City to eliminate fences to make Jakarta friendly

JAKARTA (JP): A gubernatorial decree on the demolition of walls separating high-rise buildings will be issued this year, Governor Surjadi Soedirdja said yesterday.

Surjadi announced at a 469th anniversary of Jakarta press conference that the decree is an effort to make the city "friendly".

"The administration does not want the city to be inhuman with its unfriendly high-rise buildings with their own walls blocking themselves from each other," Surjadi said.

At the moment, concrete walls separate buildings and make many people hesitant to use the outside facilities or enter the buildings, the governor said.

The plan is likely the answer criticism filed by the Indonesian Architects Association, which said Jakarta's architectural design fails to retain the characteristic of an Asian city

Last May, the association criticized Jakarta planners for failing to provide space in between buildings to allow office workers to spend time outdoors.

The association also said there was not equal public facilities for the rich and the poor. They urged the city administration to force building owners to knock down the concrete walls between the buildings.

Surjadi said the public will be able to use all the cities facilities and enjoy the green areas that will replace the walls.

Surjadi said his administration will coordinate the intergradation of the blocks as well as the environment.

The governor said green area makes up only 12 percent of the city's 650 square kilometers. Less than half the ideal percentage of 30 percent.

"If the plan can be implemented this year, the total green area in Jakarta will reach 15 percent of the total area," Surjadi said.

"The plan will also benefit building owners because people will not hesitate to enter their buildings to, for example, deposit their money in a bank," he said.

He added that pedestrian flow will be high because people will be able to easily go from one building to another.

The governor said that since the decree has yet to be completed, his administration can now only urge building owners to start demolishing the walls.

Meanwhile, the deputy governor for economic and development affairs, TB. M. Rais, said the basic concept of a city land plot will be changed.

"There will not be a clear border between one building and another, maybe just small gardens or lines, and people will not have to leave one block just to enter another building because there will be walkways connecting the buildings," Rais said.

Rais said the city administration will first implement the new policy on buildings bordering Jl. Thamrin in Central Jakarta.

The concept may also ease traffic because people can park their cars at one building and walk to the next, he said.

Rais added that the change will affect building security systems. Currently it covers the building and its compound but in the future will only cover the buildings.

He said some building owners have begun negotiating who is responsible for security in which areas.

"This shows that they also interested in the concept and I am sure it will be accepted by most of them," Rais said. (yns)