City seeks input on spatial master plan
City seeks input on spatial master plan
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The city administration said on Monday that it would probably
revise Jakarta's 2000-2010 spatial master plan (RTRW) in order
to meet the rising need for space amid rapid development and a
fast-growing population in the capital.
"It is almost certain that we have to revise the spatial
master plan. The revision is unavoidable as the demand for space
is higher than expected and we need to accommodate accelerated
development in the capital and a quickly growing population,"
Governor Sutiyoso told reporters at City Hall after a meeting
with his subordinates.
Sutiyoso cited the need for more space for large,
infrastructure development projects now underway, including the
monorail, a subway system, the busway system, the East Flood
Canal and the several toll road projects.
"We need to include those projects in the revised spatial
master plan," he said.
In addition to the infrastructure projects across the city,
Jakarta also faces serious population problems, owing to an
influx of between 200,000 and 250,000 unskilled people from rural
parts of the nation who relocate here each year.
Despite its shortcomings as a metropolitan city, Jakarta
remains a magnet for people from less developed areas in the
country, where an estimated 70 percent of the country's wealth is
circulated.
The National Statistics Agency (BPS) estimates that number of
registered Jakarta residents is approximately 8.7 million, but
they also estimate that Jakarta's population reaches 12 million
each work day as commuters from surrounding towns make their way
into the city.
The city administration has also assigned a team manned by
scholars, city officials, non-governmental organizations,
businesspeople and community leaders to help evaluate the first
year of the implementation of the 2000-2010 spatial master plan.
"Hopefully, we can finalize the evaluation by the end of this
year," said team leader Andi Oetomo, who is also an urban
planning expert from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).
The team will be in charge of collecting and discussing a
variety of input and responses from the public over the first
five years of the implementation of the master plan.
Jakarta residents can give advice and comments on the 2000-
2010 spatial master plan via e-mail: rtrw2010@jakarta.go.id or by
accessing the official website:
http://www.jakarta.go.id/rtrw2010.
Residents can also give suggestions by contacting the call
center (021) 382 2762 or mailing to the City Planning Agency on
Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan No. 8-9, Central Jakarta.
Although the revisions will address the need for space for
development projects and the population, the City Park Agency
head Sarwo Handhayani said that the administration would stick to
the original target to preserve 13.9 percent of the city's total
area of 661.62 square kilometers for open and green spaces.
"We will be more aggressive, especially in land acquisition
for open, green spaces in the next five years," Sarwo said.
Currently, Jakarta has an estimated 9 percent of its total
area as open, green space.