Bandung, 'The Paris of Java', has lost its charm

By Mauro P. Rahardjo

BANDUNG (JP): April is a very significant month in the history of Bandung. On April 24, 1955, the Afro-Asian Conference, which led to the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement, announced its resolutions in Bandung. The city's anniversary also falls in April.

Bandung became a municipality through a decree issued by Governor General Van Heuts on April 1, 1906. Based on the decree, the municipality administration was separated from the Bandung regency administration. Its population in 1905 was 47,000, of which 2,199 were Dutch, 41,493 were natives and 3,703 were Chinese or Arabs.

A city under 100 years old is considered very young. Jakarta is more than 300 years old and cities in Europe, like Rome, are over 1,000 years old. Bandung, though, of course existed before it became a city. In 1811, Governor General Willem Daendels (1794-1829) began construction of a 1,000 kilometer road running from Anyer in West Java to Penarukan in East Java. The road went through Bandung, which at the time was still under the regency, and was known as Grote Postweg (the great post road). It is situated a little to the north of the old town, Dayeuh Kolot. Bandung developed northwards along Daendels' road.

Bandung has been slow at keeping up with urban growth. In 1906 the city covered 900 hectares, about 240 hectares of that occupied by buildings. The area expanded to more than twice that size in 1911 to 2,150 hectares, including a 300-hectare built-up area. The city boundaries remained the same in 1916, but the built-up area had grown by another 380 hectares.

In 1931 Bandung expanded to 2,853 hectares with half that area occupied by buildings. In the 1960s, after the Asian-African Conference, the city grew to 8,098 hectares, where it has remained until the 1990s. Because the city couldn't handle the over two million people jammed into its boundaries, they were recently expanded eastward, and the city now covers over 17,000 hectares.

Initially, Bandung served as place for the Dutch to get away from their plantation work. Beautiful villas were built in the northern part of the town. At the time, Bandung city planning was excellent. Homesick Dutch people modeled it on what they knew and built the many colonial buildings that grace parts of the city today. Some people believe that Bandung city planning in the past followed cities in France, which is why it was well-known as Parijs van Java (the Paris of Java).

Bandung's city plan followed a Renaissance style, which can be seen in its parallel streets bordering parks and open spaces in the north. The city's many urban parks also reflects English city planning -- with its English Country Gardens which inspired Ebenezer Howard to develop the concept of Garden City. Napoleon III then followed Howard, employing architect Eugene Haussmann to transform Paris into a beautiful city with sparkling gardens. Bandung followed suit.

Two Dutchman, Thomas Karsten and Thomas Nix. Karsten, planned the city for 500,000 dwellers and wanted it to be a garden city.

Traces of the old city plan are still visible. There is the Taman (park) Maluku (Molukkenpark), the Taman Ganeca (Ijzermanpark), the Cibunut, the Cibeunying, the Situ Aksan, the Nusantara, the Pramuka, the Bengawan and the Cihapit. In 1983 Bandung had 165 parks, after its latest expansion the number has increased to 409. However, the total area of parkland is only 6 percent of the city area. Ideally they should cover between 30 and 40 percent.

The most obvious result of plan is the development of two distinct zones: the less dense northern part and the southern part inhabited by the Bumi Putera. A street running east to west, the grote postweg, now known as Jl. Asia Afrika, divided the city into two. This plan was based on the contrasting contours of Bandung. The south is flat whereas the north is hilly.

The face of Bandung was highly characterized by the works of many Dutch architects, including Henri Maclaine Pont who designed the Bandung Institute of Technology, the Schoemarker brothers whose designs in Bandung are prolific, and J. Gerber who designed the Public Waterway Office, now known as Gedung Sate. In the 1920s they discussed the direction design in the Dutch East Indies would take. They were looking at the possibility of finding a specific "Indisch" style.

Although Cirebon, Cianjur and Banten are older than Bandung, in terms of location, Bandung has a much more strategic location. It has therefore benefited from economic and political activities, the highlight of which was the Asian-African Conference in 1955.

Bandung's attraction lies not only in its beautiful parks and nice climate, but also its universities and polytechnic. They attract students from all over the archipelago.

The many schools and universities, like the Bandung Institute of Technology, the University of Pajajaran, the IKIP Teachers Training Institute and the Parahyangan Catholic University, have brought huge numbers of students into the city. During the 1980s the figure was estimated to be over 10,000. Today the student population is expected to increase more than 25 percent because of the emergence of new private education institutions.

In the 1970s Bandung was promoted to a Metropolitan city with five important centers: Center of Culture, Center of Commerce, Center of Politics, Center of Education and Center of Industries. This, in turn, has attracted more newcomers. The population has grown to over 2.1 million residents, 1.8 millions of whom hold local ID cards. The average population growth is 3.48 percent, and only 1.04 percent of this growth is attributed to the birth rate. This means that over 2.4 percent of the population increase is due to urbanization.

According to statistics, Bandung is flooded by between 40,000 to 50,000 people each year. They come for different purposes, but the majority come in search of work. Many become permanent residents.

New shopping centers and department stores pop up in every nook and cranny of the city. Factories and housing complexes compete for urban land. Space has become very scarce. Tall office buildings are emerging in the city center, scowling upon the historical sites while creating new skylines. The construction of urban infrastructure is unceasing while telephone, water and electric networks are constructed without coordination. Traffic jams are normal, noise and air pollution inevitable.

Chaotic describes it in a word.

Mauro Rahardjo is director of the Research Institute, Parahyangan Catholic University.