Cities need restructurization

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