Cities need restructurization

By Tommy Firman

BANDUNG (JP): The developing countries of ASEAN, notably Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, are transforming their agrarian-based economy into an industrial one and registering a high economic growth in the process.

In addition to their main role as primary commodity suppliers, these nations have experienced a wave of investment in global manufacturing. This surge follows investments in the first group of new industrial countries (NICs) -- including South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

This development has a significant impact on the pattern and process of urbanization in ASEAN countries.

First, a mixture of global and national processes, rather than regional influences, affect the process of urbanization. This process is clearly represented by the emergence of cross-border urban regions, such as the Singapore Growth Triangle.

Second, although population size in the region varies -- ranging from three million in Singapore to 200 million in Indonesia -- the urban population is continuing to agglomerate in the major urban regions.

Indonesia is no exception. The agriculture sector, which accounted for 20.2 percent of the national gross domestic product (GDP) in 1990, is expected to contribute only 10.5 percent by 2005.

On the other hand, the sector of industry which contributed only 27 percent to GDP in 1990, will increase to 42.5 percent by 2005.

Furthermore, the per capita income of Indonesians, which was US$969 in 1995, will increase to $1,750 in 2005.

These indicators reveal that the role of cities as the centers of industrial and service activities will become more important in the future. In addition, the growing needs of the community for urban services will drive the increasingly important role of the urban areas as service centers.

For the last two decades the urban population in Indonesia has increased at the rate of 5.2 percent per year -- from 32.8 million in 1980 to about 70 million in 1995.

The level of urbanization, that is the proportion of urban population compared to the total population, was only 22.3 percent in 1980 but jumped to 30.9 percent in 1990 and 36 percent in 1995.

Those levels are projected to reach 41.8 percent in 2000 and 46 percent in 2005, or 87.5 million and 102.5 million people respectively.

Rapid urban development brings about negative impacts such as heavy pressure on the environment. These issues include air, water and soil pollution; traffic congestion; conversion of prime agricultural land and raising demand for urban infrastructure; greater demand for employment; as well as typical social problems such as a high crime rate.

However, the rapid urban development also brings tremendous benefits. The city becomes a center of socioeconomic development which has both national and international impacts. For example, in 1990, the urban sector contributed to 50 percent of Indonesia's GDP. This illustrates the importance of the role cities play at present and in the future.

Urban development will be much more complex in line with the increasingly open flows of investment, people, commodities and information. And the deregulatory policies that the government has been pursuing over the last decade have facilitated this process.

These developments, in turn, encourage integration of major cities in Indonesia, and also large cities in other ASEAN countries, into a global economic system. This means that the current and future urban development should not be seen as a domestic phenomenon, although the process is affected by global economic and political development.

This process is, among others, reflected in the integration of Batam Island in Riau into a transborder "Singapore Metropolitan Region", popularly known as Sijori.

A study of urbanization in Indonesia shows that almost 24 percent of Indonesia's urban population were concentrated in Greater Jakarta (Jabotabek) in 1990. Whereas the urban population in the four largest metropolitan areas -- Greater Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, and Medan -- reached almost 41 percent of the total urban population in the country.

This indicates that the nation's urban population is still largely concentrated in major cities on the island of Java, notably Jabotabek.

Spatially, urban development in Indonesia, particularly in Java, forms a corridor of cities: such as the Serang-Jakarta- Karawang corridor, which is extending toward Cirebon; Jakarta- Bandung corridor; Cirebon-Semarang corridor; Semarang-Yogyakarta corridor; and Surabaya-Malang corridor.

These corridors are characterized by blurring differences between "urban" and "rural" and the intensive mixing of economic activities in the rural and urban areas. This pattern seems to mark the development of Indonesian cities in the decade to come.

The fringe areas of major cities are becoming ex-urban development centers. That is, the development of new townships at the fringe areas with a large population from the core city. In fact, the fringe areas are becoming the centers of urban activities, such as large-scale public housing, industrial estates and recreational areas.

Currently, a massive conversion of agricultural land has been taking place in the absence of clear-cut regulations. If this practice persists, it will speed up the loss of prime agricultural land, unemployment in the farming communities and uncontrolled urban development.

In fact, the conversion has already taken place in the areas designated as reserves, such as Puncak in southern Jakarta.

One of the main impacts of this development is the growing number of commuters. By 2000, in Jakarta, their number is estimated to reach 500,000, while the commuting distance from the "new residential areas" to the city center is increasing. Another trend is the rapid increase in the number of non-agricultural workers in the fringe areas.

One of the most significant changes taking place in Indonesia's major cities now and, most likely, in upcoming decades is a shift away from their function as centers of manufacturing activities. They will become centers of finance and services, while the manufacturing and industrial activities move into the outskirts.

Urban restructuring in Indonesia, like in other developing countries, is characterized by an intensive land use change in both urban centers and fringe areas. In the core cities, many residential areas are fast changing into business districts, offices and condominiums.

This development also reflects the booming property business in the large cities.

The scarcity of land and the soaring land prices in major cities prompt the government and the private sectors to plan for land reclamation in the coastal areas.

In Jakarta, the government has planned to build the Jakarta Waterfront City on the city's north coast and a similar project is also planned in Teluknaga, Tangerang, about 60 kilometer to the west of Jakarta.

This is likely to be toed by other cities, such as Surabaya, Semarang and others.

Urbanization and urban development are inevitable as they come with the progress of economic development. In fact, cities are the prime movers of economic development.

The question is: can we manage the urban development and urbanization in the future? Can we make them a prime mover for the national development? What can we do to organize urban development in the future?

In Indonesia, and possibly in other developing countries of Southeast Asia, the present management of urban development, which relies heavily on the government, will no longer be suitable.

In the near future, the public and private sectors will play a bigger role because they are the actual agents of urban development. However, the model for development management which involves the private sectors and communities in Indonesia is yet to be established. This model, certainly, will not copy concepts which have been adopted in the industrialized countries.

The role of the government in urban development will change from authority, to administrator and enabler. However, the city's governmental role and technical capacity in the urban management should be improved, especially in land development, funding and budgeting, infrastructure development, environment management and public service.

Thus, what is needed is a municipal development which provides basic improvement of public services.

It should also be emphasized that the implementation of urban development should be decentralized. The local government and local communities should have a greater freedom to set priorities for urban development in their respective areas.

The writer is a faculty member of the Department of Regional and City Planning, Institute of Technology Bandung.

Window: One of the most significant changes taking place in Indonesia's major cities now and, most likely, in upcoming decades is a shift away from their function as centers of manufacturing activities