Plan Evaluation, told
\nThe Jakarta Post on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\"It is up to the land owners to decide although we provide
\nseveral incentives. The 2010 City Master Plan only sets the
\nvertical development in certain business areas,\" he reiterated,
\nwhile failing to reveal what sorts of incentives were offered.<\/p>\n
Gamal said the business districts included, among others, the
\ncorridor spanning from Jl. Sudirman in South Jakarta to Jl. MH
\nThamrin in Central Jakarta, the nearby Semanggi Central Business
\nDistrict (SCBD), the Golden Triangle area which bordered by Jl.
\nSudirman, Jl. Gatot Subroto and Jl. HR Rasuna Said, and the
\ncorridor of Jl. HR Rasuna Said itself.<\/p>\n
Separately, head of the City Housing Agency, Jaender Sagala
\nsaid his agency was focusing its efforts on residents from lower
\nincome brackets by providing low-cost rental flat units.<\/p>\n
\"We have yet to be able to provide basic flats for residents
\nfrom middle-income groups. The city administration's financial
\ncondition is very limited.<\/p>\n
\"Besides, there are so many private developers who offer
\nvarious types of housing for the middle and upper income groups.\"<\/p>\n
The neccessity of having a more vertically-developed Jakarta
\nwas among the recommendations included in the Study on Integrated
\nTransportation Master Plan for Greater Jakarta (SITRAMP) which
\nhints that better urban design and regional planning approaches
\nwere needed to solve transportation problems in a more
\ncomprehensive way.<\/p>\n
\"There should be an integration between land use and
\ntransportation systems. Highly dense land development is required
\nto promote public transportation use,\" study team leader,
\nTomokazu Wachi, said in the study report.<\/p>\n
\"High floor area ratios should be given to the surrounding
\nareas of railway stations and bus terminals,\" he added.<\/p>\n
The study was conducted by the Japan International Cooperation
\nAgency (JICA) to formulate a transportation master plan for
\nGreater Jakarta by March 2004.<\/p>\n
It also revealed that in just 10 years the population had
\ngrown very rapidly. There has been a nearly 10-fold increase of
\ncommuters here from the surrounding cities and regencies between
\n1985 and 2002.<\/p>\n
There were only 76,300 trips made when the first SITRAMP's
\nsurvey was conducted in 1985 compared to 716,000 trips during the
\nsecond survey last year.<\/p>\n
According to the study, there are over 21 million residents
\nliving in Greater Jakarta.<\/p>",
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