City to provide seven more community parks
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
What kind of community parks do people want? Do they want a playground, a sports field, or both, with facilities where people can relax and enjoy an afternoon?
The City Parks Agency announced on Tuesday that it was planning to develop seven new community parks across the capital, bringing the number of community parks to 80 by the end of the year.
"Five of them are still under negotiation for the acquisition of the land, while two others, in North Jakarta and West Jakarta, are ready to be converted into parks," the agency head Sarwo Handhayani told The Jakarta Post at City Hall.
Handhayani said that the five locations still in need of land acquisition were in Cakung and Pulogadung in East Jakarta, Pancoran in South Jakarta, Cengkareng in West Jakarta and Cilincing in North Jakarta.
The development of the parks -- which measure between 200 square meters and 1,000 square meters -- would cost up to Rp 1 billion (US$103,092).
"Ideally, every subdistrict should have at least two community parks. But, we can only afford seven parks this year amid limited budget allocations for park development," she said, without sharing the exact details of the budget allocation.
Jakarta has a total of 267 subdistricts.
The agency has been establishing community parks, mostly in slum areas, since 2001 in a bid to increase the number of green spaces in densely populated areas.
Residents would be able to determine the function of the park in their areas, she added.
"They can use the park as a place to hang out or exercise or as a playground for children. The facilities provided will be relevant to the needs of the community."
The city administration is aiming for a total of 9,156 hectares, or 13.94 percent of Jakarta's area, for open and green spaces by 2010 in its 2000-2010 Master Plan.
Currently, there are 5,911 hectares of green areas, or 9 percent of the capital's land area.
Environmentalists have repeatedly said that, ideally, green areas should comprise around 30 percent of the city's total area, to help ease flooding and reduce air pollution.
On Tuesday, the Jakarta administration also received 1,000 trees from automaker Honda Prospect Motor. Those trees will be planted along the banks of the Banglio River in Cilincing, North Jakarta.
Also present at the handover ceremony were Governor Sutiyoso and Honda president director Kenji Otaka.
"I hope other big companies, especially those in the automotive industry, which are responsible for worsening air quality here with their vehicular emissions, will also take part in the replanting of the city to reduce air pollution here," Sutiyoso said.
Honda general manager of sales and marketing Jonfis Fandy revealed that the company would also give the same number of trees to the administration as vehicles they sell in the upcoming Gaikindo Auto Expo 2005 from July 8 to July 17.