Regions development would curb migration<\/p>\n
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
This is the third in a series of articles on the city
\nadministration's treatment of unskilled migrants who migrate
\nto Jakarta after the Idul Fitri holidays.<\/p>\n
Diana, 30, works in Central Jakarta but lives in Bintaro,
\nTangerang. Hanny, 22, works in South Jakarta and lives in Bogor,
\nand Suharyanto, 42, works in West Jakarta and lives in Bekasi.<\/p>\n
More and more people are working in Jakarta and living on the
\noutskirts of the city -- Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi --
\nbecause of the price of life in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"Decent housing in the city has become so expensive, beyond
\nthe income of an average worker, so the only choice is to buy a
\nhouse on the outskirts,\" a city planning expert at Trisakti
\nUniversity, Yayat Supriatna, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
More than 70 percent of Jakarta's land area is taken up with
\nlanded housing, as opposed to apartments, but with 14,000 people
\nper square kilometer of land, one can safely say the capital \"has
\nno more room\".<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the limited public services the city
\nadministration can provide means Jakarta can only support 15
\npercent to 25 percent of its daytime population of 12 million,
\nYayat said.<\/p>\n
And yet each year at least 250,000 people from around the
\ncountry arrive in Jakarta looking for work.<\/p>\n
\"Those with fixed incomes will look for cheaper housing
\noutside of Jakarta, while the poor fill up spaces in the capital
\nthat have not been optimized,\" Yayat said, referring specifically
\nto slum areas on the banks of rivers.<\/p>\n
In this respect, population growth in Greater Jakarta is like
\na donut, with no real growth in the middle but bulging around the
\nedges, he said, adding that transportation was a major problem
\nfor those living outside of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
So while people living inside Jakarta proper are becoming
\npoorer, those living outside the capital are spending more for
\ntransportation.<\/p>\n
Yayat warned that if the government failed to deal with the
\nmigration of people from rural areas to the capital and the
\ncity's transportation woes, Jakarta would face what he called
\n\"mass poverty\".<\/p>\n
\"About 50 percent to 60 percent of people's income is already
\nbeing spent on transportation, especially after the fuel price
\nincreases, meaning that they are spending less and less on other
\nnecessities,\" he said.<\/p>\n
For years the Jakarta administration has been attempting to
\ndeal with the problem of overcrowding, with the most recent
\neffort being house-to-house raids targeting unskilled migrants.
\nHowever, many experts have criticized these efforts as wasteful
\nand ineffective.<\/p>\n
An urban design expert at the Bandung Institute of Technology,
\nMohammad Danisworo, said raids might offer a short-term remedy
\nbut with many people still viewing Jakarta as \"the land of
\nopportunity\", a longer term solution was needed.<\/p>\n
\"I believe the mind-set of the people must change, urban
\nvalues must be dispersed evenly to all parts of the country, and
\nthe central government must encourage this through regional
\nautonomy,\" he said.<\/p>\n
With more than 80 percent of the country's money circulating
\nin Jakarta, the central government must push for equal investment
\nopportunities in the regions to create more employment
\nopportunities, Danisworo said.<\/p>\n
Yayat agrees: \"There must be other cities in the country able
\nto compete with Jakarta, so people do not see the capital as the
\none and only place to look for work.\"<\/p>\n
\"This is a task for the government, not only for Jakarta,\"
\nDanisworo said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/regions-development-would-curb-migration-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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