Coordinating Minister AHY: TOD Develops More Productive and Sustainable Areas
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development (Menko IPK) Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) affirmed that the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) concept is not merely about building an integrated transport system, but about improving people’s quality of life through the development of areas that are more productive, healthy, comfortable and sustainable.
“If an area can integrate people’s places of residence with where they work, study, do business, shop, access healthcare, and all the supporting facilities needed for daily activities and daily life, then ideally our lives become higher in quality, more productive, with a pleasant environment, healthier families, and more time available to raise the overall quality of our human resources,” AHY said in a statement in Jakarta on Saturday.
According to him, the continuing trend of urbanisation requires the government to prepare urban areas capable of integrating a range of community activities — from housing and employment centres to education, healthcare services, economic hubs and public spaces — within a single ecosystem supported by interconnected mass transit.
With this concept, people are expected to reduce travel time, increase productivity, and have more time to spend with their families.
AHY explained that TOD development is one answer to various urban challenges, such as congestion, rising carbon emissions, limited space, and declining environmental quality.
Therefore, area development cannot focus solely on transport infrastructure, but must also integrate spatial planning, land use, active mobility, economic activity, environmental sustainability, and social aspects of the community.
He said that future urban development must be people-centred, so that the benefits of development are genuinely felt by the public through improved quality of life, mobility efficiency, and economic growth in the area.
“Essentially, TOD is an effort to integrate people’s various needs into one interconnected and mutually supporting area. People can live, work, shop, access education and healthcare services, and use various public facilities within an integrated area. All these activities are supported by a public transport system that is comfortable, safe and interconnected,” AHY said.
He also emphasised that the success of TOD depends greatly on synergy among all stakeholders. Central government, regional governments, state-owned enterprises, the private sector, academics, communities and the public must work together so that area development delivers optimal benefits.