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

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.