Satellite cities create exclusive enclaves: Expert<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The spread of satellite cities in Jakarta's
\nneighboring towns of Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi is pushing out
\nthe local people, most of whom are too poor to afford such
\nhousing, says a leading urban planning expert.<\/p>\n
Djoko Sujarto, a professor at the Bandung Institute of
\nTechnology (ITB), said these new satellite cities are not making
\nprovisions for the people whose land was procured for the
\nprojects, the Antara news agency reported.<\/p>\n
It is even more sad to find that many of the houses built and
\nsold in the satellite cities are left unoccupied because the
\nowners usually live in Jakarta, Djoko said in his scientific
\noration at the ITB campus on Friday.<\/p>\n
The three neighboring cities have virtually been incorporated
\ninto the capital city as a result of Jakarta's rapid expansion.<\/p>\n
The first of these was Bintaro Jaya in South Jakarta that
\nexpanded into Tangerang. Then there is Bumi Serpong Damai also in
\nTangerang, and more recently Lippo Village in Tangerang and Lippo
\nCity in Bekasi. The sprawling administrative town of Depok in
\nBogor has also virtually become part of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Djoko said that between 1985 and 1991, there were no less than
\n240 developers who applied to build 490,000 houses on some 8,100
\nhectares of land in the three townships.<\/p>\n
Although incorporated into the Greater Jakarta Area, more
\npopularly referred to as Jabotabek (Jakarta-Bogor-Tangerang-
\nBekasi), administratively, the three townships are under the West
\nJava provincial government.<\/p>\n
Djoko said the previous inhabitants of areas that have been
\nprocured for satellite cities were mostly laborers, farm workers
\nand small entrepreneurs. Very few of the former residents could
\nafford the houses that were built by the developers.<\/p>\n
The stark contrast in the welfare between the former residents
\nand the newcomers has turned these satellite towns into exclusive
\nenclaves, he said.<\/p>\n
Djoko said his investigation into the new satellite cities
\nfound a disturbing fact that some of the land procured was once
\nproductive farm land that had been connected with an irrigation
\nnetwork.<\/p>\n
The new townships have also disturbed the ecological balance
\nof the surrounding areas because they eliminated zones that had
\npreviously been used for water catchment, and are polluting the
\nwater and the air. More and more areas have now become prone to
\nfloods. Then, there is also the over exploitation at quarrying
\nsites as developers dig out materials for construction, he said.<\/p>\n
The presence of new satellite cities has further complicated
\ntraffic and transportation problems because the majority of their
\ninhabitants commute each day to their work places in Jakarta, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
In his paper, Djoko traced the establishment of satellite
\ncities in Indonesia back before World War II and concludes that
\nthe present phenomena is not unprecedented.<\/p>\n
He pointed out the establishment of Kotabaru (new city), in
\nBandung, specially made for the Dutch community. Kebayoran Baru,
\nnow an elite area in south Jakarta, was established in 1949-50,
\nKotabaru in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, was established in
\n1954 and Kotabaru in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, was
\nestablished in 1955.<\/p>\n
The kotabaru in Indonesia however violate the principle and
\nobjective of the concept of \"garden city\" as promulgated by
\nBritain's Sir Ebenezer Howard (1850-1928), Djoko said.<\/p>\n
Put simply, the concept calls on the creation of cities that
\nput people more in harmony with their surroundings. (emb)<\/p>",
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