Can Jakartans feel at home in their city?

JAKARTA (JP): From the tailors in the old market to the new Seibu department store, there's something for everyone in the Blok M shopping center.

Watch and key repair shops are still in place since the renovation of the center began in 1985.

If there are other plans for the shopping center, the "collective memories" of what Blok M means to its long-time patrons must not be wiped out, says Endy Soebijono, an architect.

Nostalgia for what happened in an area, the historic sense of a place, should remain intact if city residents are to feel at home, he said.

This is one part of the vision architects have for a better Jakarta; continuing efforts to save the remainder of what is already gone.

Retaining features of "an Asian city" is another part of the distant dream.

This does not mean replacing skyscrapers with buildings that have eloquent carvings but linking the space in between buildings.

"Actually, as a people, we love spending time outdoors," said Michael Soemarijanto, an advisor of the Indonesian Association of Architects.

But, he said, cities across Asia are losing their characteristics.

Sociologist Hotman Siahaan of Surabaya, a similarly expanding city, says that far from enjoying walks, people must "breathe in all that metropolitan dust".

If owners of private buildings can be talked into breaking down their walls and fences, to link the space in between, architects vision that people will gladly take a stroll, provided there is some shade.

Buildings along Jl. M. Thamrin, the national showcase, should set the example of reducing the individualistic nature of the city and its citizens, Michael says.

If architects get their way, equally plenty public facilities for the rich and the poor would complete the picture of a city where no one feels left out.

This may be all farfetched for the average Jakartan.

Not only do architects claim they can bring back what has vanished; they also want to realize an idea that may be radical to Asians used accepting the differences of the rich and the poor.

For the rich, Endy laments, there is a vast range of shopping centers in one subcenter alone.

"The well-off can choose Pondok Indah Mall, Blok M Plaza, Plaza Senayan and others, which are not far apart, while the poor can only go to the Mayestik market," Endy said.

A better city, he said, is one which recognizes that the poor also need areas for shopping and recreation.

Developers, he said, should think twice before they build trendy shopping centers in nearby areas.

"The Senen area is an interesting case," he said. "The Yaohan center had to close down, as people gradually went to centers near to home, and Senen residents obviously had no need of an expensive shopping center."

For urban design consultant Emmanuel J. Constantas, the vital ultimate facility a city must provide is "the shorter number of trips a person must take daily" to conduct his or her activities.

This, says Constantas of the local representative of Greece- based Doxiadis and Associates, requires a comprehensive, coordinated plan of the existing transportation network, the trend in population growth, vehicles and road space.

For this purpose, he welcomes plan to build a subway from South to Central Jakarta.

Beautifying a city is just not enough, which is why fearful residents have responded to the mushrooming of new towns.

Consultants can design all they want, says Constantas, but do they know what the neighboring developer is doing?

"The government needs to update the Jakarta master plan in a more comprehensive way, coordinated with its surrounding areas," says Constantas.

"Look at the master plan, the strategic development to the east and west does not have an adequate plan," he said.

Within the city, a designer also needs a comprehensive plan regarding drainage and other infrastructure, which is not available, he said.

Endy agrees that armed with reliable data on the infrastructure, architects can better work out designs for buildings and sites, where efficiency and safety can be made to meet esthetics.

This means architects must strive to know the people likely to pass and use a building, not only the ones who are paying them.

Provided that local architects step up their professionalism, Michael says, they can be trusted to know their environment better than most foreign experts who designed the city's skyscrapers.

After all, says Djoko Sujarto, another expert on urban design, building new towns also means bringing back the towns to the people who live in them.

Endy says an eye opener to architects was the recent Aga Khan Award for the Soekarno-Hatta international airport. It won the category of linking buildings and landscape.

"Without such awards we forget that an architect's work to bring people into harmony with their surroundings is still appreciated."

The master plan of the airport was by Aeroport de Paris and designed by Paul Andreau.

But, Michael says, most of the buildings on Jl. M.H. Thamrin by foreign architects "lack commitment to retain features of an Asian city".

If local architects polish their professionalism, Michael ensures the incorporation of regional features will reduce the copycat image of the capital.

Hopefully, this feeling is widespread in the profession.

For now, the Jakartan who lands at the Soekarno-Hatta airport cherishes the experience, because they know that it is far too brief. Once plunged back into the city, the resident is again the creature seeking only survival -- forget harmony. (anr)